chapter 2

Chapter 2 – I Will Make You Feel This

Ana

The market smelled intensely of ripe apples mixed with something metallic and sharp—my own blood. I quickly wiped my nose with the back of my hand, hoping the movement went unnoticed, but the stinging sensation beneath my skin confirmed the cut was still open.

I clutched the few coins I had managed to earn from scrubbing floors all week. My stomach gnawed with hunger. I just needed a single apple. Or perhaps a bruised peach. Anything at all to stop the empty, twisting pain inside me.

When I approached the first fruit stall, the woman standing behind it caught sight of me and her face instantly contorted as if she had stepped in something truly vile.

“Out,” she snapped, aggressively pointing toward the busy road. “We do not serve cursed bitches here.”

Her sharp voice cut through me like a physical blade. I tightened my grip on the small cluster of coins. “I only want a piece of fruit,” I said softly. “I have the money to pay.”

She grabbed a rotten pear and violently threw it at my feet. It burst, splattering its filth across the dirt. “Get lost before I call the guards to beat the filth right off you.”

A wave of heat rushed up my cheeks, far hotter than the burns hidden beneath my sleeves. I immediately backed away without uttering another word.

At the second stall, the owner didn't even allow me to finish my simple request. She dismissively waved her hand at me as though I were an annoying insect. “Go away. Don’t bring your bad luck near my business.”

The third stall was even worse. The woman didn’t bother speaking. She simply spat on my shoes the moment I stepped near.

Shame crawled quickly up my neck and into my face. I spun around, ready to run back to the palace and starve quietly in the sanctuary of my room. But I hadn’t gotten far before I sharply collided with someone.

Silk brushed heavily against my arm.

A familiar, chilling voice followed.

“Watch exactly where you’re going, you blind little worm.”

I froze instantly. Luna Vera.

My meager coins scattered across the dirt, bouncing and rolling in different directions. My heart sank as I frantically scrambled to pick them up, but Vera’s sharp heel crushed one coin before I could reach it. I looked up, and her cold blue eyes narrowed into cruel, thin slits.

“Was yesterday’s lesson not sufficient for you?” she asked. Her voice was terrifyingly calm, but the deep-seated threat in it made my skin crawl violently.

I dropped to my knees so fast the rough stones scraped my skin raw. “I am so sorry, Luna,” I whispered, keeping my head bowed low. “I genuinely didn’t see you.”

The slap came without any warning. My head violently whipped to the side. My ears immediately rang.

Then her voice instantly softened into that fake, sweet tone she always used whenever someone she wanted near was approaching. “Look who has arrived,” she said, almost purring. “My fiancé.”

Heavy footsteps stopped directly behind her. Heavy boots. A familiar presence that made my stomach aggressively twist in a way I had learned to hate.

Desmond.

A foolish, painful hope rose inside me before I could squash it. He used to be genuinely kind to me when we were young children. Once, he even brought me sweet honey cakes when no one was watching us. Maybe… just maybe… he would step in and stop this humiliation.

He didn’t even glance at me.

“Vera, my love, are you injured?” he asked, his voice unexpectedly gentle as he reached out to touch her cheek.

She leaned into him, acting as if she were made of fragile glass. “This filthy maid deliberately ran straight into me,” she lied smoothly. “I am sure she did it on purpose.”

Desmond finally lowered his gaze to me. His eyes were cold. Empty. As if I were nothing more than a stubborn stain on the ground beneath his feet.

I stared back at him, silently waiting for him to simply state the truth. Tell her it was an accident. Tell her I didn’t mean any harm. Tell her anything at all.

But he remained silent.

Instead, he grabbed my wrist so forcefully I felt a sharp, cracking sensation. Fresh pain instantly burst across my skin.

“Where do you think you are going?” he demanded. His voice contained no trace of warmth.

I tried desperately to pull my hand free. “I have work to do. Let go of me.”

He tightened his cruel grip. “The Silverfang pack does not tolerate disrespect toward the future Luna. Apologize. Do it properly.”

A bitter, broken laugh escaped my lips before I could stop the sound. “Apologize? For breathing? I did nothing wrong!”

His hand moved with such speed I didn’t even see it coming. The subsequent slap made my vision instantly blur. Blood filled my mouth.

“I am the Alpha heir,” he stated. His voice was dangerously low and sharp. “You will obey my command.”

The entire market instantly fell silent. People who had known me since my childhood watched, their eyes wide with fear and interest, but none of them moved to help me. The baker who used to secretly sneak me bread crusts now looked away. The fruit woman who once offered me a smile now stared intently at her own shoes.

I was utterly alone.

Everything inside me instantly fractured. The last sliver of fight I possessed drained out of me like water slipping helplessly through my fingers.

My knees hit the ground. The rough dirt pressed painfully against my skin. I bowed my head until it almost touched the exact spot where Vera had stood just moments before.

“I am sorry, Luna Vera,” I whispered. My voice violently shook. “Please forgive me.”

Vera let out a soft, delighted laugh, as if my pain was entirely amusing to her. “How utterly pathetic,” she said. Then she looked up at Desmond and spoke in a sickeningly sweet tone that made me want to scream aloud. “Darling, I’m feeling hungry. Will you take me to lunch?”

Desmond immediately dropped my wrist as if my touch deeply disgusted him. “Of course, my love,” he said, gently placing his hand on her lower back.

They walked away together, her beautiful hair brushing his arm, his guiding hand suggesting she meant the whole world to him.

And I remained on my knees long after they vanished from sight, staring blankly at the dirt. My hard-earned coins were all gone. My stomach ached fiercely. My cheek throbbed with continuous pain. The people surrounding me quietly returned to their business, pretending they hadn’t just witnessed my total humiliation.

Hunger twisted cruelly in my belly.

Pain twisted deeper still.

But something else began to twist too—something dark, steady, and waiting patiently.

I lowered my head, my trembling fists clenching hard against the earth.

I swear on every single scar you’ve given me, one day, you will feel this.