(Bella's POV)
Just as I was about to strike, a voice cut through the darkness like a blade of ice.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The power in those words made all of us freeze. Through the shadows strode a man who seemed to command the very night itself. Tall – taller than any wolf I'd ever seen – with broad shoulders and an aura of absolute authority. Black hair fell in artful disarray across his forehead, but it was his eyes that caught me. Electric blue, burning with barely contained power.
Mike, Tyler, and Eric immediately released me, stumbling back. Even drunk and high, they recognized an apex predator when they saw one.
"Sir..." Mike stammered. "We were just..."
"Just leaving." The stranger's voice was deceptively soft, but I felt the lethal promise beneath it. Then his eyes changed – brilliant blue bleeding into a deep, terrifying crimson that marked him as an Alpha. But not just any Alpha. The sheer power radiating from him made my knees weak.
The air grew thick with his dominance, an invisible weight that pressed down like a mountain. Mike, Tyler, and Eric dropped to their knees involuntarily, their wolves completely submitting to his power. Sweat beaded on their foreheads as they fought to breathe under the crushing force of his authority.
"Now." That single word carried enough power to make nearby leaves tremble.
The three scrambled backwards, nearly crawling in their desperation to escape his presence. Their wolves were practically whimpering, tails tucked between their legs. The Moon Mountain Tea's artificial courage was no match for pure, primal Alpha power.
"Thank—" I started to say, but he cut me off.
He took a sniff and his perfect features twisted into a frown as he noticed the red wine stains splashed across my skirt. "Do you make a habit of entertaining multiple men in dark corners?"
His voice dripped with disdain, gesturing at my stained dress and disheveled appearance.
Heat rushed to my cheeks. Of course it looked bad – the wine stains, my messy hair from struggling against Mike and his friends, the tears in my dress from their rough handling.
But the way this stranger looked at me, like I was something scraped off his shoe...
"I didn't ask for their attention," I said coldly.
He arched an elegant eyebrow. "No? That dress suggests otherwise. "
"You know nothing about me," I said coldly. "And it's none of your business."
I turned away, pride stinging. Let him think what he wanted. His opinion meant nothing.
"You didn't even say thank you!" he called after me, anger coloring his voice.
I turned to face him and let out a bitter laugh. "Thank you for slandering me?"
"You are a rude wolf," he spat out, his Alpha presence flaring with his temper. Lesser wolves would have cowered, but his arrogance only fed my defiance.
"I am much more polite than you," I replied evenly, meeting his gaze. "At least I don't make baseless assumptions about strangers."
Something flashed in those blue eyes – surprise? Interest? But I didn't stay to find out. I'd had enough of arrogant wolves for one night.
The walk home was long and cold, my earlier rage replaced by a bone-deep weariness.
The kitchen light cast sickly yellow shadows as I crept inside. My stomach growled – I hadn't eaten since breakfast. The confrontation with that arrogant Alpha had left me drained, and I just wanted to grab some food and hide in my room.
George's hulking figure at the kitchen table made me freeze. Empty bottles surrounded him like fallen soldiers. The acrid smell of cheap whiskey and cigarettes made my nose burn.
"Well, well..." He lifted his bloodshot eyes. "The princess returns."
I said nothing, edging toward the fridge. Maybe if I was quick enough...
"Lost ten thousand tonight," he slurred, pushing himself up. "Ten fucking thousand to the River Pack wolves."
I fought back a sneer. Ten thousand – three months' salary gone in one night. But what else could I expect from this pathetic excuse of a father? A man who only adopted me for the monthly pack stipend, then gambled away even that meager amount.
"You got money, don'tcha?" He stumbled closer. "Martha says you're hiding it. Saving up to abandon us..." His laugh was ugly. "After everything we done for you."
"I don't have any money," I lied, thinking of my savings hidden under the floorboard. Two years of working double shifts, carefully tucking away every extra dollar. My escape fund.
"LIAR!" The bottle missed my head by inches, shattering against the wall. "Ungrateful little bitch! Think you're too good for us?"
He moved with drunk speed, pinning me against the counter. His hands pawed at my dress, searching for nonexistent pockets. The stench of alcohol on his breath made bile rise in my throat.
"Maybe..." His eyes traveled down my body in a way that made my skin crawl. "Maybe there's other ways you can help your dear old dad. Pretty thing like you..."
"Kill him," Gina snarled as his hands slid lower. "End this now!"
But I couldn't. One wrong move and I'd be banished from the pack. I haven't been strong enough to survive long, at least for now.
"Please," I whispered, hating the tremor in my voice. "You're drunk. Just let me—"
The first blow caught me across the face, snapping my head back. The second drove the air from my lungs.
I curled into a defensive ball as kicks rained down on my ribs, my back, my legs. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth.
His hands found my throat, squeezing. "Nobody wants you! Nobody but us! And this is how you repay our kindness?"
His other hand grabbed my dress, the fabric ripping with an ugly sound that echoed in my ears. "Always teasing... wearing these little dresses..." His alcohol-soaked breath hit my face as he pressed closer. "Maybe it's time you earned your keep..."
Something cold and deadly snapped inside me. No more. I didn't care about being banished anymore. Death was better than letting this monster violate me.
I gathered my strength, feeling my muscles coil. One clean strike to his throat – that's all it would take. In three seconds, I could—
The front door slammed. "George! What are you doing?"
Martha's voice cut through the haze of pain. I held back my strength. The pressure on my throat eased.
"She's hiding money," George whined, stumbling back. "Won't help her own father..."
"You fool!" Martha yanked him away from me. "Look what you've done to her face! How's she supposed to work looking like that? We need her income!"
I lay there, gulping air, as Martha berated George. Not for hurting me – never for that. Only for damaging their meal ticket.
"And you!" She rounded on me, eyes blazing. "Provoking him like this! Coming home at all hours, dressed like a whore..."
Her nails raked across my already bruised cheek. "I saw you at the party, throwing yourself at William. Trying to ruin his engagement! Haven't you caused enough trouble?"
"I didn't—"
Her slap cut off my protest. "Shut up! To the storage room. Now! You can stay there until those bruises heal."
I stumbled toward the tiny room off the kitchen – my punishment chamber since childhood. Barely bigger than a closet, with only a thin blanket and a cracked mirror on the wall.
"If you can't work tomorrow because of those bruises," Martha called as she locked the door, "it's coming out of your hide!"
Darkness swallowed me whole.
I pressed my forehead against the cool wall, every muscle in my body tight with barely contained fury. My hands clenched into fists so tight that my nails broke skin, the sharp metallic scent of blood filling the tiny space.
I wouldn't cry. Not anymore. Tears were for people who still had hope, who still believed in fairness and justice.
"One day," Gina promised, her rage matching my pain. " we'll be strong enough to leave. And we'll make them all pay."
Morning came too soon, bringing with it new aches and the taste of old blood. I examined my reflection in the cracked mirror on the wall. My face was a masterpiece of purple and yellow, but nothing was broken. Nothing that wouldn't heal.
As I gingerly touched the bruises, I mentally calculated my savings. Six thousand three hundred and forty-two dollars hidden under the loose floorboard in my room. Today's shift at the café would bring in another sixty, plus tips. The library job on weekend would add another hundred.
Two more weeks – that's all I needed. The University of California had already accepted my transfer application. A new pack, a new city, three thousand miles between me and the Bennetts.
The house was quiet when Martha finally unlocked the door. Too quiet. They must have left for work, leaving only—
"Look who survived the night."
James lounged on the couch, shirtless, with a girl straddling his lap. Lily – his latest girlfriend. Her lipstick was smeared, her shirt half-unbuttoned.
"Oh my god," Lily giggled, running her hands over James's chest. "Your face looks awful. What did you do to deserve that? Though I guess it's an improvement."
"Probably tried to seduce her foster father," James smirked. "That's her specialty, isn't it? Just ask William. Or should I say, ask Sarah about how she caught you trying to crawl into their bed..."
My escape fund flashed through my mind. Two more weeks. Keep calm. Don't react.
I ignored them, heading for the stairs.
"Better hurry to school," James called after me. "Though I don't know why you bother. You're better suited for... other work. My friends certainly think so."
I froze.
"That's right," he grinned, pulling out his phone. "Mike sent me some interesting videos from last night. Five hundred for a quick fuck in the dark? Bit steep for a packless bitch, don't you think?" He kissed Lily's neck. "Baby, show her what she's really worth."
Something black and soft hit my face. My missing bra.
"Found this in his drawer," Lily laughed, grinding against James. "Along with some... interesting stains. James says you put on quite a show in the shower. Maybe you could teach me your tricks? Though I doubt I'll need them – I'm actually worthy of being his mate."
The world didn't just go red. It shattered into crystalline fragments of pure, unstoppable rage.
My patience evaporated in the face of this final insult.
"END THEM," Gina roared.
James never saw me move. One second he was laughing, the next he was flying across the room, blood spraying from his broken nose. Lily's scream cut off as I grabbed her throat, lifting her entire body with one hand.
"Get. Out." My voice was winter itself. "If I ever see you here again, they won't find enough pieces to identify the body."