I screamed, collapsing to my knees.
My wolf whimpered deep within me-then howled in pain.
And through the storm of torment, I heard it.
His voice. Maddox. Through the bond.
But it wasn’t warmth or apology that reached me.
It was ice.
“I reject you as my mate.”
The bond snapped like a shattered bone.
The silence that followed was louder than any scream.
My hands trembled against the stone floor.
Tears blurred my vision-not from the pain of rejection, but from the truth it carried.
He chose them.
He chose her.
And now, I had no mate. No family. No name. No one.
Only rage.
Only darkness.
Only the fire that began to smolder in the broken ruins of my heart.
This is my hell.
And if I survive it, I swear…
I will make them all burn.
Riley’s POV
Time dissolved in that cell-hours bled into days, days into the endless gray of existence. I lost track of seasons, of the moon’s cycle, even of my own reflection in the polished metal sink.
My knuckles scraped concrete as Harper’s boot slammed into my ribs.
“Choose, mutt-shank across the face or ten slaps?”
Her breath reeked of rotting meat, but I kept my eyes fixed on the rusted drain in the corner.
Five years in this pit, and I’d learned the first rule of survival: when wolves bare their teeth, show your throat before they tear it out.
“Slaps,” I croaked, voice rough but steady.
The first blow snapped my head sideways, blood flooding my mouth with copper heat. I counted each strike like a prayer.
A Broken Alpha Heiress’s Revenge
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
“Pathetic,” Harper muttered, spitting at my feet before storming off with her pack of hyenas.
I stayed hunched, the sting on my cheek already fading beneath the deeper ache of memory.
This is how I’ve lived for 1,825 days-choosing the lesser evil, swallowing my pride like broken glass.
My mind wandered, as it always did, to day one at Ebonclaw Pack.
Kael had cornered me in the library, his cologne sharp like pine needles.
“Blood or not, Scarlett’s my only sister,” he said, voice low and threatening as his fingers clamped around my wrist, leaving bruises.
“Touch her again, and I’ll make the Rogues look like babysitters.”
I’d nodded like a fool, still naive enough to think family meant protection.
How laughable.
He’d rather see me in chains than believe I hadn’t lured Tessa into the Black Forest.
Maddox…
I squeezed my eyes shut, but his face floated up anyway-his smile, the one that made my ribs ache.
The first time we met, his pupils dilated, his wolf howling in recognition.
“Mate,” he whispered, pressing a daisy behind my ear.
Those early days were all fireflies and stolen kisses.
Until Scarlett started spraining her ankle on our dates. Until every birthday dinner came with an “urgent” call from her.
And he always left-murmuring apologies that tasted like ashes.
My parents?
Father never looked me in the eye.
Mother flinched every time I tried to hug her.
Once, I baked them a pie with wild berries I’d foraged.
I found it in the trash, untouched.
On the counter, Scarlett’s macarons sat pristine, waiting for praise.
And Tessa…
She and Scarlett were inseparable.
I saw them sharing a picnic by the lake the day she was attacked.
So why would Tessa follow me into the Black Forest?
A guard’s baton slammed against the bars.
“Visitation,” he grunted.
I didn’t move.
Didn’t even lift my head.
I’d stopped looking forward to those words years ago.
Here, the rules allowed family visits once a month.
Sixty months. Sixty chances.
Not once had anyone come. Not my parents. Not Kael. Not even Maddox.
I used to sit by the glass, brushing my hair with my fingers, pretending the bruises weren’t so bad.
I’d stare at the hallway, waiting for a silhouette that never appeared.
Not a letter. Not a whisper. Not even a lie.
Eventually, I stopped hoping.
Stopped pretending I mattered to anyone.
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