Chapter 4
1168 Words
Samantha's POV
The sharp vibration split the suffocating silence of the office. My heart jolted.
This was my chance.
"I can prove it," I said quickly, my voice shaking. "I'm not Serena. Let me talk to him. I can explain everything."
Amanda glanced at the screen.
The moment she saw the caller ID, her face changed.
All the color drained away. For a split second, naked panic flashed across her eyes.
Then she stepped in close, so close I could feel her breath against my ear.
"If you say one wrong word," she whispered, her fingers digging painfully into my wrist, "you'll regret it."
She swiped to answer—and without greeting, shoved the phone hard against my mouth.
"Talk."
"Andrew?" My voice trembled. "I'm in your office. Please come back. I need to see you—"
But the voice on the other end was not his.
"Good afternoon, ma'am. This is Beta Colin. Alpha Andrew is currently at the border negotiating with the Northern Pack. He left strict instructions not to be disturbed."
The ground seemed to tilt beneath me.
"At the border?" I whispered. "Can I speak to him? It's urgent—"
"He asked me to inform you that the ring he purchased for you has been delivered. He hopes you like it. And… happy birthday."
My fingers went numb.
Before I could say another word, Amanda snatched the phone away and ended the call.
Silence.
Then she turned to me slowly.
"You just said you're not Serena," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "And yet even from the border, he sends you a ring. A birthday wish."
Her hand shot out and grabbed my collar, jerking me forward.
"You still want to deny it?"
"I'm not Serena," I repeated weakly.
"I've hated you for a long time," Amanda snapped, her composure shattering. "You vanish for years and suddenly reappear to claim him?"
Before I could step back, her fingers shot out and caught my chin.
She forced my face upward.
"Look at me when I'm speaking to you."
Her grip tightened slightly over the bruise already swelling on my cheek.
Pain flickered through me.
"I'm not…" My voice trembled. "You're mistaken…"
"Still lying?" she whispered.
One of the women shoved my shoulder from behind.
I lost my balance and dropped hard to one knee.
The impact jarred my bones.
Before I could steady myself, she struck my knee with a vicious kick.
Amanda didn't kick hard enough to break anything.
Just enough.
A slow, deliberate pressure.
I gasped.
"Who stood beside him at council meetings?" she demanded.
She kicked harder.
"Who handled pack disputes while you were gone?"
I tried to move my legs but I couldn't.
"Who brought him meals when he worked past midnight?"
My body trembled hard.
"And now you think a ring makes you Luna?"
As the last kick landed, I distinctly heard something in my knee tear with a sickening snap.
Agony flooded through me, stealing my voice. I collapsed into myself, curling up and desperately clutching my badly bruised, swollen knee.
At that moment, the office door opened.
The assistant stepped inside carefully, pushing a cart.
On it sat an elegant white cake trimmed in silver frosting, the pack crest drawn with precision.
"It's from the East Valley Pack," she began softly. "They asked me to deliver it as a birthday blessing for Alpha Andrew—"
She stopped.
Her eyes widened when she saw me kneeling on the floor.
"What happened?" she asked quietly.
"Nothing," Amanda answered smoothly. "She tripped."
The assistant looked at me.
Her gaze lingered on my shaking hands.
On the red imprint forming across my skin.
On the way I struggled to breathe evenly.
Something like heartbreak flickered in her eyes.
But she lowered her head.
"I'll leave the cake here."
She placed it carefully on the desk and stepped back.
The door closed again.
Silence.
Amanda's gaze shifted slowly to the cake.
Pure white.
Untouched.
"So," she said softly, "you're not Serena."
I shook my head weakly.
Her lips curved.
"Then you won't mind."
Before I could react, she seized the back of my collar and hauled me upward.
My legs barely obeyed.
In one swift motion, she shoved me forward.
My face plunged straight into the center of the cake.
Cold cream smothered my mouth and nose.
Sweet icing clogged my breath.
For a terrifying second, I couldn't inhale.
Laughter exploded behind me.
Sharp.
Cruel.
Unrestrained.
Amanda released me.
I staggered back, barely upright.
Cream dripped from my lashes.
Sugar clung to my lips.
My blouse was streaked white.
"You can't even stand," one woman sneered.
Another gave me a hard shove between my shoulder blades.
I stumbled forward again, catching myself against the edge of the desk.
Amanda stepped close and caught my wrist.
Not violently.
Just firmly enough to make it clear I had no choice.
"Let's show everyone," she said quietly.
She twisted my arm behind my back.
Pain shot up to my shoulder.
I cried out faintly.
She dragged me toward the door.
My shoes scraped helplessly against the polished floor.
The office door swung open.
Outside, the corridor was crowded.
Assistants.
Guards.
Visiting envoys.
No one had dared enter.
But everyone had heard.
Conversations died the moment they saw me.
Amanda pulled me forward into the center of the hallway and released me with a shove.
I fell to my knees.
Gasps rippled outward.
"Oh my God…"
"Who is that?"
"She's covered in cake…"
"She looks filthy…"
A voice rose from the crowd.
"It's Amanda. I know her — she's Alpha Andrew's mate."
"Yes, that's her," someone else agreed quickly. "They're always together."
"They look perfect side by side."
"They're so well matched."
Amanda stood tall in the center of the corridor.
Calm.
Collected.
Victorious.
Her silence was almost regal — as if the crowd's approval were her rightful crown.
Then the attention shifted to me.
"Who's that woman?"
"Is she drunk?"
"She looks deranged."
"Oh my God… how disgusting."
The whispers spread, overlapping, growing bolder by the second.
One of Amanda's friends stepped forward and pointed directly at me.
"This is Serena," she declared loudly, making sure everyone could hear. "She came back to seduce Alpha Andrew."
A ripple ran through the hallway.
"So that's her?"
"She's the one?"
"Look at her."
"No shame at all."
The murmurs thickened into judgment.
And not a single voice rose in my defense.
Each word struck like a blade.
I tried to push myself upright.
My arms trembled violently.
"Serena!" someone called mockingly. "Anything to say?"
Laughter followed.
My lungs burned.
"I…" My voice barely formed. "I'm not…"
Scoffs.
"Still lying?"
I forced my head up.
Cream slid down my cheek.
"I'm not… Serena…"
Silence stretched thin.
I swallowed.
"I'm Andrew's… mother."
The corridor went still.
Like the air had been ripped out.
"What?"
Amanda's voice cracked.
Her triumphant posture faltered.
"You said… what?"
No one laughed now.
Her eyes searched my face.
"You're his… mother?"
- Writer
