Chapter 2

Hailey:

"I said stop, " Axel snarled. He dragged me through a side door I had not even seen. The room beyond was dark and empty. It was some study or office.

He shoved me inside and slammed the door. His massive frame blocked my exit.

“Please just let me..”

The door burst open again, and Royce and Killian filled the doorway.

Their expressions were masks of cold fury, the air pressure changed as they entered. It was like three apex predators circling prey and goddess help me the mate bond sang.

The marks on my arm ignited, they burned hotter than before and heat pooled low in my belly. My wolf reached for them despite everything.

"Don't." Axel's voice cracked like a whip.

"Don't you dare come near us." The disgust in his eyes doused the heat like ice water. All three of them looked at me like I was something rotting, some diseased thing they had accidentally stepped on.

"This is impossible. Tell me this is some joke." Royce crossed his arms. His jaw was tight

"It's not a joke " Killian said quietly, his voice held an edge sharp enough to cut. His ice-blue eyes traveled over me assessing and finding me wanting.

"The marks don't lie. The moon goddess has mated us to a servant."

The way he said that word servant made me flinch. It was like I was a nobody.

"A mere servant " Royce corrected. His lip curled.

"The lowest rank in the pack. Do you understand how this looks? How does it make us look?"

Each word was a blow. I scrubbed their floors, served their meals, and cleaned their filth for four years. Now discovering I was their mate all they could think about was their reputation.

"My father..”  I started but my voice was shaking.

"Is a traitor " Killian cut me off. His calm delivery made it worse, somehow clinical and final.

"He betrayed our father, got him killed,  now you dare to stand here and expect us to accept you as our mate? You're like him. Treacherous. Manipulative."

"I'm not. I would never. My father is not a traitor.” I said

Axel moved fast. I did not see him coming. One moment, he was by the door the next he was in my face.

His hand was wrapped around my throat, not squeezing. The threat was clear. His silver eyes blazed with rage that stole my breath more effectively than his grip ever could.

"This is a scheme " he growled.

"Just like your father schemed against ours. You planned this somehow. You manipulated the mate bond, used magic, because there is no universe where the moon goddess would pair us with a traitor's daughter."

"No!" The word ripped from my throat.

"I didn't. I swear, I didn't know! I didn't do anything..”

"Liar." His fingers tightened slightly.

"Your father lied too. Looked our father in the eye. Lied while planning his death. It's in your blood." Tears burned my eyes.

"Please just listen,” I  begged.

"I reject you." Royce’s words hit me like a blow. The mate bond, barely formed and fragile, began to crack. Pain exploded through my chest radiating outward in waves that made my knees buckle.

"I, Royce Thorne, reject you, Hailey Marcus, as my mate."

"I reject you well." Killian's voice held no emotion, efficient as a blade between the ribs.

“I, Killian Thorne, reject you, Hailey Marcus.” My legs gave out. I hit the floor hard, a scream tearing from my throat as the bond splintered further.

It felt like my chest was being ripped open from the inside, my heart shredding itself with each severed connection.

Through the haze of agony, I saw Axel crouch down. His face was level with mine. No pity, no remorse. Just arctic fury.

"Listen carefully, " he said softly. Which somehow made it worse.

"You will forget this ever happened. You are nothing but a slave, a criminal’s daughter and we don't show mercy to criminals."

"Please " I sobbed, my fingers clawing at the carpet. The pain was eating me alive.

"Please don't,”  I begged.

"I, Axel Thorne, " he said. Each word was deliberate and final.

"Reject you Hailey Marcus as my mate." The bond did not just break. It shattered.

I felt it snap like a rope under much tension. The recoil was vicious enough to stop my heart. My scream died in my throat as darkness swallowed everything.

The pain, the humiliation, the three faces staring down at me without an ounce of compassion.

Then nothing.

~~~~

I woke to evening shadows painting my room in shades of gray.

Every muscle in my body screamed. My chest ached as someone had reached inside and hollowed me out. Leaving nothing but a bleeding cavity where my heart used to be.

The door banged open without warning. Mrs. Chen, the head maid, stood in the doorway with her scowl and a bucket of cleaning supplies.

"Get up " she barked. "The Alpha's office corridor needs cleaning. Now."

I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. Pain lanced through my skull, sharp and merciless.

"Mrs. Chen, I don't feel well. Can someone else-"

"Did I ask how you feel?" She dumped the supplies on my floor with a clatter that made me wince.

"You think you're special? You think being the traitor's daughter means you get breaks? Get up." My hands shook as I pulled myself to standing. The room tilted dangerously. Mrs. Chen's glare kept me upright through sheer force of will.

"You have ten minutes, " she said.

"If that corridor isn't spotless you'll be scrubbing the kitchens until dawn."

She left, slamming the door hard to rattle the frame.

I wanted to curl up and die. I wanted to surrender to the pain and grief and let it consume me.

I picked up the mop and bucket then walked to the Alpha's private wing.

The triplets rarely worked late on weekends so I moved mechanically.

Muscle memory guided my hands as I scrubbed floors I'd cleaned a thousand times before.

I was almost finished when I heard voices in Axel's office.

The door was cracked open slightly. Warm light spilled into the corridor. I should have left, I should have finished quickly and gotten out,  but my name froze me in place.

"Hailey's situation is handled, then?" That was Royce's voice

.

"Completely " Axel replied.

"I've already made arrangements. Alpha Donovan of the Red Moon pack has agreed to take her off our hands."My blood turned to ice.

"He's paying well for her too " Killian added.

"Apparently he has a fondness for broken things. She'll serve him just as she's served us."Red Moon pack, I knew that name.

Alpha Donovan was notorious, cruel, and sadistic, with a taste for violence that made warriors nervous.

The wolves who went to the Red Moon didn't come back.

"When?" Royce asked.

"Tomorrow morning. His enforcers will collect her at dawn."

"Perfect." A new voice, feminine and sickeningly familiar. Maddison.

"Honestly it's the solution. She's been a liability for years. This way, you  actually profit from it.”

"Indeed, " Axel agreed.

"The traitor's daughter finally serves a purpose." They laughed, discussing selling me like livestock.

Like I was a problem to be eliminated rather than a person.

The mop slipped from my fingers. Hitting the floor with a slap that echoed down the corridor The voices inside cut off abruptly.

I ran.

My feet pounded against the marble floors, taking corners fast, nearly slamming into walls.

I did not look back. I did not think about where I was going or what I was doing.

I just ran, leaving the pack house and any hope of survival behind the pack house. I was leaving the pack house. I knew that was it, for me.