CHAPTER 2

Delilah's POV

She grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the wall. Pain exploded through my skull. Before I could recover, Michelle punched me in the stomach and I doubled over gasping for air.

"You think you can touch me?" Sarah yanked my hair harder, forcing my head back. "You're nothing. Your mother is nothing. Just trash that should have been thrown out years ago."

Another girl kicked my legs out from under me. I fell hard on the tile floor and Sarah didn't let go of my hair. I felt strands ripping from my scalp.

"This is what happens when you forget your place," Sarah hissed as she slammed my head against the floor. Stars exploded across my vision. "You're beneath us. Your whore mother is beneath us. You don't deserve to be in this pack."

Michelle kicked me in the ribs. I heard something crack and pain shot through my side. I tried to curl into a ball but Sarah still had my hair.

"Maybe if we beat some sense into you, you'll finally leave," one of the other girls said. She stomped on my hand and I screamed as bones crunched under her foot.

"Your mother should have left years ago," Sarah said. She finally let go of my hair and kicked me in the back. "Both of you are parasites feeding off this pack's generosity. Well, we're done being generous."

They kicked me again and again. My ribs, my back, my legs. I tasted blood in my mouth. Storm was howling in my head but she couldn't help me. I was too weak to shift and even if I could, they outnumbered me.

"Remember this," Sarah said as she crouched down next to my bleeding face. "You don't belong here. Your slut mother doesn't belong here. And in three days when you graduate, you better take her and leave. Because if you don't, next time will be worse."

They left me lying on the bathroom floor in a pool of my own blood.

I don't know how long I lay there. Everything hurt. My head throbbed, my ribs screamed with every breath, my hand was swelling purple. Blood dripped from my split lip and nose.

Finally, I forced myself to move. I pulled myself up using the sink and my reflection made me want to cry. Blood covered half my face, my left eye was swollen nearly shut, my lip was split open.

I cleaned myself up as best I could with wet paper towels but the bleeding wouldn't stop completely. I grabbed my bag and stumbled out of the bathroom, keeping my head down as I moved toward the exit.

Every step sent pain shooting through my body but I kept walking. I had to get home.

The twenty-minute walk through the forest felt like hours. I had to stop several times when the pain in my ribs got too bad. By the time I reached our cottage, I was barely standing.

I opened the door and stepped inside.

Mom stood in the kitchen with her back to me. The cottage was decorated with streamers and balloons. A birthday cake sat on the table with unlit candles.

"Delilah?" Mom turned around with a smile, her copper-red hair swept up in a loose bun and her warm hazel eyes bright with excitement. The smile vanished the moment she saw me. "Oh my goddess. Delilah! What happened? Who did this to you?"

I opened my mouth to answer but the Alpha's voice boomed through the mindlink before I could speak.

"All pack members report to the ceremonial grounds immediately. The future Alpha will participate in his mating ceremony tonight."

Mom and I froze, staring at each other.

My mating ceremony. Tonight. Not in three days like Jaxon said, but tonight.

Blood dripped from my face onto the floor but suddenly none of that mattered. This was it. Jaxon was going to claim me publicly and once he marked me as his mate and future Luna, Sarah and those girls would never touch me again. The bullying would finally stop.

"Delilah." Mom's voice shook as she looked between my bleeding face and the determination in my eyes. "You can't go like this. You're hurt and we need to get you to a healer first."

"There's no time." I limped toward my room, each step sending fire through my ribs. "I need to clean up and get dressed. This is what I've been waiting for, Mom. Three years of hell, and it's finally ending tonight."

Mom followed me and helped me out of my blood-stained clothes. She held me steady while I washed the blood from my face and hair, the water turning pink then red in the sink. My hands shook as I tried to cover the worst bruises with makeup but nothing could hide the swelling around my eye or my split lip.

"Let me," Mom whispered. Her hands were gentler than mine as she carefully applied foundation over the bruises, tears streaming down her face as she worked.

She pulled the white mating dress from my closet, the one she'd spent three months sewing with love and hope. Her fingers trembled as she helped me step into it, careful of my injured ribs.

The dress was beautiful with pure white fabric and delicate silver embroidery. It fit perfectly, flowing around me like a dream. Mom braided my copper hair with silver ribbons and mountain flowers, working around the tender spots where Sarah had ripped out chunks of my hair.

When she finished, I looked in the mirror. The dress was stunning and my hair looked perfect, but my face told a different story. Even with makeup, the bruises were visible and my left eye was still half-swollen.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart," Mom said softly, though her voice broke on the last word.

I did look beautiful. Broken and bloody, but beautiful.

Mom kissed my forehead. "I'll be here when you get back."

She never attended pack gatherings anymore. The less they saw of her, the less they could judge me.

I walked out of the cottage alone as the sun set, painting the sky in shades of orange and gold. In the distance, I could see pack members heading toward the ceremonial grounds.

My heart pounded with hope and fear and desperate longing. Three years of torture and three years of waiting. Finally, it was happening.

Jaxon was going to claim me. He was going to stand in front of the entire pack and tell them I was his, that I belonged to him, that I was worthy.

I touched my split lip and tasted blood. The pain in my ribs made each step agony but I kept walking toward the ceremonial grounds with my head held high.

The ceremonial grounds were packed with hundreds of wolves gathered in a massive circle around the Alpha's throne. Torches burned bright against the darkening sky. Everyone was dressed in their finest clothes.

I walked through the crowd alone. Every eye turned toward us and whispers rippled through the pack.

"The whore's daughter actually showed up."

"Look at her face. Someone finally gave her what she deserved."

I ignored them and kept my head high. Nothing they said mattered anymore because in a few minutes, Jaxon would claim me and they'd have to respect me.

Alpha Sterling stood beside his throne, massive and imposing. Jaxon stood at his side wearing ceremonial dress that made him look like a prince. His golden hair caught the torchlight and he looked perfect.

But he wouldn't look at me.

"Stand in the center," Alpha Sterling commanded.

I walked forward on shaking legs as the white dress flowed around me. I stood alone in the center of the circle while hundreds of wolves surrounded me.

Something felt wrong. The ceremony should feel joyful but instead, the air felt thick with tension like everyone was waiting for something terrible to happen.

Alpha Sterling rose to his full height and the pack fell silent.

"We are gathered to witness the mating of my son Jaxon Sterling, future Alpha of Riverbend Pack, to his fated mate."

My heart hammered so hard I thought it would burst through my cracked ribs. This was it. This was really happening.

Alpha Sterling's expression hardened as he looked directly at me.

"However, the Sterling bloodline cannot be tainted by weakness and shame."