Chapter 5

Avery’s POV

My father had always been a proud man. At least, that was what my mother told me.

Even before I was born, he was ashamed of my mother’s status; she was an Omega, and he was the son of a Gamma, so when he found out that they were mates, he was furious and took it out on her.

Back then, it was the male’s decision whether to sever a bond or not, and well—my father was too proud to do that, too, because those were the days when mates were expected to stay together, even when it was toxic.

So my mother had no choice but to endure his abuse, praying that she could at least give him a strong son. She thought that that would make him happy. Personally, I thought he would always have been unhappy no matter what, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her that.

Then, I was born. Not only a girl, but a wolfless one at that.

To my father, that was the greatest humiliation of all. Even worse than rejecting his mate. Even worse than being fated to an Omega to begin with.

As punishment, he rejected my mother, severing their bond. His close relationship with the Alpha at the time, Ryan’s father, allowed him to demote my mother to the role of slave. She was stripped of everything she had, forced into rags, and made to perform the lowliest pack duties as retribution for daring to give my father a wolfless daughter.

For my part, I was “graciously” allowed to stay in my father’s home. Before I was even old enough to form proper memories, he remarried. A woman named Natasya, a Gamma from outside the pack, came to live with us along with her daughter from her first marriage, Zara.

The rest was history. I was not a slave in title, but it didn’t matter; I was a slave in my own home, forced to tend to a family who hated me. My father beat me and Nastasya watched with glee on her face while Zara soaked up all of the love that had never been given to me.

When I turned sixteen and started dating Ryan, things changed, just a little. I was tolerated because there was a chance I might marry the future Alpha of Silvermoon—a great honor, even for a wolfless like me.

It wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the tragedy I had caused my father by being born. But it was a small victory. He started beating me just a little less, because of course, the future potential Luna couldn’t be seen with bruises. The emotional abuse remained, though.

Now, he seemed not to care anymore if bruises marred my fair skin. If Ryan would no longer be seeing them, then what did it matter? Not a lick to him, at least.

All I could do was raise my hands, protecting my skull and the back of my neck, as his fists rained down on me.

“After everything I’ve given you!” he grunted, aiming another punch at my belly this time. The blow knocked the wind out of me, sending a cramp lancing through my abdomen. I managed to tighten my core before it struck, protecting my vital organs. “You turn around and do this!”

“Turn her into a slave,” Natasya said from behind him. She stood in the doorway with her arms folded, completely unbothered by the sight of a man twice my size beating me to a pulp. “She should have become one long ago, right along with her useless womb of a mother.”

“Perhaps I should.” His fingers tangled in my hair, dragging me toward the house. “And to have the nerve to show up on my doorstep in lingerie, no less; perhaps I should let the whole pack fuck her first, since apparently that’s all she’s good for.”

Their words were designed to crush my spirit, but I refused to let them strike where they were aiming. I’d learned years ago, before I was even five, how to retreat into my mind until the beatings were over.

That was where I was now. Not feeling the pain of the blows as my father threw my body onto the kitchen floor and continued attacking me, but somewhere else entirely. Sometimes it was a sandy beach. Sometimes it was a rainy library or a sunny nook.

Today, it was the Moon Goddess shrine, the one place where I felt the safest. Calm and quiet and completely alone, save for the mossy statue smiling down on me.

The door opened, and Zara stepped inside. She had discarded the dress I had carefully embroidered, and entered empty-handed.

“Is it true?” My father paused his attack to look up at her, sweat coating his brow. Blood trailed down my nose. I sensed it was broken, but through the adrenaline, I couldn’t feel it.

Zara nodded, pulling the door shut behind her. “It’s true. Ryan has given her three days to cleanse the mark. If she refuses, then he won’t give her another chance.”

“Then we’ll just have to make sure she chooses properly.” My father stood, releasing his grip on my neck. I sagged against the floor, breathless, my vision blurring. Through the haze, I swore there were six people standing over me and not three.

“I don’t think it’s worth it, Alric,” Natasya said with a huff. “She’ll only disappoint you again anyway. I say we turn her into a slave, just like her mother, and be done with her for good.” She looked at Zara, and the two of them shared a meaningful glance that I couldn’t quite parse through in my current state. “It’ll be cleaner that way.”

My father scoffed, glancing at the grandfather clock leaning against the wall. “I can’t decide now. Alpha Gideon’s entourage should arrive this evening.” He crossed over to the kitchen sink and turned the faucet on. The water ran red as he cleaned his knuckles. “Keep her out of the way until then. We can’t let her ruin the marriage alliance before it’s even been struck.”

The marriage alliance. The thought struck me somewhere, distantly. I vaguely recalled Ryan mentioning something about another pack Alpha making a deal to marry one of our she-wolves as part of an alliance. Right now, the rest was a blur.

My father finished cleaning his hands, turned, and looked down his nose at me once last time.

“Pathetic,” he whispered.

He delivered one last clean kick to my stomach, the impact making me retch onto the floor, before he left. The door slammed behind him hard enough to echo.

Natasya wrinkled her nose. “Disgusting. Clean that up.”

I tried to push myself up, but I couldn’t. My arms shook and I collapsed onto the floor once again.

Zara clicked her tongue, stooping, and grabbed a fistful of my hair. “Here. Let me help you, sister.” She dragged my hair through the vomit, smearing it through the strands, letting it cake in my scalp.

The rest was a blur. I felt hands around my arms dragging me outside, the sun blinding my bleary eyes, then into the shed. Something rough was tied painfully around my wrists, then hauled up against the wall, attached to the two metal rings that had been installed when I was eight.

“There.” Natasya stepped back, tilting her head for a moment as she studied me. My head lolled against my chest. The adrenaline was wearing off, the shrine in my mind disappearing, and now the pain was unbearable. “Now be a good little slut and stay here until it’s time for Alpha Gideon’s welcoming party.”

“You’ll get your dress back, of course,” Zara sneered from the doorway. “Can’t have you showing up to the party naked—as much as I’m sure you’d like that.”

Natasya chuckled and stood, smoothing down her skirt. She turned, joining Zara at the door.

“W-wait,” I croaked. “W-Water… Please…”

They both looked at me.

And laughed.

“I should have killed her when I had the chance,” Natasya said, stepping out into the sunlight. I heard keys jangling, and the light turned to a sliver as the door shut behind them. “It would have been so easy to snap a toddler’s neck.”

I tried to call out again, but my throat gave out before I could. The door shut fully, casting me into darkness, and then I was alone with nothing but pain and a single spider watching me from the corner.

Sleep came swiftly. Small mercies, I supposed. Even if I didn’t wake up.