CHAPTER 4

I slowly lifted my head, brushing away my disheveled black hair.

In front of me stood Julius, my biological father—the man who had always viewed me as nothing more than dirt in this house. His face was flushed crimson, his breathing heavy and ragged, fueled by a volatile, exploding wrath. Behind him, Victoria stood side-by-side with her mother, staring down at me with a satisfied smirk hidden behind the facade of a victimized face.

"You ungrateful brat!" Father roared. "How dare you cause trouble at the academy?! Victoria just came home crying because you humiliated her in front of His Highness Kael!"

I didn't answer. My expression remained ice-cold, staring straight into the eyes of the man who was supposed to protect me, without a single tear or trace of fear.

“How dare you glare at me like that!” The complete lack of reaction from me only seemed to infuriate him further.

Julius lunged forward, violently grabbing the collar of my hoodie and forcing me to my feet to face him.

"You intentionally set up your own sister just to seek attention, didn't you?! You tried to humiliate this family by seducing His Highness Kael!" Father roared right into my face, his grip on my collar tightening into a chokehold. "Shameless creature. Know your place, Iris! You're just a half-blood hybrid! How dare you try to seduce the crown prince!"

Julius threw my body back onto the floor violently. He then turned around, grabbing the leather riding crop he regularly used to discipline me.

Kael’s intense golden eyes, my mother’s hostage pendant, and now the tip of a whip ready to tear my skin apart—tonight, everything felt like it was hurtling toward the edge of a cliff.

Julius raised the whip high in the air, ready to unleash it on my helpless body sprawled on the floor. "Tonight, I will make sure you remember exactly where you belong in this house!"

I dragged my limping feet into my bedroom, feeling as though I no longer had the strength to stand. Every inch of my body throbbed with agony, leaving me utterly exhausted. I hated this life; I hated living.

Why?

I could only cry silently, burying my face as I hugged my pillow tightly against the mattress. I had endured this suffering for several years, ever since my mother passed away. Even though I did nothing, even though I kept to the darkest corners of this house, I was always blamed for things I hadn't even done.

The next day, I knocked on the door of the lounge I had visited yesterday—the room with the golden wolf emblem on the door, the private quarters of the crown prince and his inner circle.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Yeah, yeah... why are you so impatient!" a grumble echoed from behind the door before it finally swung open.

Another guy stood behind the door. I recognized him—it was Dimitri, one of the hockey players who was always trailing Kael. But he wasn't alone. Inside the room, I could see Theo and Ian lounging casually. All three were pureblood noble wolves and Kael's closest friends.

As soon as the door opened fully, the three of them instantly cast condescending glares toward me.

“Who are you?” Dimitri asked, breaking the silence and snapping me out of my daze.

“I want to see His Highness Kael.” I stared at him without a shred of hesitation or fear.

“Ha, you want to deliver a love letter and ask for a photo of our captain, right? Go away, you won't get anything here,” Dimitri dismissed me, clearly looking down on me.

“I have no interest in such things, especially not when it comes to His Highness Kael. I came to retrieve my property.” I hated small talk, so I stated my purpose bluntly.

“Ha, how dare you utter words that insult the royal family,” Kael taunted, suddenly appearing behind Dimitri.

I only glared at him sharply, entirely unprovoked and unafraid of his sarcastic jab.

“Fine, follow me,” Kael said, walking past me to leave the place. Without saying goodbye to the others, I immediately followed, leaving the three noble wolves looking completely shocked.

The condescending expressions on their faces instantly warped into profound confusion. They exchanged glances, seemingly unable to believe that Kael, the highly revered crown prince Alpha, would have anything to do with a lowly hybrid girl like me.

Yes, and I didn't care. Right now, I just needed that pendant so I could get as far away as possible from the infuriating man in front of me.

We entered the deserted ice hockey arena; not a single soul was there.

Kael stopped in his tracks and turned to face me with a sharp gaze.

“Return my property.” Without wasting words, I immediately demanded what was mine.

“I refuse,” he replied casually. “This item is suspicious. I have to confiscate it. After all, I am the student council president at this academy.”

“Suspicious? What do you mean?” I asked, staring at him with mounting fury.

“You don't even feel afraid or threatened by me. You truly are a unique hybrid; usually, everyone on this campus is terrified and respectful of me. But you are highly suspicious,” Kael said, sounding more absurd by the second.

“Listen, His Highness Kael, that item belongs to me. So please return it right now. You don't have to worry about me causing you any trouble; I will never show my face in front of you again once you give it back,” I said, still suppressing my intense irritation.

“Why do you want this item so badly? Is it a gift from someone special?” he asked, continuously stalling for time and being thoroughly annoying.

“That is none of your business. Please give it back to me.”

“I already told you, I need collateral so I can keep an eye on you.” That answer completely frustrated me, and I felt my anger reaching its boiling point.

“Is this incredibly amusing to you?!” I snapped, watching a flicker of surprise cross his eyes at my sharp words. “Do you enjoy playing with me and teasing me like this? Do you love seeing low-status people oppressed?”

Damn it. I couldn't stop my tears. I felt completely frustrated and resentful.

I snapped my face away, desperately trying to hide the single tear that managed to escape down my cheek. I hated the fact that I was still weak, even though I fought with everything I had to hold it in.

The atmosphere in the middle of the empty hockey arena suddenly turned deathly quiet. The already cold air felt completely frozen.

Kael didn't reply right away. The spark of amusement that usually danced in his golden eyes suddenly went completely dark. The sarcastic smirk I hated most vanished, replaced by an unreadable, flat expression.

The prince lowered his hands and took a step toward me.

"I have never found oppression amusing, sweetheart," Kael said. His voice no longer carried a trace of mockery; instead, it sounded heavy, deep, and chillingly serious.

He stopped exactly two steps away from me. His golden eyes swept down, scanning my slightly rigid posture as I struggled against the stinging pain of the whip wounds on my back.

"And I'm not playing games with you, either," he continued, slipping his hand into his pants pocket.

When his hand reemerged, the silver chain holding the withered rose pendant gleamed beneath the corridor lights outside the rink.

My heart skipped a beat. Instinctively, I reached out to snatch it, but with lightning-fast reflexes, Kael clamped his hand shut tightly over it.

I glared at him fiercely.

"I will give it back," Kael cut in sharply, looking down at me from his towering height. "But on one condition."

I clenched my fists tightly, staring into his handsome face with pure fury. "What condition now? I already told you I will never appear in front of you again!"

Kael leaned his body slightly toward me, causing his rich, masculine scent to envelope my senses once again.

"Oh, you will definitely appear in front of me, sweetheart. Starting tomorrow, you are the personal assistant to the student council president of this academy," Kael whispered with absolute emphasis, as if every word were an absolute decree that couldn't be challenged.

I stood frozen in place, my breath catching in my throat. Becoming his personal assistant was no different than putting my neck right under the blades of his fan club.

***