Avaline Pov.

I was scared to my bones as I searched for something to wear. Being in my father's pack after a drunken night of pleasure wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend my day. I didn't even know how I ended up here. After waking up to a cold reception, I knew I had to face him. He was already downstairs, waiting for me. I panicked. What was he going to do to me? Beat me and punish me like he always did? Or let my stepmother treat me like garbage? Or sell me back to Drake? All options meant pain, and I wasn't ready to go through that.

I quickly found a black coat and wrapped it around myself as I ran downstairs, not wanting to keep my father waiting. The moment he saw me, he growled.

"What the hell did you think you were doing, sleeping around?"

I frowned, responding with a calm voice, "I didn't do anything, Father."

But he slapped me, his face red with anger. "Drake called me, telling me you cheated on him."

"He is lying, Dad! He cheated on me!" I cried, desperate for them to believe me. I couldn't believe the audacity of Drake. After rejecting me and sleeping with my step-sister, he had the nerve to pin the blame on me?

My stepmother, Grace, came out of her room, looking elegant and sinister.

"You're a slut, just like your mother," she spat, her eyes filled with hatred.

I felt a little lightheaded from the drink I had last night, but I raised my chin in defiance. However, I soon ducked it down as my father stared at me coldly.

Grace continued to abuse and ridicule my mother, and I knew I couldn't do anything. I let the tears flow.

But suddenly, I felt sick, and the urge to puke filled me. In a nanosecond, I puked all over Grace.

Before I could even react, something hard hit me, and everything went blank.

I groomed myself as the voices of my father and his family filled my ears, making my head ache. Just hearing their voices made me want to break down and cry, but I willed myself to confidence. I wasn't going to let it fall; I wouldn't cry anymore. It would just give them the satisfaction they'd always wanted.

Drake and Nicole had announced their engagement, and the news spread like wildfire, leaving my broken heart in its wake. I tried to push away the gnawing feeling of pain that threatened to overcome me whenever I thought of how happy they were and how destroyed my life had become.

My father and stepmother weren't left out of the madness; they went high and low in preparation for the wedding, and it broke my heart that my father didn't value his own blood but a prototype. He even went as far as saying he wanted Drake to merge both his pack and my father's pack to become one. The pack that originally belonged to my mom was now about to be given to a royal prick.

Everyone acted like they were the perfect couple ordained by the moon goddess, meanwhile they weren't. My wolf was in pain and constantly wanted to break free because of the heartbreak of seeing her mate in the arms of another.

"I see how idle you have become, sister," Nicole spat from the top of the stairs, sneering down at me and secretly reveling in my pain. "Don't you have anything to do?"

I didn't respond; I kept gathering the decorations needed for the engagement because my father forced me to serve them.

"Are you deaf, you bitch!" She said angrily, stomping down the stairs to where I stood.

"I don't have time for—" I tried to say, but as I turned to face her, she let out a shriek and fell on the floor.

"Damn you, Avaline! You want to end my life because Drake chose me over you?! You piece of shit!" She complained to my dismay.

I couldn't believe how low she could go to make my life a living hell. I stared at her blankly, wishing I could smash the nearest vase on her neatly packed blonde head.

Her cries drew attention to us, and everyone's attention was focused on us. My heart dropped whenever Drake sprinted out and rushed to her side, a concerned look on his face as he caressed her.

"She tried to hurt me, babe," she cried, clutching him tightly.

Bile rose to my throat when he patted her hair with a kiss and whispered sweet words to her.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked calmly, his jaw clenching.

I held back the sadistic laughter that almost poured out of me. The fact that I ever trusted this son of a bitch made me doubt my decision-making capacity. How couldn't I have seen through his facade?

"How dare you hurt my Luna?" Drake growled, gripping me by the neck.

Coughs sputtered from me as my eyes became teary; I looked at him with sadness.

"You didn't even ask me what went wrong—"

"I don't need to," he bellowed.

"If not for the fact that your father requested your presence here, I would have killed you on sight."

He slammed me against the wall, and a sharp cry escaped my lips.

"Stop it!" someone cried as they rushed to us, but it was too late.

Everything went blank as he slammed me against the wall once more.

****

"Wake up, you slug!" Alpha Graham woke me up with a slap. "You are a disgrace to my legacy, Avaline. You and your mother!"

"Alpha, I think you need to calm down. It's not good for her condition," the pack doctor intervened.

I frowned, wondering, "What condition?"

"You still dare to ask questions?!" My father yelled frantically. "You are just as pathetic as your mother. Who is the father?!"

Tears streamed down my face as I stared at my life giver. The mention of my mom always struck a sad chord in me, and tears poured out immediately.

"Answer me!" he demanded.

"I don't know what you are talking about—" I tried to reason with him, but he wasn't having it. He paced around the room, running a hand through his hair.

"Alpha—" The pack doctor tried calming him down.

My father's eyes changed; he slammed the doctor against the wall, his fangs drawn. "You do not interfere in my matters, lowlife! Leave before I tear you apart!" He snapped, and the pack doctor scurried away, white with fear.

"Now, you are going to tell me what I need to know, Avaline," his voice was icy cold, sending shivers down my spine.

"Father—" I croaked.

"Don't call me that," he spat, turning sharply and pointing at me. "Instead, you should tell me who the father of your child is!"

****

THREE DAYS LATER.

I was so torn and didn't know who to blame or hold responsible for my current condition. I knew I was careless when I decided to spend the night with a stranger whose origin or true identity I didn't know. I tried soothing myself with the undeniable fact that I was drunk, but that wasn't an excuse at all. To be honest, my wolf and I felt at home with the strange man, and for some reason, I yearned for him. But I knew I would never cross paths with him again, which sent cold fear tingling through my spine.

If I was truly pregnant, as my dad and the pack's doctor claimed, would I raise a child on my own? In this place where I was not loved?

I struggled to sit up on the bed, but I was too weak. I hadn't fully healed from Drake's assault and Grace's beatings. After my father left my room that day, he locked me up without food or water. I felt so weak and hungry that I could barely move. My stomach growled for the umpteenth time that day, and I decided to try my luck once more.

I crawled my way to the door and banged on it. "Hello?! Please let me out of here! I am going to die!" I yelled repeatedly, but silence was all I got.

I leaned against the door, curling myself into a ball as I sobbed. They wanted me to die. My own father wanted me gone.

"I don't see why you don't take a hint. We are trying to live a life without you butting in to mess things up," I heard Drake say from the other end.

I swallowed my pride and clutched the door handle. "Drake, please. You need to get me out of here. I need to eat."

He chuckled darkly, his voice devoid of emotion. "You can't deceive me, Avaline. I have been in the past, but I am clearer-headed now."

"Please, Drake—"

"Right, I release you, so what?" He snorted. "So you go back to your screwer? The one who got you pregnant?"

"I am not pregnant! We aren't certain about that."

"Lies! You are nothing but a two-faced bitch. You accused me of sleeping with your sister when you already let your useless cunt be fucked by another man!"

My heart broke as he said those words. They were not true. I wasn't pregnant, nor had I met another man. His betrayal led me into all this mess, and now he was using my situation as a pathetic excuse for his actions.

"That's not how it was, Drake! And you know it! I still loved you, but you broke my heart when I caught you with my sister." I tried to snap, but my voice came out as a mere whisper.

"Just please let me out of here, my baby—"

"Your baby?!" He roared in anger, pushing the door open. His eyes flashed with deep resentment.

I struggled to get on my feet, securing some distance between us, scared of what he might do.

"You are not carrying a baby; you are carrying a bastard that will take over your legacy of being a slut. Nothing good can come out of you, woman. You are cursed!"

I clenched my fists, shutting my eyes. "Don't call my baby a bastard."

"You dare speak back at me?"

“Babe, what's going on?” Nicole walked into the room, a smirk immediately curling up her face as she spotted my disheveled look.

“I was trying to work out the invitations for our wedding, but this bitch didn't just know when to shut up and let us love our lives.”

Aside from the glaring pain of hunger, there was a subtle pain in my abdomen that made me believe I might be pregnant after all. And if I was, I wouldn't just give up.

I twisted my nose as the urge to puke filled me.

“You snitch! Stay away from Drake.” Nicole stepped forward, pushing me. “If you know what's good for you and—” She paused, twisting her face in disgust. “Baby, don't get your useless paws on Drake again!”

“Let's get out of here, babe!” Drake pulled her away, but I rushed to him, gripping his hand.

“Please, don't leave me here. I might die.”

“You should,” he spat with disdain, his gaze breathing rage on me. He pushed me back, slamming the door shut and locking it from outside.

I listened in pain and silence as their footsteps faded away.