Chapter 2

Debra's POV:

I burst into my room, slamming the door shut behind me, the sound echoing the turmoil in my chest. I collapsed onto my bed, the sobs I'd been holding back finally breaking free. Vicky followed me in moments later, her face pale, a makeshift bandage pressed to her forehead.

"Oh, my sweet girl," she whispered, sitting beside me and pulling me into a gentle hug.

I cried into her shoulder, my body shaking with a toxic mix of grief, rage, and humiliation. "He didn't even care, Vicky. He didn't even ask."

"I know, dear. I know." She stroked my hair, her touch the only comfort I had in the world.

After a few minutes, my sobs subsided into shuddering breaths. I pulled away and opened my clenched fist. The broken gems and the snapped chain lay in my palm, the sharp edges digging into my skin, leaving angry red marks. My mother's last gift. Destroyed.

"She did it on purpose," I whispered, my voice raw. "She wanted to hurt me. She wanted to erase Mom."

Vicky's eyes filled with a grim understanding. "Marley is not just a pretty face, Debra. She's ambitious and cruel. You must be careful."

Just as she spoke, the door was slammed open, making us both jump.

My father stood in the doorway, his face still dark with rage. He wasn't alone. Marley was behind him, peering into the room with a triumphant glint in her eyes.

"How dare you," my father began, his voice dangerously low. "How dare you cause such a spectacle and disrespect my Luna in front of our most important guest, Alpha Ezekiel of the Black Moon Pack."

So that was his name. Ezekiel. The name felt as powerful as his presence.

"She destroyed Mom's necklace!" I shot back, scrambling to my feet. "She had her servants attack us! Look at Vicky's head!"

My father's gaze flickered to Vicky for a fraction of a second, but there was no sympathy in it. His eyes landed on the broken pieces in my hand, and he scoffed. "For a worthless piece of jewelry? You would embarrass this family for a trinket?"

The word "worthless" was a slap in the face. My breath hitched.

"It wasn't worthless to me," I whispered, my heart shattering into a million more pieces.

"Enough," he snapped. "Marley is your Luna now. You will show her the respect she is due, or you will face the consequences. I will not have my daughter acting like a spoiled, unruly pup."

Marley stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on my father's arm. "Logan, dear, don't be so harsh," she said, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "She's just emotional. It's a big day for all of us."

Her feigned kindness was more sickening than her open cruelty.

My father's expression softened as he looked at her. He turned back to me, his face hard as stone. "You are confined to your rooms until I decide otherwise. Vicky will bring you your meals. Do not leave this wing. Is that understood?"

I stared at him, my own father, looking at me as if I were a stranger, a problem to be managed. Ivy was snarling in my head, a desperate, caged animal.

I said nothing. I just nodded, my throat too tight to speak.

He gave one last, disappointed look, then turned and left, pulling the door closed behind him. He hadn't once asked about my side of the story. He hadn't cared.

He had chosen her. And in doing so, he had abandoned me.