#Chapter 4: Choosing to Lose

Madison’s POV

My chest seizes. “Don’t.”

She leans close, her voice a venomous whisper. “If Dylan finds out, he’ll never forgive you. Should I tell him? Or would you like to do it yourself?”

Her words sink like claws into my skin. For the first time since waking in that strange room, I realize the truth: I’m not just living with a lie.

I’m living with a loaded weapon and Zoey is holding the trigger.

“No! Zoey, please!” My voice rips out of my throat as I lunge for her.

Her eyes glint with sharp edged malice as she twists out of my grip. “Get away from me!” she snaps, shoving me so hard I stumble, my towel threatening to slip.

Panic claws at me. If she tells Dylan, my life is over. The thought of Dylan’s eyes filling with betrayal instead of love sends me spiraling. I can’t let her expose me. I never meant for any of this to happen.

I intend to explain and grab her wrist again. But she just lets out a piercing scream, one meant to alert everyone in the vicinity.

It does the job. The door slams open.

My father barrels in first, thunder on his face, my stepmother close behind, her eyes darting over both of us like a hawk’s.

“What is going on here?” my father booms, his voice shaking the walls.

Zoey crumples instantly, all of her venom vanishing like vapor. She hunches forward, shoulders trembling, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. “Daddy,” she sobs, “I didn’t mean to see anything. I swear! But Madison… she—she grabbed me, she threatened me, like always!”

My chest seizes. “That’s not true!”

But my father’s glare cuts through me like a whip. “Enough! I will not hear you torment her again.”

Torment? My heart stutters. Is that what they think I’ve been doing all these years?

Zoey’s performance sharpens. With a sudden, vicious yank, she grabs my towel and pulls. My towel slides lower before I can grasp it to my body.

I bring my arms up to shield myself, a pointless gesture that leaves the golden mark I've kept hidden fully visible. I hear the sharp inhale of their surprise.

“No,” I whisper, but it’s too late.

My father’s face contorts with fury. His hand flies out before I can move. The crack of his palm explodes against my cheek, snapping my head to the side. Pain sears, hot and stinging, and for a heartbeat I can’t breathe.

“You wretched slut!” he roars, his voice vibrating through my bones. “Your wedding is weeks away, and you disgrace us like this? Throwing yourself at another man?”

The taste of iron floods my mouth. “It’s not—”

“Disgusting.” My stepmother’s words slide in, cold and sharp. Her eyes shine with cruel satisfaction, her lips curved like she’s savoring each syllable. “I never expected this from you, Madison. You’ve humiliated us all.”

Shame crashes over me, but beneath it burns disbelief. “Please, it isn’t what you think...”

But they don’t hear me. No one ever does.

Father’s fury only builds, each word a blade. “Do you know what everyone says about you? That you torment Zoey. That you’ve looked down on me ever since I brought her into this house. Do you think I don’t see your disdain? Your jealousy?”

My vision blurs. “I never...”

He cuts me off with a snarl. “And you made her wolfless! She hasn’t been the same since you ruined her!”

Zoey bows her head, trembling like a wounded animal. “She saw me that night,” she whispers, just loud enough for them to hear. “When I shifted. She told everyone I was weak.”

“No!” The word tears from me like a scream. “You were with a Gamma warrior, Zoey and it destroyed your focus. Don’t twist this, you betrayed your wolf, not me! I tried to protect you!”

But Father only shakes with rage. “Lies!”

My stepmother strokes his arm, her face tilted in mock sympathy. “Darling, please. Don’t upset yourself further. We must think of the pack’s reputation.” Her eyes snap to me, all pity gone. “If Madison doesn’t value her engagement, perhaps Zoey should take her place. Dylan deserves a Luna who will honor him.”

The words strike harder than the slap.

“No!” I gasp, voice breaking. “You can’t...”

But my father nods slowly, the decision hardening in his eyes. “Yes. If you want to disgrace yourself, you’ll face the consequences. Either you step aside, or I tell Dylan the truth. Let’s see if he still wants a harlot for his Luna.”

The world tilts. My knees weaken, my lungs squeeze tight. “Please… don’t…”

Zoey’s voice slithers in, sly and poisonous. “I don't wanna hurt Maddie. Or… we could make a trade.”

I lift my head, dread flooding my veins. “What?”

Her lips curl into a sweet, poisonous smile. “Your gift. The healing your mother left you. Give it to me, and I’ll let you keep Dylan. Keep your perfect little ceremony. I’ll walk away.”

My stomach drops.

Healing isn’t just a skill—it’s part of me, sacred and rare. The one piece of my mother I have left.

Zoey tilts her head, her eyes gleaming. She closes the distance between us, her next barbed words meant for my ears alone. "What's wrong, scared that without this... gift, Dylan won't want you? You always love rubbing your 'unbreakable' bond with Dylan in everyone's faces. Well, let's just see what happens now."

Dylan’s voice echoes in my memory, soft and certain: Our love isn’t about what you can give me. He’s told me a hundred times. Sworn it’s true.

Tears sting hot against my lashes. My hands shake at my sides. I can’t lose him. I won’t.

My father steps closer, his hand closing tight around my shoulder, authority radiating from every line of his body. “Give it to her. Now.”

My chest caves. I close my eyes, bracing for the ripping pain, for the hollow emptiness that will follow.

But instead—

The air cracks.

Heat bursts across my skin, searing where his hand rests. My father yells, jerking his hand back. Smoke curls faintly from his palm as he cradles it, his face twisted in shock and pain.

I think my stepmother screams, but all I can hear is the thunder of my own heartbeat.

I open my eyes slowly. The golden mark blazes on my skin, molten light spilling like fire. It pulses with power, with warning, with something alive.

I stumble back, clutching the towel to my chest, my body trembling. My family stares at me in horror, as if I’ve become something unnatural.

And maybe I have.

A warm, non-burning heat radiates from the skin covered by the golden mark, reminiscent of the touch of the man who left it that night. The very thing I thought had ruined me has now protected me.

The power from his mark effortlessly defeats a Beta. His true power must be beyond our Alpha.

The mysterious stranger protected me. But, why?