Page 200 of Knot Baked Out For This
And in the center, a cake.
A beautiful, three-tier cake decorated with a phoenix rising from flames, the words "She Rises" written in elegant script across the base.
"Who made this?" I whisper.
"Town effort," Rosemarie says proudly. "Mrs. Chen did the decorating. She used to be a pastry chef in Chicago."
"Mrs. Chen? The woman who complains about my frosting techniques?"
"She complains because she cares. Very aggressively cares."
The party that follows is surreal.
People I barely know toast me with Miss Bea's cider—which is definitely spiked, possibly illegally. Mila presents me with a "#TeamHazel" t-shirt that she apparently made last night. Reverie's already edited together a video of the courthouse confrontation that's "definitely going viral by dinner."
And my pack.
My pack doesn't leave my side.
Rowan keeps his hand on my lower back, a steady presence that keeps me grounded. Luca intercepts well-meaningtownsfolk who want details I'm not ready to share. Levi makes jokes that cut the tension, turning potential awkwardness into laughter.
"Speech!" someone calls, and the chant picks up.
"I don't do speeches!"
"You just delivered one in court," Levi points out. "That was a speech. A badass speech."
"That was a breakdown!"
"A badass breakdown!"
But people are watching, waiting, and Miss Bea is refilling my cider cup with something that smells strong enough to strip paint, so I climb onto a chair—why am I always climbing on furniture?—and look at the faces below.
These people. This town. This community that I thought would judge me, gossip about me, tear me down.
Instead, they're here. Celebrating my freedom like it's their own.
"I don't really know what to say," I start, voice shaking slightly. "This morning I woke up at 3 AM to make ghost cookies, got served with a court order, and ended up watching my ex-husband get arrested for trying to kill me, which is honestly not how I expected Halloween to go."
Scattered laughter, warm and supportive.
"But standing here now, looking at all of you..." My throat tightens. "I moved to Oakridge to disappear. To be invisible. To start over somewhere no one knew my story or my failures."
"You haven't failed at anything!" Rosemarie yells, and others echo agreement.
"I thought starting over meant erasing everything and building from nothing. But my pack—" I gesture at the three Alphas watching me with expressions that make my chest ache, "—they taught me something different. They taught me you don't have to start over. You build from where you stand."
"And you stand with us!" someone calls out.
"I do," I agree, smiling through tears that won't stop falling. "I stand with you. With this town that welcomed a disaster of an Omega who can't stop stress-baking at 3 AM. With friends who finish my cookie orders while I'm in court. With a pack that built me a nest and a future without asking for anything except that I stay."
Rowan's smile could power cities.
"So thank you." I raise my cider cup. "For the justice. For the pie. For proving that sometimes, the best revenge isn't success—it's freedom."
"TO FREEDOM!" the room choruses, and everyone drinks.
I climb down from the chair—gracefully this time, Luca's hand steadying me—and suddenly I'm being hugged by what feels like the entire town.
