Chapter Two

Cora’s POV

     “Your eyes are red.”

     Ali stumbles away from me, looking up at me in absolute terror. Strands of blond hair fall messily over her face. I smirk.

     “Your eyes are red, why are your eyes red, only an Alpha’s eyes can turn red–” Ali is babbling now, walking backwards, lower lip trembling. 

     I stalk towards her. “And what do you think I am?”

     “I don’t, I don’t know–” Goodness, the poor girl looks like she’s about to burst into tears. 

     I could kill her. I do consider killing her, actually. She, along with the rest of Alexander’s family, has done nothing but make my life a living hell for the past three years.

     And I’m sick of it. 

     I keep walking towards her, all the way to the other side of the hall. Her back presses up against the wall. Slowly, deliberately, I grab both her wrists in one hand and pin her against the wall. My free hand wraps around the base of her throat. She looks absolutely helpless. 

     “I need you to listen to me very carefully,” I say. “I’m no longer the Core you know for these three years. Now that I remembered who I am, your pack had better start worrying about how you’ve treated me these past three years. I never want to see you or another member of your family again. If I do…” I lean in close and start to choke her a little harder. “Well. I’m sure you can figure out the rest..” 

     With that, I step back and wipe my hands on the front of my dress. The red fades from my eyes. Ali lets out a sharp gasp and presses a hand to her neck.

     I could kill her. But I won’t. 

     “You…” She trails off as I make my way towards the villa’s exit. 

     “I am leaving!” I snap. “And none of you are going to fucking stop me.”     

     I throw open the villa door and rush out into the night. The cool air and faint breeze on my skin feels holy. Like freedom. Like a fresh start. I know where I need to go now–I need to go home, to my father, Alpha Chad White Claw. 

     I start to run.

     I don’t know what causes the shift–maybe it’s the feeling of fresh air on my face, maybe it’s the way I race effortlessly down the paved streets, maybe it’s the smell of the woods in the distance–but my body begins to change. My limbs twist and contort, muscle and bone bending wildly out of shape. I fall to all fours, paws hitting the road as my muzzle extends to the horizon. 

     My wolf.

     She’s back. 

     Pearl.

     She’s tired. Weary. I don’t think she’s quite ready to talk to me yet–it’s been too long. But she’s there. I know she is. And I’m thrilled to have her back. 

     I can feel her stirring within me, all that freedom, that independence. How I missed her. 

     Together, as we run home, we raise our heads into the sky and howl. 

     Three years. The coldness and the bullying of the last three years, not just from Alexander, but from his family–it hurts to remember. Every time we hosted a dinner party, I’d have to wake up at three in the morning to prepare on my own. It was his mother’s will. We could’ve hired a maid easily, but his mother had preferred to have me, “lowly Omega that I am,” do all the cooking and cleaning instead. And I’d just–what, gone along with it? I can’t stand myself sometimes. Alexander had turned a blind eye the whole time. He’d always agreed to his mother’s will. 

     He never loved me.

      It’s funny. I thought maybe he’d care about me enough to try and stop me from leaving, at least something of a protest, but apparently not. He just… let me leave. Quickly. Quietly. I was serious about leaving–he had to know that, and he didn’t even try to give me a reason to stay. We were married. He should have at least tried. Three years I’d put up with the abuse from him and his family because I loved him, because I thought it’d change his mind–but no.

     So I had to leave. I had to take matters into my own hands. 

     I don’t regret it. I think this is the best I can remember ever feeling. 

     Alexander didn’t have it in him to change. He doesn’t have it in him to change. I guess he never will. 

     I’m better than him, though. Stronger. I can change in ways he never could. 

     I keep running. I think these sections of the woods actually look familiar–I know where I’m going, now. For sure. Not just muscle memory, but an actual concrete knowledge. I recognize the shapes of these trees, the sweep of the branches, the crook of a partially-frozen riverbank. I hear a lonesome bird’s song piece the night air, and I remember that same bird singing seven years ago when I was just a little girl. 

     My memories.

     They’re coming back, bit by bit. 

     Which means–once I return home and recover–I can find out what I need to break the mate bond, unravel the last bits of truth about who I am, and put the last three years behind me. I’ll return to Alexander, but only to break the bond properly, with the full force of my last name behind it. So I can be rid of him for good. 

     It’s a dark night, but with my wolf vision, I can see clearly enough. The thick woods part into a clearing, where I can see a massive stone wall nearly as tall as the trees. Now that I’m this close, I can’t see where the walls start or end. There’s a huge wrought iron gate in front of me–and behind it, my father, as well as the entire White Claw pack.

     I’m home. 

     Finally.

     I almost don’t feel it happen. My wolf bones shrink back into my body, snow-white fur fading away, and I find myself in human form again. I gasp and stumble forwards. The iron gates swing open as I do, and I find myself in my father’s arms. 

     “Dad!”

     The starts of tears make his eyes shine, even in darkness. He holds me tightly, like he’s scared of letting me go. For the first time in three years, I feel safe. I feel at home.

     “Cora,” he says softly. 

     I open my mouth. There’s so much I want to say–explanations, questions, apologies. Everything, all at once. Those three years of distance spilling between us–there are almost infinite words that could fill that gap. 

     I don’t say anything at all, though. 

     For what feels like hours, all I can do in his arms is cry. It’s been hard to process everything I went through when I was actually in the situation, but now that I have that distance–Goddess, it’s been horrible. I weep, trembling and shaking, and all the while my father holds me.

     “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he murmurs softly. “You’re okay now. You’re home.”

     I pull away slightly and sniffle, wiping at my eyes. I can’t help but laugh a bit. “I’m so happy to see you!”

     “I’m so happy to see you, too. I–Cora, we thought you were dead! What happened to you?”

     I smile shakily. “It’s… a lot to try and talk about all at once. I’ll explain later. I promise. For now, though, I just need to recover.”

     He nods once. “Of course, sweetheart. We can settle everything later. For now. I’m just glad you’re home.”  

     The other pack members are still gathered around us, I realize. For a moment, I’m ashamed of my weakness–the Alpha’s daughter should never cry in front of her pack. Such a display of vulnerability suggests weakness.

     And I am by no means weak. 

     But I’ve been through more in the last three years than I think a lot of these pack members have been through in their entire lives. I’m strong, and I trust them to know it. 

     My father turns so we’re facing the amassed crowd. He takes my hand and holds it high above both our heads, showing me off to the entire pack. 

     “Tonight!” He booms, voice rattling all throughout the woods. “Tonight is a very special night, for my only daughter, Alpha Cora Maximus White Claw of the White Claw pack, has returned to us at last.”

     Maximus. So that’s my last name. Cora Maximus–it has a nice ring to it. I squeeze his hand and smile up at him gratefully. He squeezes back. 

     “For now, her return will be handled amongst friends and family. But I will also start organizing a larger ceremony to inform the Alphas of packs of her return.”

     He beams down at me. I can feel how much he loves me–how much he missed me. This is where I belong, at last.

     His closing statement rattles the treetops with such force it disturbs the birds. 

     “The heir of the White Claw pack has returned!”