Get. Your. Filthy. Hands. Off. Her, you motherfucker!

Clara's POV

"You little whore," Garrick growled, his voice slurred with drunken malice, his hand fumbling clumsily at the neckline of my dress. The fabric gave way with a sickening rip, the sound echoing through the dim chamber like a death knell. Cool air rushed against my exposed shoulder, then my chest, and a wave of humiliation crashed over me, scorching my skin hotter than any flame. "Please, no," I begged, my voice fracturing into desperate sobs. Fear clawed at my insides, a black abyss devouring every rational thought. My heart hammered against my ribs, threatening to shatter them; my breaths came in ragged, shallow gasps, the room tilting and spinning in a nauseating blur. I kicked wildly, my knee grazing his groin, but he anticipated it, shifting his weight and pinning my legs apart with his thigh, immobilizing me completely.

His foul breath, reeking of stale ale and decay, assaulted my face as he leaned in closer, his lips hovering mere inches from mine. "Gonna make you scream my name instead of his," he muttered, his words dripping with venomous intent. His hand slid lower, groping roughly, sending jolts of pain and disgust through my body. I recoiled instinctively, every muscle screaming in protest. I turned my head away sharply, tears streaming hot and unrelenting down my cheeks. "Stop! Taehyung—someone—help!" My screams tore from my throat, raw and piercing, but they seemed futile, swallowed by the thick stone walls of the pack house. No one would come. No one ever did for me anymore.

He laughed again, a cruel, barking sound that grated against my nerves like nails on slate. "Scream all you want, bitch. No one's comin'. Alpha's too busy to care about his broken mate." His teeth grazed my neck, rough and invasive, and then—agony exploded through me. He bit down hard, not with the precision of a claiming mark but with savage, tearing force, breaking skin and drawing blood. Warm trickles slid down my collarbone, the pain a white-hot lance that made me arch off the bed and cry out in anguish. "You bastard!" I wailed, fury surging through the fear, igniting a fleeting burst of strength. I bucked beneath him, my free hand punching futilely at his chest, nails scraping against his shirt. But he was relentless, his weight crushing me down, his hips grinding against mine with unmistakable, horrifying intent.

Despair washed over me in suffocating waves. This couldn't be happening. Not here, not like this. Memories flooded unbidden—the sun-dappled garden, the honeyed toast shared with a boy who laughed like summer, his touch playful and warm. Now, it was all twisted into this nightmare. Was I nothing? Just prey for any wolf who dared to take? Sobs racked my body, my struggles weakening as exhaustion and terror sapped my will. His lips brushed mine, slimy and insistent, and I clamped my mouth shut, turning away with a muffled cry of revulsion.

Just as his hand tore at the hem of my dress, ready to rip it away completely—

BANG!

The door exploded inward, hinges groaning in protest as it slammed against the wall with enough force to crack the plaster. The air shifted instantly, charged with a primal fury that made the hairs on my arms stand on end. A low, guttural growl filled the room, vibrating through the floorboards like an earthquake, rattling the very foundations of my fear.

Alpha Taehyung stood in the threshold, silhouetted by the hallway light. His eyes blazed crimson, pupils narrowed to lethal slits, his wolf fully surfaced and raging. His jaw was a rigid line of tension, veins bulging in his neck and forearms like cords about to snap. His fists clenched at his sides, knuckles white, as if he were restraining himself from tearing the world apart piece by piece. The scent of his rage—sharp, metallic, like blood and storm—overpowered everything else, choking the air.

"Get. Your. Filthy. Hands. Off. Her, you motherfucker," Taehyung's voice was a lethal rumble, each word dripping with unrestrained violence. It wasn't a request; it was a death sentence, laced with alpha command that made my own wolf whimper in instinctive submission.