Chapter 4
Queenie flashed a smug, taunting smile. “Joseph, if Melissa doesn’t want to cook, just let it go. She clearly hates me. What if she Odecides to poison the food? I mean, for me
and the pup-”
She didn’t finish her sentence before Alpha Joseph yanked her into his arms.
“She won’t. And she wouldn’t dare. If you want something to eat, I’ll make her do it now.”‘
Queenie giggled, tracing circles on his chest with one manicured finger.
“I’m not hungry for food right now. I’m craving you.”
Joseph, clearly amused and in high spirits, scooped her up effortlessly into his arms. Before turning away, he glanced over his shoulder at me bis expression smua
“Then I’ll feed you myself.”
Queenie batted her lashes at me as if she’d already won, then pouted, “But I don’t have a room here yet. Where am I supposed to sleep?”
Joseph didn’t hesitate. “With me, of course.”
I stood frozen, watching him carry her–into our bedroom. Moments later, soft moans began to seep through the door, slicing straight through my soul.
Inside my head, my wolf Ivy howled with fury.
Those two shameless traitors! What more do they want from us? Is he trying to destroy us completely? I swear I’ll take them down with
me!
I trembled violently, biting my lip until I tasted blood, trying to hold back the overwhelming urge to rip them both apart.
But I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
I smashed every framed photo of us in the living room–wedding pictures, vacation memories, all of it–until the floor was littered with glass and fragments of a life that no longer existed.
Then, with shaking hands, I took out the divorce papers I had already signed and placed them squarely on the table.
Ever since the funerals of my father and sister, Alpha Joseph had stopped assigning guards to watch me. Maybe he thought I had no fight left in me.
I dragged my suitcase through the living room, just as the sounds from our bedroom reached a fever pitch. I didn’t look back.
The wedding ring on my finger felt like a shackle. Without a second thought, I ripped it off and tossed it into the bushes near the front door.
I picked up my mother and flagged down a taxi. We were headed to the airport. First, I needed to disappear–find somewhere Joseph couldn’t track me. Then I’d book the procedure. It was time.
My feelings for Alpha Joseph were a mess. I hated him. I feared him. But seeing him with another woman in front of me still made my heart bleed.
I never expected him to come after me so soon.
He’d just been in bed with Queenie–how could he have followed so fast?
Still, I clung to a sliver of hope. There were hundreds of taxis on the road. He couldn’t possibly know which one I was in. Maybe he was just heading to the airport, trying to guess my next move.
I told the driver to change course and head for the train station instead.
But fate had other plans.
Joseph had already locked onto us. The moment we changed direction, he ordered his men to intercept.
The driver panicked. He’d never seen anything like this before–black SUVS flanking both sides, wolves ready to pounce.
I knew we weren’t getting away.
“Pull over, I told him. “It’s over. Just stop the car.”
But the driver, trying to dodge Joseph’s vehicle on the left, didn’t see the red light ahead–or the massive truck barreling straight toward us.
BANG!
The impact was blinding. Metal screamed. Glass shattered. The car flipped. My body slammed into the door, then the ceiling, then
the seat again. Pain exploded in every inch of me.
Through blurred vision, I saw my mother’s body fly through the shattered window. She landed just a few feet away, motionless in a pool of blood.
I couldn’t move. I couldn’t scream. I could only watch.
“Melissa!”
A panicked voice, broken and trembling, called my name.
In that moment, I saw him–not the ruthless Alpha he’d become, but the boy I fell in love with at eighteen. The one who swore he’d protect me forever. The one who was now crying.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital bed.
To my surprise, Alpha Joseph was sitting
beside me, his face drawn and pale. The once–cold, battle–hardened warrior looked like a man unraveling.
The only other time I’d seen him like this… was when Queenie got hurt.
His eyes were bloodshot. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. When he saw me stir, emotion swelled in his chest.
“Melissa,” he whispered hoarsely. “You’re awake. How do you feel? Are you in pain? Stay here–I’ll get the doctor right now.”
After a series of tests, my mind started to clear.
I turned to him, dread clawing at my throat.
“My mom… where is she? Is she… okay?”
I glanced around the room. There was no sign of her.
But all could remember
