Chapter 14: Why Do You Hate Me?

ALEXANDER

My father’s face darkened, and his eyes turned cold. He looked at me with gloomy disdain before sneering.

“You want to commit suicide? Go ahead. I’m already the First Elder—whether you live or die changes nothing. I’ve already achieved my dream.”

Then he stepped closer and looked down at me.

“If you die, I’ll seek compensation from your husband. I’ll be handsomely rewarded for your death. So go ahead and die. I’m about to take another wife and have many children.”

When he finished speaking, he turned and headed for the door.

I had never expected my father to be so heartless. His cruelty offered me no comfort at all. My voice came out slowly and weakly.

“He sent someone to rape me. I was raped, Dad.”

My father had already reached the door, but he suddenly stopped. For a few seconds, he stood still, and a spark of hope rose in my heart.

Then he turned around with a deep frown, and his next words shattered me.

“Alex, Alpha Damon is your husband. He has the right to decide what he wants to do with you. If he sent you to another man’s bed, then he must be desperate for an heir. I only hope you won’t be so useless that you fail to give birth to one for him.”

I was so shocked by his words that I couldn’t even react. I could only watch as he opened the door and walked away.

His words echoed endlessly in my mind, freezing my heart completely. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks. The disappointment and resentment I felt toward my father hurt so deeply that, at some point, I cried myself to sleep in anger.

When I opened my eyes again, my throat was dry, my body weak, and my head throbbing. I forced my heavy eyelids apart, exhausted by pain, betrayal, and bitter disappointment.

I sensed someone in my room and slowly turned around. There stood Alpha Damon.

There was a time when the mere sight of his handsome face would make my heart race, when his presence alone could brighten my darkest days. But now, all I felt was disgust instead of admiration, hatred instead of love. The face that once brought me joy now ruined my day completely.

“What are you doing here?” I asked gloomily, my voice cold and devoid of emotion.

He looked at me without warmth. “You refused to eat all day. I don’t care whether you eat or not, but you’re going to the envoys’ bed tonight. I don’t know what they see in you, Alexander. You’re not beautiful, yet they all want a taste of you. They all want to sleep with you.”

My head throbbed as I listened to his cruel words. Who would have thought that my so-called husband would be the one spewing such filth at me? But I felt no disappointment anymore. I had already given up on Alpha Damon completely.

What truly broke me was the fact that I was still his wife.

“Let’s divorce,” I said, my voice trembling with restrained pain. “I don’t want to be married to you anymore.”

To my shock, Alpha Damon laughed.

It was a careless, emotionless laugh that cut deeper than any blade. Then he looked at me with cold contempt and sneered.

“Do you think I want to be married to someone like you, Alex? You’re not beautiful. You’re not desirable. You’re a bringer of misfortune. You’re not worthy to stand beside me. You lack intelligence, and there’s nothing special about you. If you weren’t my mate, I wouldn’t even waste a single word on you.”

Every word stabbed into my heart. His cruelty took me back to the very first time I saw him. We were only children then. He had spoken to me once, and that single moment had meant everything to me. Yet, as we grew older, no matter how hard I tried to get his attention, he always avoided me.

“I’ll send the maids to prepare you,” Alpha Damon said before turning toward the door.

I couldn’t understand why he treated me with such cruelty. I had watched Alpha Damon grow up. He had never been a ruthless person. He had changed so much that I could barely recognize the man standing before me.

“Why do you hate me?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Alpha Damon paused at the door and slowly turned back to face me. His expression was unreadable as he replied in a deep, icy voice.

“You are the reason I lost Tracy. Everyone in the pack is rebelling because of you. They all say you’re a witch. Do you even know what that means?”

My eyes widened in shock. I had never expected Alpha Damon to believe such nonsense. I already knew my stepmother was behind those rumors. He knew it too—he knew they were baseless accusations meant to ruin me.

Yet he still believed them.

That realization shattered what little remained of my heart. I looked at him painfully and whispered, “You believe that I’m a witch?”

“Yes, I do,” he answered without hesitation. “You are a witch, Alexander. If you weren’t your parents’ only child and if you weren’t mated to me, you would have been burned alive.”

His words turned my blood cold.

But I knew the truth. I was not a witch.

I lifted my gaze and looked at him with defiance, but Alpha Damon had already turned away. Without another word, he walked out of the room and left me alone.

The door to my room opened, and several maids filed inside. With the last of my strength, I tried to climb out of bed, but they forced me back down. My nightdress was torn from my body. I fought against them, but suddenly my vision went black.

Voices drifted through the darkness, followed by laughter. Then I felt the cold floor against my bare skin.

My eyes snapped open. Shocked, I scrambled to my feet. The curtains by the window fluttered as a breeze swept in through the open frame.

“She’s so fat.”

“Look at the size of her chest.”

“Hahaha!”

“I can’t wait to watch her dance.”

I turned toward the voices and saw several men seated on a mat, staring at me with lecherous amusement.