Chapter 3

Ethan turned on his heel, furious. "Fine. Then suffer the consequences yourself!"

Kevin shoved me hard and chased after him. "Ethan, wait! Please!"

I stayed where I was, kneeling on the ground, gathering my scattered items in silence. When I finally stood up, I saw Jason in the distance, watching us thoughtfully.

I didn't linger. My body felt like lead. I dragged myself back to the rented apartment.

After a shower, I had just dozed off when a violent pounding on the door jolted me awake.

The entire building shook with the force of it.

"JOY! OPEN THE DOOR!"

A metal pipe slammed against the security gate. The thug's voice was deafening. "Kevin owes money. It's your job to pay it back!"

I gripped a silver dagger tightly, retreating until my back hit the wall. I needed something—anything—that felt like safety.

The door burst open.

A glass bottle exploded against the wall, shards slicing past my cheek.

The scar-faced thug at the front kicked over a chair and snarled, "That bastard Kevin didn't pay up. So guess what? You're the payment."

Before I could react, two of them lunged at me.

"Don't come near me!" I screamed.

They laughed.

"Still acting like some pure little girl? Where was all this fight when you were with other men, huh? Filthy vixen."

I pressed the silver blade to my throat. My voice trembled. "One more step and I'll kill myself. I swear it."

Blood had already started to stream down my neck.

That finally made them stop. They spat curses as they backed off. "You've got three days. If we don't get our money, you'll be burying Kevin instead."

As soon as they left, the hallway echoed with the neighbors' shouting.

"Disgusting tramp! Selling yourself in broad daylight—you're a disgrace to the whole building!"

"If you wanna sell yourself, go somewhere else. You're a walking curse. Should've been gone long ago!"

In the days that followed, my door was splattered with paint, leftover slop, and slurs scrawled in foul ink. The insults never stopped.

I had no choice but to leave.

The rain hadn't let up for days. The wind howled, growing stronger by the hour. My old suitcase was soaked through.

A black Maybach pulled up at the curb.

Ethan stepped out under a black umbrella, his leather shoes splashing through the puddles.

"Five years, Joy. And look at the life you've built. Really... 'spectacular.'"

I didn't respond. I kept dragging my drenched suitcase toward the beat-up car I'd finally flagged down.

Ethan's mood turned on a dime. He grabbed my wrist, voice snapping.

"I gave you 300 thousand dollars when we severed our mate bond. And you're out here playing the victim? Or are you putting on a show just for me?"

I jerked away, clutching a damp suitcase to my chest.

But his grip tightened. He wouldn't let go.

In that moment, a stuffed toy slipped from my hands and fell.

A second later, a car tire crushed it.

Without thinking, I lunged toward the ground, reaching for it.

Ethan yanked me back. "Have you lost your damn mind?! Get up!"

"LET GO!" I shrieked, shoving him off, soaked and shaking. "That doll was for our babies! You didn't want them—but I did! I loved them!"

He froze.

His eyes locked onto the shredded remains of the doll. "...You bought that for our pup?"

How could I forget those beautiful twins I risked everything to bring into the world? Or the two I lost after that—each miscarriage like a piece of my soul torn away.

I had been so excited, prepared so much for them. Cribs. Clothes. Toys.

Until Ethan told me the truth.

All those losses... were deliberate.

They were his revenge.

Because of Sarah.

My stepsister. His first love.

She got pregnant at eighteen. My parents found out and begged her to terminate it. But Sarah was stubborn. She went behind their backs to a black-market clinic.

The surgery failed. She was an Omega without a wolf. Her body couldn't handle it.

She died on that table.

Ethan blamed my family. Said it was our fault. Said we killed her.

And then he made us pay.

I sold everything to keep my parents alive. Sold all the baby things too. Only that doll remained—my one connection to the pups I never got to hold.

Now, even that was gone, all because of Ethan.

So what right did he have to look heartbroken?

I said nothing more. I left without looking back.

…

The rain poured harder.

I curled up on a park bench, phone trembling in my palm.

A call came through from the hospital.

"Miss Joy, your medical bills are too far overdue. If it continues, we'll have to stop treatment. And... your father just had another emergency. Without the rare suppressant, he won't last the month."

I had no options left.

Only one person could help me find that rare suppressant.

I forced my shaking hands to dial Jason's number. "I need a soul suppressant. Please."

His voice was amused. "Joy, finally coming around? Come with me to the high seas. A few days, that's all I ask."

Just hearing "high seas" made my body go cold.

But I thought of my father. My mother. Even Kevin.

And in the end, I said yes.

"...Okay."

…

In the days that followed, Ethan never saw me again at the underground club.

Suspicious, he wandered into a casino—and found Kevin.

He grabbed him by the collar, slammed him into a wall. "Where's your sister? Hiding from me?"

Kevin sneered. "She went to Jason. That freak. She's probably on her knees for him right now. She'll do anything for money. She's the shame of the Wilson bloodline."

Ethan heard gamblers nearby murmuring.

"She went offshore with Jason? Is she insane? Nobody comes back from those trips. Jason's ship is lawless. Girls either end up dead or... shark food."

Ethan's face turned pale as death. He seized the gambler. "What did you just say?"

The man looked terrified, instantly realizing Ethan wasn't someone to mess with. He spilled everything.

"Jason's pack, the Nightclaw pack, owns the ship. No one dares interfere. Once he's had his fun, they say he either kills the girls himself or tosses them overboard. Nobody comes back."

Before he could finish, Ethan was already gone. He charged into the storm, rain pounding down like bullets.

Drenched to the bone, he pulled out his phone with shaking fingers.

"Intercept that ship. Now. I dare anyone to touch my Luna!"