Chapter 5: No Escape

Lexy’s POV

With my vision blurred from tears and my legs trembling, I stumbled into my home. After climbing the stairs, I collapsed into the warmth of my bed, sobbing loudly.

I was mourning my shattered dreams. My heart pounded faster and faster, my chest aching. I wanted to cry my eyes out, to scream until the pain left my body.

But no sound came out.

I had just poured myself a glass of water when my door flew open and my furious father and Elizabeth stormed in.

“You emberassed us. Your were always disgrace...today you shoked me. How could you?” Elizabeth shouted, her eyes blazing. “How can you be so selfish?”

I was speechless. Shouldn’t she be saying this to Leo?

“I did not raise an irresponsible bitch!” Elizabeth fumed, pacing around my room. “Instead of accepting his kind offer, you coldly reject him! The closeness of a fated mate strengthens the Alpha—and a stronger Alpha means a stronger pack! But you only think about yourself, as always. Pathetic abomination.”

“Elizabeth, it was his choice. He didn’t see me as his Luna,” I said, trying to defend myself.

Her face turned red with rage. “What? Nobody wants a wolfless, weak she-wolf as Luna. Even Omega would never mate you. You are nothing but a burden. You should be grateful that our Alpha offered you his love and support! What will you do now without him? Clean the packhouse for the rest of your life and paint your tasteless crap?”

Before I could even respond, the sharp crack of her palm against my cheek rang through the room. My head snapped to the side, skin burning, the taste of iron spreading in my mouth. I froze, stunned. She had never hit me before. The humiliation of it cut even deeper than the sting. But the worst part? My dad didn’t defend me. He just stood there, nodding in agreement with her.

Not only my mate—but now my dad had betrayed me too.

My heart felt like it would explode from my chest, but my tears ran dry, and my voice came out eerily calm, not matching the chaos inside me.

“You don’t have to worry about my future. Soon I will leave—and I’ll never come back.”

My dad chuckled coldly. “Stop your tantrums. You have nowhere to go. Sleep on it, and tomorrow accept Alpha Leo’s offer. It would be the best for everyone.”

Elizabeth threw me one last hateful look and they left.

Best for everyone? Not for me. For me, it was the end of everything I had ever dreamed of. I would never accept the offer to be a plaything just to satisfy Leo's body cravings and silence his wolf. The walls of my room suddenly felt like a prison closing in, suffocating me with their judgment. My chest ached, but my body was too heavy to move, too broken to fight back. For the first time, I wished I could disappear and never wake again.

Yet, as I curled into myself beneath the covers, a sharp certainty took root inside me. If they thought I would beg, they were wrong. My silence would be my weapon. My escape—my only salvation.

But fate wasn’t done mocking me.

The next morning, I had no choice but to report to duty. I needed money to escape. On wobbly, weary feet, I reached the packhouse, feeling like a lifeless doll, and placed my purse on the chair in the servants’ break room. Kathryn’s voice was soft, almost apologetic, but the words struck like a dagger.

“You’ve been assigned to clean Mirabel’s room. The future Luna asked specifically for you.”

The way she said it—drawn out, with the faintest curl of amusement—told me it wasn’t a simple chore. Mirabel wanted me there. Not to clean, but to humiliate.

My blood turned to ice.