Isabella
I gasped as cold water splashed across my face, pulling me from the haze of unconsciousness. Disoriented, I found myself lying on the floor, the sharp tang of fear flooding my senses. The moment I realized where I was, the knot in my stomach tightened. I was in the presence of my father.
Alpha Lucian.
He loathed weakness. He saw any hint of confusion or helplessness as pathetic, a reason to punish. I scrambled to my knees, keeping my head lowered, desperate to avoid his wrath.
In front of me, seated in chairs arranged in two neat rows, were the most important members of the pack: my father's beta, his left-hand man, the elders, and the chief advisor. To my father's side sat Maria and Sofia, my stepmother and stepsister, both of them wearing expressions that were a mix of disdain and amusement.
Sofia was the one who had caused all this.
"My daughter tells me you've been ignoring me," my father's gruff voice broke the silence, more statement than question. It sent a cold chill down my spine. "And you decided not to come when summoned?"
I swallowed, trying to steady my breath as I glanced briefly at Sofia. I hated her, but I was smart enough not to show it. My gaze dropped quickly to the floor, avoiding my father's eyes.
"It was my mistake, Alpha, I deserve to be punished." I replied, my voice mechanical, a practiced response. I didn't mean that but throughout the years, I learned that this was the best way to appease him, by admitting fault even if you did not do anything.
Before my father could continue, Sofia chimed in, her voice shrill and irritating. "And Daddy, I told her it was urgent, but she just ignored me and slept on the ground like the animal she is."
Her words were a screeching assault on my ears, her voice like a knife dragging across metal...I winced, my insides cringing, but I kept my face impassive. The others in the room snickered behind their hands, the laughter making my stomach churn.
My eyes snapped up to glare at Sofia, but I quickly forced them down again. My father's presence loomed over me, but Sofia, the brat, didn't scare me. She knew what she had done to make me faint, but no, she had to play the role of the perfect daughter in front of him.
Maria, ever the calculating figure, added her voice. "Sofia, that's no way to speak to your older sister. It's not her fault she's more accustomed to sleeping on the ground. I'm sure she simply enjoys being one with nature, don't you, honey?"
Her tone was feigned chastisement, but I knew better. She was subtly supporting Sofia's cruelty, knowing it would please my father.
My father raised his hand, acknowledging Maria with a slight nod before turning his full attention back to me.
"It seems you've forgotten your place, Isabella," my father's voice was low and cold, sending a chill of terror through me.
I clenched my fists at my sides, nails biting into my palms. My legs trembled beneath me, threatening to betray me, but I forced myself to remain still. I couldn't show weakness. I couldn't—wouldn't—give him any excuse to punish me further.
The nausea rose in my throat as I tasted the blood from biting the inside of my lip to anchor myself. I closed my eyes, willing the sensation away, trying not to break.
"For your punishment," the chief advisor, Derek, spoke up, his voice formal. "No food for three days. And you are forbidden from going to the woods during that time. Do you accept the Alpha's punishment?"
His words were like a death sentence, and the coldness of his tone made me shiver. The pack would see this as a mild punishment, but I knew better.
"Yes, I accept," I responded, my voice hollow, drilled into me by years of fear and pain. Kneeling, keeping my head low, accepting punishment without a word of protest—it was all I knew now.
"Good," my father nodded, turning away from me as if I were nothing more than a minor inconvenience. "Now, Derek, explain the reason we are gathered here."
Derek cleared his throat and stood taller, drawing the attention of the room. "The Alpha called this meeting to announce great news. An enemy has turned a friend, and we are pleased to announce that a peace treaty will soon be signed with the southern pack."
I didn't care about treaties. My enemies were closer than any southern pack could ever be. The pack was my enemy. My own flesh and blood were the ones who tortured me.
Derek paused, his eyes scanning the room, and then his gaze fell upon me. I felt my heart stop, a chill running down my spine.
"And," Derek continued, "it has come to light that the beta of the southern pack, the second prince of their people, is without a mate. To show our sincerity in this treaty, we have offered them a bride."
My feet went cold. I didn't like where this was going.
"A bride of true wolf blood, a princess of our pack—Isabella Morgan."
The room fell silent, but in that silence, I felt my world crumble. I couldn't breathe. The walls seemed to close in on me as I struggled to comprehend what Derek had just said. My father had offered me up as a bride to an enemy pack?