Chapter 4 You'll Stay as My Slave

Eleanor' POV:

"Say yes already, Carl! Kick her out!" Della shouted, barely containing her excitement. "She's just a delta's daughter. A nobody. I've had enough of her pretending to be Luna. Eleanor is a damn joke."

She was way more eager than me, like she was the one trying to ditch the mate bond.

"That's not happening," Carl said, grabbing my neck, eyes glinting with cruelty. "You think just because you don't love me anymore, you can walk away?

"I'm the alpha of Stormfang. Everything goes my way. If anyone's sending you away, it'll only be because I'm sick of looking at your disgusting face. You hold zero power here. Got it?"

His fingers tightened. I was starting to lose air.

"You're not going anywhere. Katherine said you make a decent little servant, so that's what you'll be-forever stuck here.

"You're going to keep waiting on me and Katherine. If you die, it'll be right here in Stormfang, when I say so."

Carl, like a demon, crushed whatever scraps of hope I had left. He wrecked the image of the man I once thought was perfect.

"Carl," I grabbed his hands hard, fury bubbling up. "You bastard!"

I shoved him back with everything I had, ripping his hand off my throat and yelling at him. But I was no match for him. Carl didn't even need to shift-he just growled and slammed me to the ground like it was nothing.

My head hit the floor hard, blood immediately pouring out. Everyone froze in shock.

Carl looked stunned too-his expression faltered for a split second before he picked me up in a rush and shouted, "Get the healer! Now!"

Della stormed after him, yelling like crazy. "Carl, are you kidding me? She freaking attacked you! You should toss her out and let her rot-whether she lives or dies has nothing to do with us!"

"Back off!" Carl snapped at her, voice sharp as a whip.

"Are you actually losing it?" Della stopped dead. "You can't stand Eleanor-so why the hell are you helping her?"

That was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

When I came to, the healer had already patched me up. Carl was stone-faced as he dragged me back to the pack house and shoved me into a windowless, cramped storage room. Locked the door tight. No way out.

Anna told Rosa to bring me some barely edible food every day, and stationed a few deltas outside to keep me in check.

To stay alive, I had no choice but to deal with the cold meals, the dark, and the silence.

"Luna, time to eat." Rosa kicked the door open and tossed the food onto the floor like she couldn't care less.

It's been a month. I've gotten used to her half-assed attitude by now. I sat quietly against the wall as she threw me a glare and muttered, "Anna said this is your only meal today. Eat it or don't, whatever."

"If you're not gonna eat, why don't you just die already? Would save me the trouble of coming here every damn day. What a drag.

"Seriously, what's the point of a mutt like you even being alive?"

With that, she slammed the door and locked it with a loud click.

I slowly dragged myself toward the bread on the floor and picked one up without a word. Suddenly, the main door burst open with a loud bang. I looked up, confused.

Carl.

He stood there, face dark like a thundercloud. Instinctively, I scooted back.

He strode over, clearly pissed off, and slapped the bread out of my hand. "This is what you've been eating every day?"

Even after a month of not seeing him, the disgust in his eyes hadn't changed one bit. There was nothing left in me but disappointment now, so I said nothing. Not worth it.

Carl glanced at the rock-hard bread scattered on the dirty floor. His jaw tightened. The anger in his eyes only deepened as he stared me down like I'd done something unforgivable. "Is this really your plan? Starving yourself just to get away from me? What, trying to die now?"

I touched my now hollow cheeks and let out a dry laugh. I couldn't even stand up anymore. He damn well knew Anna was behind all this. They all just wanted me dead and out of their way, rotting in this storage room.

"So what?" I shot back. "You ready to cut the mate bond now?"

Carl stayed silent, his hands clenched tight. I could feel the frustration bubbling under his skin, but I kept my voice calm. "If you're not going to do it, fine. I'll just find a worse way to hurt myself. What, would that bother you?"

He took a step back, staring at me like I'd said something insane-visibly shaken.

Lowering my head, I picked up the dusty piece of bread off the floor and forced it into my mouth. It barely tasted like anything, but it quieted the hunger just a little.

"Alpha, you just got back... maybe check on Vivian first?" Rosa rushed in with a panicked face. She shot me a sharp look, like I'd better not open my mouth.

"Get lost!" Carl snapped. He shoved Rosa hard, and she went down with a cry. Rosa looked up at him, stunned and terrified, too scared to move.

Without saying a word, Carl yanked me off the floor. "Come with me."

"Let me go, Carl!" I hissed through my teeth, trying to fight him off, but my body was way too weak. "I..."

The weight of his Alpha aura crushed down on me as Carl snapped, "Shut up."

I flinched, my hands clenched tight without thinking, grasping at anything to feel a sliver of safety.

With a sharp exhale, Carl bent down and scooped me up like he had zero patience left. I freaked, shouting, "What are you doing?!"

He didn't bother answering-just turned and walked out of the storage room while I clung weakly to his shirt. After being locked in there for a month, the sunlight outside felt like needles stabbing my eyes. He carried me straight into the main hall of the villa.

"Carl, why are you carrying her? She reeks like a trash bin," Carl's mother Vivian stood up, her voice full of disbelief. "Why bring her out? She chose that storage room. Leave her there for good."

Carl didn't even look at her, just kept walking and brought me into the bathroom. Then, without a word, he dumped me into the bathtub and started yanking at my clothes.

"You can't!" I covered my chest in panic, trying to block his hands.

He didn't stop. His fingers brushed across my skin, and every nerve screamed.

I was shaking, lips trembling, then suddenly-I slapped him with all the strength I had left.

Smack. His face whipped to the side.

And finally, he froze.