CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 79: FUCK YOU

IVAN’S POV

"You’re quite the spoiled little brat, aren’t you?" she sneered, her tone dripping venom, every word poisoned with cruelty undeserving of any child. "I only came in here to clear away your food tray, but now I have to clean the entire room and do your laundry, all because you’re such a messy little slob. Are you fucking stupid? You don’t even deserve the clothes on your back or the food you’re given—you waste it, just like you waste everyone’s time. All you do is scream and cry, throwing tantrums like the world owes you something. Nobody likes a selfish, disgusting little pest. You’re nothing but a burden, and the sooner you learn that, the better.

"No wonder not even the Alpha wants to be around you. You’re a filthy, useless thing. Do you think anyone will ever want to be around that? They won’t. They’ll avoid you, laugh at you, whisper about how useless and filthy you are. Even your own whore of a mother will grow tired of your whining and snottu tears cast you aside. After all, she did try to get rid of you years ago. Some might even say you don’t deserve to live. Children like you should be seen as mistakes, proof that some things are better left unloved, and unfortunate curses to their own parents.."

Asha shrank back, shoulders hunching, his tiny hands twisting into the hem of his clothe. His lip quivered, though he bit it hard as if that would stop it from trembling.

"I-I said I was sorry," he whispered, voice barely above a breath.

"Sorry doesn’t clean shit off the floor, does it?" the maid spat, sweeping her gaze over the small stain on the rug, though her eyes shone with malice far beyond a simple spill. "Do you know how much this costs? More than you’re worth, you little bastard."

His wide eyes brimmed with tears, but he shook his head stubbornly.

"Don’t call me that."

"Bastard," she hissed again, cruel delight flickering across her face at the way he flinched. "That’s all you are. Your mother is a degenerate whore, and you’re nothing but a mistake she’s too ashamed to admit. And do you know what people do with mistakes?" She leaned closer, her voice a biting whisper. "They erase them from existence, or better yet, pin them on someone else."

Asha gasped, his small fists tightening.

"Stop it! I’m not a mistake! Mummy says I’m—"

"Mummy says," the maid mocked, twisting her face into a childish whine. "Your precious mummy says a lot of things, doesn’t she? That doesn’t make them true. She didn’t teach you how to drink from a cup without spilling like a pig. She didn’t teach you to keep your hands clean, or your mouth shut. She’s too busy spreading her legs for the Alpha like a dick-hungry bitch in heat."

The boy’s breath hitched, his chest rising and falling too quickly.

"Take it back," he demanded, though his voice shook. "Don’t talk about my mummy like that."

"Or what?" Her laugh was cruel and cutting, armed with enough acid to break a little boy. I was stunned to ice. "What will you do? Cry harder? Run to your mother so she can whore her way into fixing it for you? You think being his son makes you safe? From what I hear, you won’t even live long enough to be heir. When Lady Serena gives the Alpha a real child, you’ll be tossed aside like the garbage you were born from."

Tears spilled freely now, streaming down Asha’s cheeks. His little body trembled with a devastating mix of fear and rage he had no business with at that age.

"Shut up!" he screamed. "Just shut up! You’re so mean—I hate you!"

Her lips curled into a venomous grin, eyes glinting with malicious triumph.

"No, you don’t. You hate yourself. You hate being nothing. Just like your wh—"

Fingers clamped around her throat, the force lifting her clean off the ground, her legs dangling uselessly as she clawed at my wrist.

Her words choked off mid-venom, dying in a pitiful rasp as I drove her back and slammed her against the wall hard enough to shake the mansion.

My claws dug into her throat from the force of my fingers.

Her eyes widened—drained of that vile, menacing fire she’d had a second ago. Gone was the sneer, gone was the mockery. Now, there was only sheer, ugly horror.

I hadn’t even realized I’d crossed the room until I was nose to nose with her, staring into the terror widening in her gaze.

My breath came hard, chest heaving with the fury vibrating through me, my wolf pressing against my skin.

He was right there in my ear, whispering like the fucking devil, begging to be let out—for the honor of ripping this bitch skin to skin.

Behind me, Asha’s sobs rose, almost rivaling the sound of my pounding heart.

"Fuck you!" he cried, his voice breaking as tears streamed down his cheeks.

He screamed the words at the maid, then bolted, tiny footsteps pounding toward the room as the echoes of his hysterics faded.

The maid tried to turn her head after him, tried to spew more filth at the boy, but I tightened my grip until her face flushed a dangerous shade of blue.

"What the fuck was that you were saying to my son?" I hissed, my voice a low, guttural snarl, every syllable edged with the kind of violence only a truly rabid wolf could carry.

"Y-Your Highness—" she gasped, lips trembling, spit gathering at the corner of her mouth.

Her hands clawed at me uselessly, fingernails breaking as she tried to pry herself free.

"I don’t want your pleas." My hold tightened, lifting her higher until her toes no longer touched the floor. "I want you to repeat it."

Her eyes bulged, tears pooling, panic radiating off her in waves.

"P-please!" she rasped, voice no more than a strangled squeak. "Mercy!"

"Repeat. It."

The wall behind her cracked under the pressure of her body as I pressed harder. My fury was consuming, bloodthirsty—the kind that promised there would be no escape without retribution.

This woman had dared—dared—to poison her tongue with cruelty toward my child. My son. My heir. And she thought she could live to tell of it?

Oh goddess.

Not today.

There might as well be a perfectly true record of a rabid king to appease the rumors.