CHAPTER 5 The Real Reason

Apphia POV

Without warning, I throw my arms around his waist and bury my face in his torso. A sob escapes my mouth. Duncan doesn't hug me back but doesn't push me away, either.

I'm hyperventilating, unable to talk as he relentlessly asks me what happened. I want to tell him that Gavin rejected me, but no words leave my mouth, only sobs. I hold him, grateful he doesn't revolt against me. However, he pushes me away when we hear footsteps approaching. I lose my balance and stumble backward, falling on my side.

"Apphia!" he means to approach but stops himself, "I didn't mean to push you...."

"There she is!"

Holding my painful wrist, I look at the two wolves closing me with malice.

"What is it?" Duncan asks icily. The guards are shocked at the future Alpha's stern tone and bow to him.

"The Alphas want her. She attempted to kill Miss Aya Amir," one of the guards answers.

Attempted murder is a lot much. No doubt that cunt, Aya, will milk this situation to her advantage. Duncan's eyes glare at me slightly before staring at the guard who explains the problem according to Aya's story. It is highly exaggerated!

"You're such a menace, Apphia," Duncan sneers.

"She came at me first. I was only defending myself," I murmur. Duncan scoffs.

"What about our mother?" I stay silent, tears rolling down my face again. "I wish you died that night, not her,"

I feel tears in my eyes again, but I'm tired of crying. The two guards drag little old me to the Alpha's office and throw me inside like a sack of potatoes. I scramble to my feet and face the two Alphas.

My father walks over and smacks me hard across the face. I stagger to find my balance, and Alpha Amir catches me.

"You attempted to kill Aya Amir!" he booms.

Alpha Amir is still holding me, aware that his hand is roaming against my skin. I whimper, trying to free myself from his hold, but I fail.

"Don't touch me, please," I cry. Amir doesn't listen, and my Alpha doesn't speak against it.

"Please tell him to stop," I beg my father, but he turns a deaf ear to me. I shut my eyes, tears rolling down my face, hoping this is all a dream I will wake up from soon.

The door slams open, and my brother walks in. "Don't fucking touch her!" he growls, his bright eyes flashing.

"Relax, young Alpha. Apphia was about to fall, and I caught her," Amir chuckles, moving away from me. Duncan doesn't believe him. He gives him an annoyed look and snaps his gaze toward our father,

"She's a child! How can you let him behave that way towards her!"

"The girl overreacts, and seventeen years old is no child," my father groans, draining the amber liquid in his glass. He refills his glass and offers some to the two men, but Duncan stares at it dejectedly and refuses to take it.

"She is going with Amir tomorrow morning," my father announces. I shake my head no. I don't want to go with Amir.

"What do you mean by that, Alpha?" Duncan asks through his teeth, his hands balling into a fist.

"Amir wants a personal maid, and I gave her to him. It's the least she could do after she tried to kill Aya, your future Luna," my father says nonchalantly.

"No, brother, don't let him do this, please. I don't want to go with Amir,"

Duncan has yet to be inducted as Alpha; he will be in a few days. He is the only one who can save me. Amir will even be more inappropriate with me in his pack. I can't go with him.

"Get out," Duncan orders me.

His annoyed glare settles on our father again. I glance at Amir one last time; he is smirking. I leave the study and can't hear a word once the door closes.

I rush to the attic and pace around the small space in front of my mattress. I'd rather die than go with that predator, Amir. I grab a blade from my table and head out.

On my way outside, I see Gavin in the common area. He's making out with the pack slut, Calla. I almost puke at the sight, and the pain in my chest intensifies.

"Hey, slut, stop," Calla calls me in her nasal voice. I don't stop walking.

"Apphia!" she shouts. I stop and cock my head to look at her.

"Did you not hear me call you?" she asks, getting off Gavin's lap and walking to me.

"You said slut, and the only slut I see in this room is you," I say, making Nalani and Vivian burst into laughter. The two girls are never mean to me. Nalani tries to converse with me and even defends me from bullies.

Calla gasps and attempts to slap me, but a growl from Gavin stops her hand in mid-air. I stare at my ex-mate; he has a blank expression.

"Don't fucking dare hit my- her, Calla,"

"I won't fight her. Apphia needs to reserve her energy for Amir. He is taking her to his pack tomorrow," Calla laughs. My eyes widen with fear.

"What?!" Gavin and Nalani boom; they exchange glances, shocked by their outburst.

"Yes, baby. Didn't you hear? Alpha Amir wants her as a maid, but we all know the real reason," Calla winks at me.

"Damn, he will fuck her every night," Rory adds, making the guys chortle

The boys continue to comment about sex styles to try and what Amir will do to me. Gavin furiously growls at them and suddenly bolts out of the room.

"In all honesty, Apphia's hot and can be a supermodel. She possesses natural beauty with good bone structure," Orson, another pack member, says, raking his eyes on me. I shudder from his predatory gaze. They're talking about me like I'm not in the room with them.

"She is tall and thin, with flawless skin and long legs. Her face card game is fire,"

Calla glares at the men and then at me. "Yeah, if freaks became supermodels. She'd be the top," she sneers.

"Go kill yourself, freak. Oops, you have promoted you to a sex slave,"

I curl my hands in a fist. I feel anger blaze within me. I turn towards Calla and punch her in the face, giving her a bloody nose, and bolt out. I've been wanting to do it for a while now.

"Catch that bitch. We are going to show her today," I hear her scream.

I run as fast as I can from the packhouse. They will beat me black and blue if they catch me.

I run in the woods, towards the pack's border near the lake I like to visit.

I stop running after I notice they have gone back. They were scaring me.

I sit by the lake, catching my breath. I look up at the sky; thunderclouds are rolling in, obscuring the stars in the sky moments ago. It looks like a good night to die.

I grab a razor from my pale blue dress pocket and stare at it. I grip it, ready to slice my wrist. It won't be as painful to end my life if I bleed out. My heart has been ripped out and stomped on. I've tried my hardest to survive, but I can't anymore. I need to free myself from the burden of the world. Once I die, I will meet my mother on the other side, and we'll be happy together.

I dig the razor in my skin and slowly move it across my wrist. I gasp as blood; so much blood comes out of my cut. I panic and throw it to the ground, burying it with the dead leaves with my foot. I need to stop the bleeding. I tear a part of my dress and tie my wound tightly.

Deciding I should continue running, I freeze when I hear Rory's voice.

"I know you are still here,"