Valerie’s POV
The taste of blood still lingered in my mouth as I stumbled up the front steps of our shabby apartnt complex, my designer dress torn and stained with dirt and my own blood. Every step sent fresh waves of pain shooting through my ribs where that freak Seraphina had thrown into the trophy case like I was nothing more than a ragdoll.
My hands shook as I fumbled with my keys, the tal slipping between my fingers that were slick with blood from the glass cuts. The hallway light flickered overhead, casting sickly yellow shadows that made everything look even more pathetic than usual.
"Fucking bitch," I muttered under my breath, finally managing to unlock the door. "Fucking psycho oga freak."
But the mont I stepped inside, I knew sothing was wrong. The apartnt was trashed—not just Gabriel’s usual slovenly ss, but actually destroyed. Couch cushions were slashed open, stuffing scattered across the floor like snow. Our cheap particleboard entertainnt center had been kicked in, the television screen spider-webbed with cracks.
"What the hell—"
"Valerie!" My mother’s voice cracked like a whip from the kitchen doorway. Elizabeth erged from the shadows, and for the first ti in my life, she looked genuinely terrified. Her perfect blonde hair was disheveled, mascara streaked down her cheeks in dark rivulets, and her hands were shaking as she clutched a dish towel like a lifeline.
"Mother?" I stared at the destruction around us, my brain struggling to process what I was seeing. "What happened here? Where’s—"
"Look at your face!" Elizabeth shrieked suddenly, her eyes focusing on the bloody scratches that decorated my cheek like war paint. "My God, what did that little bitch do to you?"
I rushed to the bathroom mirror, and what I saw there made my blood turn to ice. Four parallel gashes ran from my temple to my jaw, deep enough to scar, deep enough to ruin the perfect face I’d spent years perfecting. Blood had dried in ugly brown streaks, and I could see that so of the cuts were still oozing.
"That psychotic whore!" I scread, spinning around to face my mother. "Look what she did to ! LOOK AT MY FACE!"
"Harold ca here. With friends. Big friends. They were not happy about your little failure."
The bottom dropped out of my stomach. "Harold was here?"
"He wanted his money back," Elizabeth said bitterly, gesturing at the destruction around us. "Fifty thousand dollars for a wife, he said. Since you couldn’t deliver the rchandise, he felt entitled to compensation."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him the truth—that you’re a worthless disappointnt who can’t even handle one pathetic oga!" Elizabeth’s voice rose to a shriek that made the broken windows rattle. "He took everything he could carry. Your father’s golf clubs, my jewelry, even the good china we got for our wedding."
"Where’s Dad?" I asked, though I already dreaded the answer.
"Hospital." Elizabeth’s face crumpled briefly before the hardness returned. "The stress triggered another episode. They don’t know if he’ll make it through the night."
The news should have devastated , should have brought to my knees with grief and guilt. Instead, all I felt was a cold calculation spreading through my chest like ice water.
"How much do we owe for the dical bills now?" I asked quietly.
"Sixty-seven thousand and climbing," Elizabeth said, her voice hollow. "The insurance barely covers anything, and they’re threatening to transfer him to the county hospital if we can’t make a paynt by Monday."
She turned to face fully, and I saw sothing in her eyes that I’d never seen before—desperation so pure it was almost frightening.
"We need money, Valerie. Real money. Not the fantasy bullshit you’ve been feeding about marrying into the Nightshadow family." Her gaze moved to my ears, my wrists, my neck. "That necklace you’re wearing—the one Gabriel gave you for our anniversary. How much did it cost?"
My hand flew instinctively to the delicate gold chain at my throat, the one with the small diamond pendant that was probably the most expensive thing I owned.
"Mother, no. This is—"
"How much, Valerie?"
"Three thousand," I admitted reluctantly. "But Gabriel saved for months to buy it for . It’s special."
Elizabeth’s laugh was like breaking glass. "Special? Your father is dying, we’re about to lose everything, and you’re worried about a fucking necklace being special?"
"It’s not just the necklace!" I exploded, my carefully controlled facade finally cracking completely. "You want to sell my earrings too, don’t you? And my bracelet? And my rings? Everything Gabriel has given !"
"Gabriel?" Elizabeth spat, moving closer until I could sll the desperation rolling off her like sour sweat. "He’s a loser, Valerie! A pathetic failure who can’t even get his own brother to acknowledge his existence!"
"At least he chose !" I scread back, tears streaming down my cheeks and stinging in the open scratches. "At least soone wanted enough to put a ring on my finger! Which is more than I can say for you and your perfect marriage!"
The slap ca so fast I didn’t see it coming. Elizabeth’s palm connected with my injured cheek with enough force to make see stars, and I felt one of the deeper cuts split open again, sending fresh blood trickling down my jaw.
"You selfish little bitch," Elizabeth hissed, her voice dropping to sothing cold and dangerous. "I sacrificed everything for you. I scrimp and save so you could have nice clothes and a good education. And this is how you repay ? By clinging to cheap jewelry while your father dies?"
"Everything you’ve done FOR yourself!" I scread, blood flying from my split lip. "You want to know what I really think? I think Dad is better off dying than living with a greedy bitch like you for another day!"
The slap ca harder this ti, but I was ready for it. I caught Elizabeth’s wrist and twisted, using every ounce of strength I had to spin her around and slam her against the wall.
"Don’t you EVER hit again!" I snarled in her ear. "I sure as hell am not selling my jewelry to pay for so dying old bastard!"
"You’re insane!" Elizabeth gasped, finally breaking free from my grip and spinning to face . Her hair was disheveled, her makeup sared, and there was actual fear in her eyes for the first ti I could rember.
"Maybe I am," I said, wiping more blood from my mouth. "But at least I’m not stupid enough to throw good money after bad. Dad is dying, Mother. DYING. And no amount of dical bills is going to change that."
"Fine," Elizabeth said finally, her voice shaking with fury. "Keep your precious jewelry."
Elizabeth straightened her torn blouse with as much dignity as she could muster and headed for the door. The door slamd behind her with enough force to rattle the broken windows.
I wiped the blood from my face one more ti and headed for the bedroom. I had packing to do.
I pushed open the bedroom door and imdiately gagged.
Gabriel was sprawled on our unmade bed, completely naked except for a pair of stained boxers bunched around his ankles. His laptop was balanced on his soft stomach, the screen displaying so hardcore pornography that made my stomach turn. His right hand was moving rhythmically, and the disgusting sounds of his self-gratification filled the small room like obscene music.
"Are you fucking kidding ?" I exploded, my voice cutting through his concentration like a knife.
Gabriel jumped, his laptop nearly sliding off the bed as he scrambled to cover himself. "Val! Jesus, you scared the shit out of ! I didn’t hear you co in!"
"Of course you didn’t," I said, my voice dripping with disgust as I surveyed the pathetic scene before .
"Baby, I can explain—" Gabriel started, but I held up a hand to stop him.
"Don’t." I moved to the closet and pulled out my largest suitcase, throwing it onto the bed beside him. "Just don’t. I’m done."
Gabriel finally seed to notice my injuries, his eyes widening as he took in the scratches on my face and the torn dress. "Holy shit, Val, what happened to you? Are you okay?"
"No, Gabriel, I’m not okay," I said, yanking clothes from the closet and throwing them into the suitcase. "Our apartnt got trashed by loan sharks, my father is dying in the hospital, my mother just disowned ."
I continued packing, throwing in my jewelry box, my expensive perfus, anything that could be converted to cash when I needed it. Gabriel watched from the bed, still half-naked and confused.
"Where are you going?"
"Away," I said simply. "Far away from this shitshow."
"Wait!" Gabriel scrambled off the bed, his boxers still around his ankles. "You can’t just leave here! What am I supposed to tell people? What am I supposed to tell Damien?"
“Up to you.” I opened the front door, letting in the cool night air that felt like freedom against my bloodied face.
An hour later, I was driving Gabriel’s beat-up Honda through the empty streets of Silver Moon Harbor, my suitcase in the backseat and everything I owned in the world reduced to whatever I could carry.
But as I drove, sothing else occupied my thoughts. Sothing that should have terrified but instead filled with a strange curiosity.
Seraphina Knight was not what she appeared to be.
I’d grown up around wolves my entire life, had seen alphas and betas and ogas in every possible situation. I’d never—never—seen an oga display the kind of supernatural strength and primal fury that Seraphina had shown tonight.
Ogas were weak. Ogas were submissive. They weren’t supposed to be able to lift full-grown won off the ground with one hand. They weren’t supposed to have reflexes faster than most alphas.
"What are you really, Seraphina Knight?" I murmured to my reflection in the rearview mirror.
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