Maria.

I was still staring at Anabel, my mind too tangled to register anything else, when it happened.

I never saw Vanessa move.

One moment she was standing beside her sister, silent and watchful, and the next she was in front of me. Her movement was so sudden it startled the breath right out of my lungs. Before I could even flinch, her hand connected with my face.

Once. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Then again.

Two sharp slaps landed in quick succession, the sound cracking loudly in the corridor. My head snapped to the side and then back again, my vision swimming as the force of it stole the air from my chest. I stumbled backward, barely managing to keep myself upright as a sharp ringing filled my ears.

Pain bloomed across my cheeks, hot and relentless.

"I have been observing you for a while now, Maria," Vanessa said coldly, her voice trembling, not with weakness, but with barely contained fury. "And it seems you have no shame at all."

I lifted my gaze slowly, my eyes burning with unshed tears, my mouth opening instinctively to speak. But no words came. My tongue felt heavy, useless, stuck to the roof of my mouth as her accusations pressed down on me like crushing weight.

"How does it feel," she continued, her lips curling in disgust, "to be fought over at the Alpha’s gathering?" Her laugh was short and bitter. "Do you enjoy it? Making me a laughing stock among the servants?"

Her words sliced deeper than her slaps.

I felt my chest tighten painfully. I hadn’t asked for that gathering. I hadn’t asked to be spoken of like property, like a prize to be won. Yet here I was, standing in the corridor, bruised and shaking, being blamed for the humiliation of others.

Vanessa stepped closer, her presence suffocating. Before I could react, her fingers clamped around my chin, forcing my face upward until I had no choice but to look at her. Her grip was unforgiving, nails digging slightly into my skin.

"I don’t know how you did it," she said slowly, venom dripping from every word, "or how you seduced them, but my husbands-to-be going into a competition just so they could win you..." Her grip tightened. "...over us is humiliating to me."

She shoved my face to the side and released me abruptly.

I staggered again, my shoulder brushing the cold wall as I struggled to steady myself. My breathing was uneven now, shallow and fast, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst through my ribs.

Vanessa took a step back, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as if restraining herself from doing more.

That was when Anabel stepped forward.

Her eyes burned with a different kind of fire, possessive, territorial, unyielding. She stopped just inches away from me, her gaze sweeping over my face as if assessing damage already done.

"Noah is mine, Maria," she said sharply, her voice low but firm. "I need you to understand that."

I swallowed hard, my throat aching as I tried to speak. "I—I..."

She didn’t let me finish.

"So whatever nonsense you have been feeding him with," Anabel continued, cutting me off cruelly, "whatever lies, whatever tricks you think you’re using, I advise you stop."

Her words struck me like blows. I hadn’t fed Noah anything. I hadn’t asked him for anything. Yet the truth lodged painfully in my chest, unable to escape.

"I...I haven’t..." I tried again, desperation creeping into my voice.

The slap came before I could finish the sentence.

Anabel’s hand struck my face with brutal force, snapping my head sideways as pain exploded anew. A sharp gasp tore from my lips as my body reacted before my mind could catch up. My legs wobbled, and for a terrifying second I thought I might collapse right there at their feet.

My cheek burned fiercely, matching the other side now. Tears finally spilled over, hot and uncontrollable, trailing down my face despite my efforts to hold them back. My hands trembled at my sides, fingers curling and uncurling uselessly.

Neither of them seemed satisfied.

Vanessa watched with a tight, approving expression, while Anabel stood over me, breathing hard, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

I stood there in silence, tears sliding down my cheeks, my head bowed slightly—not in submission, but because I didn’t trust myself to look up again. Every part of me felt exposed. Small. Trapped.

I realized then that no explanation would save me.

No truth would soften their rage.

To them, I wasn’t a person with fear and pain and confusion. I was a problem. A stain. A threat to what they believed was theirs.

And as I stood there, bruised and shaking under the weight of their hatred, I knew one thing with terrible clarity...This wasn’t about what I had done.

It was about what they were afraid of losing.

I had barely begun to steady myself when everything spiraled out of control.

Vanessa moved.

It wasn’t human speed anymore. It was raw, feral, her wolf surging forward and taking full command. I saw it in her eyes first, the way the brown faded and burned into a terrifying red, glowing with murderous intent. There was no hesitation, no warning. One second she was standing there, breathing hard with rage simmering beneath her skin, and the next she was on me.

Her hand shot out and closed around my throat.

Hard.

The impact slammed me backward, my spine hitting the wall as her fingers tightened with crushing force. My feet barely touched the ground. A strangled sound tore from my lips as all the air was ripped from my lungs in one brutal instant.

I clawed at her wrist instinctively, panic exploding inside me. My fingers dug into her skin, nails scraping uselessly as I tried to pry her hand away from my neck. My legs kicked weakly, trembling as my body screamed for oxygen that wouldn’t come.

There was no space to breathe.

No mercy in her grip.

My chest burned as I struggled, my vision blurring at the edges. The corridor seemed to spin, shadows closing in as a sharp ringing filled my ears. I tried to inhale, tried to force air into my lungs, but it was impossible. Her grip was unyielding, cold, deliberate, final.

She was gone.

Completely lost to her wolf.

I could feel it then, the terrifying certainty sinking into my bones.

She was trying to kill me.

My strength drained rapidly, fear turning into something heavier, something hopeless. My hands slipped from her wrist, fingers going numb. My legs gave out entirely, dangling uselessly beneath me. My heartbeat thundered wildly, then began to stutter, each beat slower than the last.

My eyes fluttered.

Darkness crept closer.

I thought of nothing—felt nothing—except the unbearable pressure at my throat and the burning need for air. My body began to surrender, my mind slipping away as my eyelids slowly closed.

This is how it ends, I thought distantly.

Then...everything changed.

A sudden force collided with Vanessa from the side, violent and unexpected. Her grip vanished instantly as she was ripped away from me and thrown across the corridor. Her body slammed hard into the ground with a sickening thud, the sound echoing sharply through the silence.

I collapsed.

My knees hit the floor first, then my hands, my entire body folding in on itself as I gasped violently. Air rushed back into my lungs in painful bursts, each breath sharp and ragged, tearing at my throat as I sucked in oxygen desperately.

I coughed, choking, my chest heaving uncontrollably.

My vision swam as I struggled to sit upright, my hands shaking uncontrollably as I clutched at my chest. Every breath felt like fire, but I didn’t stop, I couldn’t stop. I panted like someone pulled back from the edge of death, lungs burning, head spinning.

Strong hands caught me gently.

Someone lifted me slowly, carefully, as if afraid I might shatter. A firm palm pressed against my back, steady and grounding, keeping me upright as I continued to gasp for breath.

"Easy," a deep voice murmured, calm but commanding. "Breathe."

I clung to that voice, to that touch, forcing air into my lungs little by little until the world stopped spinning. My heartbeat began to steady, though my body still trembled violently.

Behind me, Vanessa groaned.

She stirred, confusion flickering across her face as her wolf retreated, leaving her human again. Anabel rushed to her side instantly, helping her sit up, her expression twisted with fury and hatred.

"This isn’t finished, Maria," Anabel spat venomously, glaring at me as she hauled Vanessa to her feet. "This is far from over."

Vanessa leaned heavily against her, shooting me one last look filled with promise, dark, chilling promise, before they turned and walked away, their footsteps fading down the corridor.

I stood there, barely upright, supported by the stranger who had saved my life.

My throat throbbed painfully as I swallowed, my fingers unconsciously rising to touch the tender skin where Vanessa’s hand had been. I felt weak. Shaken. Alive, but only just.

I inhaled deeply and finally lifted my head.

"I...thank you," I whispered hoarsely, turning to face my saviour.

The words died in my throat.

I froze.

Standing before me, his expression unreadable but eyes sharp and observant, was the last person I expected to see.

The random Alpha.

The one who had stood up at the gathering.

The one who had joined the competition.

Alpha Daniel.

Our eyes locked, and something strange flickered between us, recognition without memory, familiarity without explanation. My heart skipped painfully as his gaze lingered on my face, assessing, searching, as if trying to read something written beneath my skin.

Of all people.

It was him.