CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

LORRAINE’S POV

I’ll kill Conrad.

The thought rang through my head like a mantra as I tumbled down the stairs.

Ever since I lost my sight two years ago, not a day had gone by without Conrad reassuring me that he would never leave my side—that he would become my eyes.

But one shriek from Saylor was enough for him to abandon me at the top of the stairs without a second thought.

Was I really his fiancée or was my best friend, Saylor?

“Lorraine!”

I could faintly hear the urgency in Conrad’s voice as he screamed for me accompanied by hurried footsteps.

‘He still loves me, right?’ I thought as I slowly drifted into total silence.

*****

“Stop, what if Lorraine hears us?”

Conrad’s voice filtered into my ears immediately after I regained consciousness.

The familiar smell of my room gave me a sense of my location but my head was blank.

What happened?

I tried recalling what transpired in the last few hours but the throbbing pain in my head made it difficult to think.

“She has been in a coma for two weeks now, who knows if she’ll still wake up. She might as well just die.” The other voice which I recognized as Saylor’s bit out louder and harsher.

My fists clenched the bed sheet as Saylor’s words gnawed at my heart.

The memory of me tumbling down the stairs flooded in like a bursting dam.

I knew I was blind, but not this blind. How come I never noticed her resentment for years?

“She can’t die. I can’t let her die.”

Conrad’s harsh rebuke ignited a little bit of hope in my heart, but Saylor’s next words snuffed it out before it settled.

“Don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for her?” Saylor’s words came out in broken sobs.

“What? No. How can I fall for someone who is too dumb to realize I’m only with her because I need her blood?”

My blood? My breath went still, afraid I’d miss any detail.

Why would Conrad want my blood?

I didn’t know how close they were, but I remained still knowing that I couldn’t risk letting them know I was awake.

The urge to strangle them till they have no choice but to confess clawed at me but I could only lie helplessly waiting for them to reveal more.

“Then when do you intend to kick her out of the Packhouse?”

“Just until I’ve made enough from selling her blood. Be patient, baby. You’ve waited for two years. What’s a little longer? I’ll make it up to you.”

“But…”

“Those old witches are still paying well for her blood. Just a little longer, and I’ll be yours.”

As if listening to those sickening words wasn’t enough torture, I had to endure the disgusting sound of them kissing.

After what felt like forever, Conrad led Saylor out of the room leaving me alone with my thoughts.

The tears I'd fought so hard to hold back finally spilled over.

I was the sheltered princess of Midnight Pack but one promise from Conrad and I left it all behind.

I could still remember my mother’s wails and my father’s tear filled eyes as I threatened to kill myself if they didn’t let me go.

Ultimately cutting off all contact with them after Conrad’s persuasion, I had not spoken to them for two years.

But what did I get in return?

Blind and betrayed the moment I stepped foot in Euphoria Pack. But I had foolishly endured it for two years, relying on Conrad’s empty promises.

My parents did everything they could to protect me, but I broke their hearts instead

Like my mother had always said, I really can’t trust anyone except for my family.

Remembering my thoughts about killing Conrad, I could only laugh at how pathetic my thoughts were.

I couldn’t even save myself. I couldn’t even go back home.

The room suddenly felt colder as the wind blew in from the window.

Slow, unfamiliar footsteps entered the room until they stopped a few inches away from my bed.

“Who are you?” I was forced to call out after the intruder stood still without a word, as if studying me.

Still no response.

“What do you want?” I called out again as my finger curled around the pendant on my neck.

Did they finally decide to kill me?

The stranger carried the scent of cedar wood and musk. It reminded me of the men in my father’s pack.

I wasn’t sure of his gender but I gambled anyway. “Do I know you sir?”

“You are remarkably perceptive for a blind woman.”

I turned to the other side of the bed, a pitiful attempt to escape but a firm hand landed on my shoulder, forcing me back onto the bed before I could take another step.

I made another attempt to climb out of the bed.

“Shall we make a wager?” he asked. “Between a frail, blind werewolf and myself, who do you suppose is faster?”

He had a point, I admitted painfully. “If Conrad sent you here to kill me, just get on with it,” I said resignedly.

The thought of dying suddenly felt better than facing the painful reality that I would never escape Conrad.

“What makes you think he can order me around?”

I leaned into the bed as I sensed him moving closer. “Because he’s the Alpha,” I said as if stating the obvious.

Who else could have sent him? Conrad commanded the entire pack.

The bed dipped as his weight dropped. “He is nothing but a weakling. The state of Euphoria Pack makes that evident.”

“If you’re not here to kill me, then are you here for my blood as well?” I asked again.

I didn’t sense any hostility from him, but after Conrad and Saylor’s betrayal, I’ve learned not to trust my instincts until I have proof.

“I know what you want, Lorraine, and I am here to help you get it,” he whispered.

Not bothering to ask how he knew my name, I clutched his shirt like a lifeline.

“Then help me. Help me escape this hellhole. If you can take me to the midnight pack...my father’s the Alpha. He will reward you with whatever you want and…”

“Whatever I want?”

I nodded repeatedly, afraid he’d change his mind. The thought of my mother’s warm hugs and my father’s little head pats made my homesickness unbearable.

“I have a better idea,” he said as he pushed what felt like a vial to me.

“What is this?” I asked as my palm worked its way around the bottle.

“Drink it.”

I threw the vial away expecting it to break but the silence made me realize he caught it instead.

“You think it is poison?” he asked. “I do not need underhanded methods. If I wanted you dead, strangling you would suffice.”

The lightness in his tone as he talked about strangling me as if discussing the weather made me shiver unconsciously.

Unwilling to entertain him further, I turned away from him.

“I assumed your desperation would have given you a spine but I was mistaken,” he said. “I will decide for you.”

Before I could make sense of his words, I felt his hand clamping at my jaw.

It wasn’t long until my teeth loosened under the pressure.

My eyes were soaked with tears as the content of the vial forcibly went down my throat.

“You’ll pay…for this,” I coughed out as he freed my jaw.

My hand immediately reached out for his but I fell limply on the bed as a wave of dizziness washed over me.

His laughter echoed through the room, reminding me how weak and helpless I was.

“Your grievance with me will have to wait, you have a far greater debt to collect from Conrad. In any case, you will come back for another bottle.”

The hateful smugness in his voice was the last thing I heard before the familiar silence swallowed me again.