Chapter 8: You’ve Lost Me

"Ophelia," my father said. He was seeing me in a new light as I stood before him in the expensive crimson dress, oil-black heels, diamond necklace, and matching earrings. His mouth dropped open for a moment.

"Dad," I began, my heart pounding. I so often associated him with pain, but right now his voice evoked comforting familiarity.

"I don't know where to begin," he commented, fidgeting from nervousness. Was my presence making him feel uncomfortable?

"Um, you sold me off to be a breeder, for one." I pointed an index finger at him with my eyebrows raised.

"Ophelia, you don't understand. It was the only way to get the money from ShadowClaw Pack."

"But why didn't you tell me about it?" I threw my hands out in disbelief. "It was a huge shock to have it dumped on me when I arrived."

"Look, Arthur threatened the Moon Pack. He said that if we didn't go through with the breeding contract, he'd kill our family."

My chest clenched with anxiety as I touched my lips in shock. Why would things ever come to a life-or-death situation, especially over me?

I pressed my lips firmly together before I said, "This isn’t about the contract. It's our relationship I'm talking about. You and me. Why all the lies, the games?"

"Ophelia, sometimes adult wolves have to do things that don't make sense to pups."

“That's convenient," I said, shaking my head in annoyance, placing my hands akimbo. "Don’t worry. You’ll be able to keep your precious money. I'm going to fulfill the contract. Just know this: my emotional debt to you is paid in full, and this will be the last time I offer you and my family any kind of affection. You’ll no longer have a daughter,” I said firmly.

My father stared at me. I wasn't sure what he was feeling. His face was flat.

"Just do as you're told."

I swallowed down my anguish. He didn't care that he was going to lose me.

“I will be the Alpha’s breeder.” I felt like I was saying this both to him and myself. I was accepting my role. My words were soft but held great weight. Agreeing to have my body used by Alpha Arthur broke me inside but what hurt me even more was that my father had his last chance to talk to me and he chose not to address our relationship at all.

I quickly turned away, intent on leaving. As I fast walked toward my room, I looked over my shoulder one last time in the hopes that he had a lingering doubt about losing me, but he didn't. Instead, he was smiling and talking to David. It killed me to see that all of this just rolled off his back.

I held onto my chest, feeling my heart slamming against it. It seemed like it was going to crack open. Just as I was about to scream, I noticed a nearby cabinet that had several bottles of liquor in it. I had never had alcohol before but now was as good a time as any.

I whipped open cabinet doors and grabbed a bottle of scotch. I held it in front of me, the golden viscous liquid sloshing around in the clear bottle. I twisted off the cap and gulped some down. With each swallow, I thought about being unwanted and without a family.

For a second, I had to stop. The burning, bitter liquid was about to make me gag. As soon as I could stomach it again, however, I took another mouthful from the bottle. I had to make these feelings go away.

"Ophelia?" I heard Jessica say in shock. I lifted my head to meet her eyes, wiping my mouth, already feeling a little dizzy from the alcohol. "What are you doing?" she asked as she snatched the bottle from my hand. "This isn't the way to deal with your problems. Besides, you're too young to be doing this."

"You don't understand. My father didn't bat an eyelash when I said he would no longer have a daughter. He just confirmed that he never cared about me!"

Jessica stood close to me, holding my shoulders. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"It's horrible what he and the rest did, Ophelia. I wish I could have been there to stick up for you." Jessica's voice was stern in her defense of me. "But being Arthur's woman is a huge step up from being with David. David isn't even an Alpha yet and from what I've heard he'd treat you badly."

"You're probably right but still... imagine if your entire family just tossed you away like trash!" I dropped my head in my hands, covering my face as I wept. During that quick movement, I inadvertently opened one of my wounds on my back.

"Oh, Ophelia honey, you're bleeding," Jessica said gently. "Let me take care of that for you."

I continued crying, not caring about the physical pain. The emotional ache was far greater than a split wound. I heard Jessica return, my hands still over my face while I sobbed.

"This may sting a bit," she warned. I heard her pouring the antiseptic on a cotton ball and then she applied it to the raw skin. Wincing, I straightened my back for a moment. After she fully applied it, I relaxed.

"I still don't understand," I repeated but then heard a familiar voice downstairs. David. The one person who had been nice to me in the past. Perhaps an ounce of him still cared.

"Where are you going?" Jessica asked in surprise.

"There's someone I need to talk to," I said, then rushed out of the room.

Wiping my eyes, I stumbled down the stairs toward David. Just before I was close enough for him to see me, I took a few deep breaths, feeling remarkably sober. I prayed he’d be kind.

"David," I said quietly. He glanced at what I had on, and his eyes widened in surprise. It seemed like he approved; perhaps even found me attractive.

"Ophelia," he replied. I wiped the tears from my face as he observed me in my swaying state. I went in for a hug and he put his arms around me. Then, we parted.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to you. I know that you went through a lot," he said.

"Thanks," I replied, shuddering. It was hard to stop crying.

"I'm sure this was quite a shock when you were taken to ShadowClaw, but I had reasons for wanting you here, too." He took my hand moving me to a more private part of the room.

"What do you mean?" I asked, gasping in surprise.

He whispered to me, "I had been hoping that you could spy on the ShadowClaw Pack."

"Spy?" I whispered, my face twisted in confusion, my chin to my neck. "What for?"

"I don't think you ever learned about the history of the Moon Pack but years ago, my father and yours had an ongoing feud. They were on the verge of going to war."

"Oh, is that how your father died?" I asked. A wave of sadness crossed his face as his lips turned down.

Once he gathered himself, he lifted his head and said, "No, his death was after. The rivalry between them was before that."

"Okay, please go on," I urged him.

"Your father publicly agreed that I'd be the next Alpha if we buried the hatchet. But that never happened."

I squinted at him in confusion.

"What happened instead?" I asked, tilting my head to the right, my hair falling over my shoulders.

"After my father died, your dad felt like he was free from his commitment. Nobody was there to hold him accountable, so he took the power for himself and never passed anything on to me."

"Oh, David, that's terrible," I said, covering my mouth, feeling empathetic. "He can be a bastard sometimes. He's reneged on so many things in my life." I touched his shoulder warmly. He nodded in resignation. "I can see why you'd be upset, but what will spying on ShadowClaw do?"

"If I can get some inside information, I could have some leverage to protect us from outside threats, but more so, I could strengthen the Moon Pack. Maybe eventually we could be allies with ShadowClaw's more ordinary wolves. Even the lower soldiers here are still powerful." He paused, glancing at me. "Ultimately, it's to help your father."

Now I knew he was lying. After just saying he wasn’t granted Alpha status by my father, here he was pretending he wanted to help him. I knew he was trying to build his own alliance to split from the Moon Pack or take it over completely. Either way, his goal wasn't to help anyone but himself.

I shook my head and said, "I don't believe your motives are what you say they are.”

He scoffed and asked, "Are you saying you won't do this for me?"

"That's right. I'm through with being a pawn for you."

David paused, shaking his head, his jaw set in obstinacy. He placed his thumb and forefinger on his temples. Then his eyes met mine.

"So, why did you come to see me? Did you want to see how I'd react to your flirtatious touch? Your new glamorous clothing? You wanted to see if you could coax me back into wanting to be your mate. I have already rejected you."

"What? That's ridiculous! You're a part of my family. I just wanted someone to be glad I was here. I thought maybe that was you... I guess not."

David turned his back on me, walking off, but I refused to let him go on that note. I stomped after him but soon regretted it. We rounded the corner only to see my evil stepsister. He promptly joined Margaret's side.

"Oh, look who it is," she said with a sneer on her face and a sarcastic tone. I glanced at David, hoping he would stay to buffer Margaret in some way but he didn't.

"Stay away from me Ophelia," David ordered. "I never want to speak to you again."

I held my chest in pain.

David abruptly left and I was alone with Margaret, a disadvantageous position. My stomach flipped with anxiety as the familiar sensation of terror came flooding back.

"Up to your old tricks trying to seduce David, huh?" She tilted her head back and forth at me in an aggressive question. I could see her sizing me up; her eyes staring at my clothing and jewelry.

"That's not what was happening, Margaret," I growled, my eyes narrowed.

"You're such a liar and a slut. David would never like you. Nobody would."

Like a flash fire, my repressed loathing came to the surface, and I slapped her across the face. She held her cheek, her mouth gaping open in surprise, and her eyes wide.

"You little bitch!" she screamed at me. "I'm glad that Dad gave you away. Good riddance!" She rushed away from me.

I stood in the kitchen alone. Although my heart was racing and my emotions were like a rollercoaster, my thoughts were clear. David had only wanted to use me against the ShadowClaw Pack.

In the past, I had feelings for him, but I was naive. I thought we'd be together eventually, but I should have known what kind of wolf he was considering the way he behaved before I left.

I made a promise to myself that I’d never shed a tear for David again. My life with Moon Pack was over. And I was going to make sure all this suffering was worth something. I was going to become strong.