I made my way to the garden. The sky was heavy with the storm’s remnants, and the soft sound of raindrops falling from the trees soothed my nerves. The thorns from earlier still ached where they had torn into my skin, but there was no time to nurse wounds. I had plans to make, decisions to change the course of my life. The only question was where to start.
Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Selene’s name flashed on the screen. I hadn’t spoken to her since she first reached out. But something about her message now seemed to pull me back from the edge. “I’ve found you some options. A fresh start, Ayla. No more looking over your shoulder. You deserve better.”
Her words struck a chord, and a fire flickered in my chest. I wasn’t about to let Lukas’s world be my cage anymore. If there was an escape, I’d find it.
I turned my back on the mansion and walked toward the road, ignoring the way the wind whipped through my hair. For the first time in ages, I didn’t feel like I was running. I was moving forward. The future was mine to shape.
Back at the mansion, Lukas was fuming. I could feel it through the bond, the seething anger as he realized I had slipped away.
But this time, I wasn’t afraid of him. I wasn’t afraid of his anger. I wasn’t afraid of anyone anymore.
The road was quiet, almost eerily so, but that only gave me more peace. With every step I took, I left the past behind. The whispers of the pack, the coldness of Lukas's eyes—none of that mattered anymore.
By the time I reached the city, the sun was starting to dip below the horizon, casting a golden glow over the buildings. It was beautiful, but I barely noticed. The buzzing of my phone drew my attention again. This time, it was a text from my mother.
“Why are you doing this to us, Ayla? Lukas is your mate. You can’t walk away from him like this.”
I stopped walking, staring at the screen. Her words were like nails in my chest, but they were nothing compared to the weight of my own truth. Lukas might have been my mate, but he hadn’t earned that title. He had never protected me. He had never stood by me.
His loyalty wasn’t to me—it was to his pack. And Celeste.
I put the phone away. There would be no more messages, no more pleas. I had made my decision.