Chapter 116 Confronting the Truth
Jolie POV
The woman who stole Phoenix's cousin's name has exactly forty-seven minutes left in Iron Fang's territory.
I watch from the compound steps as Cass and Knox head toward the guest cabin where she's packing. Ryder stands beside me, his hand warm against the small of my back.
"You sure you don't want to go with them?" He asks quietly.
"No." I lean into his touch. "She doesn't get any more of my energy. She had her chance to leave quietly but she chose to stay and keep trying."
"She's probably expecting a dramatic confrontation." Luna joins us, her tablet tucked under her arm. "One last scene where she can play victim or try to twist the knife."
"Then she'll be disappointed." I square my shoulders. "I'm done being manipulated."
Phoenix appears from the direction of the common room, his face still pale but determined. "I want to say goodbye. To tell her what she did—using Seraphina's name—was unforgivable."
"You don't owe her anything." Ryder's voice is firm.
"I know." Phoenix meets his eyes. "But I owe myself closure. She made me doubt my own instincts, made me feel guilty for being suspicious of someone using my dead cousin's identity. I need to say it out loud."
"Then we go together." I take Phoenix's hand. "She doesn't get private moments to plant more seeds. Everything happens in front of witnesses from now on."
We walk toward the cabin as a group. The door stands open, and I can see her moving around inside, packing with unhurried grace. Like she has all the time in the world instead of forty-three minutes.
She looks up when our shadows fall across the threshold. Her expression shifts through surprise, calculation, and finally settles on cool amusement.
"The welcoming committee." She continues folding clothes into her bag. "I'm touched."
"You're a liar." Phoenix's voice shakes but holds steady. "You stole my cousin's identity. Used her memory as a weapon and made me doubt myself for feeling that something was wrong."
"Your cousin was dead." She shrugs. "Her identity was available. I gave it purpose."
"You gave it nothing." Phoenix steps forward. "Seraphina was kind and gentle and full of light. You tainted everything she was by wearing her name like a costume."
"Touching." Her eyes flick to me. "But we both know this isn't about a dead girl none of you actually knew. This is about me getting close to breaking what you all thought was unbreakable."
"You didn't get close." Ryder's voice is flat. "You showed us exactly what manipulation looks like so we'll never fall for it again."
"Did I?" She tilts her head, studying me with those calculating eyes. "Because I saw her face when she walked in on us in your office. Saw the doubt, the hurt, the fear. That's not strength—that's damage I caused."
The words hit exactly where she intends. Because she's right. I did doubt, I did let old wounds make me vulnerable to her games.
"You're right." I step forward, and everyone tenses. "I was damaged, in fact I am damaged. Years of abuse don't just disappear because I found my mate."
Her smile grows. "Finally, some honesty."
"But here's what you didn't count on." I move closer, my voice steady. "Damage doesn't equal weakness. It means I survived things that would have broken someone who'd never known real pain. You tried to use my past against me, but my past is exactly what makes me strong enough to see through you now."
Something flickers in her expression. Surprise, maybe.
"You want to know what I learned from you?" I continue. "That I'm not as fragile as I thought. That my mate loves me even when I doubt myself. That my pack stands with me even when I'm vulnerable. You came here to destroy us and ended up teaching us exactly how unbreakable we really are."
"Beautiful speech." She zips her bag with sharp movements. "But you're still standing there with trust issues, still wondering if Ryder sees you as an equal or just something precious to protect. I planted those seeds deep."
"You planted questions we needed to answer anyway." Ryder's hand finds mine. "About communication, about trust, about being true partners. We had those conversations because of you, and we're stronger for it."
"We'll see." She lifts her bag. "When things get hard, when he makes decisions without you or tries to control things for your own good, you'll remember what I said. Wonder if I was right all along."
"No." I shake my head. "I'll remember that we survived a professional manipulator and came out more united. Every time something triggers my old wounds, I'll have proof that we can work through anything together."
Her expression hardens. "You think you won?"
"I think you failed." Luna steps forward with her tablet. "Three other packs, three destroyed mate bonds, and then you met us. The ones who figured you out, exposed you, and sent you away with nothing but the knowledge that your perfect record is broken."
"I was paid either way." But her voice has lost some of its confidence.
"Were you?" Knox's smile is sharp. "Because I've already sent copies of all our evidence to your previous employers. Think they'll want to hire someone whose methods are fully documented and whose reputation is destroyed? Professional manipulators rely on mystery and success. You have neither now."
Her face goes pale. "You had no right"
"We had every right." I cut her off. "You came into our territory under false pretenses, stole a dead girl's identity, and tried to destroy a divine mate bond. Consider your career over."
She stares at me, and for the first time, I see genuine emotion in her eyes. Rage, raw and burning.
"You self-righteous little" She starts forward.
Ryder moves faster, putting himself between us. His wolf rises in his eyes, and the temperature in the room drops.
"Walk away." His voice is barely human. "While you still can."
She stops, breathing hard. Then she straightens, smoothing her expression back to cold professionalism.
"Fine." She shoulders her bag. "But remember—I told you the truth about him keeping secrets. About him thinking protection and control are the same thing. When that pattern emerges again, and it will, you'll know I was right."