Chapter 34: Continuation Isla POV

“ He did until you decided you wanted what was mine.” Berrilyn’s eyes narrowed.

“Richard was never yours.” My chest tightened.

“He was, until you stole him.”

“I didn’t steal him,” she snapped, her composure cracking.

“Fine. I’ll say it. I love him. I love Richard. Always have. And you? You were only ever in the way.” she hissed her words sliced through me, even though I told myself they couldn’t.

Even though I’d long since learned how hollow Richard’s love had been and I wasn't totally immune to the hurt it brought me listening to what she was saying..

“He never loved you,” she continued, her tone hardening.

“Because how could he? You’re an omega. Worse, you’re the most hated kind of omega—a red. The cursed bloodline. “

“You think anyone in this world would choose you when they could have someone like me?”

I laughed so hard it broke out of me sharp and humorless.

“Funny. Because for years you pretended you wanted to be my friend. Tell me, Berrilyn—what does that make you? Desperate? Or pathetic?”

Her eyes flashed, the smile faltering just a fraction. But she recovered quickly, tilting her head with mock pity.

“You think this little Luna act will save you? You think being Tristan’s placeholder makes you powerful? Please. You’re nothing but a stand-in, Isla. A puppet. And puppets always get their strings cut.”

“Get out.” I hissed and she smiled

“ Did I touch a sore spot” she drawled and I laughed

“If that’s what you need to sleep at night, fine. Believe it. But I know the truth. You were my friend. You betrayed me, you're at fault. Now get out”

“ I don't have to listen to you spout nonsense in my home” She leaned closer, her breath brushing my ear.

“Don’t get too comfortable in that bed. You won’t be in it long.”

And then she turned, sweeping toward the door like she owned the room. The door shut behind her with a click that echoed loud enough to have her flinch.

For a moment, I just stood there,my chest heaving, as anger and shame became tangled so tightly I couldn’t breathe.

Richard’s betrayal had been bad enough but hers it had almost broken me.

She was once a confidant to me,a girl I’d once shared secrets with, whispered dreams with, laughed with until dawn?

In a pack full of so many people, I had thought she was the one person who would stand by me against anyone else's, I was wrong maybe that was what made the betrayal cut deeper than any blade.

Finally, I moved, my body numb as tugged open the door looking in the corridor

“ Lilly” I called out and she appeared the door immediately

“My lady?” she asked softly.

“Help me,” I said, my voice hoarse.

“I want out of this dress. Now.”

Lilly slipped into the room, her wide eyes curious. She hurriedly stepped forward, her small hands working carefully at the ties of my gown.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror as she undid one button and then the next—my face was a bit pale, my eyes bright red.

A Luna, that was what they called me but all I saw was a girl wearing clothes that didn’t fit her life.

When the gown finally slid from my shoulders, I stepped into my nightclothes, grateful for the simple lightness of the fabric against my skin. Lilly began brushing out my hair, her strokes gentle, almost childlike.

I closed my eyes.

“Lilly… do you think I’ll ever be free of this?”

She paused, the brush stalling mid-stroke.

“Free, my lady?”

“Yes.” My voice cracked.

“Free from Tristan. From Kieran. From this house that hates me. From the whispers, the betrayals, the way everyone looks at me like I’m a mistake.”

She tilted her head, her expression earnest in the mirror as she stared down at me

“But… aren’t you already free? You’re Luna now. You have power, respect, everything most omegas could only dream of.”

Her innocence cut deeper than Berrilyn’s barbs and it also made me laugh.

“Respect?” I whispered, bitterness flooding my throat.

“Is that what you call it?” I asked she looked confused, her young face open and guileless.

“You’re free, my lady,” she repeated, her voice soft.

“You just don’t see it yet.”

I wanted to laugh. Or scream, maybe both. Instead, I reached up, stilling her hand with mine.

“Thank you, Lilly. That will be all.”

She nodded quickly, setting the brush aside before scurrying from the room.

Silence settled heavy around me and I climbed into bed, pulling the sheets tight around my body, but no warmth reached me.

Free. The word rang in my head like a cruel joke.

I wasn’t free. I was bound—by Tristan’s mark, by Kieran’s eyes, by my past that haunted me and a future that loomed like a noose. As I drifted into restless sleep, one truth burned in my chest.

Freedom was the last thing I’d ever have in this house.

CHAPTER 31

Isla POV

I slid into my bed trying to find a spot that felt comfortable for me, the blanket felt too heavy, pressing down on me so I shoved it off my skin

I kept trying to fall asleep but it was sporadic, came and then was gone in an instant shallow waves— then I would wake up in snatches of restless dozing that left me hotter, sweatier, more uncomfortable each time I woke.

I tossed and turned under the sheets, pulling them on, then pushing them off, never comfortable, or felt strange, wrong almost like my body was betraying me.

My wolf shifted restlessly beneath the surface, my skin burned and every time I moved, I swore I could hear the pounding of my own pulse echoing through the silence of the room. I kicked off the blanket, but the heat didn’t ease.

It was like this was the beginning of my heat, but that couldn’t be right my cycle wasn’t due, and even if it were, it had never come this violently, this suddenly. I pressed my face into the pillow, trying to will it away, but the heat pulsed stronger with every shallow breath.

My wolf whispered at the edges of my mind, Mate, in a voice that was both desperate and hungry.

I told myself I wouldn’t answer her. I told myself I was stronger than that.

And then the door creaked, I laid there for a while trying to ignore whoever was walking into the room.

They didn’t say anything at first. Just crossed the room, but I immediately knew it was Tristan, his presence was eo heavy it filled every inch of air between us.

The moonlight spilling across his face, cutting sharp lines into his jaw, glinting in his dark eyes.

And then, without asking, without explaining, he slid into the bed beside me and the mattress dipped under his weight as he slid in beside me, his scent wrapping around me before my mind could make sense of what was happening.