Chapter 3

She pulled him into her arms. She felt how cold he was getting. How slow his breathing had become.

"Mom, it hurts. Why won't Dad hold me?"

She opened her mouth. Nothing came out.

How was she supposed to explain that to a child.

That his father didn't see him anymore. That he'd stopped seeing her too.

Hot tears dropped one by one onto Ren's face.

"It's okay," she managed. "We'll find another healer. I promise it'll be fine—"

But they were at the edge of the Pack territory. Where was she supposed to find another healer?

The sky went dark. Rain started.

Mara stood in the rain and begged every person who passed. No one stopped.

The rain got harder. She was drowning in it — in the fear, in the helplessness. She watched Ren's chest rise slower, slower, and she sank to the ground.

Then thunder split the sky above them.

She flinched — and felt a tiny cold hand close around her fingers.

"Don't be scared, Mom. Ren's here. Ren's the man of the house. He'll protect you."

The words came out. Then the small hand went slack.

"Don't close your eyes. Ren. Please—"

But his hand slipped from hers and hung still.

"Ren? Ren!"

She shook him. He didn't move.

Her screaming echoed off the wet stone walls of the Pack Healing Center.

She dug a small grave herself, in the western corner of the Pack Grounds. She put him in it.

It was dark by the time she walked back toward the main building. She barely made it to the entrance before Cade's voice came from above.

"The disciplinary quarters say you took Ren. I'm warning you — bring him back now, or you'll never see him again."

Rain poured down her face. Cade's voice kept going.

She walked past him without stopping.

She pressed Ren's torn sleeve in her fist. She whispered to him.

"Don't be scared. I'm taking you home."

The next morning, the entire Pack Grounds erupted.

Mara's voice came through every speaker in the compound — raw, breaking — and she named everything. Cade had taken a Chosen Mate while still Bonded to his Luna. He'd sent his three-year-old son to the disciplinary quarters, where the boy had been beaten for years.

Every word destroyed another piece of Cade Thorne's reputation as Alpha.

Before she finished, the door crashed open. Cade grabbed her arm, eyes burning.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Vivienne has suffered enough already! What is this going to do to her?"

Mara started to laugh.

"She suffered? What about me, Cade?"

When she was young, her parents had died serving the Pack Council as warriors. She'd been left with nothing and taken in by the Thornes. Packmates had mocked her — calling her a charity case, a drain on the Alpha family.

Through every dark night, the one point of light had been a teenage Cade stepping in front of her. Telling them she was his.

And now he was the worst thing that had ever happened to her.

Cade's hand loosened on her arm. He looked away.

"Come with me," he said flatly. "Tell the Pack Council you were wrong. Apologize to Vivienne."

Then he left.

Two of Cade's guards brought Mara to the Council chamber. The senior Pack Elders were already seated, their expressions hard and complex. Cade stood behind her, face in shadow.

Mara looked around the room.

She thought of all the years before Cade had existed in her life. Even when she'd been crushed and mocked and humiliated, she'd always gotten back up on her own. She'd repaid every slight with interest.

There was no reason to stop now.

"Elders." She straightened. "Regarding my public announcement this morning — I am here as the Luna of Thorne Pack to make an official statement."

She took a breath.

"Every word was true."

The room broke into noise.

Cade went cold. He stepped forward and closed a hand around her wrist.

"Mara." His voice was low and sharp. "You want to destroy everything we built?"

She looked at him.

Cade's face darkened. He turned to the Council head.

"With respect — my mate has been through significant trauma. The isolation affected her mentally. I'm formally requesting permission to have her placed under supervised care."

He reached into his jacket and produced a sealed document — a psychological assessment, already prepared and stamped.

The Council Elder examined it. He nodded slowly.

"Very well. But keep this quiet. We can't let it spread."

And just like that, Mara's voice was erased.

That one move — the sealed document — shut everything down.

The Pack forgot what Mara had said. The mood shifted. People said Cade was patient, that he was a good Alpha for tolerating so much, that Mara had been the problem all along. A few she-wolves from the Pack entertainment group whispered behind closed doors.

"Mara was always taking up space she didn't deserve."

"Vivienne and the Alpha actually make more sense."

Meanwhile, Mara was strapped to a table in the Pack isolation quarters.

Electrodes pressed to her temples. The current ran until she convulsed. They stopped when she stopped moving.

She tried to fight. They held her down and hit her twice across the face.

"Vivienne's orders," a guard told her. "You're getting the full treatment."

She didn't know how long it went on. At some point, Vivienne appeared.