Author’s POV

ric’s roar still echoed through the Vale estate when his words struck like venom in the bair/b:

+8 Pearls

“What sin did Imit to deserve a daughter like Riley Vale? She’s rotten to the core. She’s hated for a reason. She’s always been cursed”

His tone was venomous, bhis /blies stacking one atop another bas /bif he truly believed them.

“She chopped her finger off willingly! No one forced her! In fact, I think she should lose both hands–maybe then she’ll stop pushing bpeople /bdown the bstairs/b!”

It was madness. Unrepentant. Cruel.

Kael met his gaze from across the room, not with rage but with cold, quiet disappointment–disappointment that cut sharper bthan /bany de.

“You want to talk about sins?” Kael said, his bvoice /blow but unwavering. “When Mom gave birth to Riley, she begged you to stay awake and keep her safe. You fell asleep, remember? That’s how she was stolen. That’s how all of this started.”

His hists clenched at bhis /bsides.

“If she’d grown up with them, gotten the love and education she deserved, she wouldn’t be like this. She wouldn’t be broken. But she didn’t. She grew up in Rogue settlemnes just like an orphanage while they coddled a stranger. And now you call her unworthy?”

Kael took a step forward.

“She was born into the Vale family and raised like a stray. And now you dare say

v she deserves this?”

rie’s face turned beet red. His body trembled with rage. It wasn’t guilt–it was the bloss /bof control that infuriated him.

“You” he bellowed. “You ungrateful little bastard!”

Before Kael could brace himself, the p came. ric’s hand cracked across his face with Alpha strength, splitting the inside. of Kael’s mouth band /bbsending /bblood trickling down his chin.

The sharp, metallic taste didn’t dull the ache in his chest.

Any lingering hope bKael /bhad for this man–the father he once admired–bwas /bsnuffed out.

Heughed. It was a bitter, hollow bsound/b.

“She must regret evering home,” Kael said quietly, wiping the blood from his mouth.

Then he turned to bMia/bb. /b“Go. Take the food to Riley. Get her whatever she wants. If anyone dares stop her, I’ll cut off their hands myself.

His voice bwas /bas cold as the steel buried in his tone. bMia/b, eyes ssy, nodded firmly, “Yes, young Alpha. I’ll go now.” Kael didn’t bwait /banother second. He turned and left without sparing anyone else a nce.

Mia was just about to follow when Zara’s voice stopped her.

“I’m going top

Zara gently removed Scarlett’s clinging arms from around her waist and straightened her shoulders.

Scarlett’s eyes widened slightly in panic. Kael’s threat had clearly been for her, and she knew it. If she’d realized Kael was on bthe /bsecond floor watching the entire scene, maybe she wouldn’t have tried to steal Riley’s food.

Now It was toote.

Scarlett turned pitiful eyes toward Zara. “bMom/b, I want toe too. I want to visit Riley”

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Zara hesitated but eventually said, “She… she doesn’t want to see you right now. Stay here.”

And with that, she and Mia left.

Scarlett was left alone with ric.

Her tears vanished. Her pout twisted into a scowl.

“She’s poisoned him,” Scarlett snarled. “Kael used to hate her. Now he’s threatening me over her! You’ve got to do something before she takes them both away from me!”

Her voice had sharpened, shrill and venomous–gone bwas /bthe fragile, innocent girl she pretended to be. Now she sounded like a petnt snake who’d blost /bher bite.

ric sat heavily on the couch, arms crossed, face dark as a thunderhead. Then slowly… he smirkedb. /b

“Don’t worry,” he said. “That mongrel pup won’t get far.”

Scarlett’s eyes lit up. “You have a nb?/b”

ric nodded. “The Stormridge Pack from Northhaven bis /barriving soon to bid on the Eastside territory. If they’re serious about the project even the Ebonw Pack and ckmaw pack working together won’t be enough to outbid them.”

Scarlett’s brows furrowed. “Are you saying we should marry Riley off to one of them? You’re going to reward her by marrying her into a royal bloodline?”

ricughed darkly. “bReward/b? No. The Alpha heir of Stormridge–he’s a monster. Sterile. Violent. Dominant to the point of sadism. Rumor has it he breaks wolves the way one breaks wild dogs.”

Scarlett’s lips parted in surprise, then curled into a delighted smile.

“So we send Riley to him. Let him tame her.”

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