Meredith.
I didn't get a wink of sleep last night. How could I?
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the cold.
It had seeped into my bones, clinging to my skin like a second layer. The wooden floor beneath me was hard and unforgiving. My muscles ached from the awkward position I had curled into overnight, and my stomach twisted painfully with hunger.
But none of that compared to the sharp ache in my cheek, with dried blood clinging to my lip from my father's slap, a cruel reminder of last night.
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself upright. The dim morning light barely seeped through the cracks in the poultry shed walls, casting long, eerie shadows.
Dust swirled in the air, the scent of damp hay and stale feathers clogging my nose. I winced at the sharp, tingling pain in my ribs as I shifted, my breathing shallow to avoid aggravating the soreness.
Sleeping here had been miserable, though I hadn't had a choice—I'd been dragged inside, discarded like garbage. My lips curled bitterly.
Even though the shed was empty of fowl, the stench of old droppings and mildew clung to the air, burning the inside of my nose. My clothes were stiff, crusted with dried blood, sweat, and dirt.
A shiver crawled down my spine.
Then I heard it: Footsteps, heavy and deliberate.
I stiffened, every muscle in my body locking up. Someone was coming.
Panic clawed up my throat. I had to get up—had to be ready. But my body betrayed me, my limbs sluggish, weak. I barely had time to turn before the shed door was wrenched open with such force that it rattled on its hinges.
I sucked in a breath.
A towering figure filled the doorway, broad shoulders cutting an imposing silhouette against the weak morning light. His face was shadowed, but I didn't need to see his expression to know he was furious. I could feel his rage in the charged air between us, suffocating and thick. Gary.
His black eyes burned with pure contempt, his jaw set in a hard line. He looked at me like I was nothing—less than nothing.
"Get up." His voice was sharp, clipped.
For reasons only he understood, my brother was livid. What had I done this time? I'd only just woken up.
My throat bobbed as I swallowed my thoughts. Instead, I kept my gaze lowered, avoiding his piercing stare, and struggled to push myself off the floor. A pained groan slipped from my lips as my ribs protested the movement, but I fought through it.
Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough. Gary's patience was already razor-thin. The next second, he lunged forward, grabbing my arm in a punishing grip and yanking me forward.
"Walk, bitch," he spat, dragging me into the corridor of the animal house. The harshness of his tone sent a fresh wave of unease crawling through me. Several servants had already begun their morning duties, scrubbing floors and tending to the livestock, but none of them dared to look in our direction.
"You have some guts waking up this late after the trouble you caused for our entire pack!" Gary seethed.
Confusion flickered across my face. What trouble?
I hadn't done anything—at least, not that I was aware of. But I didn't dare to ask. The last thing I needed was to provoke him further.
I struggled to keep up with his pace as he dragged me outside, my bare feet scraping against the rough ground. The cold morning air bit into my skin, yet I barely felt it.
Gary's grip tightened.
"It wasn't enough that you embarrassed our family by being utterly useless," he hissed. "You had to go and draw his attention too. Alpha Draven of all people! Father should have sold you off as a slave or killed you the moment the moon goddess placed a curse on you!"
I went rigid, not because my own brother wished me dead. It was nothing. I've been told worse. It was the name he mentioned that sent a jolt of shock through my veins. Alpha Draven.
A fresh knot of anxiety twisted in my gut. He had said he'd come for me—but I hadn't believed him. I had made myself clear at the Lunar Ball. Why would he still want me?
No… It didn't make sense. My father would never willingly hand me over. He would rather keep me trapped, blaming me for every misfortune that befell him. I preferred it than going into the arms of a stranger whose intentions I had no idea of.
The moon goddess rejected me seven years ago. Even my mate rejected me so cruelly in the presence of hundreds of prominent wolves last night. Who would then dare to accept a cursed, rejected, wolfless deviant named Meredith Carter?
Unless it was an angel, but in our world, only monsters existed.
Then why…?
Dread pooled in my stomach. Before I could piece it together, we reached the entrance of the house.
The first person I saw was my father.
He stood tall, his hands clasped behind his back, his face unreadable. Cold. Unfeeling.
Beside him, my mother. Our gazes met for a fleeting second before she turned away with a huff, as if I were nothing more than an unpleasant stain she couldn't be bothered to acknowledge.
Then there were my sisters, standing near the steps with my suitcase at their feet.
They said nothing. No snide remarks. No insults. Just silence.
A sharp shove to my side sent me stumbling forward. A yelp escaped my lips, and I braced for the hard impact of the ground. But before I could hit the dirt, a strong arm wrapped around my waist, catching me mid-fall.
The air around me shifted—thickened. I looked up, breath hitching in my throat.
He was larger than I remembered.
Towering, dark-clothed, golden-eyed. A force of dominance that made the very air feel heavier. Alpha Draven.
His grip on me was firm, steady. His gaze bore into mine, his expression unreadable, yet something flickered behind those piercing eyes.
I yanked myself away from him, stumbling backward—only to be stopped by a solid hand pressing against my back.
Gary had trapped me, stopping me from moving an inch further.
Alpha Draven's gaze flickered briefly toward my father. His voice was as calm as it was commanding.
"Beta Gabriel, I see you locked my bride in a poultry shed overnight. I won't ask for your reasons. I'm taking her. Now."
His words sent a fresh wave of panic crashing over me.
Bride?
No. No, no, no.
My head snapped toward my father, my heart pounding against my ribs. But he didn't even look at me as he spoke, "Take her and leave my residence." His tone was devoid of emotion.
I almost staggered back, shaking my head.
Something has to be wrong somewhere! My father would never give me out. What happened before I arrived?
Alpha Draven cast his gaze on me once again and spoke, his tone neutral, "Let's go."
"No!" My voice cracked. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"
His lips twitched as if amused. He must have seen me as a joke. Then, without hesitation, he turned to his Beta. "Grab her bag."
Panic surged through me. I twisted away from Gary, making a desperate dash toward my father.
"Father!" My voice was raw. Desperate. "Please! Don't send me away! I'll do anything—"
He finally looked at me. For a single, breath-stealing moment.
And what I saw in his eyes shattered something inside me. Hatred. Pure, unfiltered hatred.
"You are a disgrace and a mistake," he spat, his voice thundering with finality. "I do not have a daughter like you. From today, you are no longer part of the Moonstone Pack."
Right as I was about to comprehend the weight of that statement, his next words fell like a death sentence.
"Go. And never return!"