Not yet.

Connor.

There it was, I had placed the verdict on myself. I closed my eyes and looked away from her.

Everything that happened after; finally stripping Darius of the Beta position and watching him get humiliated by the pack, living separated from the rest of us felt like hollow victories. It didn't matter if the Council made a decision by then or if the pack members prostrated for a public apology, because she was gone. They could move on easily with the depth of the guilt without her to haunt them.

Neither of Isabella's parents came out weeks after she'd left. I'd overheard whispers that it was out of shame or fear if the pack scrutiny —Rumours that I threatened in order to quell. I knew it was solely out of grief. Grief for losing a daughter they had only reunited with.

My parents also grieved in their own way. My mother had done her best to quell the rumours, calling all the servants to ensure no lips went. She retreated into her shell, turning frosty and it was only my presence t