Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets: Read Chapters 1-5

Lisa's pov

“How dare you, filthy bastard, steal from a noble table?!”

I heard the voice of Alpha Baron from across the table, his grip firm on my hand that had just picked up a cake from the table.

I needed no divine intervention or revelation to tell me I was in for another embarrassment and punishment.

How I got under the table wasn't really necessary because I needed to fill up my stomach, and if stealing little bites would satisfy it, then so be it, but am I up for tonight's beating?

Hell no!

He dragged me out from where I had hidden my broken and tattered self.

By now, almost everyone present in the packhouse has come forward to watch the thief the alpha had caught.

Tears streamed down my face as I bent my head down, awaiting whatever fate would be given to me.

“This omega has no shame left in her.” I heard someone mutter among those who had gathered around.

“And this omega has a name.” I muttered under my breath but loud enough for everyone to hear.

I hadn’t had time to process whatever left my mouth when I felt a strong hand connect with my face.

The weight of the slap made me lose my balance, but before I could fall to the ground, someone held me.

“Thank...y...o...” I was about to say thanks when Alpha Baron's hand connected to my face once again.

By now, I realized he wasn't okay with the first slap, so he held me from falling to give me another resetting slap.

I glared at him angrily, biting down on my lips to suppress my anger and the words forming in my throat.

“Talking back will only earn you more slaps, Lisa.” I thought to myself, breathing in and out.

“What did you say earlier?” Alpha Baron inquired, flinging my tiny body across the room.

I landed on my back and let out a small growl.

“How dare you talk back to the alpha? Have you no fear anymore, you cunning little stray?”

One of Alpha's business associates yelled out loudly, and that only added to my anger as I managed to rise to my feet.

I stood straight; my face hardened as I faced the man head-on.

“And like I said earlier, this fucking stray has a name, and it is Lisa. Put some respect on my name!” I yelled loudly without thinking, not like I do before acting.

Loud gasps erupted in the dining area; their eyes grew wider than usual while some held their hands over their mouths, but was I done rambling?

That's a no!

“My parents bled for this pack, and if there's one thing everyone here who is hale, hearty, and breathing owes me, it’s some respect. Fucking put one on my name!” I yelled all in one breath.

By the time I was done, my breathing had become faster than usual.

“She really has guts for someone of a low-born status,” someone said after recovering from the shock.

I turned to face the alpha, whose face now closely resembled rotten tomato paste.

He looked like a water balloon about to explode.

I took a deep breath, waiting for him to recover and lash out at me because I'm sure this is the first time he has ever seen a rebellious omega.

I watched him as he took slow but steady steps towards me.

Each step seemed like my world would be ending soon; technically, it will be.

I gulped down lumps of saliva down my throat as I tried steadying my breathing.

He stood a few feet away from me, his eyes spitting fire as he stared at me angrily.

“How dare you?!” He roared out angrily in his Alpha tone.

Everyone in the room bowed their heads in respect to his wolf.

Even when I don't wish to respect him, my head will obey.

“Have I treated you so well that you have forgotten your place?” He asked, his large, warm palm connecting to my face.

I felt warm liquid pool in my mouth.

I closed my eyes, voluntarily letting my emotions flow out freely in tears.

Arguing with him or talking back is pointless, as it will only quicken ascension to my place in the afterlife.

Even if I am to be killed, I still want to meet my wolf, and maybe my mate will end this suffering for me.

He rambled on about how ungrateful I was and how stupid he had been to let me live on, but I just stood there like a silent toy, listening to his gibberish.

My head snapped towards the wall clock, and for the first time in my life after the death of my parents, I smiled genuinely.

“I will be meeting my wolf in the next five minutes.” I thought to myself, standing tall for my punishment.

“For disrespecting the pack and the alpha, you shall be whipped and starved for a whole week without a drop of water or a grain of rice.”

Alpha Baron commanded while two hefty guards rushed to my side, gripping me so hard by my arms.

I smirked at him, throwing my head backwards while I allowed the guards to drag me away.

We had barely taken two steps when I felt an unspeakable pain surge through my whole body.

I broke free from the guards holding me and hunched over in pain as it felt like my whole body was being ripped from the inside.

I screamed in horror, my hands clutched over my ears.

Just as the pain started, it ended quickly.

“Happy birthday, Lisa,” I heard an angelic voice say in my head.

I knew it was my wolf, and my body was welcoming another new member.

I felt refreshed, or maybe reborn, when I heard the sweetest, most melodious voice, which turned to my nightmare instantly.

“What is going on here father?” Bryan, Alpha Baron's son, asked immediately as he stepped into the room with his fiancée, Irene, who looked like a mashed potato.

My wolf twitched, fighting hard to take over my body.

In the heat of the moment, she blurted out the sacred word I had promised myself would release me from my hellhole.

“Mate!!!”

Lisa's pov

“Mate!!”

My wolf repeated before she could blurt out any more disastrous words; I took over, glaring hard at Bryan, who seemed visibly shaken by the revelation.

“The moon goddess better be playing cruel jokes on me because she needs to rule with her senses before pairing me with this uncultured bastard.”

I blabber without giving it much thought.

Alpha Baron turned to look at me, maybe surprised as to how a lowlife omega like me would still be choosing who she wanted to be paired with.

“Did I just hear you complain?” Bryan's supposed fiancée, Irene, asked, stepping forward, but Bryan held her back.

I rolled my eyes inwardly, helping her count her lucky stars; her doll held her back.

If not, I would have channeled my anger and frustration to her.

“Do you think yourself worthy enough to be the future Luna and mate with my son?”

Alpha Baron asked angrily while I shot him a glare but quickly diverted my gaze somewhere else.

I have had enough slaps tonight, so I just want to rest in the cell, since that's where I will be taken to eventually.

“I can see you have gotten very bold.” Alpha Baron commented, nodding his head as he signaled the guards to drag me away and whip me.

I raised my middle finger to Bryan and then muttered, “fuck you," before I got dragged out of the pack house and was thrown into the smelly cell.

“You people should do better and at least wipe down these cells. You keep people here and not animals!”

I snapped angrily at the guards that threw me inside, and they could only turn back and growl at me.

“She still thinks herself to be human,” one of the guards said mockingly, spitting directly into my face.

I wiped my face in disgust as I cursed at them inwardly.

It was kind of useless arguing or wasting my strength on them because I have more torture to deal with for the rest of the week.

I moved to a corner and curled myself up in a ball as I sat my butt down, waiting for whoever was to whip me.

I know my punishment can't possibly be more than whipping, unlike some omegas that were stripped naked in front of the pack.

Alpha Baron made it clear that Omegas have no place in his pack, and we all are treated as nothing but an entertaining tool to keep them busy, but I won't go down without some stunts.

“Are you okay?” I heard my wolf asking at the back of my head while I smiled lightly, nodding my head even when I knew she couldn't see me.

“What's your name?” I found myself asking.

I know it's my right to be curious about my wolf, but I feel like I'm getting way ahead of myself.

“Alivia,” she muttered while I wore a triumphant smile on my face.

One might have thought I won a trophy or an award with the way I wore a big smile on my face.

“I'm sorry I shut you out earlier.” I apologized, wanting to set things straight with her and possibly start afresh, when I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen.

“Ouch!” I yelled, wincing as I struggled to get on my feet and call for some help.

My eyes stung so badly that they started to tear up while my body got tense.

I tried screaming for help, but it felt like the pain had already taken my ability to speak.

I let the tears flow freely, thinking I had come to the end of my chapter.

I tried connecting with my wolf, but I guess the pain was too much for her to bear, so she curled up in my subconscious, trying to fight my pain.

My body went numb, and gradually, I felt my soul slip out of my body to the dark clouds as the last tears slipped out of my eyes.

—

I woke up to the piercing gaze of Alpha Baron and that of Bryan, with some guards on standby whispering something like she's dead.

“Am I alive?” I found myself asking the moment I pried my eyes open.

“I told you this omega is crazy and can't simply lose her life so easily like that.” I heard the dwarf-looking guard say to the giant-looking one.

I shook my head at how bizarre their thoughts were, trying to stand on my feet but falling back to the ground weakly.

Whatever phase I went through was really killing me, and I prayed never to experience that again.

My gaze fell on Alpha Baron's stone face.

I shook away any crazy thoughts that might implicate me and simply bowed my head to pay respect to him.

“Have you finally come to your senses?” He asked while I nodded my head.

I was still weak from whatever had happened to my body because it felt as if I had been beaten, but there wasn't any mark or scratch.

I haven't felt Alivia since then, and it felt disturbing.

“Get me the whip,” he ordered.

I raised my gaze instantly, opening my mouth to protest, but Alivia's voice cut through my thoughts and me before I could blurt out nonsense.

“Lisa, don't. I'm too weak to heal you at the moment,” she said before she went off again.

I was held by three guards as my hands were whipped.

I didn't shed a single tear because they had run out.

All this while, my gaze was fixed on Bryan, and I swear with every fiber in my blood to make his entire generation and the ones coming pay for how I was treated.

‘I will make you crawl for forgiveness,’ I thought inwardly.

After I was done getting whipped, I was expecting the guards to drag me back to the cell, but Alpha Baron waved me off and said I could go.

‘Maybe he had a change of heart,’ I thought inwardly, dragging my weak body out.

Lisa's pov

I dragged my heavy feet on the ground to the only place I found peace and comfort.

My life has been filled with sadness, but at least I'm not really that lonely.

“Fiona,” I called out weakly, banging on her door before slumping to the floor.

I closed my eyes, waiting for her to open up.

The door creaked open a few seconds later, and she peeped outside.

“Lisa?” She called out, opening the door fully as she bent down to my level.

“I feel empty,” I muttered to her in tears, resting my head on the iron frame.

She wiped my eyes clean with her cloth, patting my head slowly.

“Let's go inside,” she muttered, helping me up as she guided me inside.

“Did you get the whip again?” She asked slowly after helping me settle down in the chair.

“Can I get a glass of water, please?” I asked slowly, shutting my eyes.

I hate to be vulnerable, but I can't keep acting so strong when it hurts so much.

I let the tears flow freely from my eyes.

“Here I have it,” she muttered, handing me the glass cup of water.

I gulped everything down my throat immediately and then gave her a small smile.

“Thank you,” I muttered to her slowly.

She nodded her head, sitting down beside me while she tapped her hand slowly on her thighs.

I knew she was dying to ask so many questions.

“You don't have to make your curiosity so obvious,” I muttered to her, resting my head on her shoulder.

“I'm dying over here to wish you a happy birthday and get to meet your wolf, but here you are sulking like a toddler whose ice cream got stolen,” she snapped back, pushing my head off her shoulder.

I couldn't help but smile at her simplicity.

She's also an omega like me, but yet she doesn't let anything faze her or shake her worth.

“I met my mate,” I blurted out.

She squealed in joy, jumping up and down as she screamed in joy, while I just shook my head.

“It’s Bryan Peters,” I muttered, and she stood frozen; her face went pale instantly as she slowly turned to face me.

“Tell me that's a joke?” She asked, convincing herself that I was just playing around like usual, but I shook my head.

She just stood there, frozen.

Her lips didn’t twitch.

Her lashes didn’t even blink.

Like time had stopped just to mess with her brain.

“Tell me that’s a joke," she whispered again, staring at me like I’d just confessed to eating her last piece of roasted chicken.

I shook my head slowly.

She backed away like my presence was suddenly a contagion.

“Bryan Peters? As in, the Alpha’s golden egg, the bastard prince, the devil’s mini-me?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” I muttered, dumping my head in my palms.

Fiona placed her hand over her chest like she’d been shot.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“I wish I were, but then boom, just like that, my wolf recognized him and said the word,” I muttered, dragging the hem of her blanket to cover my legs.

“Boom,” she repeated, blinking rapidly.

“You look like you have seen a ghost,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“So were you locked up and flogged because you were that spoilt brat’s mate?” She asked, pointing to my swollen hands while I shook my head.

“I stole food and kind of rebelled against the Alpha, which earned me some beatings, but do you know what's strange?” I asked, remembering the pains I went through.

“What's that?” She asked, her curiosity piqued.

“I was in the cell when I started feeling pain. It was like my bones were on fire. My stomach twisted so hard I couldn’t even scream. I thought I was dying. Alivia went quiet. Completely. Like the connection fried her too.”

I explained, trying to demonstrate and at the same time point to the place where I felt the pains.

Fiona’s eyes widened, and she slowly inched back beside me, then reached out to pet my arm like I was a stray cat that had just been kicked out of hell.

“Maybe because I just met my wolf,” I added, shrugging my shoulders.

“That wasn't from you meeting your wolf, Lisa. That was from him.” Fiona muttered, shaking her head.

I turned my head to look at her.

“Him? What do you mean?” I asked curiously.

She hesitated, chewing on her lower lip like she was battling herself.

Then she blurted, “He cheated.”

My heart paused.

“What?”

“That pain? That gut-wrenching, body-snapping, wolf-retreating pain you felt? That’s what happens when your mate betrays the bond.”

She exhaled slowly; it was like saying it out loud made her want to throw up.

“If a newly bonded mate sleeps with someone else after the bond’s formed, especially while you're in emotional turmoil... The rejection hits hard. It's like getting half-marked and then set on fire,” she added, rubbing my hand slowly

My mouth opened.

Then closed.

Then it opened again.

“So while I was in that hellhole, probably passing out from starvation and pain—he was out there… screwing Potato Princess?”

Fiona blinked. “Irene?”

“Yes. The mashed-up potato.”

Fiona pressed her lips together, nodding.

I gagged.

“What the actual fu—”

“He did it to break the bond,” Fiona said suddenly, her voice low.

“It’s a trick. Some Alphas use it to reject a mate without saying the actual rejection words. That way, they don't get the full force of backlash.”

“So… he fucked her. And I paid the price.”

Fiona nodded, her expression dark.

I was quiet for a few seconds, then turned to her slowly.

“Do you think the moon goddess can unmatch me?”

“I don’t know. But if you pray hard enough, she might at least give him erectile dysfunction.”

I burst out laughing.

Painfully.

I had to hold my ribs to keep from falling apart.

“You’re a menace.”

“I will try to be more mean,” she muttered dramatically.

We sat in silence for a moment, both of us replaying the madness that just occurred.

Fiona suddenly jumped to her feet. “Get up.”

“Huh?”

She pulled me by the arm.

“I said get up. Enough crying, enough sulking. That cheating trash bag doesn’t get to have your tears and your broken spirit. We’re going out.”

“Where?”

“The club. Duh.”

Lisa's pov

I blinked.

“I just got whipped. I might still have pieces of my soul lying on the floor back there.”

“You still have your legs.”

“Barely.”

“You have a heartbeat.”

“Barely.”

“You’re still breathing.”

I groaned. “Also barely.”

She bent down, smacking my thigh lightly.

“Then you’re still alive. And as long as you’re breathing, we’re going to remind that piece of Alpha scum what he missed out on, so here we come, club," she screamed at the top of her voice, throwing her hands up.

“Are you even listening to me at all?” I asked, standing on my feet while she blocked her ears dramatically.

I glared at her. “So the club is where I go to celebrate getting rejected and whipped like a badly raised pet?”

“No. It’s where you go to wear the tightest dress ever stitched by a drunk goddess, shake your ass to songs you don’t know, and remind yourself that you're Lisa. Not some pity project.”

I folded my arms. “I have nothing to wear.”

“I’ve got options.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You better not hand me that red one.”

She grinned widely. “Oh, I’m absolutely handing you the red one.”

“Fiona.” I screamed, covering my tits while she burst out laughing.

"Lisa," she screamed back my name, throwing the gown to me.

We stared each other down, the tension thick, dramatic music almost playing in the background.

Thirty minutes later…

I stood in front of her cracked mirror, trying not to die of shame.

The red dress was… not a dress.

It was a thread pretending to be cloth.

My boobs looked like they were going to launch out at any moment, my thighs were screaming for freedom, and the back? Non-existent.

“If you bend over, they’ll call an ambulance,” Fiona commented, giggling behind me.

“Who even made this? Lingerie demons?” I asked, trying to cover myself up.

“You look hot,” she commented while I shook my head in disagreement.

“I look like a thirst trap," I muttered.

“That’s the point,” she said, pushing me out of the way.

I rolled my eyes and tied my hair up in a high ponytail. “I hate you.”

“You’ll thank me when heads turn.”

“I just hope none of those heads belong to Bryan.”

“Then you’ll have the honor of watching regret ruin him from the inside.”

The club was loud, sweaty, and buzzing with pheromones.

It smelled like booze, bad decisions, and wolf musk.

Just my kind of hell.

We squeezed through the crowd, found a booth near the DJ’s platform, and ordered shots we couldn’t pronounce.

“Drink it!” Fiona yelled over the music, pushing the glass to my lips.

I sniffed it. “Smells like someone tried to bottle regret.”

She rolled her eyes. “Lisa. Shut up. Drink.”

I tilted my head back and swallowed.

The burn nearly peeled my soul from my body.

“Again!” she screamed, pouring another one.

Two shots later, my head was lighter.

My body is warmer.

The pain?

Slightly fuzzier.

Fiona dragged me to the dance floor.

The music thumped so hard, I swear my heartbeat started syncing with the bass.

She twirled.

I moved.

Then we laughed.

Hard.

Some guy grabbed Fiona’s waist.

She winked at me and allowed him to twirl her.

I stood there for a moment, breathing in the wildness, trying to let go.

“Can I have this dance?” someone asked behind me, snaking his hand around my waist.

I turned slowly to see a perfect semi-Greek god standing before me in the flesh.

I blinked my long lashes rapidly.

Not only does he smell so good, but damn, he has a perfect face card.

“Are you real?” I asked slowly, checking his face out when I heard the voice I least expected to ring in my ears, at least not tonight.

“Who let in a lowborn like you in here?” The person asked in a low growl.

Bryan.

In a black shirt, sleeves rolled, hair slicked back, and eyes that made me want to punch and kiss him at the same time.

“Fuck the mate bond!” I cursed inwardly, snapping out of my fantasy immediately.

“What's wrong, man?”

I heard the other guy who asked for a dance, trying to get Bryan away, but the little senseless brat wouldn't just budge as he stepped closer to me.

“Has the cat got your tongue?” He asked, pulling my hair so hard.

I winced in pain trying to free myself from his hold when Fiona appeared behind me like a guardian demon.

“Back off, Prince Cheater. This isn’t your moment.” She yelled, pushing him away from me.

Bryan’s jaw clenched.

“This is between me and—” before he could finish his statement, I stepped forward, kicking him hard in the groin.

“Bastard”, I said furiously, my chest heaving up and down.

“How dare you…” he raged on, stepping forward to hit me, but someone held his hand midair.

“Shouldn't you act like a gentleman when being treated like one?” the man asked, throwing Bryan's hand off, which made him lose his stance.

Bryan stumbled back a step, fury burning in his eyes.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” he barked, trying to recover from the sudden kick and the even more humiliating hand slap-down.

The man didn’t answer immediately.

He just stood there, still as a shadow.

His entire face was covered in a sleek, dark mask that hugged his jaw like it belonged there.

His voice was smooth—refined but with the undertone of power that you don’t question.

That type of voice that commands rooms, not with volume but with presence.

“I asked you a question!” Bryan yelled again, lunging forward like an untrained mutt who forgot his leash.

The masked man barely moved.

One hand shot out, caught Bryan by the collar mid-leap, and spun him sideways like a rag doll.

In one move, Bryan’s back smacked the floor with a loud, disrespectful thud.

Gasps filled the air.

The music didn’t stop, but the energy shifted.

Bryan scrambled up like a wet dog, teeth bared, fists clenched, breathing like someone had stolen his last piece of bread.

“You’ll regret this.”

The masked man tilted his head slightly, calm, calculated, and collected.

“Only weak men fight women,” he said with an eerie softness, “and only fools fight when they’ve already lost.”

Fiona clapped dramatically from behind me. “Oop! Talk to him, Daddy Shadow!”

Lisa's pov

I was too stunned to laugh.

Hell, I was too stunned to breathe.

Bryan looked around, realizing the crowd that had circled now wasn’t just staring at him—they were judging him.

Watching him get dropped like overcooked spaghetti.

“Let’s go,” the masked man said, turning to me, extending his hand.

I hesitated for a second, mostly because my brain was still processing what the hell just happened, but I took it.

Not out of fear or drama.

Just pure curiosity.

Who the hell was this guy?

He led me away from the center, weaving effortlessly through the crowd like he owned the club.

The music blared louder behind us, and I didn’t need to turn back to know Bryan was still fuming on the floor like a child denied candy.

We slipped into one of the dimmer VIP booths, shielded from the neon chaos.

The moment we sat, the man reached into his jacket and pulled out a glass bottle of water.

Fancy.

Crystal cap.

Expensive vibe.

He twisted it open and handed it to me.

I blinked. “You carry water to the club?”

“I don’t drink,” he said. “Not when I’m working.”

I tilted my head, curiosity clawing at me. “Are you some kind of assassin or royal bodyguard or something?”

He chuckled lightly. “Closer to something.”

“Still masked though," I squinted at him. "Mysterious much?”

“It’s safer that way.”

“For you or for me?”

He paused. “Both.”

I sipped the water, trying to settle the adrenaline rushing through me.

“Thanks for stepping in. Not many people would’ve bothered. Most just assume Omegas like me deserve whatever hell’s handed to us.”

“I don’t believe in assumptions.”

I tilted my head. “So what do you believe in?”

He leaned back, elbows resting casually on the couch behind him.

“Respect. Power. Silence when needed. Violence when required.”

“Violence when required,” I repeated, tasting the words. “Sounds poetic.”

“It’s survival.”

He turned to face me fully then, and even behind the mask, I could feel the weight of his eyes on me.

Like he wasn’t just looking at me but into me.

“You’re stronger than you look,” he said finally.

I snorted. “You mean the whipped, rejected, broken, low-ranked Omega?”

“I mean the girl who has the guts to kick a man in public.”

“Well,” I muttered, cheeks warming a little. “The kick was just me being unladylike.”

“It was beautiful,” he said, and I swear I stopped breathing for a second.

I stared at him. “You know a lot about me for someone whose name I don’t even know.”

“I have been observing for a while,” he replied, closing the gap between us.

“What! Why?” I asked, looking around.

“I’ve been observing for a while,” he said again, voice dipping lower as he leaned in closer.

His tone wasn’t invasive—it was intimate.

Like a secret meant only for me.

The club faded into the background.

The music.

The lights.

The people.

It all blurred until all I could see was him.

The mask made him harder to read, but everything else about him screamed confidence.

Controlled.

Dangerous.

“Why?” I asked softly, my voice barely above a whisper.

He tilted his head. “Because I see something in you the rest of them are too blind to notice.”

I swallowed hard. “You mean the bruises?”

“No.” His gaze darkened. “The fire.”

The way he said it… it did something to me.

The room suddenly felt smaller.

Hotter.

My breathing is shallow.

He didn’t touch me, not yet—but the air between us practically crackled.

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” I murmured.

“Why not?”

“Because I might believe you,” I whispered.

His hand moved slowly, deliberately.

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, the back of his fingers grazing my jaw in the softest, most devastating way.

“Then believe me.”

His words sank under my skin like ink.

One second, I was thinking too much.

The next—I kissed him.

It wasn’t a polite, testing kiss.

It was like fire meeting gasoline.

My hands gripped his jacket, pulling him closer.

His fingers dug into my waist like he was trying to memorize the curve of me.

The mask stayed on.

Maybe that was the craziest part.

I kissed a man whose face I couldn’t even see—but somehow, it made everything feel more raw.

Like I was giving in to something forbidden.

He lifted me effortlessly onto his lap, my dress riding dangerously high.

His lips found my neck, and my head tilted back with a breathy moan I didn’t even recognize as mine.

“You sure about this?” he asked, voice rough in my ear.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.” I muttered in a rasped breath.

And that was it.

We didn’t make love.

We devoured each other.

Every touch.

Every gasp.

Every second was reckless and messy and perfect.

For one night, I wasn’t an Omega.

I wasn’t trash.

I wasn’t a broken girl.

I was wanted.

Worshipped.

Ruined in the best way.

—

I woke up wrapped in expensive sheets and silence.

He was perfectly asleep beside me.

The room was dim and quiet—except for the steady thud of my heart as I sat up and pulled the sheets tighter around me.

I tiptoed out of the bed and threw my clothes on before dropping some money on the small table in the room before walking out.

I boarded a cab that took me straight to Fiona’s house, who had gone to work.

I changed into a comfy outfit before going to the packhouse.

I had barely stepped into the hallway of the packhouse when Irene’s voice sliced through the air.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the club whore.”

I froze.

Irene stood at the foot of the main staircase in a silk robe and heels, her blonde hair perfectly curled like she’d been waiting for this moment.

In her hand?

A thick folder.

She tossed it across the marble floor like a cat throwing down its kill.

Photos were spilt everywhere.

Me.

In the booth.

Straddling him.

His hand is on my waist.

My lips on his.

And the one that made my stomach drop?

I—half-naked—curled up in the bed while he was in the shower.

“How did you—” I choked, stepping back.

“Sweetheart, you’re not the only one who knows people,” Irene sneered, folding her arms. “You made it way too easy.”

“You were spying on me?”

“I was protecting what’s mine,” she said, just as Bryan appeared behind her.

His eyes locked on the photos.

Something primal shifted in his expression.

The bond flared faintly between us, and I felt it—the rage.

The shame.

The bruised ego.

“Bryan, wait—” I started.

SLAP.

It was fast.

Brutal.

My head snapped sideways, my cheek exploding in pain.

I staggered but didn’t fall.

I wouldn’t fall.

“You fucking disgrace,” Bryan snarled, his voice shaking with fury. “Do you know what you’ve done?!”

“I wasn’t yours,” I said through gritted teeth, blood pooling in my mouth.

“You rejected me by sleeping with that mashed-up potato—” I yelled, pointing to Irene.

“That doesn’t give you the right to whore yourself to strangers!”

Irene watched with satisfaction, eyes gleaming.

“You think you’re going to play Luna now? After spreading your legs in some booth like a club rat?!”

“I didn’t ask for the bond,” I hissed. “And I sure as hell didn’t ask for you.”

He stepped forward, ready to hit me again —

“Bryan, don’t!” one of the guards called out, but he didn’t listen.

Until he remembered the crowd forming.

The tension thickened.

He stopped.

Adjusted his collar.

Wiped his hand on his trousers like touching me had infected him.

“Lock her up,” he snapped. “No food. No water. Strip her of every privilege. Let the pack see what happens to traitorous trash.”

The guards hesitated just a beat.

Enough to make him growl again.

“Now!”

They grabbed me by the arms.

Dragged me down the hallway like I was nothing.

“Smile for the cameras next time,” Irene called out mockingly. “Maybe try wearing makeup too. You looked tired.”

The door slammed.

Darkness swallowed me again.

But this time?

This time, I wasn’t afraid.

This time, I had a reason to burn everything down.