Distraught at what was unfolding, I pleadingly looked at the man that I’d fallen so much in love with. I gripped onto his arm, ignoring the short intakes of breath by those around us.

“Ridge… Ridge, please! Please, you have to snap out of it! What happened to you?!”

The alpha growled, stepping back and yanked his arm out of my hold. It stung how mean he was being.

My face felt hot, knowing that Molly was just enjoying this. What the hell happened?!

The alpha narrowed his eyes; the green color flickered with some gold. When he addressed me, I stood back a bit. I swallowed hard, frowning as Ridge step towards me, lip curled.

“Listen very carefully…” his tone was low. “For I won’t say it again.”

I swallowed again, glancing at Molly smirking at me, her arms crossed in front of her.

The alpha gave me a brief “run down” of what transpired a month ago earning me my banishment from Carmel. He “reminded” me of the vicious attacks I made on pack members, particularly to my newly appointed Alpha and his Alpha Female.

My brows furrowed the longer he spoke. The longer he chastised me for keeping a dangerous secret such as being a Quail Wolf from my pack. He clarified it wouldn’t have been as dangerous had my alpha been informed to keep an eye on me.

Hold the fucking phone! ‘Act out with vicious attacks’?! What was he talking about!?

My alpha’s jaw clenched as he straightened, his narrowed glare still on me, that my attack on the alpha was an act of treason on the pack. That my banishment should have been mercy enough for me and I was lucky that Ridge had survived because had he not, upon my return, there would have been grave consequences.

I shook my head, arguing that I didn’t do anything to anyone! Not on purpose! He cut me off when I tried to reach out to the others in the room for help.

“You were given specific instruction, Gianna Gomez…”

The way he said my name made me feel sick. It wasn’t coated in honey like I was used to. No, this time it was laced with an icy malice.

The alpha narrowed his eyes. “You were to never return to Carmel. And yet… here you are.” He gaze flicked over my head at those behind me. “And with outsiders who I can only assume are a danger to my pack if they have traveled with you.”

I looked over my shoulder, seeing Emory’s worried eyes on me. He held tightly to Vicky’s arm, clenching to it tightly as he silently stared back.

Facing Ridge again, I felt my lip trembling and eyes water. I pleaded with Ridge that I was sorry for what happened but that the truth was twisted!

I frowned at Molly purposely wrapping her arms around Ridge’s midsection and her blue eyes gleamed wickedly. I don’t understand how someone was so vindictive. How she could be OK with what she was doing.

My alpha’s frown deepened. He growled while shaking his head that a ban was for life, and I knew better than to break it.

That ache in my chest was knocking the air out of me. I choked on my breath, my chin trembling again as I felt tears slipping down my face. I whispered to Ridge that I didn’t know where else to go and that it was important for me to come back to Carmel.

“I need to keep him safe, Ridge!” My voice held panic. I pleaded with the alpha that I needed to protect Emory. I needed to have a safe place for him.

“And why should that matter to me?!” Ridge shouted back. He was in my face now and I sucked in a breath, trembling at the fire in those gold eyes. “Why should I allow you anything after what you’d done to this pack?!”

“I didn’t do anything! I swear!”

And then I find out why Ridge was so angry at me.

“Your Alpha Female lost our child because of you! Because of your attack on us the day you were banished!”

My eyes widened and the room fell quiet. I blinked repeatedly, looking around at the faces in the room. Every pack member lowered their gaze from mine, frowning at the ground. It’s what made me realize what was happening now. Why they were so adamant to turn against me.

My pack was being forced to lie about me. To lie to their alpha, for fucking sake, about me. Ridge’s dad would have been acting alpha during however long Ridge was injured for.

Mr. Beaumont had turned the pack against me to cover up what Molly had done when he was alpha. Her mistakes were being covered up and I was the one taking the fault because it was the best way to get back at me.

And even with how horrible Molly was, how manipulative she was to not only me but to the alpha family—to the entire pack!—she would be reaping the benefits.

Was Mr. Beaumont that angry at me…? To deliberately coerce the pack to go along with his bullshit story… and then to brainwash his own son against me?

I frowned, shaking my head and demanded to speak to Mrs. Beaumont! That I needed to see her!

“You’re not going anywhere near my mother,” the alpha growled, eyes glowing.

In my frustrated panic, I turned to Molly and shouted that she was lying to the alpha! That she had been lying all this time! She had told everyone she was pregnant when she never was! And admitted to manipulating Ridge through a pseudo Mate Bond.

Swiveling to the pack, I pleaded with them to back up my claim. But they lowered their gazes again, not saying a word.

“Why are you lying?!” I turned to Molly, and could hear the desperation in my voice. But it didn’t faze her. Not one little bit. And why would it? She had everything she always wanted.

I choked out, “He’s not yours! Why are so determined to ruin my life?!”

While Ridge growled a warning at me, Molly patted her alpha’s chest. She calmed him, peeking at me with that smirk of hers then leaned forward, scrunching her nose.

“Calm yourself, Gigi. We wouldn’t want for you to lose your temper again, now would we? I have Ridge here this time to protect me if need be!”

My world was collapsing all over again. I was back to where I started and I felt so… so lost. So helpless. The room was starting to suffocate me.

Ridge gently hid Molly behind him as he stared me down.

My jaw clenched to keep myself from crying in front of everyone. The tears in my eyes were betraying me though. I could feel them prickling the corners and yet I fought it.

“I have no reason to allow your outsiders to stay, Gianna Gomez. However… with one of them being a child, I will place a hold on my judgment for them for the time being.”

Ridge’s green eyes darkened as he sneered in a loud announcement that I was only allowed the next three days with my family.

My brows dipped in the middle, glancing at my just-as-confused family standing nearby, their eyes wide and fearful, before I faced Ridge.

Alpha Beaumont bellowed, “In three days’ time, you, Gianna Gomez, will be publicly executed for the defiance of a ban, the attacks on Alpha leaders, and the murder of the Carmel Heir.”

My heart dropped.

There was a sudden anguished cry from my mother in the background. My dad was pleading something I couldn’t comprehend. My siblings were in panicked protests and then there were the pack members; their eyes wide and jaws dropped.

I dropped my gaze to the space between Ridge and me. My mate was going to kill me. He called me a traitor… a murderer… and was punishing me for it.

Slowly, I stared at the blonde beside the alpha. She looked more than pleased with Ridge’s final judgment. There was something majorly wrong with her. That had to be it. No sane person would enjoy seeing people suffer like this.

“No, Gianna! No!” Emory cried, tears building in his eyes as he ran from Vicky’s side—her unable to catch him. He twisted in front of me and clenched tightly to my shirt. “No, you can’t! Please, you can’t! You promised to stay with me!”

I stared at the eight year old. I didn’t know what to tell him that would comfort him.

Emory turned around, facing Ridge, and tearfully pleaded for him to not kill me. That Emory needed me.

“Please, mister! Please leave her alone!”

Ridge frowned at the boy, glancing up at me for a moment before looking down at Emory again. The alpha squatted to eye-level with the eight year old.

Ridge lowered a brow, tilting his head as he looked over the boy’s face. “What’s your name, Kid?” he asked softly.

Emory sniffled, using his freed hand, that wasn’t grasping mine tightly, to wipe his nose.

“Em—Emory, Sir.”

Nodding slowly, Ridge took in a breath then let it out slow. His brows dipped and he sighed, “I need for you to understand something, Emory. I know you care for her, but when someone does something bad… they have to pay the consequences. That person has to be taught a lesson for what they’ve done.”

He squinted as he asked Emory if he understood.

Nodding that he did, Emory pleaded once again that I was good though. That I was not bad at all.

“She’s the kindest! She wouldn’t do anything bad to anyone! Please!”

Emory whined through tears that he didn’t want the connection with me to break.

I frowned, looking down at him who looked up at me and—with me being the only one who could see him do this—Emory changed his eye color to blue for a second then they returned to brown.

Ridge sighed, shaking his head and waited for Emory to face him. He raised his hand to place against the side of the boy’s face.

“I’m sorry, Kid.” was all the alpha said before rising and turning back to his scowl when addressing me.

“Three days, Miss Gomez. And not a day later.”

Ridge turned away, moving through the crowd as Molly walked behind him. She threw a fickle wave at me before disappearing.

Once they were gone, I felt the entire room lay eyes on me once more. The trembling in my knees could no longer withstand my weight and I dropped. Hunched forward, I sputtered into a heart-wrenched sob. My hand shakily rose against my chest.

This—This wasn’t real! This couldn’t be happening!

“Gianna…?” Emory whispered, now kneeling in front of me and I felt his hand on my head. I sobbed, slowly lifting my head to look at him.

Emory took hold of my face and stared at me. He tilted his head, his bottom lip protruding into a pout. His dark eyes stared into mine before he leaned forward and kissed my forehead.

“I’m going to protect you… okay?”

He was searching for something in my gaze, but I didn’t know what. I could barely think straight with the anguished panic I was feeling. I just weakly smiled and nodded before pulling him into a hug.

Emory’s arms tightened around me as he whispered again that he was going to protect me. “I can’t lose you, too,” he whispered.

Pulling back as I held him, Emory nodded, “I can feel it growing stronger, Gianna.”

“What, Emory…” I sniffled, letting him wipe at my tears. “What do you feel?”

“The bond.”

I frowned, shaking my head slowly as I said that I didn’t understand. He put a hand to his chest and then the other of his to mine.

Emory whispered, “The Snail bond.”

I weakly grinned at the mispronunciation then rested my hand over his, slowly looking at the others in the room.

The pack members wore completely different faces than when I first came in here. They all looked solemn, disappointed… and guilty.

I faced my family approaching me. My mom being the first to drop to her knees and hold me to her. She happened to squeeze Emory in there because he yelped. My mother’s heavy sobbing made the others in the room look more sullen, and then there was the rest of my family who were growling at the pack.

Sniffling, I pulled away to stand up. I looked at my dad and begged him to take us home. Dad nodded, wiping his tear-streaked face with his long-sleeved forearm. He started ushering us towards the door before some of the pack stepped forward, one or two were Warriors.

They quietly said Dad’s name and asked for his forgiveness. But Dad ignored them until we were out the door. He then turned around, his gold eyes scanning the crowd.

Dad scowled and shouted, “I have done everything in my power—all my life!—to protect each and every one of you! And the one time I need you… You all fail me.”

One of the other Warriors in the front frowned as he stepped forward and shook his head that my dad couldn’t blame them completely.

“We can’t do anything, Angus! You know this! The alpha’s orders were given! Even if he was acting alpha at the time he was still the alpha! We were given our orders and they were not retracted when his son took his place again!”

Dad gnashed his teeth, startling the Warrior. The man frowned, stepping back as my dad growled, “You all stand there… saying nothing! Nothing at all! And you all know my daughter has done nothing wrong!”

Dad angrily reminded them all that I had always been the one to care for their children, to help out whenever needed without being asked, and the one who they all knew suffered the most out of everyone!

“You all just stood there! Like the fucking cowards you all are!”

The pack’s eyes widened, shrinking back and a few frowned before dropping their gazes.

Dad scoffed, shaking his head as he belittled them all more.

“How fucking… dare you all… How dare you all ask me to forgive you when you stood there and watched her mate—her True Mate!—condemn my daughter to death!”

Their wide eyes switched from my dad to me and then back.

My dad shook his head again, his eyes tearful and it only made the pack unable to look at him. They winced from my dad’s angry warning that he now realized where their loyalty lay and how much he hated each and every one of them.

“Do not seek me or my family out from this day forward,” Dad warned them, gritting his teeth. “The next time you need help… seek out your new Alpha Female or perhaps your former alpha. I’m sure they will jump at the chance to put their neck out on the line for you.”

The pack’s eyes widened and a few tried to call out to Dad again but he was done. He didn’t want to stay any longer than he needed to.

Dad turned to me, grabbing my hand and nodded, “Let’s go, Button.” and led the way out.