Chapter 147
So stepped forward..
“I know how it looks,” I began, keeping my voice calm. “But it’s not what you think.”
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My father stared at me like I was an insect he wasn’t sure he wanted to squash or interrogate. “Oh? Do enlighten Me.”
I took a slow breath. “Do you remember Erin and Carly? And Maggie? The wormen who took me in after my
accident? They’ve been Helping me recover–trying to trigger lost memories. Mason and I went back to check on them. That’s all.”
Mason’s hand touched my arm.
“Lena,” he said gently. “It’s okay.”
He stepped forward, his spine straight, every inch the son of an Alpha.
“The truth is, Dad,” he said, voice even, “we were in the roguelands because I was visiting my fated mate.”
The words hung in the air like a blade mid–fall.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Then our father’s face twisted.
“Are you telling me,” he said slowly, “that your mate is a mgue?”
“Yes,” Mason said, firm. “Elena’s friend Erin. And I love her.”
Our father recoiled like he’d been struck.
“You love her,” he spat. “You love some mongrel castoff? You love a rogue?”
“She’s more than that,” Mason said, shoulders tightening. She’s kind. Brave. Loyal. She saved Elena’s life. She’s smart, Dad. She’s working to build something new. She’s-
“She’s beneath you,” our father bellowed. The walls trembled. “You are my heir. The Moon Goddess would never pair you with some middling girl with no rank, no bloodline-
I stepped forward, the words ripping out of me before I could think.
“You hypocrite.”
My father blinked
I kept going.
“Do you not remember how I was treated in Silverclaw?” demanded.
After my accident? After I lost my memory and showed up looking like nothing? I was fated to an Alpha, and they treated me like trash. Like a mistake. Like the Moon Goddess couldn’t possibly choose someone like me.”
His expression darkened.
“Because I had no name. No status. Because I was just a rogue, remember? That’s what they said. That I was unworthy. That I must have tricked Derek, or the bond had to be fake. I lived that judgment, I nearly drowned in
Chapter 147
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sepped closer. My voice shook with fury, but I didn’t let break.
“And now you’re doing the same thing to Erin.”
“She is not the same as you.”
“No,” I said, “she’s not. She’s never had a pack to fight for her. She’s had to make her life out of nothing. And you know what? She’s stronger than most wolves I’ve ever met, Including some here.”
He bristled.
“She makes Mason happy,” I said. “Isn’t that what you want for your son?”
“I want what is best for him.”
“No,” I said. “You want what’s easiest for you.”
The silence that followed was thick. Alive.
My father’s face was carved from granite. Mason stood beside me, still as a statue, his hand twitching once before falling to his side.
Finally, our father straightened.
“You are both confined to the estate until further notice,” he said. “There will be no contact with the roguelands. No more secrets. No more lies. And if I find out either of you defied that order-”
“You’ll what?” I snapped. “Disown us? Lock us up? Pretend we’re dead?”
His nostrils flared.
I shook my head.
“There’s more to people than bloodlines,” I said, quieter now. “The world is changing, whether you like it or not. Packs are changing. Alliances are shifting. You can either evolve, or you can fade away clinging to outdated traditions and broken pride.”
With that, I turned on my heel and walked away.
I didn’t care what else he had to say. I didn’t need to hear it.
Because in that moment, I wasn’t the princess he remembered. I wasn’t the daughter who begged for his approval. I wasn’t the girl who was supposed to smile and nod and obey.
I was Elena Hart.
And I was done letting people like him decide what anyone was worth.
