The words hit me like blunt force trauma.
Not all at once.
Not cleanly.
They come in jagged pieces, splintering into my chest, my throat, my bones—lodging there and refusing to come loose.
Alpha Jered smiles as he speaks.
Smiles.
Like he's recounting a funny story around a fire instead of confessing to the destruction of my entire life.
"Your father," he says, voice dripping with contempt, "your fucking father—all he had to do was walk away. That's it. Turn around. Pretend he didn't see anything. And all of this could have been avoided."
My stomach churns.
I don't want to hear this.
Every instinct in me screams to block it out, to shove my hands over my ears, to let Emma rip free and end this before another word can poison me.
But my body won't move.
My legs are locked in place, heavy and unresponsive, as if the forest floor itself has claimed me.
Jered continues, pacing slowly in front of me like a lecturer before a class.
"Years before the fire," he says casually, "I was in the woods. With another she-wolf. The bitch wanted it—just liked pretending she didn't."
Disgust rolls through me so violently I nearly gag.
Emma snarls, a low, feral sound that vibrates through my skull.
He chuckles.
"Then your father walks in. Sees everything. Pushes me off her like I'm nothing."
My vision blurs.
I see my father's face in my mind—calm, steady, honorable. The man who taught me to heal instead of hurt. Who carried injured wolves home himself when others were too afraid.
"That bastard," Jered snarls, his voice sharpening. "I told him to leave. Told him it wasn't his business."
His lips curl.
"And then he let his aura loose."
My heart stutters.
"I didn't understand it at the time," Jered admits. "Didn't know what he was. But that aura—gods—it cut straight through mine. Like I wasn't an Alpha at all."
His hands clench into fists.
"I fell to my knees."
A hush falls over the clearing.
Even Valen stops shifting restlessly.
"An Alpha kneels for no one," Jered spits. "For no one. And there I was—on the ground. Powerless."
His gaze snaps to me, eyes burning.
"Who would have thought," he sneers, "that he was a fucking White Wolf?"
Emma roars.
I feel it in my spine, my ribs, my blood.
"He pinned me down with nothing but presence," Jered continues. "Didn't even fight me. Just… was. And I knew, right then, that if the pack ever found out, I'd lose everything."
My hands tremble.
"How could I go back?" he demands. "How could I stand in front of my wolves knowing another male bested me?"
His breathing grows heavier.
"I nearly lost my title," he says. "Nearly lost my pack. If it hadn't been for him refusing to accept leadership—if he hadn't chosen to stay hidden—I'd have been finished."
His voice drops.
"I hated him."
The word lands like a blade.
"I hated everything about him."
My chest burns.
My father refused the crown.
Chose peace.
Chose us.
"And your mother," Jered says suddenly, his tone shifting. "Sweet, sweet Clara."
My growl rips free before I can stop it.
"She would have never looked at a pig like you," I snarl. "She had her fated mate."
Jered explodes.
"She was a fucking slut and wanted me too!"
The forest shakes.
Emma slams against my control, teeth bared, fury incarnate.
"You're lying," I hiss. "She would never—"
"I saw the way she looked at me," Jered shouts. "I wanted her to spite him. To prove I could take everything from him."
He laughs, harsh and hollow.
"But she never relented. Not once. Because of your father."
My vision darkens.
"During that mating ceremony," he continues, waving a hand, "your parents were alerted to something. They ran off. The whole pack saw it."
My breath catches.
"The fire," I whisper.
Jered nods.
"A fire started where the pups were."
I remember the heat.
The screams.
The panic.
"Everyone panicked," Jered says. "Rushed for their children. And then I saw it."
His voice drips with venom.
"Your parents carrying pups out of the flames."
My heart shatters all over again.
"How could they take the glory?" he snarls. "After that, the pack would have followed them. Not me."
"What did you do?" I scream. "They were saving children! You fucking monster!"
He laughs.
"For some reason," he says, ignoring me, "they stayed longer after getting the last pup out."
My stomach drops.
"I called some loyal warriors to meet me out back," he continues. "And you know what I saw?"
His eyes gleam.
"Your father. Ginny right behind him. And your mother in his arms."
Dirge gasps.
"My Ginny?" he whispers. "She—she made it out?"
Jered looks pleased.
"I was shocked too. I didn't understand how they survived. Now I do."
He turns toward me.
"The prick had Lumen."
Seven figures step out of the darkness.
My breath leaves me in a sob.
Kieran.
Callen.
Mayla.
Melanie.
The twins.
Relief slams into me so hard my knees nearly buckle.
"Ah," Elder Silvester croons. "King Kieran. Right on time."
Valen growls, low and vicious.
Kieran growls back, pure promise of death.
Jered resumes like this is all theater.
"I couldn't let it slide," he says. "So I used the fire as cover. Had my warriors shoot them with silver. Then we burned everything."
Dirge lets out a sound that isn't human.
Jered grins.
"Ah yes. Samantha didn't kill your mate. That was me."
Dirge collapses.
"She was collateral," Jered shrugs. "And you—"
He looks at Dirge mockingly.
"You were the idiot who killed your son-in-law."
The world tilts.
My parents.
They didn't abandon me.
They didn't fail.
They were murdered.
By him.
Silvester steps forward, smug.
"The throne was never yours, child," he says. "We made sure the White Wolves were wiped out."
His smile is sick.
"We were tired of equality. If wolves were equal, why have ranks? Why would the Goddess make some stronger?"
My blood sings.
"You're disgusting," Kieran growls.
"But no matter," Silvester finishes. "You'll all die. Valen will rule."
Valen grins, feral.
Emma rises fully inside me.
Not grief.
Not shock.
Rage.
Cold.
Ancient.
Deadly.
I straighten.
The forest bows.
"You took everything from me," I say softly.
And the night listens