Chapter 8
I tried to shove him away, but the pain tearing through my lower abdomen
left me too weak to resist.
“Get off me,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “Spare me your fake concern.”
“Melissa, quit pretending,” Alpha
Joseph enapped his voice full of
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And I dreamed.
In the dream, I saw my parents. My little sister. They were smiling, standing at the edge of a misty path.
They told me they were going somewhere far away–but I couldn’t
follow.
I cried, begged them to take me with them. I didn’t want to be alone. I
didn’t want to be left behind in this
cruel world.
But they only smiled and told me to live well. To keep going. Not to let
them worry.
I watched them walk away… until their silhouettes vanished.
I screamed and sobbed, heart chattering What meaning was left
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in my life, when everyone I loved had been ripped away? Why was I still alive? To suffer under Joseph’s
control? To live like a prisoner?
No.
My eyes flew open.
Pain ripped through my belly, sharp and merciless. I knew instantly–I’d lost something.
Joseph was sitting at my bedside. He looked worn down, pale, unshaven. Not like the ruthless Alpha I once
knew.
When our eyes met, he smiled- actually smiled–and reached for my
hand.
“Melissa, thank the Moon Goddess…
you’re finally awake. You’ve been
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unconscious for three days. I thought I’d lost you.”
I pulled my hand free and turned my face toward the window. “I thought I was free this time,” I said coldly. “But here I am. Still your prisoner. At least the bastard’s gone.”
His expression faltered. “Melissa… don’t say that. What happened to the pup–I know it hurts. But I don’t care about that right now. I care about you. You’re what matters most.”
I laughed bitterly. It sounded foreign, broken, more like a sob. “Are you serious right now, Joseph? Did you hit your head? After everything you did for Queenie, now you’re suddenly claiming I’m the one you care about?”
His eyes welled up with tears, voice cracking, “I was wrong. So wrong. I…
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I kept testing you. But I swear, I’ve
always loved you. Every day. I never
stopped.”
Testing me?
My heart turned to ice. My vision sharpened. The fog began to lift.
My voice trembled, filled with disbelief. “So you destroyed my life just to see if I still loved you? You killed my father and my sister just to drag me down with you?”
He shook his head frantically. “That’s not what I meant–I just… I needed to know you’d never leave. That your love for me could survive anything.
Even the darkest parts of me.”
“I chose Queenie because she
reminded me of you–so much it scared me. Her smile, her eyes… she
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was just like the eighteen–year–old
version of you. But in my heart, I knew it was always you. I only kept her close because she looked like you.”
“I wanted to see how far you’d go to fight for me. And when you tried to get rid of her without raising your voice, without shedding a tear–l was shocked. But it wasn’t enough. I needed to know if you’d still love me… after everything.”
Rage erupted in my chest. I grabbed the fruit bowl on the nightstand and
hurled it at him.
“You killed my sister and my father to test my love?” I screamed. “You’re
sick! You’re a monster!”
He didn’t dodge. The bowl hit him. squarely, slicing open his forehead. Blood trickled down his face.
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But he didn’t move. Didn’t even flinch. He just grabbed my hand again, eyes full of guilt and desperation.
“I deserve this. All of it,” he whispered. “I regretted everything the moment your sister and father died. I didn’t mean for it to go that far–I lost control. But when you said you
wanted to leave me that day… I panicked. I couldn’t let you go.”
“That’s why I did it. All of it. To keep you by my side.”
