ALPHA'S FATED MATE

Like a proper Modory

~~~Emily

I woke up with a loud gasp, ice-cold water crashing over my face and soaking through my clothes. My breath hitched as I coughed violently, struggling to inhale. Before I could even gather my bearings, a sharp pain shot through my scalp, someone was yanking me up by my hair.

“You little b***h—”

My stepmother’s venom-laced voice sliced through the air, seconds before her hand collided with my cheek. A burning sting bloomed across my face.

“What were you thinking, trying to escape? I’m going to kill you!” she shrieked, striking me again. And again. And again—until blood trickled from my lips and my sobs escaped in ragged gasps and I crumpled to the ground like a discarded doll.

Stepmother raised her hand again, wild with fury, but then a sickeningly sweet voice cut through the moment.

“As much as I enjoy watching you hit her,” Evelyn said with a smirk, “we can’t have her too broken. We need her to take my place and marry those wild dogs.”

Evelyn. My half-sister. My tormentor.

“Why are you all doing this?” I cried. “I’m about to leave your lives. Can’t you just let me be?”

Evelyn’s smile vanished as she slapped me hard. My scream echoed through the room.

She grabbed my hair and yanked me toward her, hissing, “You think you can run away after everything we’ve done for you? How are you going to repay us? You owe us. Be grateful we didn’t sell you to some slave ring. You’re being married into a prestigious family.”

“Raised me?” I spat through the pain. “You mean locking me in closets, feeding me scraps, leaving me behind every holiday? No one even knows I’m a Modory. So why should I be the one to take your place and seal this union?”

Evelyn’s eyes blazed. “Shut up.” She kicked me in the stomach. I doubled over, clenching my jaw against the pain.

“You will do as I say,” my stepmother said coldly. “You will marry into the Fuerte family. You will establish this union. And then you’ll finally be out of my house. This marriage was arranged twenty years ago—I won’t let you ruin it and put us all in danger. Do you know how long I’ve waited to kick you out? Now I finally can.”

She leaned in close, eyes narrowed. “Maybe if you’re lucky, the Fuerte will end your miserable life quickly—and you’ll get to join your pathetic mother.”

My blood ran cold. Every inch of my body ached, but my hatred burned hotter than ever. She doesn't have any right to talk about my mother like that but I bit back my tongue and said nothing.

Stepmother stepped back and Evelyn joined her, both looking down at me like I was filth.

“As of today, your name is Emily Modory,” she said. “If anyone asks where you’ve been, you tell them you lived abroad your whole life and returned to fulfill your duty. You will marry Dominic Fuerte. I’ll send someone to clean you up and make you look like a proper Modory. But don’t mistake this for acceptance. You are not family.”

They turned and left, slamming the door behind them.

I was alone, my body trembling from pain and fury. But I refused to cry anymore. I forced myself up and stumbled into the bathroom. I grabbed the small bottle of methylated spirit, soaked a cotton pad, and pressed it to the cut on my forehead.

“What’s the point? It’ll heal eventually,” I muttered with a sigh, dropping the bloodied cotton pad into the sink.

And, as if on command, the dull throb in my body faded. The cuts tightened and knit themselves together. The bruises lightened. My skin, moments ago torn and raw, began to smooth out again.

No ache. No blood. Just… silence.

I stared at myself in the cracked mirror, breathing slowly.

I’d always known I was different. Ever since I was brought into this house, I felt it, something inside me that wasn’t quite like the others. Not like them. Not like human.

I pressed a palm to my stomach, memories I’d buried clawing their way back up.