Viviana's POV

Dialysis would take no less than three hours, and every time my mother underwent the process, it drained her completely. The exhaustion left her unable to do much more than collapse into an afternoon of heavy sleep.

It meant that once John picked us up, I’d be alone with him for the rest of the time.

Just the two of us.

But today was my eighteenth birthday! I wouldn’t—couldn’t—let what happened yesterday occur again.

I opened my mouth, ready to refuse, but my mother stepped out of the kitchen and gave a subtle shake of her head.

She was telling me not to reject John.

“She’s not going to the hospital today. She’ll come with me,” Nolan suddenly chimed in.

In any wolf pack, the strongest wolf commanded absolute authority.

And while John was technically the Alpha, within the Bruno Pack, most wolves obeyed Nolan, the heir apparent.

I’d overheard the elders talk in hushed tones, marveling that Nolan was the kind of prodigy Bruno Pack hadn’t seen in fifty years.

He had been the top student at Alpha Academy for five consecutive years. His SAT scores were so stellar that Ivy League schools competed for his attention.

By his sophomore year, he’d already received offers from Fortune 50 companies.

A sense of relief flooded through me. When both John and my mother turned to gauge my reaction, I lifted my chin in quiet defiance, nodding my agreement.

My mother hurriedly placed a plate down on the table. It was a rare steak gleaming with blood—served exactly how wolves preferred their meals.

She cast a quick glance at Nolan, offering an ingratiating smile.

“Have something, or it'll be bad for your health.”

Then she turned to me. “Viviana, come with me.”

She limped toward the kitchen—her toes were gone due to advanced diabetes, stripping her of the vibrant, city-dwelling woman she had once been.

“I need your help, Viviana.” She insisted when I hesitated to follow.

I caught John’s eye and saw him moving closer. Forced into action, I ducked into the kitchen.

“Why do you have to provoke John?”

As I got near my mom, she yanked me away from the door with a frown. That was when I noticed fresh burn marks on her wrist—proof of what John had done the night before.

I went quiet, not saying a word, while my mom shot me a look that said, "Don’t mess with me." She rolled her sleeves up, revealing even more fresh burns.

“I know what you’re trying to do, Vivi. You want to bail on the Bruno Pack and get away from John and me, but that’s not happening.”

She wasn’t asking for my permission; she was laying down the law.

“John’s the alpha, and no wolf can go against an alpha’s orders.”

“But Nolan can,” I shot back.

I wouldn’t become my mother’s collateral damage in her effort to shield herself.

“But you’re not Nolan.” She glared daggers at me. “John wants you, and I’ve already agreed. That’s your role, Viviana. Obey John and sleep with him!”

“No! I won’t!” I shouted, wrenching my shoulders free from her grasp.

She stumbled unsteadily, her balance failing, but sympathy for her felt impossible in that moment.

My ears buzzed for a moment.

I couldn’t wrap my head around why my mom could say such hurtful things so casually.

I couldn’t even handle listening any longer. Just hearing John’s name made me think of that nasty cigarette smell from last night when he got too close, along with his creepy, terrifying stare.

My stomach churned.

“Why can’t you just obey for once?” my mother asked, her eyes filled with frustration. “Vivi, as long as you live in this pack, you belong to Bruno Pack, and you’ll have to obey the alpha. Do you understand that?”

“My life has already been hard enough. Why can’t you just—just make it a little easier for me? Please!”

Her coughs racked her frail body, tears streaming down her palms, but I held my ground, refusing to give in.

“You’re my daughter!”

Seeing that I was being so stubborn, my mother wiped away her tears of pain, seizing my shoulders to shake me as her nails dug into my skin.

“You have to do this! You know what happens when you anger an Alpha. You know!”

All the years of illness had gnawed away at my mother, leaving the semblance of the woman she once was—a husk prey to fear and greed. At that moment, she looked utterly unhinged.

“If you keep fighting John—if you refuse to submit—you’ll doom us both! Both of us, Viviana!"

She looked into my eyes, her tear-filled gaze cold and ruthless.

"Do you want me to die? I’m your only family! Do you really want me to die? Huh?”

“Mom, stop it!” I muttered, wrenching free from her.

My shoulders ached where her fingers had gripped, but they couldn’t compare to the ache in my chest.

My mother seemed to regain her composure. Her expression softened, her tone suddenly affectionate, almost sweet.

“Vivi, darling, my good girl,” she cooed. “You’ll do it. I know you will. And promise me, when you choose a college, pick one nearby. Better one in H City, okay? Remember to come back every week, even if you need to live on campus.”

Her tone might be affectionate, but her words cut through my heart, shattering it into pieces.

This was my eighteenth birthday.

No congratulations. No cake.

Only a mother ready to trade me to her lover so her own life might be a little easier.

Creak!

The sound of a door sliding open savagely snapped through the room, and I turned to see Nolan standing in the doorway, his face cold.

“Viviana, my time is not something to waste.”

He frowned, blue eyes locked onto me with intensity.

I nodded, stepping out of the kitchen like a skittish animal freed from its cage. The suffocating confines of Bruno Pack had never seemed more unbearable than they did at that moment.

Snatching my backpack, I avoided looking back at my mother's pale face.

It was summer, but I was trembling. The cold ran through me bone-deep.

Once upon a time, my mother loved me. She had stood up for me when other wolves mocked me for not having a wolf of my own, baring her teeth in fierce defense.

She’d told me again and again that my wolf would come eventually, and that it was just taking its time.

I shook my head violently, forcing the memories back where they belonged.

'Growing up really sucks,' I thought to myself in pain.

When I stepped outside, Nolan was straddling his motorcycle.

His legs seemed impossibly long, making the powerful machine beneath him look almost like a toy.

He looked at me and handed me a pink helmet.

I stared at it, momentarily caught off guard by the delicate color.

“You don’t like it?” Nolan frowned, his brows knitting together.