Chapter 2

Alpha Fred chuckled and pulled me right onto his lap. His arms locked around me, his nose rubbing against my neck as he leaned close to my ear.

"Baby, I told you the trial is just a formality."

"Sophia's ex-husband keeps harassing her; I'm just lending a hand."

I dodged his touch.

Last year, my father was torn apart by a pack of Rogues at the territory border. The patrol captain sent someone to our door, warning my mother and me not to appeal to the Council, or they'd make sure my father couldn't rest in peace. I went to Fred in tears, begging him to get justice for my dad. He ruffled my hair and told me I needed to learn to be independent.

Three months ago, I found out I was pregnant with his child, but I accidentally fell down the stairs and showed signs of a miscarriage. If he had just used a tiny bit of his Alpha privilege to get me the Pack Healer's pregnancy-protecting medicine, the baby could have been saved. After hesitating, he said the Pack Healer was currently treating Sophia and had no energy left to save a baby that was already miscarrying. Finally, he held me and said, "We will have other children."

So, protecting Sophia was the most important thing. I was not important.

Sophia suddenly stood up and glared at me provocatively. A voice that made my whole body tremble sounded from behind. Sophia pulled the man over and gently introduced him.

"Chloe, this is my cousin, Sam. He just came back from another Pack to lay low."

My nails dug into my palms, my smile looking worse than crying. I asked, "Lay low for what?"

Fred frowned, wanting to change the subject. Sophia spoke first, grabbing his arm.

"Right. I heard some slutty she-wolf seduced my cousin into bed, and then turned around and falsely accused him of rape."

"Fred went through a lot of trouble to get Sam out of the Council's prison."

Sam stared at me with an explicit gaze. My stomach churned; I shoved Fred away and rushed to the trash can to dry heave. Tears streamed down my face.

To scrape together my mother's surgery funds, I had worked as a short-term bartender at a pub. Sam set his sights on me and dragged me into the restroom. He tore my clothes, trying to screw me. If I hadn't used a stun gun to knock him out while he was pulling down his pants, I couldn't imagine the consequences.

When Fred arrived at the security room, he took only one look at Sam before telling me to let him handle it. He promised me he would make sure Sam faced the punishment he deserved in prison. He even took the initiative to contact the Pack Healer for my mother and paid the medical bills. He urged me to go handle the hospitalization procedures.

It turned out, he just wanted to get rid of me.