chapter 4

Georgia sat on the cold ground, hugging herself tightly. The door slammed shut behind her, and cruel laughter erupted from inside.

"Finally, the disgrace is gone!" Serefina sneered.

"Did you see her face?" another voice mocked. "She actually thought someone would believe her lies. A forced pregnancy? Please. She probably spread her legs for anyone who asked."

"Filthy slut," someone muttered.

Georgia clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms. She wouldn't cry. Not here. Not now.

“She got what she deserved,” another voice chimed in. “What kind of woman doesn’t even know who the father of her child is?”

"She’s lucky Alpha Zane didn’t have her executed," someone added.

A sharp giggle rang out. "Maybe that’s why he rejected her that night. He must’ve realized she’s been sleeping around," a woman said, her voice laced with amusement.

"Of course! No Alpha would want a used-up whore," another voice sneered.

Laughter erupted around her, echoing like cruel whispers in the night.

Serefina chuckled. "Who cares where she goes? Maybe a rogue will pick her up, or the wolves will tear her apart. Either way, she’s not our problem anymore."

A bucket of cold water slammed against Georgia’s back. She gasped, her dress clinging to her skin as shivers wracked her body. Laughter rang in her ears.

"Clean yourself up, slut!"

Serefina stepped forward, arms crossed. "I always knew you were weak, but even I didn’t think you’d be this pathetic," she said with mock sympathy. "Look at you, shivering like a wet dog. How does it feel to be nothing, Georgia?"

Georgia lifted her head, meeting Serefina’s gaze with quiet fury. "One day," she whispered, "you’ll regret this."

Serefina laughed. "Oh, honey, the only regret I have is that I didn't do this sooner. Now get out before I make sure you don’t leave alive."

A sharp kick sent Georgia sprawling. Pain shot through her ribs, but she refused to make a sound.

Before she could move, a familiar voice sliced through the air.

"Georgia!"

Her head snapped up just in time to see her mother storming toward her. Relief flooded Georgia, until she saw the look in her mother’s eyes.

Pure disgust.

Her mother raised her hand, and before Georgia could react, a sharp slap cracked across her face.

"You shameful, worthless girl!" her mother spat. "How dare you bring an unwanted pregnancy to this household after humiliating this family?!"

"Mom, please" Georgia tried, her cheek stinging from the slap.

"Don’t call me that!" her mother screamed. "I don’t know how you even came from my womb! How can you be my daughter when you disgust me this much?"

Georgia flinched as another slap landed, the pain sharp and unforgiving.

"Look at Serefina!" her mother pointed at her sister, who stood smirking. "Look at how she carries herself! Graceful, obedient, a true daughter of this family! Why can’t you be like her?"

Tears burned Georgia’s eyes. "Mom, I"

"Lies!" Serefina cut in, stepping between them. "Don’t listen to her, Mother. She’s only trying to make herself the victim again!"

"I’m not lying!" Georgia protested desperately. "Please, just listen to me"

Serefina turned to their mother, her voice soft, sickly sweet. "Mom, she’s just trying to manipulate you. That’s what sluts do. She let some man use her and now wants sympathy. She should be grateful the Alpha didn’t have her executed."

Their mother’s eyes turned colder. "She’s not my daughter anymore."

The words hit Georgia harder than any slap. Her knees nearly gave out beneath her.

"Mom, please," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I didn’t ask for this to happen"

"Enough!" her mother shouted. "I will not listen to a whore’s excuses. Get out of my sight before I curse the day you were born!"

Georgia stood there, frozen in place, her heart shattering.

The elder’s voice rang out behind her.

"Let her leave before she pollutes the air any more than she already has. She’s not one of us anymore."

Georgia forced herself to move. Each step away from the pack was agony, but she didn’t stop.

“She won’t last a day out there,” someone whispered.

"She’ll be begging to come back by sunrise."

"No one will take her in. She’s tainted."

Let them talk.

She had nothing. No home. No money. No one.

But she had her will to survive.

And one day, she would return, not as the broken girl they cast aside

But as their worst nightmare.

✿✿✿

The forest was merciless, its cold fingers seeping into Georgia’s bones as she trudged forward. Her bare feet, scraped raw from jagged stones and twisted roots, left behind small droplets of blood, a silent trail of her suffering. The night air burned her lungs with every shaky breath, but she couldn’t stop. She wouldn’t stop.

But her body begged to give in.

Her muscles screamed. Her vision blurred. Every step felt like walking through fire, but still, she dragged herself forward.

Because stopping meant dying.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them away. Crying wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t take back what had been done to her. It wouldn’t erase the rejection, the cruel laughter, the hands that had stolen her dignity.

That same day, she had found her mate, only for him to look at her as if she was filth beneath his feet.

That same night, she had been violated, her body used, broken, discarded like trash.

And now, cast out like a diseased animal, she wandered through the darkness alone, the weight of betrayal suffocating her like an iron collar.

Was this all she was worth?

A toy for cruel men? A stain upon her family’s name?

She pressed a hand to her stomach, to the small life within her that no one wanted. That even she hadn’t been allowed to choose.

Her mother’s voice still rang in her ears.

“You shameful, worthless girl!"

"You disgust me!"

"You are not my daughter!"

The words stabbed deeper than any blade, cutting her apart from the inside.

A sob wrenched itself from her throat, strangled and raw. She clamped a hand over her mouth, but it was useless, her pain poured out of her in silent gasps, her body trembling violently.

The sky was beginning to lighten, but she barely noticed.

Her legs buckled.

“Just… a little further…"she whispered, but there was no strength left.

Her body crumpled, the frozen earth rising to embrace her like death itself.

She lay there, shivering, waiting for the night to claim her.

Let the wolves come. Let the darkness take her.

What was left to fight for?

Footsteps.

A low growl.

She barely registered the sound before everything faded to black.

Then

A voice. Deep. Rough. Unfamiliar.

"Are you okay?"

The words barely reached her, distant and unreal.

But before the darkness swallowed her whole, she felt it

Warm hands. Strong arms.

Lifting her. Holding her.