Isabella's POV.

I waited for way too long until I finally decided I had to do something about that terrible situation.

Being alone again was like a deadly poison flowing through my veins, eating me alive from the inside.

I kept wondering over and over again why everyone in this pack seemed to shun me like I was some kind of disease.

"What the hell did I do in my past life to deserve this kind of treatment?" I whispered to myself as I paced around the small room.

"Why does everyone act like I don't even exist? What's so wrong with me that nobody wants to be around me?"

I knew I needed to go back to my mom's house and get some of my stuff, even though the thought made my stomach turn with anxiety.

I didn't really have much there anyway, not even decent clothes to wear.

But there was one thing, the most precious and only valuable thing I owned in this whole world-a faded picture of my father that I had managed to steal from my mother's wallet years ago.

"I have to get that picture," I told myself firmly.

"It's the only connection I have left to him, the only proof that he ever existed in my life."

Getting it back was going to be absolutely dangerous, but I didn't care anymore.

I waited and waited until the clock struck midnight, knowing that was when she usually got busy with her disgusting boyfriend doing God knows what.

"They're probably too distracted to notice me," I thought, trying to calm my racing heart.

She always kept her black leather wallet in the living room, usually thrown carelessly on the coffee table like she didn't have a care in the world.

"That's my chance," I whispered. "That's my only shot at getting what belongs to me."

I put on my new clothes that Nathan had given me, which made me stop and stare at myself in the mirror for way longer than I should have.

The outfit actually made me look decent for once in my miserable life.

"What if my mom and her abuser boyfriend see me looking this good?" I wondered aloud, my voice shaking with fear.

"What if they think I'm trying to seduce someone? What if they get even angrier at me?"

I snapped myself back from those evil, terrifying thoughts and forced myself to put my fears aside.

"I have to face this," I said firmly to my reflection.

"I really need to go back and search for my father someday, and this picture is the only clue I have. I have to do this because I literally have no one else left in this world."

I practically ran the whole way there, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest.

The house was relatively close to the lake house, but not super close either.

"It's about a 2-mile distance," I panted as I jogged through the dark woods. "But nobody ever dares to come this way because everyone knows it's dangerous territory."

The thing was, everyone in the pack seemed to know that being near the territory borders was incredibly risky business.

"I guess everyone already knows that the lake house belongs to Alpha Nathan of our pack," I muttered, "everyone except me, apparently."

The truth was, I had been completely isolated from pack life, working as nothing more than a servant and maid in my mother's house for years.

"I never got the chance to learn anything about our pack or how things work around here," I said bitterly.

"And I'm pretty sure no one knew about me living in that lake house either, or maybe they just chose to ignore me completely."

They probably thought I was nothing but a monster, some weird and ugly creature who didn't deserve their attention or respect.

I sighed heavily and pulled my long hair up into a messy ponytail, trying to prepare myself mentally for what I was about to do.

Then I used every sneaky skill I had learned over the years to break into the house without using a key.

"This is so risky," I whispered to myself, "but do I really have any other choice here?"

I knew they would never welcome me back after what I had done, after leaving them without permission like that.

"Not obeying them is something completely unforgivable in their eyes," I reminded myself.

"They're hurtful and heartless werewolves, and I know exactly what they're capable of."

I carefully sneaked on my tiptoes through the dark hallway, trying my best to find my way to the living room while searching for her wallet.

"Please be there," I prayed silently. "Please just be sitting there like always."

Fortunately, I found it easily, sitting right where I expected it to be.

I sighed with relief and grabbed it quickly.

"I'm just going to take it all for now," I decided. "I need money too if I'm going to survive on my own."

But just as I was about to reach the front door and make my escape, my eyes were suddenly almost blinded by the bright light that got turned on without warning.

There stood my mom's boyfriend right in front of me, shifted into his terrifying wolf shape and growling like a wild beast, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment and wasn't planning to let me go this time.

I honestly didn't know what to do except slowly walk backward and desperately try to find somewhere, anywhere to hide.

"This place seems completely empty," I noticed with growing panic.

"Even my mom isn't here, which is really weird for this time of night."

It suddenly hit me that this whole thing looked like a carefully planned trap just for me.

"I'm so stupid," I cursed myself. "I forgot that a she-wolf mother can always smell her own daughter from miles away."

The horrible realization dawned on me that she had deliberately left me alone with her boyfriend on purpose, knowing exactly what would happen.

From the sick way he was looking at me with those hungry yellow eyes, it was clear as crystal that his intentions were completely evil and disgusting.

"He's going to try to rape me," I realized with terror.

"He's going to do whatever he wants and there's nobody here to stop him."

I quickly locked myself in my mom's bedroom, my hands shaking uncontrollably as I fumbled with the door handle.

I desperately tried to jump out the window to escape, but of course it was locked tight.

"Come on, come on!" I cried frantically.

I grabbed a wooden chair and tried with all my strength to smash the windows, but it was already too late.

He had barged through the door like it was made of paper and immediately attacked me, throwing brutal punches at me from every direction until I found myself trapped helplessly underneath his heavy, disgusting body.

"Please stop," I begged, but he just kept slapping me over and over again until I felt myself slipping toward unconsciousness.

When I finally opened my eyes again, only God knows how much time had passed or what horrible things had happened to me while I was out.

"At least he didn't touch me inappropriately yet," I thought with grim relief. "Maybe there's still hope."

He threw ice-cold water directly on my face and smirked with that evil expression I knew so well.

"So, you're finally back and you look all clean and hot now," he said with a disgusting leer.

"Did you go out and sell your body to get those nice clothes? Is that how you've been surviving out there?"

"What do you want from me?" I asked in the flattest voice I could manage.

"Just tell me what you want so we can get this over with."

I really just wanted to end all this suffering once and for all.

I wanted to move forward with my life and leave all this pain behind me.

"Maybe I should just give up and let him have what he wants," I thought desperately.

"Maybe then he'll finally let me go and I can be free."

He rubbed his stubbly chin thoughtfully and then moved his disgusting hand directly to my chest area.

"At least he hasn't taken off my clothes yet," I noticed. "I guess he wants me to react to him, to give him some kind of response."

In his dreams! I thought defiantly. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break down completely.

He moved his hand shamelessly between my legs without any hesitation, making me want to vomit.

"Well, I didn't really want you in the beginning, to be completely honest with you," he said with a sick smile.

"But just look at you now, all grown up and beautiful. I would do absolutely anything to be with you, to have you all to myself."

I have no idea why I said what I said next with such confidence, but the words just came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Then break up with my mom first," I declared boldly. "If you really want me that badly, then end things with her. And then I will be yours, I promise."

And just like that-BANG!-he actually said yes without any hesitation!

But guess what happened at that exact same moment?

My mom stepped through the front door and saw us in that compromising position.

She yelled at the top of her lungs in complete shock, "What the hell is going on here?! What are you two doing?!"

He immediately started trembling like a scared little child when he saw her furious face.

"Baby, listen to me," he stammered pathetically. "I was just trying to teach her a lesson, I swear. This isn't what it looks like at all!"

That moment of distraction gave me exactly the chance I needed to work my hands free from the ropes that were cutting into my wrists.

"This is it," I thought. "This is my chance to escape."

I quickly untied myself and made a run for it while they were both busy arguing with each other.

My mom actually stopped him from following after me because she was too scared of losing the one person she thought she loved.

"She doesn't want him to touch me anymore," I realized as I ran.

"She's more worried about keeping him than protecting her own daughter."

I could hear her voice getting fainter as I ran further away, but her words still echoed clearly in my ears.

"I'm gonna get back to you later and kill you myself, Isabella!" she screamed after me. "You hear me? This isn't over between us!"

I ran and ran through the dark forest until my lungs felt like they were going to burst, and I was completely shocked to find lights on in the lake house when I finally arrived.

"Someone's here," I realized with both excitement and worry flooding through me at the same time.

My hand was bleeding pretty badly from the ropes, and my lips were split and swollen too.

My clothes were completely ripped and torn in several places, so it was totally obvious to anyone who looked at me that I had gotten into a serious fight.

As soon as I stumbled through the door, Ethan's concerned voice echoed through the room.

"Where were you, Isabella?" he asked, his voice full of worry and relief.

"I have been waiting for you for way too long, pacing around this house like a crazy person--"

He stopped talking immediately once his eyes locked onto mine and he saw the state I was in.

He hurriedly pulled me into the strongest, most comforting hug that I had been longing for all day.

Then he gently cupped my bruised cheeks while carefully checking my injured lips.

"What happened to you?" he asked softly. "Who did this? Tell me everything."

I gulped nervously, my throat feeling completely dry.

I tried my best to lie to him because I didn't want him to worry or do something reckless.

"It's nothing serious," I said weakly. "I just stumbled and fell down some rocks on my way back here."

He completely surprised me with his next words, his eyes going wide with shock.

"I heard your mind!" he said, looking just as stunned as I felt. "I could hear your thoughts just now!"

I was amazed too, but I guess that incredible connection assured both of us that we were really true mates, just like we had suspected.

He gazed deeply into my eyes with such intensity that I felt like he could see straight into my soul.

Then he gently pulled me over to sit down on the couch and knelt down in front of me, carefully licking the blood away from my injured hand with his warm tongue.

"Please tell me the truth now," he said seriously. "Who did this to you, Isabella? I need to know exactly what happened."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, knowing I couldn't lie to him anymore through our mate bond.

"It was my mom's boyfriend," I admitted quietly.

"He trapped me in the house and abused me. He was going to do much worse things if I hadn't managed to escape when I did."

And damn it! I had absolutely no idea what Alpha Nathan's reaction was going to be to hearing that news!