14. My Attention.

MELISSA.

“Arrrrrrrrrghhhh!”

The scream ripped out of me the moment the door slammed shut behind him. It wasn’t graceful, it wasn’t quiet, just raw pain twisting out of my chest like a blade being pulled free.

My knees nearly buckled. My lungs burned like I’d sprinted for miles. I clutched at my hair, pressing my palms to my temples as if I could hold my skull together.

What kind of fate was this?

What twisted joke had the Moon Goddess carved for me?

Why me?

Why must everything, every humiliation, every cruelty, land on my shoulders?

My breath trembled as the memory seared into me again, hot and raw: Caleb holding Amelia, kissing her the way a man kisses the one he wants.

Their bodies tangled.

His voice, dripping with satisfaction. And me, forced to stand there, forced to watch, forced to pretend I was made of stone and not flesh that carries blood.

I was still their mate, bound by something ancient and sacred, even if they spat on it. I could feel every damn pain.

Shouldn’t that mean something?

Shouldn’t I deserve at least the smallest speck of respect?

My chest throbbed violently, not jealousy, I told myself, but something uglier, deeper.A fire spread beneath my ribs like acid.

I didn’t choose the bond.

I didn’t ask for this life.

Maybe once, quietly, foolishly, I had wished for them, I had hoped that being chosen might mean belonging, might mean love, might mean finally being seen.

But if I had known, truly known, that this was what awaited me…I would have prayed to be unmated. I would have begged to be left alone.

My wrists screamed in pain as I tugged at the ropes. The cords bit deeper at first, scraping skin already raw, and I hissed between my teeth. Finally, with a hard yank, the knot gave way, and the ropes fell to the floor.

Bright red bands wrapped around my skin, angry and throbbing. They stung like open wounds, throbbing in time with my heartbeat.

For a moment I just sat there, staring at them. Proof of how helpless I was, how powerless. Proof of what being mated to the Alpha brothers meant.

Slowly, with legs that felt like water, I forced myself to stand. My body ached everywhere, and every breath felt like inhaling smoke. I grabbed the edge of the duvet and lifted it. The smell of sweat, desire, and betrayal clung to the sheets.

My vision blurred instantly.

Tears spilled over before I could blink them back, droplets falling silently, dropping onto the white fabric and blooming into darker stains.

I pressed a hand over my mouth to smother a sob, but it still escaped, shaky, weak, broken.

My mates had touched another woman.

My own sister, and they had made sure I watched.

Still shaking, I drew the sheets toward me and did the only thing left I could…. I cleaned.

After several slow, agonizing minutes of cleaning, wiping away every trace of what I had been forced to witness, swallowing the sour lump in my throat with each stroke, the room finally looked as if nothing had happened. As if my heart hadn’t just shattered on the floor.

I straightened up, ready to slip out before my legs gave way beneath me. But the universe wasn’t done with me.

The door swung open sharply, banging against the wall, and I froze.

Cain.

His tall form filled the doorway, his presence icy and suffocating. My breath hitched painfully inside my chest.

Not again.

I didn’t think I had space left inside me for another humiliation, another command, another blow, whether physical or emotional.My body was already stretched to breaking.

I dragged in a shaky breath and quietly stepped toward the exit, refusing to make eye contact, praying he’d let me go.

But Cain’s hand shot out like lightning.

His fingers closed around my wrist, yanking me back with so much force my shoulder burned.

“Didn’t you see me?” he demanded, voice low, sharp, and threaded with irritation.

His grip tightened, his thumb pressing into my skin. My knees trembled.

“I…I did, Alpha Cain,” I stuttered, the words tumbling out on a shaky exhale as I dared to lower my head, a formal bow he never appreciated, yet demanded all the same.

Why did they hate me so much?

Why did every breath I took seem to offend them?

My mind spun in circles, searching for a reason, for anything to make sense, but all I found was a hollow ache.

I was nothing but their punching bag, their scapegoat, the sister of the woman they actually wanted.

And one day, I knew, at the rate they were going, they would destroy me completely.

“Look at me.” His tone sliced through my spiraling thoughts.

Cain released my wrist only to grip my chin, fingers rough yet deliberate as he angled my face upward. Pain prickled along my jaw, but beneath it was something far more dangerous, heat.

I forced myself to meet his eyes. Deep, molten amber and blazing with something I couldn’t name.

Rage?

Curiosity?

Possession?

Being this close was suffocating. His scent wrapped around me, smoke, pine, and something darker, and my body betrayed me instantly. My pulse tripped. My stomach fluttered. My wolf stirred in recognition she shouldn’t have felt, not after everything he’d done.

His thumb brushed lightly along my jaw, and a slow smirk tugged at his lips.

“You really like seeking my attention, Melissa,” he murmured, his voice dropping into something low and infuriatingly intimate.

No.

No, I didn’t.

I wanted his attention off me, far from me.

But the world tilted as he leaned in, his face descending toward mine.

His lips hovered dangerously close,so close I could feel the heat of them, could imagine the taste. His breath blew across my nose and cheek, warm and unhurried, teasing, claiming space he had no right to claim.

My chest tightened.

Against my will, my body leaned forward a fraction, traitorous, instinctive, drawn to him like a moth to a fire that promised to burn me alive.

I mentally screamed at myself to stop, to breathe, to pull away, but I couldn’t move.

For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to just him.

Cain’s eyes flickered downward to my lips.

And then…

A knock thundered against the door.

The spell shattered. Air rushed back into my lungs.

Cain straightened slowly, jaw tightening, and all I could do was stare,wide-eyed, breathless, shaken, caught between fear and a desire I wished with every cell I could erase.