Chapter 2 The First c***k
803 Words
I returned to the Alpha's manor, but the moment I pushed the door open, two mud-caked balls came hurtling toward my face.
The filthy projectiles exploded against my forehead. Thick, stinking sludge instantly ruined my meticulously styled hair and expensive gown, leaving me standing there in a state of utter disarray.
"Bullseye! Bullseye! We hit the wicked woman!"
A chorus of childish cheering erupted from the foyer. It was Asher and Elara—Ethan's two pups with Jessica.
My jaw tightened, but I remained expressionless as I headed straight for the bathroom.
These two children were the "gifts" Ethan had brought back to the manor shortly after our bonding ceremony.
At the time, Jessica was frail from childbirth, so Ethan whisked her away to the southern coast to recover and threw his two squalling newborns at me—his brand-new Luna.
I just told myself that pups were innocent.
Even knowing they weren't mine, I fed them every spoonful of mush and watched over them as they grew taller day by day.
I drew upon the deep prestige of my own family, the Goldmane Clan, to secure the most renowned harp tutors and combat instructors in the werewolf world. I personally supervised every single lesson, pouring my heart and soul into their upbringing.
Yet, the children I raised with my own hands grew up viewing me as their mortal enemy.
I could never forget the Spring Hunt Festival, when I tasted powdered wolfbane in the "special drink" the children had prepared for me.
Had Lyra not sensed the danger in time, that poison would have left me agonizingly weak for days.
Asher and Elara stood before me now, their eyes brimming with malice.
"Clara, you should just take the hint and get out. You don't belong in this house."
That day had flipped a switch. The children's behavior grew increasingly erratic, constantly inventing new ways to drive away the "evil woman" who stood in the way of their parents' happiness.
In the past, I was always the calm, patient one—a robotic saint who tirelessly cleaned up their messes. Whatever they wanted, I provided. I had to survive these seven years; I couldn't afford a single slip-up.
But things were different now.
As I stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, my foot hit a patch of grease intentionally smeared on the floor. I slipped, and my arm slammed violently against the metal edge of the mirrored cabinet, tearing open a gruesome gash.
The searing pain made me gasp as my vision went dark. Blood blossomed across my white silk robe, dripping steadily onto the floor.
The pups, who had been hiding in the corner waiting for the "show," were startled by the sight of the blood. They fled without a word.
I silently pulled the herbs from the first-aid kit to bind my wound. When I looked up, their two calculating young faces had reappeared.
"We don't want to go to our lessons tonight," Asher declared, tilting his chin high.
He exchanged a smirk with his sister, his usual arrogance returning.
"We might go... but only if you get down on your knees..."
"Fine."
To their absolute shock, I didn't coax them. I didn't plead or try to bribe them into cooperation. I simply nodded with total indifference.
"If you don't want to go, then don't. I'll message the tutors right now. The harp and combat lessons are canceled indefinitely."
Asher and Elara froze, their expressions turning to pure disbelief.
Canceled?
Even at their age, they knew how hard those tutors were to book. Being their students was the ultimate status symbol among the high-born pups of the pack.
And all of it relied on the connections of the Goldmane Clan.
Without me, those masters wouldn't even deign to look at this place.
Elara's face scrunched up, and unable to vent her frustration, she let out a piercing, jagged wail.
The scream was perfectly timed. Alpha Ethan had just walked through the door to pick them up for a family banquet.
His brow furrowed into a deep scowl, and a flash of inexplicable rage crossed his face as he strode over, towering over me.
"Clara, I knew your old virtue was just an act!"
"Is this because I bought Jessica a diamond necklace for the anniversary?" His voice was cold, sounding like a judge passing sentence. "Do you have any idea how much she's suffered because of you? And yet here you are, taking your petty spite out on two innocent children!"
I looked up slowly, defying him for the very first time.
"You're absolutely right.
"From now on, whatever happens to you or your loved ones would have nothing to do with me."
"What did you just say?"
Ethan lunged forward, his grip tightening painfully around my wrist.
- Writer
