Chapter 4

The rain poured in sheets as the SUV sped down the muddy road.

I leaned against the leather seat and closed my eyes. Memories drowned me.

When I was six, my parents were constantly fighting on the front lines to expand our territory.

I was born with a weak wolf, so the other pups picked on me.

I didn't dare tell anyone. I just hid under my blankets and cried.

It was eight-year-old Caleb who climbed through my window. He wiped my tears with his clumsy hands. The next day, he cornered my bullies behind the training grounds and beat them up.

His face was covered in blood and bruises, but he ran up to me and grinned.

"Sienna, don't be scared," his childish voice held an Alpha's fierce edge. "I swear, I'll be the strongest Alpha. And you'll be my only Luna."

Later, our wolves awakened. He truly treated me like treasure. Whenever he got close, he acted like a territorial beast, burying his face in my neck, rubbing his cedar scent all over me.

My parents used to be so gentle, too. Every time I got a scrape in training, my dad Marcus would frown in worry. My mom Diana would grab the first-aid kit and quietly bandage me up. She'd kiss my forehead and sigh, "Be careful next time, little wolf."

But four years ago, everything shattered.

A brutal turf war broke out on the border. A low-ranking warrior couple got their throats ripped out trying to cover my parents.

After the battle, amidst the ruins, my parents brought back a 12-year-old girl. Her name was Freya. They said she was our saviors' "only surviving bloodline."

At first, I wanted to help repay the debt, too. Until six months later, I was delivering supplies to the town orphanage. I bumped into the drunk ex-director.

"Freya? Hic... That poor little Freya died of silver fever when she was three!" The old man slurred. "The one you guys have now? Who knows where that mutt came from! She's got a bad heart, but you guys treat her like gold..."

Lightning struck me. My blood turned to ice.

I ran back to the packhouse like a madwoman, ready to expose the fake. But when I pushed the door open, I saw Freya holding the custom picture frame with my and Caleb's names on it.

Crash.

She threw it hard against the floor. Glass shattered, slicing our photo in half. When she saw me, she threw herself into the broken glass, clutched her chest, and faked a panic attack, crying instantly.

"Get out!" I pointed at the door, shaking with rage. "You liar!"

Smack!

Freya didn't confess. Instead, Marcus slapped me hard across the face.

He hit me so hard I crashed to the floor. My ears rang, and blood filled my mouth.

"Sienna, you've disappointed me!" Diana glared at me coldly. She grabbed my hair, forcing my head up, her eyes full of disgust. "Stop acting like a spoiled brat! Jealous of an orphan?"

I held my burning cheek, screaming in despair. "She's not their daughter! The real Freya died! She's a fake!"

"Shut up!"

Caleb stormed in. He didn't help me up. He pulled the crying Freya behind his back.

He looked at my swollen face. A flash of extreme pain crossed his eyes, and his fists clenched at his sides. But he still didn't reach out to me. He looked down at me, his eyes tired and disappointed.

"Sienna, I know you feel left out, but making up sick lies to get rid of her? You can't even tolerate our savior's child. Where did your heart go?"

From that day on, endless screaming matches became my life. For four years, they guilt-tripped me with "morals" and "debts."

Just a month ago, Freya snuck into my lab and ruined samples I had spent six months purifying. I snapped. I cornered her at the stairs and slapped her. Freya held her cheek, but a creepy, smug smile crept onto her face.

The next second, she threw herself backward down the long staircase!

"No!"

I instinctively reached out to grab her, but she grabbed my wrist tight, dragging me down with her. My arm smashed into the railing. I heard the bone snap.

But when they ran over, nobody looked at me sweating in agony.

Marcus rushed up the stairs and, for the first time ever, slapped me. "You viper!" he roared, eyes glowing red.

Diana jumped on me, kicking and punching me while I held my broken arm, screaming at me to get out.

They carefully carried the "unconscious" Freya away, leaving me bleeding and blacking out from the pain.

And then, at our mating ceremony.

Caleb walked up to me in front of all the elders. His hands shook slightly. He looked torn, but he still unclasped my Moonstone Luna necklace. The hard edges scraped my skin. He softened his touch, but the act itself was brutal.

He turned and put it on the fake.

"Freya's genes are damaged. She needs this to soothe her wolf more than you do. Sienna, forgive me. When she's better, I'll give it back."

That day, my heart finally died.

I stopped fighting. I stopped screaming. I watched them hand everything that was mine over to that woman.

Including our sacred promise.

They promised me the island honeymoon. Four years later, they took Freya.