One-Way Ticket Out of the Alpha’s Pack Chapter 10

One-Way Ticket Out of the Alpha’s Pack Chapter 10

On graduation day, my whole family comes.

Mom and Dad sit in the family section, while Dylan and Anthony each hold a bouquet of flowers.

Victoria stands in the back with a camera in her hands.

When I walk across the stage to receive my diploma, they don’t call my name or crowd into the aisle to take pictures.

They wait until the ceremony is over before coming toward me.

Mom holds out the flowers, “Congratulations, Eva.”

“Thank you.”

Dad looks at me and asks carefully, “We booked a restaurant for lunch. Do you already have plans?”

In the past, they would have simply told me that everyone was waiting for me.

Now, they ask if I have time first.

I glance at my roommates behind me.

Nicole waves, “Go. We’ll celebrate tonight.”

I nod, “Okay.”

No one brings up the past during lunch.

Dylan talks about his recent work, while Anthony says he has finally learned to organize all his own paperwork.

Victoria is preparing her graduate school applications. She has chosen a field that isn’t particularly popular, but it’s something she genuinely loves.

Mom reaches over to put food on my plate several times, but each time, she stops halfway.

I finally slide my plate a little closer to her.

She freezes, her eyes instantly turning red.

But she doesn’t say anything.

She simply lowers her head and puts a piece of roasted rib on my plate.

No tears. No emotional speech.

After lunch, Dad hands me a new bank card.

“This is the money we set aside for your college expenses.”

“You didn’t spend all of it, and we never touched the rest.”

“It’s yours now. Use it however you want.”

I take it.

Family bonds can break. They can also heal, little by little.

But healing doesn’t mean saying, “I forgive you,” and pretending every debt has been erased.

The financial responsibility they owe me should be repaid.

The boundaries they crossed have to be rebuilt.

As for the relationship itself, that can only be left to time.

The day before I leave for the Lycan Realm, I return to the Bluemoon Pack.

The locks haven’t been changed. The key Mom gave me still opens the door.

My bedroom has been restored exactly as it was.

The desk, the bed, the curtains, even the potted plant on the windowsill are almost exactly as I remember them.

The white wolf plushie Brandon gave me has been washed clean and placed beside my bed.

I stare at it for a few seconds before putting it into a box.

Mom stands in the doorway and asks softly, “You don’t like it anymore?”

“No.”

I pause, “I just don’t need it anymore.”

She nods without trying to convince me to keep it.

I take only a few books and the old photo albums from my childhood.

Everything else stays in the room.

It can be somewhere I come back to occasionally.

But it is no longer the only place I belong.

Before I leave, Mom finally pulls me into a hug. “Eva, I’m sorry.”

Her voice trembles, “I always thought you could handle anything.”

“So I gave Victoria the things I thought she needed first, and I left all the difficult stuff to you.”

“I thought you wouldn’t mind.”

I don’t hug her back immediately.

After a moment, I gently pat her back, “I did mind.”

Her breathing catches.

“I just stopped trying to tell you because you never listened.”

Her shoulders shake as she cries, “I’ll do better.”

“Okay.”

I don’t say I forgive her.

I don’t say I’ll never come home again either.

I simply accept her apology in this moment.

Where we go from here depends on what they do next.

On the day I leave for the Lycan Realm, I take a ten-hour train again.

This time, I book a business-class seat.

My parents pay for the ticket.

My brothers don’t show up uninvited. They simply ask before I leave whether I need help with my luggage.

I tell them no.

So they stand quietly outside the station and watch me go through security.

After the train pulls away, my phone buzzes several times.

Dad reminds me to eat on time.

Mom asks if I want to let them know when I arrive.

Dylan and Anthony each send a short message: [Safe travels.]

Victoria sends me a photo.

It shows the closed door to my bedroom.

A new wooden plaque hangs from the doorknob.

It has only one word on it: [Eva]

I stare at it for a while before replying: [Got it.]

Then I put my phone away.

Outside the window, the pack territory slowly fades into the distance.

Four years ago, I drag two suitcases to Royal Fang Academy by myself.

They take my tuition money, my room. And they take the last bit of hope I have for home.

Back then, they think that because I’m smart and strong, I’ll always be capable of cleaning up the mess their favoritism creates.

But being strong is not a reason to let people keep taking from me.

Being responsible doesn’t mean having no boundaries.

Now, I can go home. Or I can stay away.

I can accept the compensation they offer me while still carrying scars that may never completely disappear.

I no longer need to leave just to punish anyone.

And I don’t need forgiveness to prove that I’m a good person.

The train carries me toward a new city.

I open the ticketing app and delete the default return address I’ve had saved for years.

Where my next ticket takes me.

When I come back.

That is my decision now.