Eliza POV:
The next day, my father dragged me into his study.
"You need to understand what you are," Derek said coldly. He didn't look at me as a daughter. He looked at me as a liability.
He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at the large screen on the wall. It showed the interior of the pack's holding cells. They were dark, damp, and terrifying.
"This is where Rogues go," Derek said, his voice low and dangerous. "This is where traitors rot. You carry the stench of the man who tortured my wife. You are walking on thin ice, girl."
He didn't show me blood or gore, but the threat was clear. He was showing me my future if I stepped out of line.
"Your blood is tainted with the same filth as his," Derek leaned down, his face inches from mine. "You smell like him. If you ever show aggression toward Nora, or toward Kylie... I will treat you like the enemy you smell like."
He threw me out of the office.
I was moved to the basement. It was the Omega quarters, a row of damp cells. I wasn't allowed to eat with the staff. I was given a bowl-a dog bowl-filled with gray mush.
Days turned into weeks. I became a ghost in my own home.
One afternoon, I was scrubbing the floor in the hallway. Kylie walked by. She was wearing a new diamond necklace.
"Oops," she said, dropping a vase. It shattered next to me.
Before I could move, she screamed. "Help! She's attacking me!"
She picked up a shard of the vase and slashed her own arm. Then she threw the shard at me. It struck my forehead, blood trickling into my eye.
"Zeus!" Kylie whistled.
Zeus was the Pack's guard dog, a massive Doberman with latent wolf blood. He was trained to kill on command.
The beast came bounding around the corner. He saw Kylie bleeding and me standing there. He didn't hesitate.
Zeus launched himself at me. His jaws clamped onto my forearm.
"Ahhh!" I screamed as his teeth met bone. He shook his head, tearing my flesh. I fell back, kicking, trying to protect my throat.
"Kill her, Zeus! She's a Rogue!" Kylie laughed, her sweet face twisted into a cruel grin.
Through the haze of pain, I looked up toward the second-floor landing. I saw the curtains twitch.
Nora was there. She had stepped out at the sound of screaming.
"What is happening?" Nora cried out, her hands shaking. "Is that... is that blood?"
Dionne appeared instantly at her side. She grabbed Nora's shoulders and spun her around, blocking her view.
"It's nothing, Nora," Dionne lied smoothly. "Just the gardener disciplining a stray dog. Don't look. It will only upset you."
"But I heard a child..."
"You're hearing things again, darling. Come away." Dionne pulled the heavy velvet curtains shut, sealing me in with the beast.
The bond snapped.
I felt it in my chest. A thread that had been holding me to this world, to her, severed. My inner wolf threw back her head and howled a sound of absolute despair. She gave up.
Zeus lunged for my throat. I closed my eyes, waiting for the dark.
"ENOUGH!"
A roar shook the house. It wasn't just a shout; it was power. Ancient, weathered power.
Zeus whimpered and dropped to his belly, whining in submission.
I opened my eyes. An old man stood there. He had silver hair and leaned on a cane, but his aura was suffocating. It was Hadley McCall, the Elder, my grandfather.
He looked at my mangled arm, then at Kylie, who was suddenly trembling.
"Get the doctor," Hadley ordered the servants who had gathered. "Now!"
The doctor came, but he didn't use anesthesia. He stitched my arm while I lay on the cold floor. I didn't cry. I stared at the ceiling, feeling nothing. The pain was far away. I was already dead inside.
Suddenly, the house alarms blared. Red lights flashed.
"Alpha down!" a warrior shouted, running into the hall. "Alpha Derek has been in a car accident! He's critical!"
Nora ran down the stairs, screaming Derek's name. She ran right past me, stepping over my blood as if it were just a spill on the carpet.
