She was led into the packhouse, a place that had once felt like home. The scent hit her immediately—cedar and coffee mingling with the mouthwatering aroma of food wafting from the kitchen and dining room. It was dinner time. The sun hung low in the sky, casting a warm glow outside, but the thought of wolves gathering to eat and socialize together at the end of the day only deepened the ache in her chest.
Bella didn’t lift her head. She didn’t need to see the stares she knew were coming—the judgment in their eyes as they took in her bloody, disheveled state. She had no desire to meet the faces of those who would recognize her, or worse, remember her as the traitor who had dared to attack their Luna years ago.
The walk to the Alpha’s office felt endless, every step dragging her closer to the inevitable. Her heart pounded against her ribs, its rapid, heavy beat filling her ears. She could feel eyes on her, his eyes. She had always known when he was looking at her, and now was no different.
The silence in the room was deafening.
He said nothing, didn’t utter a single word. But his stare burned into her, his anger pouring out in waves so strong she could feel it in her very core. He hated her—that much was clear. The sight of her seemed to reignite every ounce of fury he had ever felt.
That familiar, sharp pain spread through her chest again, only this time, with her hands cuffed behind her back, she couldn’t soothe it away as she normally would. She was utterly exposed, completely vulnerable.
Benzy guided her across the room and gently pushed her into the chair directly in front of the Alpha’s desk. She didn’t look at him, didn’t care to know if he was sitting or standing. It didn’t matter.
“Look at me!”
The command cut through the suffocating silence like a blade, sharp and authoritative. His voice was strained, laced with anger he was clearly trying—and failing—to control.
Bella’s heart clenched. She didn’t want to look at him. She didn’t want to drown in the depth of his dark blue eyes, so piercing they reminded her of the ocean in a storm.
But she couldn’t ignore his command.
Her tear-filled eyes lifted slowly, reluctantly. He stood before her, imposing as ever, his presence a force she couldn’t ignore. He wore a charcoal grey suit, unbuttoned, with a crisp white shirt beneath it. The top three buttons were undone, revealing the smooth, tanned skin of his chest. His lips were pressed into a thin, unforgiving line, and his blond hair—still styled the same way it had always been, short on the sides and long on top—looked slightly disheveled, as if he’d been running his hands through it.
Or maybe someone else had.
No. Bella pushed the thought aside, forcing herself not to dwell on the possibility that his Luna had been with him before she arrived.
Her gaze finally met his, and the fury in his dark blue eyes was like a physical blow. The anger there was so intense, so overwhelming, that she couldn’t help herself. Tears spilled down her cheeks, silently betraying the pain she felt.
He would never look at her the way he used to.
She couldn’t hold his gaze for more than a few seconds. It hurt too much. Her eyes dropped to the floor, unable to withstand the weight of his hatred.
This man, the father of her children, the one she had once trusted with everything, loathed her with a ferocity that was almost unbearable. His rage was barely contained, simmering just beneath the surface, and she knew—deep in her heart—that nothing she could say would ever change it.
The loud bang of the office door flying open startled everyone in the room. It slammed into the wall with such force that it bounced back slightly, and Bella’s tear-streaked eyes were drawn to the sound.
Alpha Tomas strode in, his commanding presence filling the room instantly. His eyes fell on her, and a look of utter shock crossed his face. He glanced over her from head to toe, taking in her disheveled, bloodied appearance, and then looked again, as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
“There’s trouble, son,” he stated flatly, though his gaze never left Bella. “Your mother just recorded this.”
Both Luke and Benzy immediately turned their attention to Tomas, shifting their focus away from Bella. It was the opening she needed.
Her heart pounding, Bella bolted from her seat, ignoring the pain in her knees and the throbbing ache in her body. She rushed toward Tomas, her former Alpha, the one who had not severed her from the pack, who had not banished her all those years ago. He had to feel something for her—some compassion, some shred of humanity.
She dropped to her knees at his feet, the sharp pain shooting through her wounded legs ignored in her desperation. Tears streamed freely down her face as she sobbed out her plea.
“Alpha Tomas, please! I beg you. Help me,” she cried, her voice trembling with desperation.
He looked down at her, and for a moment, she thought she saw genuine concern and pity in his eyes. Her vision was blurry with tears, but she clung to the hope that he might help her. He had known her parents, had seen her grow up in this pack. Surely, one mistake in her life could be forgiven.
“Please,” she sobbed again, her voice breaking. “I have three children. A family.”
Her words hung heavy in the air, and she didn’t care who heard them. Let them know. She didn’t have to say who their father was—she just needed Tomas to believe her.
His eyes widened in shock at her admission, and she knew she hadn’t misread him. A gasp escaped someone in the room, followed by a low, menacing growl.
Tomas knelt down in front of her, lowering his face to hers, and touched his forehead to hers. His voice was calm but commanding.
