Chapter 28. Decision

Avery’s POV

The world outside the bar blurred into an indistinct haze as I struggled to focus. The patrons’ words replayed in my head like a relentless storm: war, Bloodmoon, Golden Ridge, destruction. The weight of it all pressed down on me, threatening to suffocate the fragile sense of calm I’d worked so hard to build.

Golden Ridge. My Pack. My family.

I leaned against the counter, clutching the edge to steady myself as a flood of emotions surged through me. Anger, fear, guilt, they all mingled together, pulling me under.

My father’s stern face loomed in my mind, his unyielding expectations like chains that had bound me for so long. And then there was Amelia, the golden child, the perfect Alpha heir who could do no wrong.

A bitter taste rose in my throat as memories of the past surfaced. My father’s cold dismissals, Amelia’s condescending smiles, the way they had both treated me like I was invisible, a mere shadow in their bright, perfect world