18.18%
Chapter 3
The living room went dead silent. My parents stared at me in shock.
Dominic recovered first. His expression hardened as he removed his leather jacket and wrapped it around me.
“Maeve! What’s wrong with you? This is your own pack–why are you acting insane here? Nobody’s going to hurt you. Just stop pretending! Didn’t you just attack Celeste?”
I didn’t even hear him. I fought to get out of the jacket, kneeling and frantically trying to unbutton my clothes.
“Please, I’ll take it off. Don’t use silver. I’m begging you…please no…”
During my worst day at Crimson Cavern, an rogue became particularly enraged. He had my clothes sewn onto my skin, forcing me to tear them off as fast as I could.
If I took too slowly, he’d punish me with silver–tipped claws, burning wolfsbane, or forced partial shifts that broke my bones.
I was always hungry, barely slept, and had no strength to to take it off. I had no choice, I used teeth. By the time I got everything off, my body was covered in blood.
Even now, the scars never heal. They break open again and again..
When I kept struggling, my parents called Dr. Miles Chandler. Once a healer, currently a guest in the pack. He administered a calming herb to soothe my wolf.
“Ms. Mooncrest is experiencing severe psychological trauma. She needs proper pack healing immediately.”
Dr. Chandler paused with genuine concern in his eyes. “Her condition is critical. She needs to be hospitalized right now.”
Mother looked worried for a second, but when she noticed Celeste’s tears, her face hardened again.
Dominic looked down at me, his voice dripping with contempt.
“Psychological trauma? Maeve? That’s impossible. Look at her–does she seem like a wolf who’d break so easily? She openly attacked Celeste right in front of us. How could she possibly have Psychological trauma?”
“When are you going to drop this act? You worked as a waitress for two months and now you’re suddenly crazy? You waste all your dignity just for acting like a fool?”
“Or this is your new strategy. Playing the mental patient for sympathy. It won’t make us forget what you’v done to Celeste. You still need apolagize to her.”
I just stared at the ceiling blankly. Nothing he said registered with me.
Then Celeste leaned in close with a nasty look in her eyes.
“Maeve, what’s on your neck?” She yanked my collar down, exposing the bite marks.
“Wait… did you take a mate? What about Dominic? You were going to be bound! How could you
do that?”
I curled up into a bali, tears streaming down my face.
Dominic stared at my neck in shock.
his
car
before finally exploding.
After he swallowed his fury, he grabbed me off the bed and dragged me downstairs. He shoved me into “Maeve, who is he? Who gave you permission to mate with someone else? I discipline you a little and you do THIS to get back at me? You’re heartless. Tell me who he is! Are you faking this broken wolf act so you can run to him? What am I to you? A joke?”
I couldn’t take this anymore. I clutched at my ears, body curling inward, desperate to shrink
away
from his grasp.
Sobs racked through me, knees slamming to the floor. My forehead hit the ground again and again in frantic, mindless desperation.
“Please… please, let me go! It hurts! I’ll be good, just stop! I’ll do anything–you can record whatever you want. Just don’t use silver.
Chapter 3
Please… don’t use the silver again…”
