CHAPTER FOUR

Violet's pov

That night Alpha Xaden rejected Mira, I had this strange feeling of fulfillment in my chest. Finally, someone had put her in her place. I wasn't happy about the humiliation she suffered. No one deserved that but at least she'll get to taste a little bit of humiliation she caused others. 

And when she did, she took out her anger on me.

The ship cracked through the air again, biting through my flesh.

Sharp pain seared across, stealing breath from my lungs. I clenched my teeth so hard, refusing to scream. That was a mistake on my part because when she wanted to stop, she ordered the guards to continue.

“Again!” Mira commanded. “Flog her till I see her bones!” 

A strangled gasp escaped my lips when I turned to look at her.

Her gaze locked on me and the leather struck again.

The scent of blood… my blood filled the air and in that moment, I broke.

I had told myself I wouldn't break down in front of Mira. I had vowed never to give her that satisfaction but when my blood pooled at my feet on the floor, I panicked.

Mira chuckled as though satisfied. She had won. 

“That's enough!” she said with a stifled yawn as if my mere presence bored her, as if she hadn't ordered the guards to whip me 10 times on my back.

I heard the guard drop the whip. It was over. For now.

I tilted my head to look at Mira and the guards standing behind me.

When my eyes locked on with the guards, their eyes went round. 

“My lady, isn't that Alpha Xaden's mate? Oh no. We're in deep trouble!” He said in a low whisper.

“I am Xaden’s mate! No one else!” Mira snapped.

“Y - yes, ma'am.” They answered hesitantly.

She turned to them. “Xaden isn't here, is he?”

“N- No, ma'am.” They both exchange glances after replying.

“Xaden won't know what happened here…” she looked at them. “Unless you plan to tell him?”

“No, ma'am. We'd never let it slip.” They answered together.

“Good,” she smiled. 

Both guards shot me a pitiful look before looking away. 

Mira stepped up to face me, a cruel laugh leaving her red painted lips. “Oh, poor Violet. You thought you could take what belonged to me and go unscathed?”

I kept my gaze on the ground, tasting copper as I swallowed the boiling rage in my chest.

She grabbed my chin, forcing my gaze to meet hers. “If no one has told you this, Violet, then you I'll hear it from me. You. Are. Nothing! An orphan with no family! I wonder what Alpha Xaden sees in you but don't worry, he'll see what you truly are soon enough.”

She let go of me like I was yesterday's trash.

Tears formed in my ears, dropping to the blood-stained floor. 

My body trembled as I sobbed. If it hadn't been for the ropes binding my arms to the walls, I would've collapsed long ago. 

“If no one has told you this, Violet, then you I'll hear it from me. You. Are. Nothing!”

Violet didn't need to make that clear to me. I had grown up hearing those same words everyday – from the whispers in the market, the packhouse, everywhere I went, I always heard people say that to me. That I didn't matter. That I was useless. That I was just another woofless orphan that needed to die, a waste of space.

I choked on a sob, my body riveting with pain as I tried to move. I couldn't take it anymore. I just wanted to die.

As my sobs got louder, something in the air shifted.

Mira sensed it too because her eyes darted around the candle-lit dungeon. “Who's there?!”

It was more of a bark than a soft question.

A deep growl came as her reply. The rumble was followed by the sound of heavy boots. 

Something dark… something furious was coming our way. 

I stiffened while Mira backed away instantly.

What was happening? I couldn't see because my back was to the entrance.

Bloodlust filled the air and I panicked. Who was that?

I shut my eyes when I felt a hand on my chin. 

“Violet…” The voice was soft, smooth, almost appealing. I knew that voice.

The ropes loosened and my body swooned. 

A pair of warm hands caught me just in time and dropped me gently on the floor. 

I threw my eyes open with a low gasp. Our eyes met and tears filled my eyes again. 

Xaden. 

A wave of relief washed over me. I could finally breathe again.

His gaze traveled over me – my ripped dress, blood-stained skin, whipped lashes on my back. 

Something crackled dangerously in the air. I realized it was a growl from him.

He traced my jaw gently, his touch burning my skin. Then, he leaned closer and asked quietly. “Who?” 

No one spoke.

His hand shot out and grabbed the nearest guard by the throat. The man choked helplessly, his feet kicking against the ground.

“Who…” Xaden began softly before it became a full growl. “Who dared lay their hands on my mate!” 

“It… It was Lady Mira!” The guard gasped. 

Mira panicked. “What?”

The guard yelled it this time. “It was Lady Mira's orders! She made us do it! She forced us!” 

Xaden let go of him and the man's body dropped to the ground in a crumpled and coughing mess.

“You did this?” Xaden asked in a low growl.

Mira nearly stumbled back as she tried to escape. “She - -”

When Xaden stopped in front of her, she straightened her back, lifting her chin. “Violet deserved it.”

Xaden moved so fast I barely saw it. One second, Mira was standing confidently, then next she was against the wall with his fingers wrapped around her throat in a choke hold. 

“I told you!” Xaden hissed. “No one touches my mate!”

Mira clawed at his hand, choking. “P - Please, Alpha.”

Xaden's grip tightened. I watched through blurred vision, my body screaming in pain. 

His gaze flickered to me. “What do you want me to do to her, Violet?”

Mira's eyes widened, the other guards choked on a panicked sob. They all stare at me, waiting for their “death sentence.”

I could demand vengeance without blinking. 

I could tell Xaden to make her suffer. 

I looked at Mira, at her eyes, at the way her body trembled under Xaden's hold.

I should hate her. 

I did.

But I was also so tired. Tired of this pack. Tired of all the cruelty meted to me everyday. 

  

“I just want to leave.” I said in a whisper, hoping Xaden could hear me.

Xaden turned to me. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, my throat tightening. I was fading.

His grip loosened and Mira collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

As if on cue, my body slumped to the ground.  

“Violet!” Xaden rushed to my side and scooped me into his arm. 

“Dammit! We're getting the hell out of here!” He growled just before I slipped away into silence.