The Villainess Will Not Be Eclipsed Again

7

LEAH’S POV

I step out of the heavy wooden servant's door and into the cool, damp night air. The smell of pine needles and damp earth fills my lungs, a sharp contrast to the suffocating aura of the main house.

“Free at last…”

I don’t return to my drafty attic room to gather my things. I have no need for the ragged clothes, the cheap ribbons, or the fake family heirlooms Augustine gave me over the years to keep me docile.

Everything in that room belongs to the Leah who died weeping in the flames.

All I carry with me is a small leather bag slung across my shoulder—containing a few dried medicinal herbs, a sharp silver knife I slipped from the kitchen prep counter, and a handful of silver coins I managed to hoard away over the past few months.

I walk along the shadowed perimeter of the estate, keeping my steps light and silent against the soft grass. The guards are stationed at the main iron gates, laughing loudly and drinking cheap beer from wooden mugs, completely unbothered by their duties.

They expect no trouble tonight.

"Fools," I murmur softly under my breath, watching them from behind the thick trunk of an old oak tree.

"What’s the use of even bothering to guard the pack when you’re only going to focus on the front door and drink yourselves away to stupor? What if a rat slips by?"

And I for one, plan to be worse than a rat.

I move swiftly toward the western boundary fence—a section of the wooden perimeter where the iron spikes have rusted away, leaving a gap wide enough for a slender frame to slip through.

It was a spot I discovered during my endless hours of gathering herbs for the pack's medicine room. Back then, I used it to sneak out and collect rare night-blooming flowers.

Tonight, it’s my gateway to freedom.

I slip through the gap with ease, my green dress catching slightly on a stray wooden splinter. I don’t even pause to untangle it; I simply pull firmly until the fabric tears with a soft rip, stepping out onto the dirt path that leads away from the pack territory.

I don’t look back at the grand mansion towering in the distance. I don’t look at the warm, golden light spilling from the high stained-glass windows of the dining hall, where Leonardo, Augustine, and Willow are undoubtedly still laughing over their wine.

Let them laugh. Let them celebrate.

By tomorrow morning, when the sun rises and the servants enter my empty attic room to prepare me for the send-off ball, they will find nothing but an open window and an empty bed.

And by the time Augustine’s anger boils over and Leonardo sets out to track my scent, Luna Mary's quiet, burning paranoia will already be eating away at the foundation of their happy family of in-laws from the inside out.

I quicken my pace, stepping into the dark, dense woods that border the territory line. The dirt path turns rocky and steep, winding up toward the highway where the commercial vehicles travel toward the central capital.

The walk to the capital border will take hours on foot, but the cold adrenaline coursing through my veins keeps every trace of tiredness at bay.

My mind is clear, hyper-focused, and unburdened by the past.

Every step away from this territory is a step closer to Eclipse Academy.

In my first life, Eclipse Academy was a nightmare of social hierarchy and ruthless competition. I arrived late, terrified, and desperate for Asher's protection.

I allowed myself to be pushed into the mud by high-ranking noble daughters, while Willow played the victim and gained the sympathy of the powerful Lycan lords. I was branded a weak, worthless omega before I even had a chance to speak.

Not this time.

This time, I will not arrive as a pleading, broken girl begging for a place to belong. I will arrive before anyone else even realizes the game has started.

"A whole week," I whisper to myself as the thick canopy of trees blocks out the moonlight above. "A whole week to position myself before those heirs set foot on campus. A whole week to secure every single benefit I can before the school year begins."

I know the layout of the academy like the back of my hand. I know where the guards patrol, I know where those stupidly ancient books are hidden in the library, and I know the exact moment the barriers around the restricted grounds drop for maintenance when the students least expect it.

I pause for a single second on the wooden planks, feeling the sudden shift in the air as the pack's territorial boundary magic fades from my skin.

“Now, I’m really free.”

The heavy, suffocating pressure that has weighed down on my shoulders for eighteen years vanishes instantly, replaced by the crisp, untamed wind of the neutral lands.

I look down at my hands in the dark. They are steady.

I am ready.

"Goodbye, Augustine," I say softly, letting the name roll off my tongue without a shred of respect or fear. "Goodbye, Asher. Goodbye, Willow."

Bea is not even worth mentioning.

“Harvest moon pack, I’ll be back. I’ll be back for each amd every one of you. I’ll let you see me rise, and I’ll let you know the reason why I had to destroy you to do it.”

I turn my head toward the northern horizon, where the distant, jagged peaks of the Eclipse mountain range stand dark against the night sky, towering like ancient guardians over the academy grounds.

"Enjoy the quiet while you can, Willow," I whisper into the cold night wind, a dark, razor-sharp smile spreading across my face as I step off the bridge and disappear into the shadows of the road.

"Because when we meet again at Eclipse…you’ll find it hard to even breathe without worrying about me stealing that too."

After all, what respectable rat doesn’t try to destroy everything?