The Crippled Wife They Tried to Erase - Chapter 5: Chapter 5

For days, I'd been secretly testing my strange new abilities. Late at night when the house fell silent, I'd lock myself in that little room next to my bedroom and experiment.
First just small cuts on my arms - watching in amazement as the skin stitched itself back together in seconds. Then I graduated to objects - shattered glass reforming under my fingertips. This wasn't just healing. It was rebirth. The energy pulsing through me felt infinite, like I'd been handed a cosmic do-over. And this time? No one was taking it from me.
The celebration arrived too soon. Xavier and Celeste were throwing some grand spectacle to announce her pregnancy. The pack house buzzed with laughter, clinking glasses, and fake smiles.
I sat in my wheelchair in the shadows, invisible as always. No drinks offered, no greetings exchanged. Not that I cared. I had better things to do - like eavesdropping.
Celeste's voice cut through the noise: "Ugh, she's still here. My baby can sense her negativity."
Xavier's reply came sharp and cold: "After tonight's ceremony, we're relocating her. The pack's reputation can't take this embarrassment anymore."
Relocation. That's what they called banishment now?
My fingers dug into the armrests hard enough to tear the fabric. The man who'd once sailed across continents to propose was now tossing me out like yesterday's trash. I forced myself to breathe. Not yet. The timing had to be perfect.
The ceremony began with Xavier preening beside Celeste in her ridiculous white dress, hand resting on that barely-there bump. "Tonight we celebrate new life and strength for our pack!" he announced to thunderous applause.
Strength. The irony almost made me laugh.
As the clapping peaked, I made my move. The wheelchair rolled forward through the crowd, voices hushing as people noticed. I caught Evelyn's glare - that familiar look of disgust like I was some stain on her perfect world. Her eyes darted to Xavier, silently demanding why I hadn't been removed yet.
I held her stare without flinching. This was my moment.
"What's she doing?" someone whispered.
"Someone get her out of here," another muttered.
I stopped just feet from the happy couple, letting the tension thicken. Then slowly... I stood.
The gasps were delicious.
"She's walking!"
"How is this possible?"
I let the shock ripple through the room, savoring Xavier's stunned expression and Celeste's crumbling smirk.
"Congratulations are in order," I said, my voice cutting through the murmurs. "But before you toast your future, let me share mine."
Xavier stepped forward, eyes wide. "Lyra... how—"
I tilted my head. "What's wrong, Xavier? Disappointed I didn't stay broken for your convenience?"
Then I saw it - that familiar greedy glint replacing his confusion. "Is this a new ability? Can you heal others too?"
There it was. Not concern - just another power grab.
A bitter laugh escaped me. "Always about what I can do for you."
"Lyra, that's not—"
"Enough." My voice turned glacial. "I'm done being your doormat." I straightened, letting my new strength radiate. "I, Lyra Nightshade, reject you, Xavier, as my mate and Alpha."
The silence was deafening.
"You can't!" Xavier's voice cracked with desperation. "We're mates—"
"Not anymore." My fingers found our mating mark. With one sharp motion, I tore through it. White-hot pain flashed, but I didn't blink. The ring he gave me clattered to the floor.
I turned to Celeste, pale and seething. "Enjoy being Luna. You'll need it."
Then I walked out.
Xavier's shouts followed me, but I didn't turn back.
My escape had been planned for weeks - suitcase packed and hidden. I grabbed it, left the house, and never looked back.
The train station air tasted like freedom. I bought a one-way ticket to the farthest destination and waited as my phone blew up with Xavier's texts:
"Come back NOW."
"Don't be childish."
"You'll regret this."
With a satisfying crunch, I tossed my phone under an incoming train.
As the doors hissed open, I boarded without hesitation. Watching the station disappear through the window, I felt something I hadn't in years - light.
Wherever this train was going? It was miles better than where I'd been. For the first time in forever, the chains were broken.
I was free.