One

Summer's POV

"Oh, come on, Summer, stay put! We can't have you showing yourself like this to our guests," Rhys urged, frustration creeping into his tone.

"Rhys, it's your big birthday party tonight!" I pleaded, trying to reason with him.

"Are you incapable of understanding a simple request, huh?" he grumbled, his tone firm.

"Do you want another torture? Or do you want me to lock you in the basement again?" Rhys smirked, sending cold chills down my spine.

I shook my head hard. My body was already exhausted from all the torture I'd endured over the past two days.

"I'm your husband. My word is the law, Summer!"

"But…I have the right to be there…" I protested weakly.

"Say that again!" Rhys screamed. He tugged my hair roughly, making me wince in pain.

"Listen here, you bitch..." he whispered threateningly in my ear.

"I can't have my guests, especially all the Alpha's pack leaders, seeing you."

"You're my disgrace. A worthless barren wife!"

"And because of you, I didn't get crowned again this year! It's all your fault!"

"Rhys, there's still hope. The doc said that I-"

"Shut the fuck up, Summer!"

"Or else you'll regret it!" Rhys squeezed my chin so tightly that my jaw throbbed with pain.

"Rhys, darling, we should start getting ready," Luna Jocelyn, Rhys' mother, interjected. She watched the scene unfold with a cold, contemptuous smile.

"Hold on, Mom..." Rhys released me, shoving me hard onto the cool granite floor below.

"Today's your special day," Luna Jocelyn reassured her son with a pat on his shoulder, her eyes full of disdain as she glanced down at me.

"Don't let your mood be ruined because of this stupid wench," Luna Jocelyn smiled warmly at her son as she wiped Rhys' sweat from his forehead.

"Mom..."

"Rhys, we don't want to be late for the party starting in half an hour, right?" Luna Jocelyn snapped.

"Okay, Mom… sorry, can you help me give her some medicine? Her wolf is weak right now, and she won't be able to cure herself," Rhys said and walked out of the room at a brisk pace, without looking or feeling sorry for me at all.

"Don't worry, darling. I will take care of this bitch," Luna Jocelyn said, turning towards me with a grin.

I lay on the floor now, hands bound, face bruised, and back bleeding. Luna Jocelyn walked over to me, then took out a small bottle from the pocket of her fur coat.

She chuckled, "Drink this; Rhys doesn't want you dead yet."

"I will not be able to take it if you do not untie me, Luna," I responded.

"I'll untie you if you promise to behave and not cause any trouble, got it?" Luna Jocelyn said, looking down at my battered face.

I nodded silently, unable to speak with screams trapped in my throat.

"Honestly, I regret letting my late husband pair my precious son with a shameless woman like you. I think Rhys will have to get rid of you sooner or later," she chuckled as she untied me before leaving the room.

"Servant! Lock the room, and don't let her out!" Luna Jocelyn ordered before departing, leaving me alone in my pain.

The echoes of Luna Jocelyn's heels reverberated in my ears as I lay on the cold floor. Tears streamed down my face as I slowly rose, made my way to the bed, enduring the ache from Rhys' punishment all over my body.

***

I'm Summer Yversen, the first daughter of the late Beta Alfonzo from his first wife. My mother passed away right after I was born. Not long after that, my dad met his second mate and they married.

Life's been tough for me ever since, with my stepmom and stepsisters moving in. My dad went all cold towards me. He treated me like a total outsider and put his new family first.

One day on the eve of my eighteenth birthday, the Rogues attacked the pack while Alpha Reuben was away. They struggled to defeat them, the situation was critical, so my dad instructed the pack members to go to the neighbor pack. But instead of saving me first, my dad prioritized Cornelia and Virgie. 

He forbade me to join and asked me to hide in the basement, telling me he would be back soon to pick me up.

I was so scared, cried, and begged my dad to take me with my stepmother and stepsister, but Cornelia suddenly groaned complaining that her head hurt and pretended to faint.

So once again, my dad no longer heard my pleas and left me alone in the house.

But, my dad never came back for me.

Because on that day, my dad was killed for the sake of saving Rhys Glomarian, Alpha Reuben's only son. After my dad's demise, Alpha Reuben betrothed me to Rhys as a promise he made to his late Beta.

A year later, Rhys finished up at the Wolf Military Academy, and we got married. Sadly, just four months after we tied the knot, Alpha Reuben died under mysterious circumstances. Since then, the Alpha throne in the Fang Forest Pack has been vacant since the rules say only an Alpha with an heir can be throned.

***

"Miss Yversen." A soft tap on the balcony door made me jump.

"I'm here, just like you asked."

"Leila? You have the key?" I whispered, crawling toward the glass.

"Yeah."

"The party's already started," she said quietly.

"Open it. Now. I need to get down there." My voice was stronger than I felt. "Those guests need to see what their precious Alpha-wannabe really is."