Chapter 6

Caleb's anger dropped off his face and shock took over. He stammered.

"Elara — no — it was them. Your father — forced us together."

"Right. He forced us. Serena's the daughter of his mate. He made me promise I'd look after her for the rest of her life."

"That's bullshit. You two were already circling each other by the time I brought Serena and her mother in. You think I wanted to —"

I wasn't interested in watching them turn on each other. I waved at the door.

Trained Pack Warriors escorted them out without much trouble.

I'd arranged a flatbed truck. The bed and every piece of linen got loaded onto it, and the truck followed their car out.

Not long after, my phone rang. Caleb was shouting.

"How dare you sell our home without asking me?"

"I paid for that home."

"Where am I supposed to sleep tonight? Fine, I betrayed what we had, but this is cruel. I just had a life-threatening surgery. Are you really going to put me out on the street?"

"One of us is your father. One of us was your Mate for three years. You're going to hunt us both down?"

That was almost funny. They still thought I was just upset about Serena.

I spaced every word out for him.

"If reclaiming my own property counts as a hunt, then what do we call the accident you arranged, the heart you stole, and the plan to drain my every share?"

The line went quiet.

"I have all of it. Every piece of evidence. I'm not letting this go."

I hung up. A few minutes later, it rang again.

The truck driver.

"Boss, the car I was tailing pulled into a hotel. Where do I drop the cargo?"

"Wherever you like."

Maybe it was because I'd shown my hand. The next morning, my father quietly had the rest of his things hauled out.

For a long stretch, none of them came near me.

I was busy fine-tuning the Bonding Ceremony and redesigning the Manor. Damon was busy shifting the Sterling Pack's operations to our Territory.

I teased him that he deserved it. If he'd pushed back three years ago and asked one more question, none of this would've happened. He'd played the noble Alpha and it had nearly cost us everything.

He didn't get mad. He flew in and out happily.

When we finally had a gap, he dragged me out to try on my Bonding gown.

On the drive home, we saw the three of them screaming at each other on the sidewalk. A crowd had gathered.

"Have you two no shame? Any? Any at all?" Caleb was yelling.

Serena had her face pressed into my father's chest.

"I drag this ruined body around working to support you, and you're behind my back fucking someone else. What did I do to deserve this? Serena — tell me straight. When did it start? Were you dirty from day one?"

"Don't spit lies." My father's face was purple. "If you'd been man enough, if you hadn't shortchanged Serena, I wouldn't have touched her."

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Caleb laughed like something had snapped. "Wouldn't have? She's your mate's daughter. She's not even your blood. I should've known — who plots to throw away their actual child for someone else's?"

"I'm the fool. I lost my health, I lost my Mate. Elara was good. She was kind. Why didn't I know what I had?"

Thinking about where he was now, Caleb slapped himself across the face. Hard. Several times.

Serena didn't like that.

"You have nerve. You were just as bad. All those years, I had to watch you dote on that bitch. I'm the one who suffered most."

"Suffered? Who was I killing her for, then?"

"You dare throw that at me? That bitch didn't even die. Your fault. If her money had come to me, I wouldn't be scraping by like this."

The crowd gasped. The three of them snapped back to themselves and realized the whole street had just heard them.

They turned on the onlookers, ordering phones lowered, footage deleted. Nobody listened. Several people had already gone live.

The three of them started to bolt. Then Caleb spotted me, standing off at a distance.

He shoved through the crowd, ran over, and dropped to his knees, grabbing the hem of my dress.

"Elara. Baby. I was wrong. I was so wrong. I wasn't thinking straight. They bewitched me."

"I loved you and didn't know it. I fell for you long ago. Forgive me. Please. One more chance. We start over. I'll cherish you this time. I swear it."

Damon moved. I caught his arm.

I pulled my dress free from Caleb's grip and looked down at him.

"You never loved me. You're just remembering I was nice because your partners in crime finally turned on you."

"That's not true. Think about the three years we had. We were happy. You can't deny that."

I laughed. "If you hadn't walked into my life at my lowest point, if my father hadn't been feeding me to you, I wouldn't have looked at trash like you twice."

"I'll own being stupid. You need to move on too."

"My Bonding Ceremony is days away. I don't need this stain on it. If you have time to grovel, use it. The ones who actually ruined you are walking around free."

I looked up. Caleb followed my gaze. My father and Serena were fleeing hand in hand. Red climbed up into Caleb's eyes.

The day after our Bonding Ceremony, the honeymoon car hadn't even left the drive when the Alpha Council Enforcement Bureau called.

"Someone's come in to confess to a conspiracy against your life.