Chapter 4

Debra's POV:

The spark of hope Vicky had given me was quickly extinguished by the crushing reality of the next few days. My father didn't come to see me. He sent no word. It was as if I had ceased to exist, an inconvenient memory locked away in a dusty corner of the pack house.

Marley, on the other hand, made her presence known. Workmen started arriving in the wing. The sound of hammering and furniture being moved echoed from down the hall. I knew, without having to see it, that she was making good on her promise. She was erasing every last trace of my mother. Each thud of the hammer felt like a blow against my own heart.

On the fifth day of my confinement, Vicky came in looking more agitated than I had ever seen her.

"He's here," she whispered, setting my lunch tray down with a clatter. "Alpha Gareth. Your father invited him for dinner tonight."

Panic seized me, cold and sharp. "Tonight?"

"They're in your father's study right now," she confirmed, wringing her hands. "Debra, your father... he's going to agree to it. I can feel it."

Ivy was pacing frantically in my mind, a caged wolf sensing the hunter's approach. *We have to get out of here. Now!*

"There's nowhere to go, Ivy," I thought back, despair washing over me. I was the daughter of an Alpha, but I had no power, no allies. To run would be to become a rogue, hunted and alone.

"I have to talk to him," I said, standing up. "He's my father. He has to listen to me."

"He won't see you," Vicky said, her voice full of pity. "He gave strict orders."

"I don't care," I retorted, a desperate fire igniting in my gut. I would not be sold off like cattle. I would not let Marley win.

I strode to the door and flung it open. The two guards my father had posted outside immediately moved to block my path.

"I need to see my father," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Alpha's orders, miss. No one is to leave this room," the taller guard said, his face impassive.

"This is my life we're talking about!" I cried, my voice cracking. "Please!"

They didn't budge. They were loyal to their Alpha, not to his daughter.

Defeated, I slumped back into my room. The hours ticked by, each one a step closer to my doom. As the sun began to set, I heard footsteps approaching. My heart leaped, hoping it was my father coming to his senses.

But it was Marley who appeared in the doorway. She was dressed for dinner in a stunning crimson gown that made her look like a blood-red rose.

"Your father has requested your presence in the dining hall," she announced, a cruel smile playing on her lips. "Alpha Gareth is very eager to meet his potential bride."

She wanted me to be there. She wanted to watch me be paraded in front of that monster. She wanted to savor her victory.

A strange calmness settled over me. It was the calmness of someone with nothing left to lose.

"Alright," I said, my voice eerily flat.

Marley looked surprised for a moment, then her smile widened. "Excellent. Do try to make yourself presentable."

She left. I stood in the middle of my room, my mind racing. I wasn't going to be a lamb to the slaughter. If I was going down, I was going down fighting. I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was a mess, my eyes were shadowed, and I was still in the simple dress I'd been wearing for days.

Perfect.

I didn't bother to change. I didn't brush my hair. I walked out of my room, past the stunned guards, and headed for the dining hall. I was going to show Alpha Gareth exactly what kind of bride he was getting.