~ Adeline ~

My heart is being ripped apart but by bit as I struggle to hold onto my last bit of sanity. My hands and feet are cold, and my teeth have started to chatter. Not just from the cold of the morning but the heartbreak drilling through my soul. Not only had Corey taken away the small life I had growing inside me, but had also stripped me of the opportunity to have that feeling again in the future. I can hear my wolf hissing in the back of my head. We had endured emotional blackmail in the hands of Corey. Sure, he has never punched me before now, but I have always suffered whenever he gaslights me. And the worst part, he doesn't care how I feel. Punching me is something he probably has been looking forward to doing.

*What now?* My wolf asks, and I am speechless. I can't answer her question, so I don't. Instead, I take a cab back home to the Morris family mansion. But as soon as I step in, I notice the loud chatter, and I see my sister sitting on a couch with a man wrapped around her. I have almost forgotten that just two weeks ago, my father had found his biological daughter. I have always been adopted, and now that the real Morris heiress is back, I have been cast aside like I don't matter. I feel a headache coming on, not until I walk deeper into the living room.

“That's great news. You two are together now,” my father's voice rings out, and I finally catch a glimpse of the man's face. A gasp tears from my throat. I cannot believe my eyes. The man who had caused me so much pain is now here, cuddling with my sister. And they're together now?

I suddenly realize what's happening. Corey found out that I'm the adopted daughter and decided to hook up to the real Morris heiress instead. That's why he rejects me all of a sudden. That's why he murders our unborn child, it's all clear now. I have the urge to laugh at myself. My luck. The goddess has been really cruel granting me a mate who values status over our bond.

I plan on slipping away without being seen, but my plus-size body is not particularly able to do so. I have just taken two steps more when her voice rings out.

“Sister, you're back. Where did you go yesterday?” She asks, and they all turn, including my father. He stares at me and I think I see a question in his eyes, but it quickly switches to disappointment. Valerie was hinting that I had a promiscuous lifestyle. Perhaps she has been the one telling Corey that I'm sleeping with men.

“Alpha,” I call out with a bow at my father, but he stares at me like he is unfamiliar with me.

“Since your sister's mating ceremony is just in four days, you should get ready too,” he mutters, and I raise my head. I don't understand what he is saying. How does Valerie's mating ceremony concern me? I ask myself, feeling my heart tug again. Still, I am curious about what he means.

“I have arranged for you to marry the Blackmoor brothers,” he says, and I feel my eyes widen. What does he mean by that?

“I don't understand,” I mutter, hearing the obvious crack in my voice while he stares at me with nothing but coldness in his eyes. I have never seen him look at me with so much unfamiliarity until Valerie comes into the picture. She is the elegant Morris heiress while I'm the fat adopted daughter.

“With your looks, no one would want you even if you turn out to be their mate. I'm just doing you a favor by finding you men who can take care of you,” he states, and a light chuckle escapes my lips. It's not happy, it's sad. He means that he has found me men who would crush me the moment I step foot in their home. The Blackmoor brothers are well known throughout the continent. They are not easy going, they are feared. One of them has taken over the business world and conquered humans. They are leaders of a brutal outlaw pack that has been exiled for years. Yet, my father throws me to them and doesn't care what happens to me.

He doesn't even give me off to one man, but three!

“Are you serious? Selling me off to not one man but three?” I almost yell, and Valerie chuckles just then.

“But isn't my sister used to being with multiple men already?” She asks, and I see the disgust on Corey's face like he wasn't with another woman just last night. Yet here he is acting like a saint. I want to tell Valerie how much of a jerk he is, but I can't be good to a person who isn't good to me. They deserve each other.

“Believe me, If you don't agree, you can forget about living in this house,” my father, or rather the Alpha finalizes before rising to his feet and leaving.

The silence is a stretch, and I'm standing still.

“Cat got your tongue, sister?” Valerie purrs, snuggling deeper into Corey’s side.

“Three men… it does sound like a bit much, even for you. But Father knows best. It’s not like you have other options.” She mutters, and I don't know where I get the strength to smile, but I did.

“You’re right, Valerie,” I say, my voice calm, a stark contrast to the storm inside.

“I don’t have options. But it seems I do have prospects. Three of them.”

Corey’s head finally snapped toward me, his eyes narrowing. Good, let him look.

“While you,” I continued, my gaze locking on him,

“Congratulations. You traded a mate for a title. I hope her inheritance keeps you warm at night, since your honor clearly doesn’t exist.” I turned my icy stare back to Valerie.

“And you? You can have my leftovers. The man who would kill his own child for a chance at a richer bed. He’s all yours. A perfect match, really.”

Valerie’s face flushes with anger, but it is Corey who speaks.

“Watch your mouth, Adeline. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?” I take a step forward, and for the first time, I don’t feel clumsy or oversized. I feel… formidable.

“I know everything I need to. I know the scent of my own blood on your hands, Corey. I know the sound of our child’s future ending. And I know that the Moon Goddess has a very twisted sense of justice.” Those were my last words before I walked towards the stairs. My father's words replay in my mind.

They were not suggestions, they were a decree. Disobedience meant exile, homelessness, a death sentence for a lone wolf. Obedience meant being given to the Blackmoor brothers, what fate do I choose?