Chapter 9: Love Me When I'm Gone

The Pack Court was filled beyond capacity.

Warriors, elders, and ordinary pack members crowded every seat, waiting for the trial to begin.

News of my death had spread throughout the territory.

So had the truth.

Ella Carter entered the courtroom wearing silver restraints around her wrists.

The confident smile she had worn for years was gone.

Dark circles surrounded her swollen eyes.

She looked toward Mom, Dad, Conner, and Ryan.

Not one of them met her gaze.

For the first time in her life...

She stood completely alone.

The Alpha entered, and the courtroom fell silent.

"Begin the proceedings," he ordered.

Detective Marcus stepped forward and placed several evidence bags on the table.

"Recovered house key."

"Victim's journal."

"Deleted text messages."

"Surveillance photographs."

"Recorded confession from the captured rogue wolf."

One by one, each piece of evidence was presented before the court.

Every lie Ella had told crumbled beneath undeniable proof.

When the recovered text message appeared on the courtroom screen, murmurs spread through the audience.

[It would be so much better if you'd just drop dead.]

Ella lowered her head.

She knew there was no denying it anymore.

"Miss Carter," the Alpha said coldly.

"Do you wish to say anything in your defense?"

For several seconds, she remained silent.

Then...

She began crying.

"I never wanted Sophie to die," she whispered.

"I only wanted her to miss the ceremony."

"Everything always became about her."

"Even when people praised me... they eventually talked about Sophie instead."

"Mom compared us."

"Dad compared us."

"Ryan admired her courage."

"I hated living in her shadow."

Ryan slowly stood.

"Shadow?"

"Ella..."

"Do you even hear yourself?"

"Sophie spent her entire life giving everything away."

"She gave up birthdays for your competitions."

"She skipped celebrations so everyone could stay with you."

"She never once competed with you."

"The only person who imagined that competition... was you."

Ella burst into louder sobs.

"I was jealous!"

"Are you happy now?"

"Yes... I was jealous!"

"She was stronger than me."

"Kinder than me."

"Everyone respected her."

"No matter what I did... I could never become Sophie."

"So I wanted her gone for one day."

"Just one day..."

"I didn't know they would kill her..."

The courtroom fell silent.

Mom closed her eyes.

Tears streamed endlessly down her face.

"I failed both of my daughters," she whispered.

"One became invisible..."

"The other became consumed by envy."

Dad's voice cracked.

"And I never noticed either of them."

Conner looked toward the empty seat where I would have been sitting if I were alive.

"I'm sorry, Sophie..."

"I should've been your big brother."

"Instead... I kept choosing the easier path."

Finally, Ryan stepped into the center of the courtroom.

He removed the mating pendant from around his neck.

It was the symbol of the promise we had made to each other years ago.

He held it tightly before placing it on the evidence table.

"I failed as her mate," he said quietly.

"I don't deserve to wear this anymore."

"When she needed me most... I abandoned her."

"That is a mistake I will carry until my last breath."

The Alpha nodded solemnly.

"Your punishment has already begun."

"It is called regret."

He turned toward Ella.

"This court finds you guilty of conspiracy with rogue wolves, unlawful cooperation with enemies of the pack, and indirect responsibility for the death of Sophie Carter."

"Effective immediately..."

"You are stripped of your pack status and sentenced to life imprisonment within the Silver Mountain Prison."

Ella collapsed onto the floor.

"Mom!"

"Dad!"

"Please... don't let them take me away!"

Neither of them moved.

Pack guards lifted her to her feet and escorted her toward the courtroom doors.

Just before disappearing, she looked back one last time.

No one followed.

No one called her name.

The silence was complete.

Several days later, my ashes were buried beneath the old oak tree overlooking the pack lands.

It had always been my favorite place.

Ryan visited every morning.

He brought fresh white lilies because he remembered they had always been my favorite flowers.

He talked for hours.

About his regrets.

About the future he had destroyed.

About the family we would never have.

I listened quietly.

But I no longer felt pain.

Mom and Dad came together every weekend.

They cleaned the area around my grave and replaced the flowers before sitting in silence.

Conner left homemade cookies beneath the tree every month.

The same cookies he had demanded I bake on the day I died.

Watching them, I realized something.

They finally loved me.

Not because I had changed.

Not because I had earned it.

But because they had finally understood what they had lost.

Unfortunately...

Love discovered too late becomes grief.

The evening sun slowly disappeared beyond the mountains.

A gentle breeze carried the scent of lilies through the air.

I looked once more at the people I had loved all my life.

Their tears were real.

Their regret was real.

Their love...

Was finally real too.

I smiled for the first time since my death.

"Goodbye, Mom."

"Goodbye, Dad."

"Goodbye, Conner."

"Goodbye... Ryan."

"I hope someday... you learn to love the people who are still beside you... before they're gone."

As the last rays of sunlight faded into the horizon, my spirit slowly dissolved into countless silver lights dancing across the evening sky.

This time...

I wasn't waiting for anyone to come save me.

I was finally going home.

THE END