Chapter 148 Her Father’s Death
Jolie pov
"Maybe." I smile without humor. "But I'm the nothing who destroyed seven Elders. Who broke their conditioning with empathy they couldn't resist, who is standing here in front of the entire wolf community exposing your conspiracy."
"This isn't over." Ironwood's voice drops to a threat. "The Council will respond to this. We will capture you, we will study you, and we will ensure that divine wolves like you never threaten stability again."
"Try it." My light pulses. "Come after me. Send your operatives, your blessed silver, your conditioning specialists, see what happens when you try to cage me."
"You're declaring war." He breathes.
"You declared war when you decided to breed me like livestock." I correct. "I'm just fighting back."
The garden erupts. Council operatives trying to leave. Alphas shouting questions, guards confused about which orders to follow.
And my father, standing at the altar with his replacement bride, face contorted with rage that has nowhere to go.
"You ungrateful runt." He shifts fully this time, his massive brown wolf snarling. "After everything I've done for this family, you destroy us for sentiment?"
Ryder moves between us instantly, his own black wolf emerging. Shadow meets my father's challenge with bared teeth and alpha power that makes Dominic hesitate.
"Touch my mate," Ryder's voice comes out as a growl, "and it will be the last thing you do."
"She's my daughter!" Dominic snaps. "I have a right"
"You lost that right years ago." Gio appears beside me, standing between me and our father. "When you let the pack abuse her. When you agreed with me to trade her to Thorne Blackwater, when you sold her to the Council for political advancement. She's not your daughter anymore. She's Jolie Kane, Luna of Iron Fangs, and you don't touch her."
"You dare?" Dominic stares at his son like he's seeing a stranger. "You dare side with her against me? Against your pack? Against your family?"
"She is my family." Gio doesn't flinch. "She's more family than you've ever been. And what they did to Celeste—what you allowed them to do, what you participated in—that's wrong. You know it's wrong."
"It's necessary!" Dominic roars. "The Council's methods create order! They eliminate weakness! They make wolves strong!"
"They make wolves broken." I step forward, meeting my father's eyes. "Like they made me broken for years. Like they made Celeste broken. Like they've made hundreds of wolves broken and you call that strength?"
"You were weak!" He shifts back to human form, standing there naked and furious. "You were pathetic! Your wolf was small, your shifts were painful, you brought shame to the Rys name! Everything I did was to try to make you stronger!"
"You didn't make me stronger." My voice is steady despite the pain his words cause. "You made me terrified, made me believe I deserved abuse. Made me think I was worthless because I couldn't be the perfect daughter you wanted."
"You were worthless!" He's not even trying to hide it now. "A runt who could barely shift, who cried through training, who needed coddling and protection. You were a liability!"
"I was your daughter." The words come out broken. "I was a child who needed support and got cruelty instead. Who needed healing and got more pain. Who needed a father and got an alpha obsessed with reputation."
"I am an alpha!" He strikes his own chest. "The alpha of Nightshade Pack! My reputation matters! My bloodline matters! And you destroyed all of it with your weakness!"
"No." I straighten my spine. "I survived despite your abuse. I developed abilities you couldn't understand. I became someone powerful enough to destroy the Council you served. I'm not the one who destroyed the Rys bloodline. You did. When you chose reputation over your daughter's wellbeing."
"You chose divine power over pack loyalty!" He counters. "You chose outsiders over family! You chose"
"I chose myself!" My moonfire flares, cutting him off. "I chose to survive instead of dying to preserve your reputation. I chose freedom over being bred like livestock. I chose connection over the emptiness you call strength. And yes, I chose the wolves who actually care about me over the family that treated me like garbage!"
"Then you're no longer family!" He screams it, spittle flying. "I, Alpha Dominic Rys, formally exile you from Nightshade Pack! You are stripped of the Rys name, cast out from pack bonds, declared dead to this bloodline! You are nothing!"
The words should hurt. Should cut deep, should make me feel that familiar worthlessness but I feel nothing except relief.
"Good." I smile. "Because I don't want your name. I'm Jolie Kane now. Luna of Iron Fangs, mate to Ryder Kane. And I'm done being your victim."
"You're done being anything!" His rage hits breaking point.
He launches himself at me, shifting mid-leap, jaws aimed at my throat. Everything happens at once.
Ryder intercepts, Shadow slamming into my father's wolf with bone-crushing force. They roll across the garden in a tangle of fur and fangs.
Gio shifts, his wolf moving to block any Nightshade wolves who might help our father.
Knox and Cass materialize from the perimeter, weapons drawn, covering our escape route.
And my father's wolf, consumed by rage and humiliation, makes a fatal mistake.
He breaks free from Ryder's grip and charges again. Not at me this time but at the Council operatives watching from the back.
"You did this!" He snarls at Ironwood. "You and your fucking Academy! You promised me power and gave me a defective bride! You promised me influence and cost me my pack's loyalty! This is your fault!"
He lunges at Ironwood. The Council operative doesn't hesitate. He pulls a blessed silver weapon and fires. Three shots. My father's wolf crashes to the ground, blessed silver burning through his system, preventing his healing factor from activating.
The garden goes silent. Dominic Rys shifts back to human form, blessed silver bullets lodged in his chest. He gasps, blood pouring from the wounds.
"Father!" Gio rushes to him.
But I stay frozen, watching my father die but feeling... nothing. No grief, no satisfaction. Just emptiness where complex emotions should live.
He reaches toward Gio with shaking hands. "I... I only wanted..." Blood bubbles from his lips. "Wanted the pack... to be strong..."
"The pack will be strong." Gio grips his hand. "Just not the way you planned."
"Jolie..." My father's eyes find mine. "I... never meant..."
"Yes, you did." I don't move closer. "You meant every bit of cruelty. Every moment of abuse. Every time you looked at me with contempt, you meant all of it."
"I'm... sorry..." The words barely come out.
"No, you're not." I say it gently. "You're just dying and dying wolves always claim regret they don't actually feel."
His eyes widen with something that might be understanding. Or might just be his life fading. "You could... heal me..." He gasps. "Your power... could..."