Chapter 2

I moved into the warriors' quarters.

The young wolves were extremely shocked by my presence and didn't dare say a word to me. All of them knew who I was and what had happened, but none of them dared to bring it up and question me further.

Time seemed to crawl by as I spent the night in that building that stank of sweat and feet.

I received a new order the next morning.

"You don't have to join the patrols from this day forth," Felix said as he stood on the stage in the training grounds, looking down at me. "Portia needs a bodyguard. You're responsible for protecting her now."

The rest of the warriors stared at Felix with flabbergasted expressions. They couldn't believe that he was assigning me, the chief warrior, to play bodyguard for an Omega she-wolf.

"That goes against the law, Alpha," a Beta, Jason Green, said. "Selena is the best warrior in the entire pack. She should be on the frontlines, not—"

"Silence!" Felix roared, interrupting Jason. "I'm the Alpha. My word is law!"

There was a provoking glint in his eye as he looked at me, demanding, "What's wrong? Are you unwilling to carry out my orders? Portia is extremely weak now. Her life could be in danger at any time. You're the strongest wolf in the pack. Protecting her is your duty now.

"Or could it be that you would rather see her dead to soothe your own jealousy?"

I felt like I was looking at a total stranger as I looked at Felix. "I accept," I said calmly.

…

I headed over to the master bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, and I could hear Portia's laughter coming from within.

"These grapes are so sweet, Felix. Can you feed them to me?"

"Sure. Open your mouth."

I stood emotionlessly outside the door, like a statue.

A few moments later, Portia noticed me. "Selena is here."

There was a triumphant smile on her face as she leaned against Felix's chest, wearing my silk pajamas.

"I'll be counting on you from now on, Selena. I can't move around much because of my leg, so I'll have to rely on you for many things."

"No problem," I replied coldly. "It's my duty."

"You don't have to be so cold," Portia said, sounding troubled as she shrank further into Felix's embrace. "I just want to be friends with you."

"She doesn't deserve to be your friend," Felix spat icily.

He plucked a grape and fed it to Portia, not even bothering to spare me a glance as he continued, "She's an unrefined beast. She doesn't know how to be gentle.

"Get a glass of water for Portia, Selena. Make sure it's warm. 113 Fahrenheit."

I took a deep breath before walking over to the table to pour a glass of water for Portia. I then strode over to the bed and offered it to her.

Portia reached out for the water. However, just as her fingers brushed the glass, she suddenly loosened her grip.

The glass fell to the floor and shattered into a million pieces. The hot water splashed all over Portia's feet.

Portia screamed. "It burns!"

Tears welled up in her eyes in an instant, making her look extremely pitiful.

"What are you doing?"

Felix leaped to his feet and slapped me hard across my face. "You can't even hold a glass of water properly. How useless can you be?" he roared before bringing Portia's feet to his face and carefully blowing on them.

"I'm sorry, Felix. Don't blame Selena," Portia choked out. "I was the one who dropped the glass. Don't be angry—"

"You're being too kind!" Felix shouted as he glared at me. "She did that on purpose because she's jealous of you! Get on your knees and apologize to Portia!"

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth before turning to look at Felix. "I didn't let go of the glass," I said. "She's the one who dropped it."

"Still making excuses?" Felix asked, his expression turning stormy. "I saw what happened with my own two eyes. It's disgusting how you insist on lying, Selena. Kneel now! This is an order!"

It was impossible to disobey an Alpha's command.

My knees quivered as the urge to obey coursed through me. However, I stubbornly refused to submit.

The broken glass shards glimmered with a cold light next to my feet.

If I kneeled now, my legs would get torn up.

Was that Felix's goal? To cripple my legs just like how he crippled Portia's all those years ago?

"I won't kneel," I gritted out. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Felix barked out an indignant laugh. "Is that so?"

His foot suddenly shot out, kicking the back of my knee.

I lost control over my body and fell to my knees. Excruciating pain exploded from the point of impact.

The sharp glass shards dug into my knees, causing fresh blood to stain the carpet.

I couldn't help myself and grunted in pain as sweat drenched my back.

"This is what you get for disobeying me," Felix hissed as he glared coldly at me with eyes that were devoid of any sympathy. "Continue kneeling until Portia forgives you."

Portia hid in Felix's embrace. A frosty smile stretched across her lips as she stared at my pained expression.

"Selena's bleeding so much, Felix. Is she going to die?"

"She won't," Felix replied indifferently. "Wolves have strong regenerative powers. This is just a scratch. It'll serve as a good lesson for her to understand who's the one and only Alpha of this pack."