Chapter Three: The Goodbye

Ivy

The day I was set to leave, Alpha Brian showed up at my door.

I didn’t ask why. After everything I’d overheard, every venom-laced word he’d spat at me, there was no room left for illusions. He wasn’t here to wish me well.

He leaned against the frame, pretending ease, but nothing about him was casual. His presence filled the room like smoke, thick, choking, impossible to escape.

“I see you’re packed and ready,” he said, his gaze sweeping over the folded clothes and the strapped bag at the edge of my bed.

I gave him a single nod. Silence was the only shield I had left.

Then he stepped closer. His cologne hit me first, rich, sharp, painfully familiar. The same scent he’d worn when he kissed me under the stars and whispered forever. Back when love had meant something.

Without warning, his hand lifted, fingers brushing my cheek in a caress that turned my stomach.

“If you succeed…” his voice softened, almost tender, “I’ll consider taking you back. Making you Luna.”

The audacity stole my breath.

I looked him straight in the eye and smiled, cold, deliberate.

“We both know that’s not going to happen, Alpha.”

I pushed his hand away. Every inch of skin he’d touched felt contaminated.

“You’re sending me to die,” I said. “Let’s not dress it up with fantasy. I heard what you told Emily. Every word.”

His brow twitched, a crack in the mask. “Eavesdropping doesn’t suit you, Ivy.”

I said nothing. Silence cut deeper than any retort.

He moved closer, his shadow swallowing mine. “I would’ve mated with you,” he said quietly. “I did love you. But I was too blind to see the rot in your bloodline.”

Still, I said nothing.

I wasn’t going to bleed for my father’s sin, or his pride.

His voice roughened, a flicker of something almost human behind the steel. “Your father sent mine to an early grave. Left me to pick up the pieces. You think betrayal like that doesn’t leave a mark? Don’t blame me for holding a grudge… even against a woman I once loved. Still lo, ”

He couldn’t finish it.

Then his hand clamped on my jaw, harder this time. The tenderness vanished, replaced by ownership.

“You’d better survive out there, Ivy,” he whispered. “I won’t forgive you if you die.”

Maybe there was regret in his eyes. Or maybe it was just another performance.

And then he leaned in.

He tried to kiss me.

I jerked back, but he followed, too close, too confident, until instinct took over.

I bit him. Hard.

The taste of blood filled my mouth before he staggered back, clutching his lip, eyes blazing.

“You don’t get to kiss me goodbye,” I said, unflinching. “You already buried me, remember?”

The slap came fast and sharp. My head snapped sideways, cheek burning, but I didn’t blink. Didn’t give him the pleasure.

“Bitch!” Brian roared.

I stared at him with dead eyes. He couldn’t hurt me anymore, not where it mattered.

Then his rage twisted into something darker. He lunged forward, desperation and fury colliding.

“What’s wrong?” His voice dripped venom. “You’ll be doing plenty of this where you’re going. A little practice won’t hurt.”

I knew what he wanted, to break me completely. To claim me one last time so he could pretend he still had power.

But I wasn’t his to ruin.

The wolf under my skin surged forward, a low growl rumbling in my chest. My eyes flashed.

“Step closer,” I warned, “and I’ll link Emily. We’ll see how Luna-material she looks when she hears what you just tried.”

He froze mid-step. Jaw clenched, nostrils flaring. I’d hit the vein.

“I wouldn’t even be with her if it weren’t for your father,” he spat.

“I don’t care,” I said flatly. “I’m not your excuse. I just want to leave.”

His lips twisted into a bitter smile. “You’ll see. One day, you’ll realize I was the best thing that ever happened to you. Out there, you’ll be chewed up and spat out, and I’ll be watching when it happens.”

He turned and stalked out. The door clicked shut like a coffin lid.

His words didn’t pierce me. They ignited me.

Whatever piece of me had still loved him died right then.

I wiped the blood from my lip, slung my bag over my shoulder, and stepped into the hall.

My mother and Jamie waited in the living room. The moment I saw them, my throat closed. I pulled them both into my arms, holding on like I could stop time.

“Be strong,” my mother whispered, her voice trembling even as her arms stayed firm.

“I will,” I promised.

Jamie clutched my hand, eyes wide. “Don’t go, Ivy. Please.”

My heart cracked, but I forced a smile. “I’ll come back if I can. But if I don’t…” My voice wavered. “You protect Mom, okay? You be her strength.”

Tears slipped down his cheeks, but he nodded, brave in a way no child should ever need to be.

I kissed his forehead, then my mother’s, letting their warmth brand itself into me.

Then I turned away from everything I’d ever known.

Toward Silverfang.

Toward the ACSC.

Toward whatever hell waited next.

At the ACSC compound, there were no greetings, no sympathy. The first thing they did was cut the pack’s tracking chip from my hand.

No ceremony. No warning. Just a sterile room, a silver blade, the hum of machinery. A sharp burn. A gasp. Then it was done.

The moment the chip left my body, I was off the grid. Untraceable. Unprotected. Disposable.

Then came the briefing.

Three names. Three targets.

Jaxson Thorn, the eldest. Cold, calculating, the mind that built the empire. If the Thorns were a kingdom, he was its architect.

Kael Thorn, the middle brother. The enforcer. The executioner. Whispers said even Jaxson feared him. One wrong move near him, and you didn’t just disappear, you were erased.

Malric Thorn, the youngest, dangerous in subtler ways. The puppeteer of the underworld. If you wanted something forbidden, he already owned it.

Together? They weren’t men. They were untouchable.

And I was expected to infiltrate their world, and live long enough to tell anyone what I’d seen.

No wonder Brian called it suicide.

The charges ACSC listed, trafficking, tax fraud, black-market dealings, sounded like dust compared to what waited in that club. Everyone skimmed the top. But the Thorns didn’t just steal, they fed. On power. On fear. On wolves foolish enough to enter their den.

Still, none of it mattered.

I wasn’t there to question. I was there to survive.

If I played this right, maybe I’d crawl out with more than breath in my lungs. Maybe I’d crawl out with leverage.

But that was a dangerous maybe.

Because I wasn’t walking into a club.

I was walking into a war.

And I just prayed it wouldn’t be the last thing I ever saw.