Fauna:
After speaking with Haiden and feeling heartbroken, I decided to return to my room.
I was lost in my thoughts and did not check my surroundings as I moved quickly. There was only one thing on my mind: what was I going to do?
I could not tell anyone about my mate bond with Haiden because he would refuse, and I would be called a liar.
"You really want him to reject you?" my wolf asked when she noticed I was making excuses to stay silent.
"I wonder if we should ask for a rejection so we can move on?" I shot back at her, pressing her with the question.
"I don’t want rejection," She admitted in a low whisper.
"Neither do I." I responded in the sa sad tone.
I thought about waiting for him forever, but there was my dad and his threats. He had made it clear that if we did not find a mate, he would be very angry with us.
I reminded my wolf of that as I kept moving.
When I reached the stairs, I felt as if soone was behind .
As soon as I started to turn around, I realized it was too late. A hand landed on my back.
They shoved down with such force that no scream left my lips.
My body tumbled down the stairs, striking step after step.
Pain shot through when I finally hit the ground, and I coughed up blood. I had hit the back of my neck and my head.
Blood spread across the floor.
I placed my hands down and tried to push myself up, but I slipped in my own blood and fell again.
I knew I was not dying. If soone took to the hospital and helped transition, I would be fine.
But who pushed ?
The question lingered as I slowly turned my head and saw the person walking down the stairs toward .
My own father.
His earlier words made my skin crawl. He was the one who had pushed and then watched from the top of the stairs as I hit the ground.
"Father," I whispered, lifting my hand toward him.
He took it, and for a second I thought he was going to help up. Instead, he bent my fingers back until they cracked.
"Ah!" I scread.
He pressed his other hand over my mouth to silence .
"What kind of daughter betrays her father?" he muttered in my ear.
As if he had no soul to remind him that the one in pain was his own child, he started dragging out.
I whimpered as he pulled across the floor. He did not care how much I was hurting. He dragged down the hall and shoved into my bedroom. Once I was inside, he slamd the door shut.
"So you heard talking, and then you decided it was the right thing to tell that man who keeps rejecting you about your father’s secrets?" he grunted.
He grabbed the hair at the back of my head. He must have seen how badly I was bleeding, but it did not stop him from shaking my head hard.
"I was not," I replied, trying to lie to save myself.
That only made him angrier. He slapped across the face without letting go of my hair.
"You have disappointed so much that I wish you were the one I sent north with him," he muttered. "You would have been dead by now."
Tears rolled down my face.
"You’re my father," I whispered, hoping it would remind him he was not supposed to treat this way.
"And you’re my daughter," he snapped.
He began slapping again, quick blows across my face.
"You were supposed to listen to ," he shouted. "To follow my orders. To do as I say, not run after a man who keeps rejecting you."
He struck harder, and my head turned with the force.
The bedroom door flew open, and I heard soone gasp.
"Let her go! What are you doing?" my mother cried.
She rushed in and shoved him away from . Her hands trembled as she looked at .
"What has he done to you?" she asked, tears filling her eyes.
"Oh, step back," my father snapped. "This is because of you. Do you know what she did? She probably told that Haiden everything."
He grabbed my mother by the arms so hard that she cried out in pain.
"Please, have rcy," she begged. "She’s our daughter. She’s innocent. She doesn’t understand. We are supposed to guide her."
The more she spoke, the angrier he beca.
"Then I am tired of guiding her," he said coldly. "It is ti she gets punished."
My eyes began to close, but each ti they did, he kicked my knee or elbow, sending sharp pain through and forcing awake.
"Stop it!" my mother scread.
She moved in front of and took the hits ant for .
"She will stay in the basent until they leave," my father said. "Then I will deal with her properly. I will teach her a lesson she will never forget."
He grabbed my mother by the wrist and dragged her out of the room.
I lifted my hand weakly, but that was all I could manage before he left.
A few of his warriors ca in afterward. They held down and injected with sothing strong enough to blur my thoughts and numb my body.
The worst part was knowing that the only people who would miss were my mother and my sister.
Haiden would leave tomorrow without ever knowing I was being punished for trying to help him.
Hours passed before I woke up in the basent.
I did not have the strength to call for anyone. I knew the basent was far from the main mansion and the upper floors where everyone stayed. Even if I tried to call for help, no one would hear . And if they did, it would only make my father angrier.
So I lay on the cold floor, waiting for him to decide I had suffered enough.
After a while, I heard footsteps coming down the basent stairs.
Maybe Haiden and the others had already left, and now my father had co to punish .
I stood wide-eyed in surprise when I saw my sister.
She walked in looking worried about .
At that mont, I had no idea what ti it was.
When the door opened and she stepped in, I noticed she was still in her nightwear, which ant it was probably early morning. Maybe Haiden and the others had not left, but why would that matter?
I saw tears in Mariana’s eyes as she knelt beside and gently touched my face.
"Hurry up, there is no ti. Say what you have to say and then leave," my mother called from the doorway, rubbing her hands anxiously.
It seed like they had snuck in to see , and I knew that even if they wanted to save , they could not. My father would kill if soone tried to help . That was the end of it.
"I really want to help you," Mariana whispered, tearing up.
"No, help them," I muttered, barely able to speak as I ntioned Haiden, and Ian.
"That will be too risky. You saw what they did to you," my sister replied, and I lowered my face again. I could barely hold my head up.
"But of course, I am going to do the right thing," she added, running her hand through my hair.
"Father said if you did not find your mate, he would push you into the mate prayer thing, but I do not think that is the truth. He is looking for a mate for you, and if you do not find one, he is going to use that excuse to send you to," she paused.
"North," I finished for her, and she closed her eyes as tears slipped out.
"I cannot believe my own father is like this," I heard her say desperately.
"Please, make sure Troy does not return to his pack. They will kill him. They said they will push you toward Troy, and if you two do not accept each other, then Father will get rid of him so that ssy can stay a crowned alpha."
I could not form full sentences, but that was all I managed to say, and I watched my sister’s eyes widen in shock.
"Okay, co on, let’s go. Soone is coming," my mother urged my sister, who was staring at like she had seen a ghost after hearing what I told her.
After that, my sister had to leave.
That was just the life we were forced to live because of our father.
But I knew from the look she gave that she would try her best to inform the others, to be careful, and to warn Troy not to return to his pack.
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