Three years ago, they had found me. They told me my mother was their daughter—an heiress who had eloped with my father for love, abandoning her title. Before she died of her illness, she had sent them a letter telling them about me. Back then, I was so blinded by my love for Malachi that I had rejected their crown. I thought I could make a life in his pack.
“Rhea! Welcome home!”
My grandmother’s voice was warm. She and my grandfather stepped out of the mansion and wrapped me in a fierce hug.
“We are so glad you finally came to us,” they whispered.
I smiled, a real smile for the first time in years. “Thank you for taking me back.”
My grandmother wiped a stray tear from my face. “Nonsense, Rhea. Everything you see—the land, the wealth, the power—it all belongs to you.”
My grandfather nodded, his eyes sharp and proud. “Yes. You are now the Heiress of the Blake Empire.”
I looked back toward the horizon, thinking of the Zander pack and the people who treated me like a shadow.
The time for mourning was over. Now, it was time for payback.
