Chapter 105
Brittany corners Rhianna in the pack's main hall, a place that had once been the heart of the Blackwood territory. The hall was empty now, save for the flickering light of a few torches on the walls, casting long shadows across the wooden floors scarred from years of wolf claws and pack gatherings. Rhianna had come here to think, to let the familiar scents of pine and smoke settle her nerves after the chaos of her return. She hadn't expected company, especially not the one woman who had tried to erase her from the world.
The door creaked open, and Brittany stepped in, her eyes locking on Rhianna like a predator spotting prey. She held the newborn close to her chest, the baby wrapped in a soft blue blanket, but her face was twisted with something far from maternal warmth. Hate. Pure, unfiltered hate. Brittany's hair was disheveled, her dress simple and stained from caring for the infant, but her posture was rigid, her steps deliberate as she approached.
Rhianna turned slowly, her gray eyes meeting Brittany's gaze without flinching. She had changed into simple pack clothes—leather pants and a tunic that felt more like her than the silk gowns of the palace. Her dark hair fell loose over her shoulders, and she stood tall, no longer the weak, dying girl Brittany remembered.
"You," Brittany hissed, stopping a few feet away. Her voice was low, venomous, as if the very sight of Rhianna burned her tongue. "You should be dead. The river should have taken you. The hunters should have finished you. Why are you back? How are you back?"
Rhianna crossed her arms, a small smile tugging at her lips. It wasn't amusement—it was the calm of someone who had survived hell and come out stronger. "Dead? That's what you wanted, isn't it? You sent those men after me. I know it was you, Brittany. I remember the chase. The fear. The cold water closing over my head. You thought that would be the end of me."
Brittany's face paled, but she recovered quickly, her eyes narrowing to slits. "Lies. You have no proof. You're just a ghost trying to haunt what you can't have. Sebastian chose me. He marked me. He bonded with me. You're nothing but a weak, forgotten mate he threw away like trash. And now you crawl back here, thinking you can take it all? I hate you. I've always hated you. You with your sad eyes and your dying wolf—you were a burden. A curse. The pack is better without you. Sebastian is better without you. And now you show up, ruining everything again?"
Rhianna's smile faded, replaced by a cold, savage glare. "A burden? A curse? That's rich coming from you. I was Sebastian's fated mate, the one the Goddess chose. You? You're just the mistress who got pregnant and schemed her way into his bed. You broke my bond, Brittany. You knew I was weak, that my heart was dying, that my wolf could barely survive. And you still sent those rogues after me. You wanted me gone so badly you tried to murder me. But guess what? I survived. The river didn't kill me. Your plans didn't kill me. And now I'm back, stronger than before."
Brittany stepped closer, her voice rising to a furious whisper, mindful of the baby in her arms. "Stronger? Look at you. Still the same pathetic girl. You think you can come back and what? Take Sebastian? Take the pack? He's mine now. We have a child. A son. An heir. You have nothing. You're a stranger here. The pack will see through you. They'll see the trouble you bring. I hate how you waltz in like you own the place, like you didn't run away like a coward. Why couldn't you just stay dead? Why couldn't you disappear for good? You've ruined everything I built. Everything I fought for."
Rhianna laughed—a sharp, bitter sound that echoed off the hall walls. "Ruined? You mean the life you stole? I knew you tried to frame Hardin...Because he loved me. Because he searched for me when Sebastian gave up. But your plans failed again. Hardin's alive. I'm alive. And just wait until I get evidence in my hand. When I prove you sent those men, when I prove you tried to kill me, you are doomed. The pack will turn on you. The elders will banish you. You'll lose everything—Sebastian, your son, your precious position. You can keep that weakling of a man. Sebastian's not the prize you think he is. He's a coward who chose power over love, who broke a fated bond for a schemer like you. But you? You'll be nothing when I'm done.”
Brittany's face turned red with rage. She clutched the baby tighter, her knuckles white. "You think you can threaten me? You have no evidence. You're bluffing. The pack won't believe a ghost like you. You've been gone for months. They moved on. Sebastian moved on. And that brother of his—Hardin—he's nothing but a fool who chased a dead woman. I hate you for coming back. I hate you for stirring up the past. You should have stayed in that palace, playing princess with your prince. But now you're here, and I'll make sure you regret it. I'll make sure everyone sees you as the curse you are. Weak. Broken. Unwanted."
Rhianna took a step forward, her gray eyes burning with fire she hadn't felt in months. "Unwanted? Curse? Look at yourself, Brittany. You're the one who schemed, lied, and murdered to get what you have. I survived a broken bond, a dying heart, a river that should have killed me, and a palace that tried to erase me. I'm not weak. I'm unbreakable. And you? You're scared. I see it in your eyes. Scared that Sebastian will look at me and remember what he lost. Scared that your son will grow up knowing his mother is a killer. Scared that the pack will choose truth over your lies. You hate me because I came back alive. Because I didn't die like you wanted. But hate all you want. It won't save you when the evidence comes out. And it will. I promise you that."
Brittany opened her mouth for another retort, her body shaking with fury, but the door swung open.
Sebastian entered.
He stopped short, eyes widening as he took in the scene. Rhianna standing tall, Brittany trembling with rage, the baby stirring in her arms.
“What’s going on here?” Sebastian asked, his voice low and strained.
Rhianna didn’t wait for Brittany to spin a lie. She straightened her shoulders, gave Brittany one last savage look, and said, “Nothing. Just a chat with the woman who tried to kill me. But I'm done.”
She walked past Sebastian without a glance, her head high, her steps steady. The door slammed behind her, leaving Brittany and Sebastian alone in the echoing hall.
Rhianna walked through the pack grounds, the night air cooling her flushed skin. She didn't look back. She didn't need to. The conversation had been a release—a way to voice the anger she had buried for months. Brittany was doomed, and she knew it. Rhianna would find the evidence. She would make sure the pack knew the truth. But for now, she needed air. She needed Hardin.
She headed to the healer’s hut, where Hardin was recovering from his wounds. The flogging had left him weak, but he was healing. Slowly. She pushed open the door.
Hardin sat up in bed. His back bandaged. His face still bruised. But his eyes lit up when he saw her.
“Rhianna,” he said. “You look like you just fought a battle.”
She sat beside him. Took his hand.
“I did. With Brittany.”
He squeezed her hand. “What happened?”
Rhianna told him. Every word. Every savage reply. Every threat.
Hardin listened. His face darkened when she mentioned the men Brittany sent.
“She will pay,” he said.
Rhianna said, “Yes. When we have proof.”
Hardin pulled her close. Kissed her forehead.
“You were brave,” he said.
Rhianna leaned into him. “I don’t feel brave. I feel… angry. Sad. Relieved.”
Hardin said, “That’s okay. You survived. You’re home. That’s what matters.”
Rhianna said, “Home. But Sebastian and Brittany… seeing them with the baby. It hurts. But not like I thought it would. It’s like… I don’t care anymore.”
Hardin said, “You’re free. From the bond. From him. From her.”
Rhianna nodded. “Yes.”
They sat in silence. His arm around her. Her head on his shoulder.
The pack outside began to stir. Whispers spread. Brittany and Rhianna had faced off. Sebastian had interrupted. The past was back, and it was ugly.
Rhianna didn’t care about the whispers.
She had Hardin. She had her name.
She had her truth. And that was enough.
For now.
The night deepened. The pack waited for what came next.
But Rhianna slept. In Hardin’s arms.
Finally at peace.