Chapter 4: Because I Didn’t Want It To
Meredith.
I couldn't feel my body.
Not when I walked out of the ballroom, flanked by my family like a prisoner.
Not when the murmurs of wolves trailed behind me, thick with shock, disgust, and morbid curiosity.
And certainly not when my father's grip tightened around my arm—hard enough to bruise, tight enough to snap it in half if he wanted. But he didn't.
He hadn't stepped in when I was bullied, humiliated, and mocked. But the moment Draven Oatrun claimed me as his, then—only then—did he finally cross the room and take my hand.
Not as a joke. Not as a mistake. But as his future wife.
And now, as we left the Lunar Ball before the party was even over, his silence was deafening because, for the first time tonight, I hadn't just embarrassed myself. I had embarrassed him and my entire pack.
Not only had I become the centre of attention, but I had drawn the eyes of important pack leaders, elders, and even the future Alpha King. And my father had had enough of me.
I was numb, trapped somewhere between humiliation and anger, then fear and regret because this wasn't over. At least not until I've gotten a beating.
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