Chapter 5

I shot Grote a glare full of pure venom. "Grote, have you lost your mind? I'm leaving. Is that enough for you? I don't want anything to do with either of you ever again!"

I leaned against the wall, dragging my body toward the exit.

But Christine let out a wail and lunged forward, wrapping her arms around my legs.

Her forehead was bleeding, and she sobbed hysterically as she begged, "Ms. Bowers, please! Stay! Please stay and look after my pup! I'm going to leave after I give birth. How is my poor pup supposed to survive in this pack without protection?"

Grote's expression darkened with every word she spoke.

As she clung to my legs, begging through her tears, Grote struggled to contain his mounting rage. He threatened in a low voice, "Renata, just say yes. Is it really that hard? I'm asking you nicely."

Weren't seven years of abuse enough? They were the ones in the wrong, yet they played the victims to force my hand.

Before I could even open my mouth to refuse, Grote barked an order to his warriors to haul me away.

I kicked and bit them, but against the iron grip of those male wolves, my resistance was pathetic.

"Let me go! Grote, you bastard! I hate you!"

Their hands felt like heated pincers, and I could hear my bones groaning under the pressure.

In the chaos, someone roughly twisted my arm to pin me down. A searing pain instantly exploded in my arm.

It was broken.

The pain was so intense that my whole body trembled, and cold sweat drenched my back. They succeeded in making me stop struggling.

Grote carefully helped Christine up, wiping the blood from her forehead with his sleeve. His eyes were filled with so much tenderness that it seemed like he wanted to become her and bear her pain himself.

Meanwhile, I was on the verge of passing out from the agony. The other male wolves informed him of my condition, but he didn't even look at me.

All his concern was directed at Christine.

My heart felt numb as I let them take me away.

Grote forcefully took me back home, demanding that I care for Christine. He promised that if I agreed, I would be rewarded.

Did I have a choice?

I pretended to agree, hoping that I could escape once he was in a good mood.

Christine's belly grew rounder each day, and she became increasingly spoiled. She clung to Grote, insisting that she move into our old master bedroom.

This spacious seaside house had been carefully chosen by Grote just for me.

Knowing I loved the ocean, he had picked this place just so I could lie on the balcony in the afternoons and gaze at the blue sea and sky.

But just days after Christine moved in, she grabbed Grote's hand and said coyly, "Honey, will you sleep with me every night? If not, the pup inside me won't be happy."

Then she looked at the floor-to-ceiling window facing the sea. "This bedroom is perfect. I can see the ocean as soon as I wake up. I love it! Can you let me have it?"

I couldn't believe how easily Grote agreed. Despite my protests, he let Christine take the master bedroom.

"Renata, can you bear with it for a while? Christine's carrying my pup. We can't let her suffer."

And so, I was forced to stay in the storage room. I could only move back to the master bedroom after Christine gave birth to the pup.

I told myself to hold on and that this would pass, but things were far from as simple as I had imagined.

When Grote was busy with work, Christine had no restraint. With nothing to do, she vented her frustration on me.

"Ms. Bowers, you're so lucky to be Grote's mate and the future Luna. I really envy you!"

She wouldn't let me eat. If I couldn't wake up from hunger, she'd force me to drink swill. Every time, I'd gag until I convulsed.

If it hadn't been for an Omega—who once cared for me—secretly bringing me food, I would have likely starved to death.

Whenever I tried to resist or escape, Christine would push me to the ground and slap my face over and over again until her anger died down.

She even took my phone, so I couldn't contact Dad.