Betrayal

My legs carry me home, but my mind is all over the memory of watching Nicky touch Monty, how her fresh manicured hand slid down his chest, moving right into his boxers.

The memory of his pleasurable moan sends icy chills to my core, the betrayal makes my mind spin, because I don't know how he could do that...

I don't know why he would do that to me.

What's worse is that he did it

with Nicky, and now I didn't

just lose my boyfriend, but I

lost my best friend too. Now that I'm alone again, there's no one on my side, and no one loves me anymore. Luckily, I'll be leaving soon, leaving this hell behind and all of these demonic people too.

I kept consoling myself as I made my way home.

Somehow, I felt a bit better knowing that such trashy people were out of my life for good.

Losing someone like that, wasn't regrettable, was it?

I nodded in agreement with my thoughts as I stride up to my front door, and I inhale a deep breath as I muster up the courage to step into the house.

In the living room sat a man, tall and imposing, with a powerful physique. Beside him was a black leather suitcase. He was staring at me with disgust in his eyes.

My parents were seated opposite him, holding a stack of crumpled cash, handing it over to the man.

They didn't acknowledge that I was here, like usual.

I knew this man. I'd seen him countless times before and I knew exactly what they were paying him for-drugs.

This didn't even surprise me anymore. I used to think I could save them by talking to them. Now, I just wanted to escape. And soon, I would.

There was no saving people who didn't want to be saved, and I blame myself for wasting so much time on trying.

"Mom, Dad," I greeted calmly, pretending as if everything was normal, preparing to go inside and pack my bags, but they only glanced my direction and continued with their illicit trade.

They treated me as if I were a stranger, as usual.

But as I approached my bedroom, I noticed that the door was open, the lock I placed is removed. In an instant, a chill ran down my spine and a cold sweat spread across my skin.

No, this couldn't be happening!

I rushed to the door, pushing it open further. Inside, I saw chaos. Even worse, my savings box laying on the floor, its lock broken, and all the money inside gone.

At that moment, my world crumbled completely as my heart stopped.

How could they steal my money to buy drugs?

How could they do this to me?!

That money meant everything to me. It was my only hope of escaping this corrupt environment, of going to college in the human world.

And now, that dream lay shattered, my only support ripped away.

I immediately stood up and rushed to the door, screaming at the top of my lungs, "What are you doing?!"

I wasn't thinking as I charged towards them.

My father seemed unfazed by being caught. He turned around, eyes filled with anger and disdain. "You useless thing, get lost, this is none of your business!" I yelled as hot, fresh tears welled up in my eyes, "None of my business? That is my money!" My throat was tight, and my lungs were yearning for air.

"How dare you say that?" My father seethes, "How dare you hide money from us? We are your parents, you heartless bitch!" My father not only felt no remorse but also intensified his verbal assault.

How could I ever tell them I had money saved? If they found out, scenes like today would be inevitable.

The drug dealer, seeing our argument going nowhere, retrieved his hand and pulled the black leather suitcase back toward him, mocking, "Sir, it seems you're not ready yet."

With that, he stood up, ready to leave and in hopes of getting my money back, my shoulders fell as I let out a shuddered breath.

But my father, in a frenzy, caught up with him, once again extending the money toward him urgently, "No, no, no, take this money! We'll buy it!"

"No!" Anger filled my voice as I rushed forward, trying to snatch the money from my father's hand.

Without hesitation, he backhands me through my face, and with my head swinging to the side, I lose my balance, falling to the ground with all my weight. The vase on the table beside me is knocked over, shattering upon impact, sending shards flying and I feel them piece my skin all over.

I groan as I turn and I try to get up, hissing when I push down on my hand to find a ceramic piece stuck in my palm. I feel as though a mountain weighed on me, countless daggers piercing my back when I fall down again when my father kicks me against my chest.

Every nerve screamed in pain, making it impossible for me to move.

But even so, I couldn't let this transaction continue. I couldn't let that man leave with my money.

I take a deep breath, holding back tears, and continued to insist, "That's my money! My school money! I won't allow..."

"Don't mind her, sir, take the money," my mother took advantage of the situation, trying to stuff the money into the man's arms with her seductive persuasion.

Unexpectedly, the man pushed the money away, his gaze bouncing towards me and I push myself up, heaving as I stare back at him with determination.

He slowly walks towards me, squatting down to his haunches in front of me. He grabs my chin and made that sickening suggestion again, "I told you before, you sleep with me for one night and I can supply your parents for free." The sinister look in his eyes makes bile rise in my throat.

"Over my dead," My lips twitch down in disgust. That was my usual reply.

The man's hand flies through the air and slaps against my cheek, sending my head to turn sideways. I hold my face, turning to look back at him, and there was lust in his eyes, as if I were his rightful prey.

I muster up enough strength to kick him against his chest, and he falls back, sliding a foot away from me.

I tried to ignore the pain in my back as I struggled to get up, but no matter what I did, I couldn't.

To be honest, in this moment, I was truly afraid.

My bones were shaking as the man sat up, glaring at me with a hooded gaze, his eyes so dart that it resembled a stormy night.

Is this what my life is going to be like from now?

Thinking of all the events today, a tear escaped from my eye.

The tall man stands up and rolls his jaw. His head slowly tilts, looking like a possessed doll as he does it.

My body tenses, but my head turns towards the door when a familiar voice came from the doorway, "What the hell is going on in here?!" Blaze's gaze flicks between my parents and I.

How could he be here? And why was he here? But regardless, as soon as I realized it was him, I inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. He was Alpha's son; this man wouldn't dare to deal drugs or harm me in his presence.

Sure enough, as soon as he saw Blaze, the man's eyes widened and he started to panicked. He immediately straightened himself, pretending to be calm, and kicked the black suitcase under the sofa. Smirking, he said, "Nothing, just teasing her." he laughed.

"Teasing? Who are you to tease her?" Blaze grit out, a low grumble erupting from his chest.

Blaze strode into the house, and the atmosphere changed immediately. He walks over to me, his eyes boring into me before helping me up and inspecting me closely. His hand gently lifted my chin, while the other hand removed ceramic pieces from my hair while I stared up at him.

"What the hell happened?" he asked in a deep voice that shook me to my core.

Why did he care?

His voice reverberated through the living room, silencing it instantly. I should have exposed their illegal transaction, but I wasn't sure if it would drag me into trouble as well. I couldn't afford any more surprises today.

I shook my head, keeping it low, and reassured him, "It's nothing, Blaze."

"Nothing? Don't you have ceramic pieces all over you?" Blaze scoffed, glaring at the three people standing beside us, warning, "I'm taking her to get checked out, and you're not coming."

After that, he snakes his arm around my waist to help me to walk out.

"Wait." I stopped him, turning to look at them, at my father and mother.

They had been like this for as long as I could remember. Perhaps because of their increasing drug use, they became more and more haggard, more and more out of control, frequently hitting and cursing at me. I had never experienced a real family life, nor had I ever felt any love from them.

But undeniable as it was, they gave me life and didn't let me starve.

Thinking of this, my gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them, and after exhaling a sigh of relief, I said, "Consider this money as repayment for giving me life. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other."

After saying these words, my heart felt as though it had been squeezed by someone's hand, bitter and sour. From now on, I truly am alone...

***

Blaze's POV

When I realized I was standing at Aerilyn's doorstep, I was already quite surprised, but I didn't expect to hear the sounds of arguing and even something breaking from inside her house.

Her screams told me she's in danger, and without much thought, I rushed in.

I stopped in the door frame, seeing her lying on the ground, covered in cuts, surrounded by shards of a vase.

In that moment, I couldn't see anyone else, only her. I don't know why, but something inside me softened.

Hearing her choked vows to sever ties with her parents, I even felt a pang in my heart, as if I shared her pain, which was unprecedented.

But this was between her and her family and I had no right to intervene. All I could do was take her away from this place she didn't want to stay in.

As soon as we stepped outside, she eagerly broke free from my embrace, lowering her head and whispering, "Thank you, but I'm fine now."

Well, it was true that werewolves had the ability to heal themselves, and these scratches really wouldn't be much of a threat to her life.

To be honest, I still preferred her fierce demeanor. Her current meekness made my heart feel like it was crawling with ants. Before, if she had acted like this, I would have just teasingly said a few words to her, but now I really didn't know how to face her.

I scanned her from head to toe and reluctantly extended an invitation.

"Come home with me."