CHAPTER EIGHT

The strange gleam in his eyes strikes a fear in me that makes my blood go cold but when I blink, he’s giving me a concerned look, that terrifying look gone.

Did I just imagine the whole thing?

Jason studies me and his voice is calmer, “Leaving isn’t an option, Danielle.”

“The mating mark-”

He sighs, “You need to give Cameron some time-”

“He hasn’t even touched me,” Tears blur my vision. “Two women I was supposed to meet today, they tore my clothes to see the mating mark and they insulted me because it wasn’t there!”

Jason’s face stiffens, “What?”

That terrible anger is once again in his voice, “Who? Who did that?”

I wet my lips, stammering out their names, “Lisa and Dolores. Vivian arranged for me to meet them. I walked all the way into town-”

“You walked?!” Jason looks furious now. “Vivian made you walk into town instead of giving you a car?”

I don’t think Vivian is entirely at fault there.

“She didn’t know-”

“She is still responsible for you!” Jason’s voice is cold. “Of your wants and needs. And she is not allowed to lay a finger on you! Did you tell her about-?”

“She didn’t believe me. They - The servants - they saw me, and they lied and Ne-”

My voice cuts off, “Vivian wouldn’t believe me.”

Jason is quiet before he finally says, “Danielle, I will deal with this. I knew there would be issues bringing you into this pack but never of this scale. After today, nobody in that house will ever touch you again. You have my word.”

“But-”

“You can’t go back, Danielle,” His words are firm. “Ever.”

There is a definite finality to his words which make my stomach drop.

He gets up and I have no choice but to follow him.

“My door is always open to you,” He steps closer to me, his voice kind. “In fact, from now on, I will make it a point to check on you myself. Now, come on. I’ll take you home.”

Home?

My home is far away where my parents are. The place he’s taking me to is no home to me. But as he drives me to the mansion, the grim reality wraps itself around me.

I’ve been shackled in an impossible prison.

*

The next morning, no one is the wiser that I left.

No one even comes to check on me till the afternoon.

It’s the maid from last night who unlocks my bedroom door. She peeks in, her face pale, “Are you awake, Miss?”

Last night, in my own trauma, I had forgotten her name but today I remember it.

“Jenny,” I give her a small nod.

She looks nervous, “The madam is calling you down for lunch?”

I stare at her stunned, “I thought I wasn’t allowed to -”

Her face blanches and I see something like fear it, “The Alpha showed up two hours ago. He was very angry.”

She doesn’t seem inclined to add much more and so I quickly dress and hurry downstairs, only to be greeted by a somber atmosphere and a horrifying sight.

Vivian’s face is badly bruised as she sits calmly at the lunch table. Her eyes are carefully blank, “Sit down. You must be hungry.”

Michael and Cameron are also there, neither of them meeting my gaze.

The servants serve me quickly, before stepping back.

The bruises on my face haven’t faded yet but the ones on Vivian’s face are terrifying and I wonder what happened. I look around and notice that Ness isn’t at the table. That’s a little surprising since she always joins the family for meals.

I eat in silence, not offering a word, content with the silence. But every time Vivian moves, I jerk, fearful of another round of beating.

She just gives me a strange look but doesn’t say anything.

After lunch, Cameron finally looks at me, his voice hard, “A driver and a car has been arranged for you. And you’ll be allocated a spending budget from today onwards.”

I stare at him, and it suddenly irks me that despite what is being given to me, his face is making out seem that talking to me is the most disgusting thing he’s ever done.

My jaw clenches, “So, what? Suddenly you all believe me? Should I also ask you when you plan to give me the mating mark?”

His face pales and he stands up so quickly that his chair falls to the ground. His voice is harsh, “Know your limits!”

“My limits?” I get up. “I don’t’ want to be dragged by my hair and have my clothes ripped in public because you refuse to give me the basic rights as your mate!”

“Is it enough that three of our staff had to die for your lies?!” He roars at me, furiously.

“W-What?” I stammer at him, stunned.

“Cameron, enough!” Vivian says, sharply.

“Mother, Jason - Your face-”

The Alpha did this?

For me?

“Enough!” Vivian raises her voice. When she looks at me, there is a hatred in her eyes that stuns me. “Take what you are given and the next time you want something, just ask for it, rather than lie and hurt our people.”

“I didn’t lie!” I say, upset.

But they don’t listen, just walking out and leaving me alone in the dining room.

The silence is heavy, making me wonder if going to Jason had been a mistake.

But the fact that they’re scared enough not to harm me is also a good thing.

*

However, if I thought that things would be better from now on, I was wrong.

Three days later, three days of rigid silence, I’m fast asleep in my bed when something causes me to stir.

I don’t know what it is that rouses me from my sleep but it’s around the late hour. As awareness seeps in, I feel something furry pressed against my leg. Confused and disoriented, I blink, hazily before reaching down and petting whatever animals has crept in.

Sitting up, I reach for the lamp to see whether it is a dog or a fox. It’s when I pull the cord to turn on the lamp that two things register on me at the same time: the smell of blood and the sight of dead mutilated foxes all over my bed.

A blood curling scream leaves my lips as I scramble back in fear on realizing that someone left dead animals in my bed.