03~ He Was Mine Before He Was Ever Yours

Avery's Point Of View

I barely made it home before my mother’s voice cut through the silence like a whip, sharp and venomous.

"Where is she?!"

Cheryl’s scream echoed through the house, her fury vibrating through the walls, seeping into my bones. I flinched, my body already tensing in anticipation of what was to come. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My body felt hollow, my spirit shattered into a thousand irreparable pieces. The weight of Julian’s betrayal still pressed down on me, suffocating, but the dread of facing my mother was a different kind of agony, one I’d known my entire life.

The door to my room burst open with a violent crash.

"There you are."

Her voice was a sneer, dripping with disgust as her eyes raked over me. She didn’t see a daughter. She saw a stain. A mistake. A reminder of something she wanted to forget. Her lips twisted as if the sight of me physically repulsed her.

"Your sister is back," she spat, her voice laced with disdain. "Go draw her a warm bath. Get useful and stop being useless for once in your pathetic life."

I didn’t move.

I couldn’t.

My mind was a fog, my limbs heavy, as if I were trapped in a nightmare I couldn’t wake from. Every word she spoke was another lash, another cut, another reminder that I was nothing to her. Less than nothing.

Cheryl’s lips curled into a snarl, her patience... what little she had—, vaporating. She stepped closer, her presence looming over me like a storm cloud. "Did you hear me, girl?" she hissed, her voice low and dangerous. "Or do I need to remind you of your place?"

I forced myself to meet her gaze, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. The defiance was instinctive, even though I knew it would only make things worse. But I was tired. So tired of being invisible. So tired of being less.

Her eyes narrowed, her expression twisting into something ugly. "Look at you," she sneered, her voice dripping with venom. "Standing there like you have any right to defy me. Like you have any right to exist in this house. You think you’re special, Avery? You think you deserve anything?"

She let out a bitter laugh, the sound sharp and cruel.

"You were never supposed to be here," she continued, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "I took you in out of pity, but every day, you remind me of my mistake. You’re not my daughter. You’re not even a wolf. You’re a curse. A burden. A constant reminder of what I could have had if I hadn’t been saddled with you."

Her words were knives, each one twisting deeper into my already bleeding heart.

"Sophia is everything you could never be," she continued, her voice rising with every word. "She’s strong. She’s beautiful. She’s worthy. She’s the daughter I always wanted. And you? You’re nothing. A ghost. A shadow. A waste of space."

She stepped even closer, her face contorted with hatred.

"I hope you finally see it now," she hissed. "I hope you see that you can never compare to her. You were never meant to. You were never meant to be anything. You’re a mistake, Avery. And the sooner you accept that, the easier your life will be."

Her words hit me like a physical blow, stealing the breath from my lungs. I could feel the tears burning my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not in front of her. Not ever.

She reached out, her hand gripping my chin roughly, forcing me to look at her. "Now get up," she snarled. "Draw your sister’s bath. And if you ever look at me like that again, I’ll make sure you regret it."

I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to my feet,

my hands clenching into fists at my sides. The defiance was instinctive, even though I knew it would only make things worse. But I was tired. So tired of being invisible. So tired of being less. I wiped the tears from my face, my voice trembling but my words sharp as broken glass.

"If I’m such a mistake," I spat, my voice raw with pain and fury, "then why did you even have me? You could have aborted me. You could have left me to die in those woods where you found me. But no, you kept me. Just to remind yourself every day of what a failure you are as a mother."

Her eyes widened in shock, her face twisting with rage. "You ungrateful—"

"Ungrateful?!" I laughed, the sound bitter and broken. "You wish you never had a daughter like me? Well, I wish I never had you as a mother! The Moon Goddess would have done me a favor by making me an orphan! My life ended the day you got pregnant with me!"

Her hand lashed out before I could react, slapping me so hard my head snapped to the side. Pain exploded across my cheek, but I didn’t back down. I met her gaze, my own burning with a fire I didn’t know I had.

"You’re not my daughter," she snarled, her voice trembling with fury as she grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked me forward. "You’re nothing. A worthless, broken thing I should have left to rot!"

She dragged me by my hair, her grip brutal, her nails digging into my scalp. I gasped as she shoved me against the wall, her other hand raising to strike me again. "You think you can speak to me like that? After everything I’ve done for you?!"

"Done for me?!" I screamed, my voice cracking. "You’ve done nothing but make me feel like I don’t deserve to exist! You’ve never loved me! You’ve never even tried! You’ve spent my entire life treating me like I’m less than the dirt beneath your feet!"

Her slap was harder this time, the force of it sending me stumbling to the ground. I tasted blood, my vision swimming, but I refused to cry. Not in front of her. Never in front of her.

She loomed over me, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her eyes wild with hatred. "You want to know why I kept you?" she hissed, her voice a venomous whisper. "Because I thought, maybe, just maybe, you’d be something. But you’re not. You’re weak. You’re broken. You don’t even have a wolf. You’re a disgrace. A humiliation. And now you’ve lost the one thing that might have made you useful... Julian’s favor."

Her words were knives, each one twisting deeper.

"Sophia is everything you’ll never be," she continued, her voice rising with every word. "She’s strong. She’s beautiful. She’s worthy. She’s the daughter I always wanted. And you? You’re nothing but a waste of space. The only thing you’re good for is serving her. So get up." She kicked me, not hard enough to break bones, but enough to make me gasp in pain. "Draw. The. Bath. Water."

I glared up at her, my body trembling, my heart breaking all over again. But I didn’t move. Not yet. Because for the first time in my life, I realized something.

I didn’t care anymore.

I didn’t care if she hated me.

I didn’t care if she broke me.

Because I was already broken.

And maybe, just maybe, that meant there was nothing left to lose.

**********

I moved mechanically, my hands trembling as I filled the tub with steaming water. The scent of lavender filled the air, thick and cloying, mocking me with its false promise of calm. My body ached, my heart still raw from Julian’s betrayal, but I forced myself to keep going. Sophia would be here soon, and I’d have to kneel at her feet like the slave I was.

I didn’t hear her enter.

Ice-cold water drenched me, shocking me out of my daze. I gasped, spinning to face Sophia, her smirk twisted, her eyes gleaming with cruel triumph.

"Sophia!"

“It’s Luna to you, bitch,” she sneered, her voice dripping with venom.

I wiped the water from my face, my voice barely a whisper, but my words laced with a bitterness I couldn’t hide. “You wish.”

Her face darkened, her eyes narrowing. “What did you just say?”

Before I could react, her foot lashed out, kicking me hard in the stomach. I doubled over, pain exploding through my abdomen. I clutched my midsection, gasping for air, but Sophia wasn’t done.

“Address me with respect, slave,” she hissed, yanking me up by my hair only to shove me face-first into the bathtub. My head cracked against the porcelain, blood spilling into the water, staining it red.

“Look at you,” she spat, her voice dripping with venom. “Clinging to dreams you’ll never reach. Even the Moon Goddess must have cursed you. Why else would you be so alone?”

She kicked me again, her heel driving into my ribs. I howled, my vision swimming, my body screaming in protest.

“Please,” I begged, my voice breaking.

Sophia laughed, a sound like breaking glass. “You actually thought you’d be Luna?” She clapped her hands, delighted. “Oh, Avery, you’re such a fool. Julian told me everything... about you being mates. But guess what?” She leaned down, her breath hot against my ear. “He still chose me.”

I forced myself to meet her gaze, my voice trembling but my words sharp. “Do you know what you’ll always think of when you’re with him?” I asked, a slight smirk tugging at my lips despite the pain. “You’ll always remember he was once mine. That he touched me, kissed me, whispered promises to me. You’ll always know you got nothing but my leftover, Sophia. And for once in your perfect little life, you get to have my hand-me-downs.”

Her face twisted with rage, her hand flying out to slap me hard across the face. “You bitch!” she screamed, her voice shaking with fury. “You think you’re special because he slummed it with you? He was using you! You were never anything to him but a distraction!”

I laughed, the sound bitter and broken. “Maybe. But I still had him first. And no matter how much you try to erase me, you’ll always know the truth. He was mine before he was ever yours.”

She grabbed me by the hair again, yanking me up before slamming me back down into the water. I gasped, choking as the water filled my nose and mouth. “You’re nothing,” she snarled, her voice trembling with fury. “A weak, broken thing that doesn’t even deserve to breathe the same air as me!”

I coughed, spitting out water as I glared up at her. “At least I know what it’s like to be wanted,” I spat, my voice raw. “Even if it was a lie, it was more than you’ll ever have.”

Her hand struck me again, this time so hard my vision blurred. “Get out,” she screamed, her voice shaking with rage. “Get out before I kill you!”

I stumbled away, my body bruised, my soul shattered. The lake called to me, my only refuge, the one place where the world’s cruelty couldn’t reach me. The night air was cool, the water’s surface rippling under the moonlight, a silent witness to my pain.

I sank to my knees at the water’s edge, my reflection staring back at me... a ghost of a girl with starlight hair and violet eyes, a girl who didn’t belong anywhere.

Why am I so different?

I touched the water, as if it could wash away the scars, the pain, the shame.

A rustle in the woods.

I turned, my heart pounding, and there he was... Julian. His figure emerged from the shadows, his expression hard as stone, his eyes cold as ice.

“Do you think I would choose you?” he sneered. “A weak, useless mate who brings nothing but shame to her bloodline?”

Something inside me hardened. I stood, my fists clenched, my voice trembling with fury. “I hate you,” I spat. “You’re pathetic. A sorry excuse for an Alpha. I hate you.”

His lips curled. “How dare you walk out on your Alpha?”

"You're not my Alpha, Julian. You're nothing but a pathethic bully who thinks being cruel is gold, not kowwing you're just a coward.. A weakling."

Before I could move, he was on me, his speed inhuman. His hand coiled around my throat, slamming me against the rocks. Pain exploded through my body, blood trickling down my face.

“I despise you more, Avery,” he growled. “Do you think I want a sorry excuse like you for a mate? You don’t even have a wolf.”

His words were a blade, twisting deeper with every syllable. “A weak thing like you can never be my mate.”

And then, "I, Julian Styles, Alpha of Krypta Clan, reject you, Avery Smith, as my mate and Luna of this pack.”

The rejection hit like a physical blow, a searing, ripping pain that stole my breath. I gasped, my body convulsing as our bond shattered, leaving me hollow, bleeding, broken.

“No…” I whispered, my voice lost in the night.

I sniffed and wiped the blood at the corner of my mouth, but this time, the hurt was mixed with something new... a simmering anger. I was pathetic, yes, but I was also alive, still breathing despite his contempt.

I stood up to my feet weakly as I looked at him with disgust. “I also don’t want a heartless beast like you for a mate,” I said, my voice trembling but my words firm. “If that’s so, then… I, Avery Smith, accept your reje...”

The words barely left my mouth before he lunged forward, cutting me off. His fingers tightened around my throat, lifting me off the ground. “Reject me?” he sneered. “You think you’re strong enough to leave me?”

His grip was iron, his voice a dark promise. “You don’t get to accept my rejection, Avery. I will never give you that pleasure. I’ll keep you, watch you suffer, until I’m ready to discard you. Remember... I own you. And when I’m done with you…” His lips brushed my ear, his words a whisper of death. “You’ll wish you were never born.”

I stared into his eyes, my vision swimming, my body trembling.

And for the first time in my life, I didn’t just feel pain.

I felt rage.