Abandoned for Another Mate

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Seven years of my life had been a lie, and the evidence was laughing in my kitchen, drinking my wine, mocking my grief.

Something snapped inside me. The rage that had been building since my mother's death surged through my veins like liquid fire. Before I could think twice, I shoved the pantry door open with such force it slammed against the wall.

Ryan and Madison froze mid-laugh, wine glasses suspended in the air. The rich aroma of the pasta sauce he'd made—something he'd never bothered to do for me—filled the air between us.

"Sarah," Ryan's voice held more annoyance than guilt. "I didn't hear you come in."

Madison didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. She merely raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a smirk as she set her wine glass down with deliberate slowness.

"There were no rogues," I said, my voice trembling. Tears streamed down my face, but they weren't tears of sadness anymore. "You lied to me. You both lied."

"Oh, calm down," Madison rolled her eyes. "It was just a little white lie."

"A little white lie?" My voice rose. "My mother died alone because of your 'little white lie'! She waited for me—for us—until her last breath!"

Ryan sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair—that nervous tic he always had when cornered. "Sarah, you're being irrational. These things happen. Your mother was going to die anyway."

His casual dismissal of my mother's death hit me like a physical blow. I stared at him, truly seeing him for the first time in seven years. This man—this coward—was not the person I had devoted my life to.

"Get out of my way," I whispered, pushing past them toward the bedroom.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ryan called after me, but I was already pulling my suitcase from under the bed.

I grabbed whatever I could—clothes, photos, my mother's locket. My hands shook so badly I could barely zip the case closed. When I emerged from the bedroom, Ryan stood blocking the front door, arms crossed over his chest.

"You're not leaving," he said, his voice hardening. "You're overreacting."

"Overreacting?" I laughed, the sound brittle and foreign to my own ears. "You let my mother die alone. You're celebrating it. And you think I'm overreacting?"

"It wasn't like that," he started, but Madison's smug expression behind him told me everything I needed to know.

"Move," I demanded, clutching my suitcase like a shield.

"Where will you even go?" Ryan's tone was mocking now. "Back to your father's? To that tiny healer's cabin? You have nothing without me, Sarah."

"I have my dignity," I said, trying to push past him.

His hand shot out, gripping my arm with bruising force. "If you leave now," he snarled, his eyes flashing gold with Alpha power, "don't come back to Silver Moon territory."

The threat hung in the air between us. Seven years ago, it would have terrified me into submission. Now, it only confirmed what I should have realized long ago.

"Let. Me. Go." Each word was a battle cry from a part of me I'd never known existed.

Something in my expression must have startled him, because his grip loosened just enough for me to wrench free. I shouldered past him and out into the cold night air, not looking back even when he called my name.

The next morning, I arrived at the Healer's quarters before dawn, my resignation letter clutched in my trembling hand. Elara Vance, the Head Healer, read it with sad, knowing eyes.

"I was wondering when you'd finally see him for what he is," she said softly. "But Sarah, are you sure? Where will you go?"

"Anywhere but here," I whispered, the weight of my decision both terrifying and liberating.

Before Elara could respond, the door burst open. Ryan stood there, his face a mask of cold fury, Madison hovering triumphantly behind him.

"This resignation is denied," he announced, snatching the paper from Elara's hands and tearing it in half. "As future Alpha, I forbid it."

"You can't do that," I protested, backing away as he advanced toward me.

"I can do whatever I want," he growled, grabbing my wrist. "You belong to this pack. To me."

As he dragged me from the Healer's quarters, something deep inside me stirred again—stronger this time, more insistent. A voice I'd never heard before whispered in the back of my mind:

*Fight back, Sarah. It's time to fight back.*

My inner wolf was finally waking up.