Chapter Four

Ivy’s POV

"Father, please!" I sobbed, my voice cracking into a raw, desperate scream.

The moment the doctor uttered those agonizing words, my father hadn't just walked me out. He had grabbed me by my hair and dragged me down the grand staircase into the living room, my head spinning and throbbing at the same time.

"Who is the father?!" he roared, his voice rattling the glass in the windows.

"I don't know! I swear, I don't know!" I cried out, my hands clutching at his iron grip on my scalp as tears blinded me completely.

"You don't know?!" His voice cracked with sheer, violent disgust. "I will not let a disgraced girl and her bastard baby stay in my house!"

He threw me onto the cold marble floor. I collapsed into a trembling heap, crying so hard I choked on my own air, my lungs burning as panic clawed at my chest.

"Today, you are leaving for the borderlands!" he shouted down at me.

The borderlands. A desolate, blood-soaked wasteland swarming with violent, merciless rogue wolves. It was a death sentence for anyone let alone a wolfless girl.

"Father, no! Please, no! I won't survive out there!" I begged, dragging my bruised body across the floor toward his feet.

"You should have thought about that before!" Vera cut in, her smooth voice dripping with a cruel, satisfied smile as she watched me from the sofa.

Elena stood right beside her, leaning against the armrest, her eyes gleaming with happiness as a vicious smirk danced on her lips.

"You are no longer my daughter," my father spat, his words piercing me like a blade to the heart. "Get out of my pack."

My whole world collapsed then and there. Every single bit of hope I had buried deep inside myself withered away. After everything I had endured the neglect, the isolation, the relentless abuse my own father was throwing me into the jaws of death to die.

Then, a strange, hysterical laugh burst out of my mouth. A broken, soundless gasp turned into a bitter chuckle that echoed off the high ceilings. I laughed wildly through my tears because the pain was simply too much, too painful for a heart to bear without snapping in two.

"What did I ever do to you?!" I screamed, my voice echoing with twenty years of unspoken agony as I forced my trembling legs to stand, facing them all. "I was born without a wolf is that my fault?! My boyfriend was stolen by my sister, and no one cared! Now I'm pregnant, and you act like I'm a monster?!"

I stepped right up to the tyrant who gave me life, staring straight into my father's furious, hateful eyes.

"I hate you!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, pouring every drop of my shattered soul into the words. "I hate that you are my father!"

BANG!

He snapped. His heavy, clawed hand swung around with horrifying speed, striking me so hard I flew completely backward through the air. My spine cracked against the stone wall with a sickening thud before I crashed face-first onto the marble floor.

I lay there, gasping helplessly for air that wouldn't come, my body paralyzed by shock. Blood bubbled up from my throat, dripping heavily from my burst lip onto my dirtied shirt. My ribs screamed in agony.

My father stood over me, his Alpha eyes glowing a terrifying, deadly yellow as his aura suffocated the room. Even Vera and Elena looked momentarily shocked, he had never unleashed his raw, lethal Alpha strength on me before. He had almost broken my neck.

He backed away, his chest heaving, and yelled at the guards standing by the archway, "Drag her out of here now!"

Without a second glance, he turned on his heel and walked upstairs, completely abandoning me to the floor.

Elena’s shock vanished in an instant, replaced by a wicked, dark smile as two massive guards stepped forward, grabbed my arms, and hauled my limp body toward the front door. They pulled me outside like an animal destined for slaughter, my bare toes dragging helplessly along the cold driveway. Servants lined the paths, staring with cold eyes and whispering behind their hands as I was publicly hauled toward the main gates.

"Stop!" Elena’s voice called out, her heels clicking rapidly as she ran up behind us.

She pushed past the guards to face the growing crowd of servants, warriors, and onlookers gathered at the gates.

"Today, Ivy is kicked out of this pack for bringing shame to our family!" she announced, her voice ringing out like a judge declaring an execution. "She is nothing but a useless girl without a wolf!"

The crowd nodded along, whispers of disgust passing through them like a dark wave. Not a single person looked at me with pity.

"Anyone who tries to help her will be punished!" Elena warned, her glare sweeping across the crowd before nodding to the guards.

The guards dragged me past the massive iron gates out onto the rough dirt road outside and threw me down into the gravel like a sack of garbage. Stones scraped violently into my hands and knees.

Elena strolled over, crouched down right beside my bruised face, and whispered softly into my ear so only I could hear, "Everything you had is mine now. Eric, your home, your title. Nobody cares about you, Ivy. You're nothing."

Before I could even process her words, she pulled her fist back and punched me hard, directly in the stomach.

Pain exploded through my midsection, sharp and terrifying. I instantly curled into a tight, desperate ball, clutching my lower abdomen with both hands to protect the tiny spark of life inside me.

"Stop! I'm pregnant!" I screamed, weeping desperately into the dirt. "Please, don't hurt my baby!"

"Who cares about your bastard baby?" Elena laughed, her voice ringing with pure malice as she stood back up. "You can both die out here."

She turned to the two guards, her cold eyes settling on my curled-up form.

"Two of you would beat her until I tell you to stop."