Chapter 1

Elena

I awoke to the relentless assault of sunlight on my face. Grumbling, I sat up and threw off the blanket that had cocooned me through the night. My eyes widened as they locked onto the watch by my bedside.

Oh no...

I was five minutes late.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

Five minutes might as well be fifteen thousand chances for them to tear me apart.

Gasping aloud, I sprang into action, racing against the unforgiving clock—I scrubbed my teeth, combed my hair, and braided it with the speed of a hurricane, daring not to opt for a ponytail.

I never wore my hair in a ponytail, not after the last time. The pack's slut, who inexplicably envied me despite considering me the ugliest being alive, had taken a pair of scissors to my hair. I cherished my hair, and seeing her snip away hurt, but I had no voice to protest. In this pack, I was nothing more than a servant, and while it hadn't always been that way, the past was now an irretrievable fairytale, forever shattered.

I shook away the thoughts, letting out a sigh at the attempt to not revisit that broken fairytale. That only brought anguish.

What was the point of inviting more misery to my life anyways?

I slipped into a grey shirt, and black leggings, and rushed towards the kitchen. I descended the stairs with silent prayers to every deity I could think of, begging to be shielded from others, particularly my tormentors—The Triplet Alphas.

Entering the kitchen, I almost breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I'd managed to avert disaster.

But...Then, I locked eyes with a pair as dark as the disaster I had hoped to evade, so vivid and dark that in those eyes, he must have stolen the night sky—Lucas Rodriguez, the eldest of the triplets. His fists were clenched, a dark mane of hair obscuring his face framed with features so beautiful that at first glance they would never let you even have a hint of the stone-cold heart he possessed, his jawline sharp as a blade glistening in the morning light, creating an eerie halo as he fixed me with a deathly glare—Surely my prayers didn't work.

He'd not spare me today ... because as enchanting as he looked, he was so vicious and merciless from within. He got the looks of an angel and the mind of a devil just like his other two brothers—Alex and Caleb.

There was something untouchable, something holy and unholy, sacred and sinful all at once, dangerous with the power to not feel a thing no matter what—that's what gave them the power over me— to shatter me with just a glance.

They were no longer the boys I knew, they were now rulers, ones that people bowed to, people feared, and trusted, but at the same time, they were men.... with a deep-rooted hatred for me.

I took a deep breath, trying to swallow the lump in my throat and steeling my nerves as I held my breath and bowed before him.

"I am sorry, Alpha. I got late because—" I began, but he didn't let me finish.

"Because you were fucking a man all night, weren't you? Elena fucking Windsor!" He spat my name as if it disgusted him, "How many times do I have to tell you to keep your personal shit aside and fulfill the duties of the pack?!"  He struck the counter making me flinch, the loud thud echoing through the room, much like my own heartbeats began to pound in my ears, "You are so fucking disgusting."

Tears welled up in my eyes instantly. Damn him—he knew exactly how to break me.

Fuck. I didn't want to cry, but for some reason, I could never control it. The pain was too much, especially when I remembered that he was one of very three people who had once promised to protect me.

"It's...It's not what you think, Alpha," I stammered, my voice quivering.

The triplets had always used hurtful words, but over the last two years, their cruelty had crossed all bounds. It was as if they had conspired to kill me, not with weapons, not by touching me, but with their words alone. And I guess...they would succeed someday.

Despite my best attempts, the tears flowed freely down my cheeks now.

"Oh, really?" He released a bitter, humorless chuckle, his voice as cold as ever, "So, what were you doing then? I truly believe there's nothing more to you than your body, Elena, and do I look like a fool to you that I'd blindly believe whatever shit you'd say?" his grip tightened, "You're trying to escape the pack, aren't you? Sleeping with a soldier to gain their favor and slip past the border, isn't that your plan? I can't blame you, really. Anyone in your shoes would want to escape. It's not easy being the daughter of that bastard, but it was never supposed to be easy, because you're just like him!"

I took a deep breath at the mention of my father. He was the sole reason I hadn't left the pack, despite the hell I'd endured. I just wanted to bring his innocence to light; it was the driving force of my life—the only wish that kept me alive.

"You know I'll never escape this pack, because I want to prove my father's innocence," I choked out through sobs.

"Innocence?" He scoffed, then took menacing strides toward me and roughly grabbed my face with his right hand, "What is there to prove when every fucking soul in this pack knows about his truth?!"

I winced at the painful grip; it was bruising, and with a bit more force, he could break my jaw without a second thought. That was Lucas, remorseless and merciless.

Everyone knew him as cold and ruthless, but for me, those were merely his starting points.

"Your father was a piece of shit, a fucking despicable greedy being, just like you. I don't want to see your fake tears, you traitor's daughter," he spat through clenched teeth. His face was perilously close, his breath mingling with mine, it made me scared of the power he had over me, "Quit the act and get to work."

He glanced at my tears, wiped one from his index finger, his expression contorted as though it disgusted him, and flicked it away before shoving me aside. He left the kitchen, leaving me shattered without even lifting a finger.

I pressed my back against the wall. For the first few seconds, I fought to hold back, but eventually, I crumbled and broke into tears. I hugged my knees tightly but couldn't stop my tears. Lucas's harsh words reverberated in my head, and I covered my ears, trying to drown out the repetition.

Why did my life have to turn like this? Why?!

Fuck I wish there was anyone to answer it but none would. Not even my tormentors.

I knew my father wasn't the traitor. He loved his pack, Thomas, and Lucy. They weren't just my family but his too. He would never have betrayed them... never.

Lucy's bruised, lifeless body still haunted me, a woman I loved like a mother. After my real mother had died saving her from the rogues, Lucy treated me as her own daughter. She had loved me like no mother ever could. She wasn't just a Luna; she was a mother to me, and I missed her deeply. I still wished that the terrible incident that night had never happened, that things could have stayed the same.

Thomas had been a father figure to me, and The Triplets had forbidden me from visiting or even catching a glimpse of him for the past six long years as if I was a virus, and if I got near him, his condition would worsen.

Six agonizing years...

I had lost my father, lost Lucy, and lost the triplets who had once loved and cared for me. Those eyes that once held affection and adoration for me were now filled with seething hatred, a sight that shattered a piece of me every time. One question still bothered me every day—How could they not trust me?

The hatred in their eyes was a painful reminder, a constant terror. They looked at me as if I were a monster.

If I could stop feeling....things for them, maybe it would have been easier but the dreams I'd kept close to my heart from childhood, wouldn't just fade.....

I had watched my father burn alive before my eyes and witnessed him turn into ashes. What more was there left in this world to witness? Nothing could hurt me anymore; I felt like I was dying every day.

They put their faith in the Gamma— Dexter Rodriguez, like everyone else. The same Dexter who had made my life a living hell and was involved in everything that had transpired that fateful night. The true monster lurking beneath the surface was him. But I had nothing to prove it.

But I needed to prove it. No matter the cost.