Chapter 114: A Statement
Natalie~
The iron gates groaned open, their rusted hinges screeching in protest as if the land itself rejected my return. The air was thick with unease, the kind that settled deep in your bones. I felt the guards’ stares drilling into my back, their hushed footsteps echoing with restraint. They didn’t dare speak. They didn’t have to. The silence screamed louder than any insult they could throw my way.
Beside me, Jacob moved with effortless dominance, his every step a quiet declaration of power. He didn’t need to puff out his chest or bare his teeth—the air bent around him in silent submission. I wasn’t afraid. Not anymore. The world had taken everything from me, and now? Now, I was here to take it all back.
I reached through the mind link, amusement curling in my voice. "Tell me, Jacob, why didn’t we just teleport straight into Darius’s home? Would’ve saved us all the theatrics."
His smirk practically dripped through the link. "Where’s the fun in that, sweetheart? This isn’t just a visit. It’s a statement. You don’t just return—you make damn sure they never forget it."
A slow grin spread across my face. "Damn, I love you for that."
Jacob’s quiet chuckle hummed through my mind, a dark lullaby against the rising tension.
As we walked deeper into the territory, a crowd began to form around us, the pack’s eyes clung to us like vultures circling a corpse. Their hatred pressed against my skin, but it only fueled the fire in my chest. I wasn’t the same girl they had cast out, broken and humiliated. I had been reforged in the ashes of that betrayal. Stronger. Sharper. Unshakable.
Murmurs slithered through the growing crowd, sharp as blades.