Chapter 3

• JAMES
• Walking into the house, unnecessary silence met me. Asides from the guards sitting outside, something felt terribly wrong. I could feel it deep in my bones, and it only heightened my anger. I halt the usual hide and seek game, and I head straight to the bedroom where I left Rosella.
• I threw open the door, and I looked around the room. It was empty, and the bed was empty too. I removed the duvet, but instead, a pile of clothes was arranged there, and It made it look like she was trying to deceive me that she was present in the bed. I felt instantly enraged; my blood boiled like a pit of lava in hell.
• I was already exasperated that my brother managed to deceive the council of elders, ruining my chance of getting the title of the Alpha king. However, I don’t plan on letting that stop me. I came back home with the same annoyance, only discovering that Rosella was nowhere to be found. She was daring me, and I would show her how much of a vile person I can be if I get hold of her.
• I almost turned down all the rooms in the house searching for her; I needed a place to vent my anger, and as my toy, she was the best person to do that to—dumb weakling. Her pathetic screams of being helpless would only fuel my resolve to hit her more; it was like an orgasm to me.
• I summoned all the guards in the packhouse, asking if they saw my mate, but they all said they didn’t but saw someone putting on a black hoodie, walking through the gate of the packhouse. They said they thought my younger sister, Dirham, was going out to jog, but they had no idea it was the Luna. I would come back to deal with them right now, and I needed to find Rosella.
• Fuck!
• “Hahahahaha,” I let out a dry laugh, punching into the glass window of my office glass. The glass shattered into tiny pieces, slicing into my knuckles at the same time. I was too enraged to feel anything, and soon the cut healed itself. I wanted to do something to get all this anger out of me.
• “Good for you, Asshole!” I heard a chuckle of mockery from my wolf Vlad, fueling my wrath all the more.
• Vlad has always hated how I treated my mate, and I can’t believe he cared about that worthless bitch. Your wolf was supposed to support you and make decisions together, but this one was worse than everything I ever had. Very unsupportive wolf, and I wish I could replace it.
• “She wouldn’t dare run away from me, Vlad, you know that!” I found myself screaming back. As much as I would love to ignore Vlad, his words were kind of hitting home for me. She was too weak to leave me, and she dared not move an inch unless I permitted her to do so.
• “No, I don’t. I told you she wouldn’t continue to take all of your shits forever, didn’t I? I hope she escapes perfectly this time and leaves you to be miserable for the rest of your life.” Vlad vented.
• “You let such a beautiful and amazing soul leave just like that, shame!” His words taunted me to start smashing everything in my office.
• “I’ll never let her leave me, never! You wait and see what I’ll do to her when I set my eyes on her!”
• I snapped at him, pushing him back to the back of my mind. His useless words were making it difficult for me to think straight.
• I wasn't going to let him control my mind.
• *********
• ROSELLA
• Coming out with the black hoodie and joggers was easier than I thought, and I successfully strolled out of the packhouse without anyone noticing. There wasn’t much money on me as I was never allowed to have any money, so I walked a long distance, constantly looking over my shoulders and filled with anxiety.
• I shivered from the evening wind, but sweat trickled down my brows due to my skyrocketing temperature. I could barely carry myself now, but I didn’t stop. I would rather die than go back there to continue being treated like shit. I feel like shit anyway, and death seems like a better solution.
• Unable to walk further after an hour, I waited and fell on my knees. It appeared luck was in my favor because a taxi finally passed, and I waved down and hopped in. I was heading straight to my parent’s place in the outskirt of the Green Moon pack, where most omega wolves lived with few poor humans. I didn’t know why I was headed there, even when I knew they couldn’t save me from him. A girl has to try, though.
• It was almost dark now; I hurried to the almost dilapidated house my parents currently lived. I banged on the door repeatedly when I got there, knowing they were inside, but my father and stepmother were always hiding from debtors. They might be thinking I was one of their debtors who came to harass them for their money.
• I noticed a sound coming from inside, and my father finally opened the door; his eyes widened like saucers as soon as he saw me. I know they would be shocked to see I ran away because he rarely let me visit them. Since we mated, I’ve not called home. This place might look poor than the palace, but I don’t care because I didn’t get beaten every day here.
• “What are you doing here?” he asked after recovering from the shock. I was surprised because, for someone who hadn’t seen his daughter for almost a year, he wasn’t excited to see me. I hated how Alpha James messed up my life without so much effort; I wonder what kind of threat he must have threatened my parents to make them so unwelcome.
• My awful stepmother came into view as soon as she heard our voices. This woman was the sole idea of making me get mated to Alpha James. She came up with the business plan, and she made sure to drop hints until he finally suggested it himself. I hated her but not today though, I needed them to keep me safe for now. I hurried inside and jammed the door before turning to face them both. Tears welled in my eyes as I dropped to my knees. This was my last hope for freedom, and if they threw me out, I’m done for. I don’t mind doing menial jobs to help pay back their debts; I just don’t want to go back to that hellfire.
• “Save me, dad. Please don’t let me go back to that hell, I have nowhere else to go, please, I beg of you!” I pleaded with tears streaming down my face, and I watched him look away in hurt. How could he not put me first?
• “What the hell are you doing here? You want to put your father and me in trouble? Why can’t you be a useful daughter and stay where you are kept?!” my stepmother interrupted us, glaring at me with so much spite and disgust.
• My father didn’t utter a word; he remained silent, staring above my shoulders like he was uncomfortable with my presence. He had an awful attitude for someone who hadn’t seen his daughter in one year. Maybe I had imagined that my father loved me here; it’s something I’ve always known, yet I let them fail me again.
• “Dad! Dad!” I burst out into wails, tugging at his trousers, “Take me back, dad, I’m sorry for whatever wrong I might have committed for you to sell me off to that monster, please, he might end up killing me if I continue to stay there….” I begged my father, but he shoved my hands away heartlessly.
• “There’s nothing I can do anymore, Rosella; please go back to him before he comes looking for you himself,” my father retorted coldly and walked out on me.
• “Mom…” I sniffed and hiccupped, turning to my stepmother, but she slapped me hard across my face.
• “Don’t you ever call me that in your miserable life, your mother is dead! All you bring to people is bad luck, I don’t want that in my life. Just get back to your alpha, and maybe you’d be able to pull us out of this debt.” she bawled, hissing with disdain. I never felt so unwanted in my life, it’s official, and my life is doomed.
• Just then, our door burst open forcefully, and I turned to see Alpha James, standing at the house entrance with some guards behind me. A cold grin was plastered on his face. He looked like he was in perfect control of this sick game, and indeed he was. I knew it was over for me, so trying to run away from here would just result in me being severely injured, and I might not be able to recover again.
• Immediately, my stepmother fell on her knees with her head bowed to him. “She came here on her own, Alpha; we were trying to send her back to you before you came in, but—”
• Alpha James raised a finger, shutting her up instantly. He strode to where I was crotched; a smile that sent shivers down my spine played on his lips. I knew that smile too well; he was going to show me through hell.
• “Get up, lowlife,” he growled at me, yanking my hair and using it to drag me up.
• “Aaah!” I let out a loud shriek as a searing pain shot through my scalp. I wasn’t prepared for that.
• He grabbed my hand and twirled me to face him. “You think you can run away from me?” he ran a finger across my face causing me to shiver with dread, and then he tilted my chin up, digging his sharp nails into the soft skin of my chin. I gasped, paralyzed with horror. I was dealing with a beast, and I knew it.
• “Whatever made you believe you can escape my grasp? I own you bitch! You’re my property, which means I can do anything, and I mean anything I want with you. The sooner you realize, the better for us.” he drawled with an icy tone. He dumped me back on the floor before turning to face my stepmother; my father was nowhere in sight.
• Then he walked to my stepmother and threw some wads of notes to where she knelt, telling her the money was for her troubles. She swiftly grabbed onto the money greedily, thanking the alpha with a broad smile on her face that irked me. These people sold me out without an iota of shame, and now they did it again. I should have known and made a solid escape plan somewhere else; I was a fool for thinking they would still want me even after a year.
• “Take her back to the car,” he ordered his guards, who bowed and hurled me out of the house. They pulled me disrespectfully on the floor, and I had no strength to say a word. I just let them pull me with them, not that I have any choice. Either that or I got more punishment for disobeying my offer. I was in deep shit already, no need to dig a deeper hole for myself.
• They shoved me into the Limo, and as soon as Alpha James came in to join me, the car started, heading back to the hellhole I was running from. Henceforth, there was no escape because the alpha would tighten the security around me, and I would suffer double what I sue to go through before. Only death would be able to save me, and the end didn’t sound too bad, anything to help me get away from here.
• I am officially ruined.