007
1869 Words
Chapter 7
Thalia's POV
The knock came at seven in the morning, sharp and insistent. I'd been awake for hours anyway, staring at Dr. Mira Chen's contact information on my phone, my finger hovering over the call button but never quite pressing it.
Through the window, I could see Luna Alana's sleek black car in the driveway. Of course. News traveled fast in the pack, especially when it involved their precious Alpha.
I checked on the twins—still sleeping peacefully—before opening the door.
Luna Alana stood there, immaculate as always in a cream blazer and perfectly styled hair. But there were lines around her eyes I'd never noticed before, and her smile was strained.
"Thalia, dear. May I come in?"
I wanted to say no. I wanted to slam the door in her face and pretend this nightmare wasn't happening. But I stepped aside, because five years of being the dutiful mate had trained me too well.
She swept into my living room like she owned it—which, technically, the Bloodmoon family did. Everything in this house, from the furniture to the children's toys, had been provided by them. Another cage I hadn't recognized until now.
"I'll get straight to the point," she said, settling onto the couch. "Varian told us what happened. About your... discovery."
"About his affair, you mean." I remained standing, arms crossed. "Let's call it what it is."
Something flickered in her expression—discomfort, maybe even shame—but it was gone in an instant. "Yes. About Selene."
"Did you know?"
The question hung in the air between us. Luna Alana's perfect composure cracked, just slightly.
"I suspected," she admitted. "But Thalia, you have to understand—"
"No." I cut her off. "I don't have to understand anything. You all made me give up everything for this family. You convinced me to have these babies, to forget about university, to be the perfect mate. And the entire time, your son was lying to me."
"Varian made a mistake—"
"Eight years isn't a mistake!" My voice rose despite my efforts to control it. "Eight years is a choice. Multiple choices. Every single day he chose to deceive me."
Luna Alana's lips pressed into a thin line. "You're right. And I'm not here to defend him. I'm here because of my grandchildren."
My blood ran cold. "What about them?"
"They are the heirs to the Bloodmoon pack. Aria and Kieran both carry Alpha blood—that's unprecedented. Do you understand what that means?"
"It means they're my children," I said flatly. "Before they're pack heirs, before they're anything else, they're *my* children."
"Of course they are." But her tone suggested otherwise. "Which is why we need to discuss arrangements."
"Arrangements?"
"For custody. For their future. Thalia, I know you're hurt right now—rightfully so—but we need to think about what's best for Aria and Kieran. They need stability. They need—"
"They need their mother," I interrupted. "The one who's been there every single day. Not the father who couldn't be bothered to show up for their birth. Not the grandparents who see them as political assets."
Luna Alana's eyes hardened. "Be careful, Thalia. You may be their mother, but you're still a member of this pack. And you're standing in a house that belongs to the Bloodmoon family."
There it was. The threat I'd known was coming.
"Is that what this is?" I asked quietly. "You're going to take my children away from me?"
"No one is taking anyone away." But she didn't sound convincing. "We simply want to ensure that any decisions made are in the best interest of the pack's future."
"Get out."
She blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Get out of my house." I walked to the door and opened it. "You can tell Varian and Alpha Eugene that if they want to discuss my children's future, they can do it through a lawyer. Because I'm done being bullied by this family."
"Thalia, don't be rash—"
"Rash?" I laughed bitterly. "I gave you five years of my life. Five years of being the obedient little mate while your son made a fool of me. The only rash thing I did was trust you people in the first place."
Luna Alana stood, her expression cold now. "You're emotional. I understand. But Thalia—think very carefully about your next moves. You have no resources, no education, no prospects outside this pack. Where will you go? What will you do? How will you provide for those children?"
Every word was a calculated strike, designed to make me feel small and helpless.
But something had changed in me overnight. Maybe it was finally seeing the cage I'd been living in. Maybe it was Shelly's message about Dr. Chen. Maybe it was the memory of eighteen-year-old me, full of dreams and fire, before I'd let them snuff it out.
"I'll figure it out," I said. "Now leave."
She gathered her purse, her movements precise and controlled. At the door, she paused. "Selene is from a very good family, Thalia. Connected. Powerful. If Varian chose to make her his Luna instead... the pack would accept it. Your children would be provided for, but your position here would be—"
"Finished?" I supplied. "Gone? Meaningless?"
She didn't confirm it, but she didn't deny it either.
When she finally left, I closed the door and leaned against it, my heart pounding. Through the house, I heard small footsteps.
"Mommy?" Aria appeared in the hallway, rubbing her eyes. "Who was that?"
"No one important, baby." I forced a smile and opened my arms. She ran into them, and a moment later Kieran joined us, still half-asleep.
As I held my children, Luna Alana's words echoed in my head: *No resources, no education, no prospects.*
She was right. I had nothing.
Except maybe one thing.
---
Dr. Mira Chen answered on the third ring.
"Dr. Chen? This is Thalia Winters. I received a message that you'd been trying to reach me?"
"Thalia! Yes, thank you for calling back." The woman's voice was warm, professional. "I'm the head of the Healing Department at Crescent University Hospital. Your application from six years ago crossed my desk recently—we're doing a review of exceptional candidates who never enrolled—and I was very impressed by your entrance exam scores."
My heart skipped. "I... thank you. But that was a long time ago."
"Which is why I wanted to reach out personally. We have a new program starting this fall—a healer apprenticeship designed for non-traditional students. It's intensive, but it includes housing assistance and childcare support."
I nearly dropped the phone. "Childcare?"
"Yes. We recognize that many talented individuals put their education on hold for family reasons. This program is designed to give them a second chance." She paused. "I understand you have twins? Five years old?"
"How did you—"
"I make it my business to know about potential candidates. Thalia, I won't lie to you—this program is demanding. Three years of intensive study and clinical rotations. But at the end, you'd be a certified healer. You'd have your own career, your own future."
Three years. Three years away from the pack, away from Varian and his family's manipulation. Three years to build something that belonged only to me.
"There's just one catch," Dr. Chen continued. "The program starts in two weeks. I know that's not much time, but we had a candidate drop out last minute. If you're interested, I need to know by tomorrow."
Two weeks.
To uproot my children, to leave the only home they'd ever known, to walk away from the Bloodmoon pack and everything it represented.
"Can I think about it?" I asked.
"Of course. But Thalia—" her voice softened, "—whatever you're running from, sometimes the bravest thing we can do is run *toward* something instead."
After we hung up, I sat at my kitchen table for a long time, staring at nothing.
My phone buzzed. Varian: *Please, can we talk? I love you. I love our family.*
Another buzz. My mother: *Sweetheart, Luna Alana just left here. Are you okay?*
Another. Shelly: *Whatever you need. I'm here.*
And then one more, from an unknown number: *I heard what happened. Good. He was never going to leave me anyway. Enjoy your ruins.*
Selene.
I stared at that message until the screen went dark.
Then I called my mother.
"Mom? How do you feel about a road trip to Crescent City?"
---
That evening, after the twins were in bed, I started making lists. What we'd need to pack. What we'd need to leave behind. How to tell my children their entire lives were about to change.
I was so absorbed I didn't hear the door open until Varian was standing in my bedroom doorway.
"Thalia." His voice was rough, like he hadn't slept. Good. "Please. We need to talk about this."
I looked up from my lists, and something in my expression must have frightened him because he actually stepped back.
"There's nothing to talk about, Varian. You made your choice eight years ago. Every day since then, you've kept making it."
"I choose you," he insisted. "I told Selene it's over. I blocked her number. I'm here, aren't I? I'm choosing our family."
"You're choosing your image," I corrected. "Your precious Alpha reputation. How would it look if you abandoned your mate and children? But here's the thing—"
I stood up, gathering my lists.
"—I'm not going to sit around waiting for you to hurt me again. Or worse, waiting for the day when having Selene as your Luna becomes more politically advantageous than keeping me."
His face paled. "I would never—"
"Your mother already laid it out for me this morning. Very clearly. Selene's family is connected. Powerful. The pack would accept her. And I would be..." I smiled without humor, "...what were her words? Oh yes. 'Provided for, but my position would be finished.'"
"My mother had no right—"
"She had every right. She's the Luna. She's protecting the pack's interests. And I'm finally realizing that I need to protect mine."
I pushed past him into the hallway, heading toward the twins' room. He followed.
"What are you doing?"
"What I should have done five years ago." I opened Kieran's closet, pulling out a small suitcase. "I'm leaving, Varian. We're leaving."
"You can't just take my children—"
I spun on him. "Watch me."
"Thalia, be reasonable—"
"I'm done being reasonable! I was reasonable when I gave up Crescent University. I was reasonable when I sacrificed my dreams for a pregnancy I never planned. I was reasonable every time you missed a birthday, an appointment, a moment that mattered. I'm done."
"Where will you even go?"
I smiled. "Somewhere you can't follow. Somewhere your family's money and power can't reach. Somewhere my children can watch their mother build something instead of watching her break."
And for the first time since I'd discovered his betrayal, I felt something other than pain.
I felt free.
- Writer
