Maria.
The door swung open.
I looked up just in time to see Anabel rush toward me, and in a swift motion her fingers wrapped around my wrist, tight enough to sting. Before I could pull away or even speak, she slammed my hand against her chest.
"What are you…"
Anabel stumbled backward on purpose, her heel sliding just enough. Her body tipped, balance lost by design, and a sharp cry tore from her throat as she hit the floor hard.
I froze, my hand still raised in the air like evidence.
Footsteps thundered in, and I turned instinctively to explain myself but as my eyes landed on the four of them, the air shifted instantly, thick with dominance and fury.
"Anabel...," Davian snarled. "What did you do to our sister?" He thundered.
Anabel lay on the floor, her hair fanned out, her eyes glistening as she looked up at her brothers. "She pushed me," she said softly, pointing her fingers at me.
"That's not true," I said, my voice shaking. "She pushed herself…"
Davian was already moving.
There was no warning. No pause for thought. One second he was standing there, fury barely leashed beneath his skin, and the next he was on me—fast, brutal, unstoppable. His body cut through the space between us like a weapon.
*Crack.*
Pain detonated across my face as his hands slammed into me, the force of the blow snapping my head back before I could even gasp. The impact stole the air from my lungs. I staggered, disoriented, the world tilting violently as he shoved me backward with no intention of stopping.
My knees struck the tiles first.
A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my skin as bone met stone. I cried out despite myself, the sound breaking from my throat as my legs buckled completely. I collapsed, palms scraping uselessly against the cold floor, breath coming out in ragged bursts as agony radiated up my legs.
"How dare you push her?" he thundered.
His voice shook the walls. It wasn't just anger—it was Alpha rage, raw and overwhelming, pressing down on me until my chest felt too tight to expand.
"I didn't!" I gasped, clutching my knee with trembling fingers. The pain pulsed viciously beneath my touch. "I swear, I didn't…"
Aidan stepped forward.
And somehow, that was worse.
Davian's violence had been explosive, but Aidan was something colder. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't rush toward me. He simply stopped in front of me and looked down.
His eyes burned red.
Not with fury that flared and faded—but with something fractured, something broken clean through. The weight of his stare pinned me in place, heavier than Davian's shove, heavier than the pain screaming through my body.
Damien was already crouching beside Anabel.
His movements were quick, instinctive, his entire focus locked on her as if the rest of the room had ceased to exist. "Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice tight, strained with restraint.
"She attacked me," Anabel said, fingers curling into his arm. Her grip was possessive. Her gaze flicked toward me, sharp, venomous, victorious.
Damien's jaw clenched.
He rose.
Turned.
The slap came out of nowhere.
The sound cracked through the room, sharp, violent, final. My head snapped to the side with the force of it, my skull colliding with the tiled floor. Light exploded behind my eyes, white and blinding. A high ringing filled my ears, drowning out everything else.Blood bloomed across my tongue.I tasted it as it slid between my lips.
"Damien…"
"She deserved it."
"She touched Anabel."
I pressed my palm to the floor, trying to breathe, trying to think. My head throbbed viciously, every heartbeat pounding against my skull.
"I didn't push her," I whispered again. My voice sounded far away, broken. "She made it look that way."
"Enough," Aidan said.
The room went still.
He stared at me like I was something crawling beneath his boot. "You dare to lay your hands on my sister."
"I didn't," I said hoarsely.
Anabel sat up slowly, leaning into Damien. Her eyes never left me.
"She's lying," she said. "Rogues always do."
Davian scoffed. "Kill her and be done with it."he glared dangerously at me. "I had never accepted her and I never will."
"No," Aidan replied coldly. "Death isn't an option, it would be too easy."
He turned sharply. "Guards."
The door opened immediately.
Two men stepped inside, their faces hard, eyes trained on me.
My chest tightened.
"Rogue 456," Aidan said, his voice like ice scraping bone. "I hereby sentence you to be punished."
My fingers curled weakly against the floor.
"For insulting and assaulting my Sister." he continued, "you will receive fifty whips."
The words didn't register at first, but when they did, my eyes widened and I opened my mouth to breathe through it.
Fifty.
My breath stuttered violently.
"No," I whispered. "Please… I can't…"
"Ensure the entire pack is gathered," Aidan added. "I will personally witness it."
Davian nodded in approval.
Damien didn't look at me.
Adrien leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his usual lazy smile absent. His eyes flicked to my knee, then to the blood pooling near my temple. He said nothing.
I shook my head, tears spilling freely now. "Please," I begged. "I didn't do it. I swear…"
"Shut up! You liar," Davian snapped.
The guards grabbed my arms.
I cried out as they yanked me up, my injured knee screaming as my weight shifted. The room spun violently.
"Please," I sobbed, my voice breaking apart. "I didn't push her. Please. I won't go near her. I'll stay away. I'll do anything."
Anabel stared at me, her lips curved slightly, not with a smile but something colder.
"Why do you hate me?" I whispered through my tears, as our gaze locked with each other.
Her eyes hardened.
The guards dragged me toward the door.
My feet scraped uselessly against the floor as I struggled weakly, pain tearing through my body with every movement. My head pounded. My vision blurred.
Fifty whips.
The number repeated endlessly in my mind.
My wolf stirred faintly, restless and afraid. I pressed my lips together, choking back a sob as the guards hauled me into the hallway.
Cold air rushed over my skin.
One of them muttered, "She won't last ten."
The other shrugged. "Not our problem."
I squeezed my eyes shut. Even if my wolf had healed my skin, the pain inside me hadn't faded. My ribs still ached. My chest still hurts
This would kill me.
The guards dragged me out and just before I thought all hope was gone, Adrien, who hasn't spoken since, shouted…
"Stop"