AVA’S POV
The cool wind played with the edge of my cardigan as I stepped into the pack garden, Liam right beside me, his hand resting at the small of my back—a silent comfort I didn’t know I needed until now. My heartbeat thumped quietly in my ears, but my chest felt lighter than it had in years.
“Are you sure about this?” Liam asked softly, his eyes scanning my face.
I nodded. “It’s time.”
The moment my mother’s eyes met mine, she straightened, and I walked toward her, placing myself firmly between her and my mother-in-law. My chest tightened when I glanced between the two women—the two matriarchs who had once pulled me in opposite directions. The silence between them crackled, raw and heavy with history.
“I just want peace,” I whispered, my voice breaking just a little. “It’s been t
