Chapter 326\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
60)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew it long ago-they never cared about me. But hearing Alpha Alaric\u2019s words still sent a sharp ache through my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t even pretend to love me. Not for a second.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I kept my expression impassive. On the outside, I looked as stubborn and cold as ever. No one could tell how badly I was bleeding on the inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s brow furrowed. \u201cWhat did you just say?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lifted my eyes and looked at the four figures watching from the second-floor landing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI said fine. I\u2019ll leave the Ebonclaw Pack. Starting today, I sever all ties. Don\u2019t worry, Alpha Alaric, Luna Zara-I won\u2019t cling to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even if I die out there, I\u2019ll never come crawling back. That was the vow I made in my heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned. No more hesitation. I had no illusions left about this place. Three years of pain had taught me better than to hope for love that never existed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each step away from them was agony. My leg throbbed with every movement, but I kept going. For the first time in years, there was light ahead of me. Not hope. Not happiness. Just freedom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I flung open the front door and didn\u2019t look back. Not once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Behind me, Kael\u2019s voice broke through the air like a whip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley! You get back here right now-!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The roar echoed through the manor, fierce and desperate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I didn\u2019t turn around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t hear it clearly anyway. My right ear hadn\u2019t worked properly in years, and with the door closed behind me, it all became a faint blur.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t matter what he shouted. None of it did anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the first time in years, I felt the weight lift. My body was tired-so, so tired-but my spirit felt lighter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:02 Thu Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
420\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Five minutes into my walk. I spotted someone approaching from the opposite direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At this hour?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I instinctively stepped into the shadows beneath a flickering streetlamp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the figure drew closer, I recognized the tall, lean silhouette. Theo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s friend. The so-called Healer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remembered the first time I met him. He looked me up and down like I was a stray mutt, then sneered. \u201cSo this is the long-lost sister? Doesn\u2019t look like much. If it weren\u2019t for her eyes, I\u2019d say you picked her up off the street.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael didn\u2019t defend me. He just exhaled through his nose, like he agreed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That hurt more than Theo\u2019s words ever could.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was fifteen. Just a girl trying to belong. And they made sure I knew I didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo passed right by me now, oblivious to my presence in the dark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched until he disappeared inside the manor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Probably here to treat Kael. Again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped out from the shadows and moved faster. I had a plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Originally, I wanted to find a cheap motel and rest for the night. Then, tomorrow, start looking for work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But now? That wasn\u2019t enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I needed to leave the city. Leave Ebonclaw behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d heard them in the study. Alaric wanted me to bow my head and kneel before Ronan\u2019s comatose sister-to pay for a crime I didn\u2019t commit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They all knew it was Scarlett who pushed her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were willing to sacrifice me for the good of the pack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
C\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201ct\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:02 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 326\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d already paid five years. I\u2019d lost a leg. Lost an ear. Lost a kidney.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had nothing left to give.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now Kael had burned their last bridge, and they\u2019d come for me to make it right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No. I had to get away. Far away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
80\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ronan was still the most terrifying wolf I\u2019d ever known. I\u2019d suffered in the dungeons because of him. I would not survive round two.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I counted the money Mia gave me. Two thousand credits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tears burned my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia was the only one who\u2019d ever treated me like I mattered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I flagged down a cab.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere to?\u201d the driver asked, leaning out the window.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much to get to Southpoint Station?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMiddle of the night? That\u2019s far. Five-fifty.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I climbed in without hesitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My plan was simple. Take the night train out of Mooncrest City. Get to Ironhold, far in the northern frontier. A place so cold, so remote, that no one from the Ebonclaw Pack would bother to follow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They\u2019d never look for me in a dead-end city with no pack ties, no economy, and no future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that was fine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t need a future. I just needed peace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared out the window as the city flew past. Glass towers sparkled with runes and lights. Signs glowed with the names of elite packs and magical academies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So beautiful. So out of reach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cab reached the station after two hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I bought a ticket with my ID-miraculously, there was one seat left on the 1:00 a.m. train.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just one more hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:03 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 326\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0e0a\u0e23\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
The waiting room was almost empty. I curled up in a corner, arms around my knees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Somewhere in the distance, an announcement droned over the speakers. I didn\u2019t catch it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was tired. My leg throbbed. My ears buzzed. I drifted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then another announcement. This time clearer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPassengers traveling on line seventy-two to Ironhold, please proceed to platform three. Final call.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes snapped open. I leapt to my feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My escape was seconds\u00a0<\/p>\n
away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I joined the line at the gate, heart racing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When it was my turn, I handed over my ticket-\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only to feel a cold, firm hand close over mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ticket was yanked back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart stopped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 326 Chapter 326\u00a0 Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0 60)\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 I knew it long ago-they never cared about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20599\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}