Lilian’s POV
Brian had barely left when my parents arrived.
The iron-barred corridor seemed to shrink the moment they stepped into view,their Alpha and Luna pressure filling the space like suffocating fog.They didn’t rush to me.They didn’t ask how I was.They stood a few steps away,looking at me as if I were a stain that had finally refused to scrub out.
My mother spoke first,her tone clipped and cold,stripped of any maternal warmth.
“Lilian,admit your mistakes.As long as you confess properly,Brian will let you go.”
My father nodded beside her,eyes sharp,voice edged like a blade forged by Pack law.
“You’ve embarrassed the Wyatt Pack enough.Stop resisting.”
I couldn’t help it.A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
Ever since the day they brought me back into the Pack,I had been trained to lower my head.If I scored higher than Adeline in Pack academy exams,that was my fault.If I outperformed her in combat drills or strategy trials,that was my fault too.If I didn’t smile sweetly,didn’t act spoiled,didn’t play the obedient adopted sister she wanted me to be—every difference became another sin.
I had admitted fault for years.Until the words themselves had lost all meaning.
This time,I didn’t bow.
Swallowing the bitterness clawing at my throat,I asked calmly,“What’s the point of admitting anything now?”
I lifted my eyes to meet theirs,my voice steady despite the ache spreading through my chest.
“Should I admit that I didn’t push Adeline hard enough?”
The slap came before the echo of my words faded.
My father’s hand struck my face with a sharp crack,the force snapping my head to the side.Pain flared hot across my cheek,bright enough to blur my vision for a second.I tasted blood.
But I didn’t cry.
I straightened slowly,lifting my chin in stubborn defiance,and let out a cold,humorless snort.
“I was kidnapped,”I said hoarsely.“Locked up.Beaten.Nearly broken.And all you cared about was whether Adeline caught a cold.”
My wolf growled low in my chest,furious and wounded.
“Now she stages a fake fall,”I continued,voice shaking but unbroken,“and you force me to confess again.Tell me—am I just some stray you dragged off the street?Something disposable you can blame whenever she cries?”
Neither of them flinched.
They looked at me the way one looks at an enemy,not a daughter.A threat to the fragile balance they’d built around Adeline.
My mother’s lips pressed into a thin line.
“Ungrateful,”she snapped.“If you refuse to admit fault,then stay here.”
My father turned away first.
They left without another glance,their footsteps echoing down the corridor like a verdict already passed.
Before I could protest,the guards seized me.Their hands were rough,impatient,suppressing my wolf with iron collars laced faintly with silver runes.I was shoved forward,stumbling,dragged into a narrow holding cell deep within the Pack station.
The door slammed shut.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
Only a thin blade of light slipped through a narrow window near the ceiling,barely enough to remind me the world still existed outside these walls.The air was stale,heavy,pressing against my lungs.
My body began to tremble.
The walls felt too close.The ceiling too low.My chest tightened as if invisible hands were squeezing my ribs inward.Claustrophobia surged,violent and merciless,dragging memories of that dark room back to the surface.
“Brian…”I whispered instinctively,my voice cracking.“Brian…”
No answer came.
Only silence.Only darkness.
Time lost all meaning.
When the cell door finally creaked open,I flinched so hard my back slammed against the wall.Shapes filled the doorway—tall,broad-shouldered women with hardened expressions and the unmistakable scent of Pack enforcers who no longer cared about rules.
One of them smirked.
“Is that her?Miss Wyatt said to teach her a lesson.”
My heart dropped.
A short-haired woman stepped forward,cracking her knuckles with deliberate slowness.Panic surged through me.I backed away,but another fist tangled in my hair and yanked me down.
The floor rushed up to meet me.
Fists and boots followed.
Each blow exploded through my body,sharp and unforgiving.Pain radiated through my ribs,my back,my legs.Old injuries screamed as they were torn open again.I tried to fight back,but my wolf was weak,suppressed,my body still healing from the last beating.
I was no match for them.
I curled in on myself,arms shielding my head,biting down on my screams as they vented their cruelty without restraint.The world narrowed to pain and breath and the metallic taste of blood.
“Enough!”a guard shouted from outside the bars.“Stop it!”
Reluctantly,they stepped back.
I lay sprawled on the cold floor,barely conscious,blood soaking into the stone beneath me.My vision dimmed.My back burned where old wounds split anew,each movement sending agony through my bones.
Laughter echoed faintly as the door opened again.
Hands grabbed me.I was dragged out,my body scraping against the ground.Their mocking voices followed me like ghosts,but I didn’t have the strength to respond.
A full day and night passed.
Then,without ceremony,I was thrown out of the station.
Sunlight hit my eyes like a blade.I raised a trembling hand to shield my face,swaying as I forced myself upright.Step by step,limping and dizzy,I made my way to the hospital.
After my wounds were cleaned and hastily bandaged,I turned to leave.
That was when I saw them.
Brian froze the moment his eyes landed on me.Shock flickered across his face,genuine this time.He stared as if seeing me for the first time.
“How…”His brow furrowed.“How did you end up like this?”
For a heartbeat,something like heartache crossed his eyes.His hand lifted,as if he meant to help me.
I stepped back.
Before I could speak,Adeline rushed to his side,clinging to his arm like she belonged there.She looked at me with wide,worried eyes,perfectly rehearsed.
“Lilian,”she said softly,“Brian released you yesterday.Why didn’t you come home last night?And how did you hurt yourself so badly?”
She turned to Brian,voice gentle as venom.
“Don’t blame her.She probably just wants attention.Look at her—she’s really hurt.Let’s treat her first,okay?”
Her words worked instantly.
The concern vanished from Brian’s eyes,replaced by cold fury.He glared at me as if I were something repulsive.
“You’re doing this again,”he snapped.“Lilian,your lies are obvious now.No one believes you anymore.”
This time,I didn’t argue.
I simply looked at him,memorizing the face I had once loved with everything I had.His eyes were still beautiful—but empty of me.
He turned to Adeline,gently taking her hand.Without looking back,he ordered,“If she has the strength to hurt herself,she has the strength to walk home.”
Then,colder still,“Watch her.Don’t let her take a single shortcut.”
They walked away together.
I stood there alone for a long moment before forcing my legs to move.Each step burned.Each breath hurt.
And with every painful stride,one thought carved itself deeper into my mind,sharper than any blade.
I will make them pay.
All of them.
