Octavia's pov
I awakened to rolling tire sounds. I was sitting in a wheelchair, hands and body tied to it, moving rapidly toward a mountain cliff. I looked around, trembling in fear, and shouted.
"Somebody help me, please," I sobbed. The wheelchair stopped when I heard footsteps approaching from behind. I turned to see Jake.
"You're awake," he said mockingly as he squatted behind me.
"Jake, please, you have to free me now. You can't treat me like this. I'm your mate. Please show mercy."
He rubbed his hand through my shaved scalp. The realization hit me, my hair was gone, everything was gone. I was exhausted from crying, but tears still came.
"You have the right to plead for mercy when you treated my Summer with such disdain. I told you that you'd feel every bit of my anger if anything happened to Summer or my pup."
"What else do you want from me? You've already shaved my hair off. Please, I'm in so much pain," I pleaded.
"Shaved your hair? That was what Summer wanted, and this is for my unborn pup that you caused stress and pain before it can see the world," he said, pressing the button in his hands. The wheelchair kept moving until it reached the cliff edge.
I looked down. One wheel was almost over the cliff. My heartbeat dropped, and I threw a look at Jake, who was playfully tossing the remote up and down.
"Why are you doing this? If you want me dead, why torment me this way?" I cried.
"If you really want to live, then I'll let you do that on one condition," he said.
"Okay," I nodded without hesitation.
"The alpha contest is fast approaching, and I mistakenly showed Summer to them as my she wolf, but it didn't go well because you're in the picture. They want to cancel me until they hear your response."
"See, Octavia, you have to hand over being my she wolf to Summer, since she's already carrying my pup, and I promise you that once I become alpha, I'll make you my luna."
I clenched my fists tightly upon hearing the garbage from his mouth.
"You needed an heir for the contest. Why did you kill our child then?" I asked with resentment in my eyes.
"I'm running out of patience with you, Octavia," he barked and held my jawline upward. "If you really want to survive today, you better shut your damn mouth up, or else..."
"Do you still not get it? We're talking about status here, and Summer has it all, considering her uncle is alpha king Dominic Sinclair, and he's the most powerful and richest lycan bloodline alive, so there's every chance I'll win."
"Dominic what?" I laughed so hard my stomach almost burst open, forgetting for a second that I was on the verge of life and death.
I darted a look at Jake, and his eyes were filled with fury. Now I know why little Summer has so much pride. Everything is making sense now.
"So you want to toss me aside and get mated to Summer just because you think her powerful uncle would make you win the alpha title," my voice rose.
"You just have to step down and do as I said, and I don't want you annoying or hurting Summer ever again because she holds the key to this golden opportunity. Do you understand me?"
I nodded gently, and after he was sure of my assurance, he pulled the wheelchair back and untied me. I felt my right hand numb and painfully throbbing.
Three years of marriage crumbling before my face, and he was happy playing with the marriage like it was a game of chess.
I stood there and waited for him to reverse his car. He opened the door, and I entered.
This is exactly what I was looking for, but he presented it to me on a platter of gold. Who am I to say no to his honorable request? But I have to leave no trace of my actions until I'm ready to leave.
My phone kept buzzing nonstop. I picked it up from my back pocket and started texting.
"Who are you chatting with?" Jake asked sharply as he grabbed my phone.
"Watch the road. You would kill us," I said, relaxing against the seat when the car stopped.
He tried unlocking it with his fingerprint, but it failed.
"Did you remove my fingerprint? Really? Is that what we're doing now? Keeping secrets?" he asked, his voice low.
Throwing my face toward the windshield as I shrugged, "Afraid of what you might find out?"
He stared at me for a moment and, with his deep voice, asked, "What's the password?"
"Our anniversary date," I said as I watched him type random dates, but they failed. He then raised a brow at me and handed the phone back.
Three fucking years with him, and he has forgotten our anniversary date.
As I collected the phone, I didn't bother texting again, and silence took over both of us as we drove down the street. Almost close to the pack, I told him I wanted to get an X-ray to examine my right hand.
"I think my right hand is fractured. I need to get an X-ray done." The moment I spoke, he glanced at me with pity. He halted, and I left the car and watched until he zoomed off the street.
The moment I got down, all eyes were on me as if I had done something, but I know what their looks were about.
My hair.
I didn't care at all. Instead, I hurriedly hailed a cab and rushed to the pack's affairs department.
Thank goddess the papers were ready. I took them and left to meet someone at a restaurant. I got there expecting to see him, but instead he sent someone. He introduced himself as his beta and gave me a drafted contract file to sign. We concluded everything, and he took a full picture of me, and a huge amount of money was wired into my account as I had requested.
As I came out of the restaurant with boldness, I straightened my dress and headed home.
Now I'm fully ready to play that game of chess with Jake. With my next action, let's see who wins.
