Chapter Four

The warm bath felt like a luxury I didn't deserve but it cleared away the dirt, dried blood and rain that clung to my skin. Last night, after the chaos of the binding, Malakai ordered two tight-lipped servants to scrub me down and throw me into a guest room. I spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling as my chest burned with the fresh mark of our bond. A servant to my worst enemies… How did my life turn into this? WHy would Mom agree to this kind of set-up?

The next morning, the rich aroma of roasted meat, fresh bread and fruit filled the dining hall. I sat near the foot of the massive table in a plain and  oversized dress that the maid gave me as I pressed my hands tightly together in my lap. Across from me, the five brothers ate in near silence.

Malakai set his fork down.. He wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin before his  dark eyes fixed on me with absolute detachment.

"The servants will pack a bag for you," Malakai remarked. “We're taking you back to your father today."

My stomach dropped. I immediately shook my head in return. No. Please, God, no. "What? No—no, I can't go back!"

"You don't have a choice," Malakai replied as he leaned back in his tall chair. "If your father finds out we're keeping his daughter under our roof, it’ll cause a massive political mess. We’re not starting a border conflict over House Ellis's family drama."

"I came here specifically to escape him! I crossed the border on my own to get away from my father! You didn’t even kidnapped me so why the fuck would it start a border conflict?"

Evren, who had been quietly chewing, set his knife down. He looked at me and his sharp features grew dead serious. "If you wanted to escape your father, there were a hundred other ways, Caidy. Why run on your wedding night? Why not just go through with the marriage and leave your father's house properly?"

I swallowed hard and my throat turned dry. I stared down at my plate as my lips pressed into a tight and silent line. I can't tell them. I can't say it out loud. The shame and the memory of Corbin's hands felt far too heavy to pull out into the open.

Knoxx let out a low laugh as he leaned back in his chair with a smirk. "Oh, come on, Evren. Isn't it obvious?" Knoxx tilted his head at me while his eyes gleamed with vulgar amusement. "What's the matter, princess? Is Corbin's dick too small? Is that why you ran away from the altar?"

"Knoxx, shut up," Sylas warned before he shot his brother a sharp and disgusted glare from across the table. "Have some decency for once."

Knoxx just shrugged, completely unbothered, and bit into a bright red apple.

Before anyone else spoke, the heavy oak doors of the dining hall slammed open with a loud bang that echoed off the stone walls. I jumped on my seat as I looked towards its direction.

"She won't have to go far, Alpha Ellis!"

My heart stopped beating entirely.

Alpha Magnus, my father,  walked into the room, draped in his black fur coat as his red eyes swept over the dining hall like a hawk. Right behind him stood Corbin. He wore his silver armor and an arrogant, mocking smile plastered across his face as his eyes locked onto me. I instinctively caressed my nape. They found me. A cold wave of nausea hit me all at once. I instinctively shrank back in my chair while my knuckles turned white as I gripped the wooden armrests.

"Magnus, Corbin," Malakai said slowly before  he stood up from his seat. The other four brothers didn't move but watched the intrusion with cold and idle curiosity. "You're trespassing."

"I am retrieving what belongs to our House,Malakai," my father growled as he took heavy steps toward the table. "My daughter ran off like a fucking coward before the ceremony finished. Hand her over now so we can get this over with."

Corbin stepped forward before his eyes scanned up and down my body in a way that made bitter bile rise in my throat. "Come here, Caidy," Corbin said softly. "You've caused enough of a scene. Your father and I searched for you all night."

"No," I whispered. They'll kill me this time. I am a hundred percent sure that the damage they’ll do to me will kill me. I turned toward Malakai, then looked frantically at Knoxx, Evren, Sylas, and Lucien. "Please. Don't hand me over to them. Don't let them take me back."

"Shut the fuck up, Caidy!" My father barked as he glared at me. "You embarrassed me enough yesterday! It’s time to stop this tantrum of yours!"

"Please," I begged, looking directly at Malakai and throwing away every last piece of my pride.

Lucien let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. “Are you serious? You show up here after causing whatever mess you caused and now you expect us to clean it up for you?”

“Lucien—” Evren started.

“No. Why should we care?” Lucien cut him off. His eyes settled on me with open contempt. “Whatever happened between you and your family has nothing to do with us. You chose to run away. You chose to come here. So don't stand there and expect us to get involved just because you suddenly don't know where else to go.”

I flinched but he didn't care.

“You spent years at the academy treating us like we were beneath you. You made our lives miserable whenever you got the chance. Now you're in trouble, and suddenly we're supposed to forget all of that and play heroes?” He gave a humorless laugh. “Sorry, princess. You made your bed. Lie in it.”

My throat tightened. I had expected their hatred. I had known better than to think they would welcome me after everything that had happened between our families and because of what I did towards them back then. Still, hearing Lucien say it out loud hurt more than I wanted to admit.

“I'm not asking you to fight my father,” I said. My voice shook as tears burned my eyes. “I'm asking for mercy.”

Lucien scoffed.

“Mercy?” He looked at me as if the word itself amused him. “You came to the wrong house for that.”

“Oh, come on, Caidy,” Corbin chimed in. A soft laugh escaped his lips as he took another step toward me. “You wanted help from these people? Don't be stupid, sweetie. They don't care about you. You're coming home with me.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. I backed away from him until the chair hit the backs of my legs and I gripped its edge to keep myself steady. I looked at the five brothers across the room, searching their faces for anything. Anger. Pity. Doubt…. Anything that told me they might listen if I asked. I knew they hated me and knew I had no right to expect kindness from them, but I had nowhere else to go.

“I am not going anywhere with you,” I said.

Corbin's smile faded. “Caidy, don't make this harder than it needs to be.”

I looked towards Corbin as I shot him with a glare. “I said I'm not going!” I screamed.

I pushed myself upright so quickly that the chair fell behind me and crashed against the floor. The sound echoed through the room, but I barely heard it. My whole body shook as Corbin stared at me. I had spent years pretending that his presence didn't frighten me but I couldn't pretend anymore.

“Enough of this foolishness, Caidy,” my father growled.

My blood ran cold when he stepped toward me. His hand reached for my arm and I immediately recoiled before he could touch me.

“Don't!”

“Get over here,” he ordered.

I shook my head. “No.”

His expression darkened and I knew that look. I am well-aware of what came after it. My father's anger had always meant pain and my body reacted before my mind could catch up. My breath hitched as panic clawed its way up my throat.

I looked around the room, desperate for somewhere to turn. My eyes landed on Malakai.

He was staring at me, though his expression was unreadable, but he was the only one who didn't look at me like I was something he wanted to punish. I didn't know if he would believe me and I didn't know if he would even care… but I had run out of choices.

If I went back with Corbin, I knew exactly what awaited me.

So I held Malakai's gaze, swallowed the terror rising in my throat, and said the only thing I had left.

“Corbin isn't my fated mate!”

The words tore out of me.

Silence crashed over the room. For a second, I could only hear my own ragged breathing. My eyes stayed locked on Malakai as if his reaction could decide what happened to me next. I had just exposed the secret my father had forced me to hide and I had no idea whether it would save me or make everything worse.

But I couldn't take it back because I had nothing else.

My father froze on his spot. Corbin's smug expression vanished and his eyes widened for a brief second. Across the room, Malakai’s brothers stared at me. Even Lucien had gone quiet.

“What did you just say?” Sylas asked.

Tears spilled down my cheeks. I looked at each of them, one after another, and silently begged them to understand. I didn't need them to forgive me. Heck, I didn't even need them to like me! I just needed… someone. 

“He isn't my fated mate,” I repeated, although my voice barely came out. “He never was.”

My gaze dropped to the floor as my chest tightened. I had kept this secret for so long because I knew what people would say. They would call me defective. They would call me cursed. They would ask why the Gods had refused to give me the mate I was supposed to have.

But the truth was worse.

“My father sold me to him,” I whispered.

“Caidy, hold your fucking tongue!” My father warned. His voice dropped into a dangerous rumble that made my stomach twist.

Corbin's jaw tightened, and his body went rigid as he forced out a laugh. “She's lying. She's crazy—”

“Sylas.” Knoxx cut him off before he could finish. He turned toward his brother. “Is she lying?” 

I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked at Sylas. I knew the brothers didn’t trust me, but it still hurt to think they believed I would lie about something like this. 

Sylas let out a harsh breath and looked at his brothers. None of them spoke, yet something passed between them. Their expressions shifted as if they were having a conversation without words. I frowned as I watched them but I couldn't figure out what they were thinking.

“Fuck,” Evren muttered as if he realized something.

The word made my heart sink.

For the first time since my father entered the room, the five of them fell completely silent. Malakai's eyes moved from my trembling face to Corbin and something in his expression hardened. Knoxx's usual mocking smile disappeared as his gaze turned cold. Even Lucien sat frozen, his jaw slightly slack as he stared at me.

None of them laughed and they didn’t call me a liar.

Yet somehow, their silence frightened me almost as much as my father's anger.