Chapter 2
1483 Words
Jessa POV
Without wasting more time, he turned, walking away. His men walked behind him as they headed out to the car.
Outside, I see the woman in red, Mara Redclaw, rushes toward him.
She held his hand. “Eryx… how did it go? Is the problem handled?”
His answer is so cold it freezes the air. “Yes. It’s done.”
Mara looks over his shoulder, as if expecting to see me following them.
“I… I hope it truly ends this time,” she added. .
Eryx doesn’t reply.
He just leads her down the steps, away from the grave of my father, away from me, away from everything he ruined.
And I stand in the silent hall alone… realizing my life is about to get even worse.
All I did was cry and cry and cry. Watching the once happy life I thought I had shattered in front of me.
My legs felt heavy, and my hands shook as I held the divorce papers. I couldn’t believe he had done this, ended our marriage just like that after everything.
I kept thinking about the past years, about all the love I had given him, all the support I had poured into Blackthorn Pack, all the sacrifices my father and I had made. And now, it is gone.
Alpha Rowan Hale died. And I am now the last Hale left.
I can still hear Eryx's voice from earlier. The words cut deeper.
“Why would I save the man who killed my parents?”
The words echo inside me again and again… the more I try to wipe the tears, the more it keeps coming.
I squeeze my eyes shut, tears rolling, “Dad… I’m sorry. I tried.”
Reaching home, I walked toward the gate but to my surprise, I saw strangers carrying things out of my house. Boxes, furniture, my father’s personal desk, even things I thought would help me always remember him, his photo frames. They carried it all out.
I stood frozen. What’s going on?
My housekeeper, Maera, an older omega who’s been with our family for years runs to me in a panic. “Luna Jessa, they barged in without warning! I tried to stop them!”
Confused, I moved past her and headed in. My stomach drops at the sight.
A huge man grips a porcelain wolf statue my father carved himself. I step in front of him. “Put that down! Now! This is a private property. If you don’t leave, I’ll call the enforcers.”
He freezes and blinks at me. “Enforcers? Lady… this house belongs to Alpha Eryx. We’re following his orders to clear it out before sunset.”
My blood turns ice cold.
Right. I remember now.
When my father gifted me this house on my 28th birthday, I signed full ownership to Eryx, thinking it meant trust. Thinking we were a team.
Stupid. So stupid.
“What is Eryx doing?” I whisper to myself, though the answer hits me before the question finishes.
I grab my phone with trembling fingers and dial his number.
He doesn’t answer.
A notification pops up, and my thumb accidentally taps it. It’s a news broadcast as it opens.
“Alpha Eryx Blackthorn announces he will take a new mate, Mara, the rising celebrity actress. Sources confirm he already ended his bond with Jessa Hale.”
For a moment, I don’t breathe. My mind goes blank.
He’d only given me the divorce papers. I haven’t signed even and yet he’s announcing his engagement. Is this how desperate he wanted me out of his life?
Maera looks at me with fear in her eyes. “What do we do, Luna?”
I breathe in sharply, tears burning but not falling. The pain is deep, but so is something else, something fierce.
“We call the enforcers,” I say.
My voice is steady. Hard.
“I’m not letting him take everything from me without facing me.”
Maera nods and grabs the landline.
I stand in the doorway, watching strangers carry out the last pieces of my family. The Hale Pack might have fallen, but I refuse to fall too.
Not for Eryx. Not for anyone.
***
I finish giving my statement to the enforcer captain and sit on a bench in the station. My legs feel numb, and my eyes burn from exhaustion. I’ve been here for two hours… waiting for Eryx as requested by the officer.
But he never comes.
Instead, his pack lawyer finally walks in, young, polite, and calm. He places a thick folder on the table in front of me.
“Luna Jessa,” he says, keeping his voice neutral, “There are some document agreements I’d love to read out to you.”
Eryx sent him to me. A small, humorless laugh escapes me. “Oh my darling husband is really an ass hole.”
The lawyer pretends he didn’t hear the bitterness in my voice. He slides another pile of papers toward me. “This packet lists shared and individual assets. According to our records, you and Alpha Eryx do not have joint lands, accounts, or pack titles. Alpha Eryx wants you to have one of his buildings in the UK. The apartment is a goodwill offering on his part.”
The apartment he is referring to is one of his houses that are of no worth. Abandoned and cheap, located in the North East Of England. He took my father’s mansion just to give me that?
“Goodwill indeed.”
I almost laugh again.
Eryx never does anything out of goodwill, or rather, badwill.
The lawyer continues, “The next pages show the Hale Pack’s debt markers from last year. Since your father, Alpha Rowan transferred his remaining territory rights solely to you, you carry the full debt. The Blackthorn Pack is not tied to your father’s downfall.”
My lungs tighten. Of course. Of course it was all planned. Eryx didn’t just want revenge.
He wanted it clean, neat, and legal, like he wanted the world to believe he had no hand in destroying the Hale Pack.
The lawyer pulls out even more documents, land splits, wolf bond sheets, bank statements, pack rulings. Every detail shows how perfectly Eryx prepared for this moment.
My voice is barely a whisper. “He planned everything.”
Eryx is… strategic. He ensures all matters are handled thoroughly.
Strategic. Cold. Calculated.
I once trusted him because of those traits. I believed Eryx was brilliant. Strong. A leader who could rebuild entire territories from ashes. And he did. Eryx lifted the Blackthorn Pack from the brink of collapse and made it powerful again.
I admired him so much and now, I know the kind of man he is.
I swear by my father’s grave, he will regret it.
A wave of grief washes over me, but beneath it is something sharper, anger. At Eryx. At the world. At myself for not seeing the signs sooner.
He wants to discard me so easily. You are wrong my darling husband. Let me see how you react when I turn the table against you.
I straighten my spine and lift my chin. “Where is he?”
The lawyer keeps his eyes lowered. “Alpha Eryx is occupied. He is escorting his future mate to choose her wedding gown.”
Wedding gown. For his next ceremony. I see. While I sit here and watch him erase me.
“Tell him I don’t want the apartment. I only want to speak to him face-to-face.”
The lawyer swallows. “I’m sorry, Luna. Alpha Eryx said he will not see you.”
The words land like a punch, but I don’t let him see my hurt. Instead, I force a smile.
“Then I won’t sign the agreement.”
That gets his attention. His head jerks up.
“If he tries to bond with Mara while he’s still bound to me, I will take this to the High Council. He will answer for bigamy.”
The lawyer’s face pales. He opens his mouth, but no words come.
I continue calmly, “Eryx may be powerful. But even he can’t ignore the High Council’s laws.”
The young lawyer blinks at me, clearly conflicted. “Luna Jessa, please…”
“I’m not signing,” I repeat, firmer. “Not until he talks to me himself.”
He hesitates for a long time before exhaling. “Alpha Eryx will be at Lumen Hall tonight at seven. He has a meeting with the Alpha of the Suncrest Pack.” He paused. “Luna, I can arrange the meeting after…”
“Not necessary,” I cut him off. “I’ll handle that myself.”
Without another word, I walk out of the pack station.
If Eryx thinks he can throw me aside in the shadows, he’s wrong.
- Writer
