Chapter 12: What My Parents Finally Understood

The Moon Oath Hall slowly emptied after Vivian was taken away.

The elders left in groups, whispering about the scandal that had shattered the alliance between Ironwood and Storm Ridge.

My parents remained behind.

For the first time, neither of them knew what to do.

My mother sat in the front row, staring at the empty ceremonial altar.

“She was really there.”

Her voice was barely a whisper.

My father looked at her.

“Who?”

“Evelyn.”

“She came back.”

My father said nothing.

He remembered the memorial photograph from the suitcase.

The strange coldness of my skin.

The way light had passed through my fingers.

And the words I had spoken when I severed my bond with Ironwood.

He finally understood why I had agreed so easily.

I wasn't trying to escape the pack.

I had already left it.

My mother suddenly covered her face.

“I should have known.”

“She called us.”

“She was begging us to save her.”

“And I told her not to be ridiculous.”

Her shoulders began to shake.

My father remained silent for a long time.

Then he whispered, “I told her to die.”

My mother looked up.

Neither of them could bear to meet the other's eyes.

They had spent years convincing themselves that Evelyn was difficult, ungrateful, and incapable of accepting her place.

Now they finally understood the truth.

She had never demanded too much.

They had simply given her too little.

Lucien stood several steps away, staring at the altar.

My father approached him.

“Lucien.”

Lucien didn't turn.

“What do you want?”

My father swallowed.

“I want to apologize.”

Lucien gave a bitter laugh.

“Save it.”

“An apology can't reach her anymore.”

My father lowered his head.

“I know.”

“But I still need to say it.”

Lucien finally turned around.

“Then say it to the empty air.”

“That's where she is now.”

My father flinched.

Lucien walked away.

Outside the hall, the moon had already begun to fade.

The night was ending.

And somewhere beyond the pack's territory, I felt my connection to the mortal world growing weaker.

I stood beside a quiet river.

The water reflected a face that was barely mine anymore.

My hair drifted in the wind.

My shoulders were transparent.

Even my heartbeat had disappeared.

The messenger stood beside me.

“Your vessel is nearly gone.”

I nodded.

“I can feel it.”

“There is still something you haven't released.”

I looked toward the distant mountains.

“What is it?”

The messenger didn't answer.

Instead, he pointed toward the river.

A memory appeared on the water's surface.

I was eighteen years old.

I stood at the Gray Harbor Wolf Academy courtyard with Lucien beside me.

He was smiling.

I was holding his hand.

“I promise I'll never abandon you,” the younger Lucien said.

The memory shifted.

Another moment.

I was twenty-two.

Lucien was placing the cheap bracelet around my wrist.

“This is only temporary,” he had told me.

“One day, I'll give you the real mark.”

Another memory.

I was twenty-six.

I was waiting outside the Alpha Council chamber while Lucien walked past me with Vivian.

Another.

I was crying alone in my room after hearing rumors that he intended to make Vivian his Luna.

Another.

I was inside the warehouse.

My hands were bleeding.

My voice was hoarse from calling for help.

I watched the memories silently.

The messenger asked, “What do you feel?”

I expected anger.

But there was only sadness.

Not for Lucien.

For the girl I had been.

“She deserved better,” I whispered.

“Yes.”

“But I can't go back and save her.”

“No.”

I looked at my younger self one last time.

“Then I'll save her by letting her go.”

The final memory dissolved.

Something inside my chest broke open.

A warm light spread through my soul.

The last traces of the vow disappeared.

The messenger smiled.

“Now you're free.”

I looked toward the sky.

For the first time, I wasn't afraid of what waited beyond it.

Back at the Ironwood estate, my mother entered my old bedroom alone.

She opened the wardrobe.

Most of it was empty.

She opened the drawers.

Nothing.

Then she found something hidden beneath the floorboard.

A stack of letters.

Letters I had written but never sent.

Each one began with the same words.

Dear Mom.

She opened the first.

Her hands began trembling before she reached the end.

The letter wasn't angry.

It wasn't accusing.

It was simply a daughter asking her mother to love her.

My mother sank to the floor.

“Evelyn…”

For years, she had believed I wanted their status.

But the letters proved otherwise.

All I had ever wanted was to belong.

My father entered the room.

He saw the letters scattered around her.

Neither of them spoke.

They didn't need to.

The truth was finally sitting between them.

And it was much uglier than either of them had imagined.

Outside, the first light of dawn touched the horizon.

My final night was coming to an end.

I closed my eyes.

I was no longer Evelyn Hart of the Ironwood Pack.

I was no longer Lucien Ashford's promised mate.

I was simply a soul returning home.

And this time, no one could abandon me again.