Chapter 5 The beginning
1046 Words
Elsa Pov~
“Have her pack her things,” Alpha Ryan ordered. “She’ll be leaving with Lady Katerina. I have business to attend to in Silvercrest and I must leave immediately.”
His gaze brushed mine one last time. “Be ready by noon.” And then he walked away.
The weight of all their eyes pressed on me while I stood frozen until Flora’s hiss snapped the spell.
“Don’t just stand there. Go.”
Mabel’s laugh followed, high and sharp. “Oh, don’t worry, she’ll go. I’ll make sure of it.”
Before I could move, she grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the stairs. Molly and Zoey trailed behind.
The grand doors to the living closed behind us, cutting off the murmurs of the hall and my heart beat so loud it hurt.
In my room, Mabel shoved me inside hard enough that I stumbled. “So,” she said, circling me, “what did you do to him?”
I blinked in confusion.
“What spell did you use, Elsa?” Molly sneered. “Did you cry on him? Bat your filthy little eyes?”
Mabel’s hand cracked across my cheek.
“No man, not even a cold Alpha like him, picks a mute bastard over us unless she does something.”
Zoey protested. “Mabel, stop.”
Mabel ignored her. “You embarrassed this family. Do you have any idea what people will say? That he pitied you? That Father couldn’t keep his whores in order?”
Her words hit harder than the slap and I felt them sink under my skin.
Molly upended my drawer, tossing my belongings on the floor. “Go on then,” she said mockingly. “Pack. The Alpha’s waiting for his charity case.”
Zoey finally stepped forward, shoving Molly’s arm away. “That’s enough. Both of you.”
Mabel shot her a glare. “Stay out of this, Zoey.”
“No,” Zoey snapped. “You’ve done enough already. She’s leaving, isn’t that what you wanted?”
Mabel’s eyes darkened, but she turned toward the mirror and began fixing her hair as if she was bored. “Fine. Pack her up, savior.”
She snapped her fingers at Molly and both of them left.
Zoey knelt beside me, her fingers brushing the bruise forming on my cheek. “You shouldn’t have to stay here,” she whispered.
My chest tightened.
“I don’t know why he chose you,” she admitted softly, “but maybe it’s a good thing and maybe you’ll be safe there.”
She helped me fold my clothes into a single satchel.
When she handed it to me, her eyes shimmered with tears. “Promise you’ll write, even if no one else reads it.”
I smiled weakly and signed, thank you.
Her lips trembled. “You’re the only one who ever said that to me.”
A knock came before I could answer. It was Clara again, “Lady Katerina is ready. They’re waiting by the gate.”
Zoey squeezed my hand once before stepping back. “Go.”
I hesitated at the doorway, then turned and hugged her.
“Be careful,” she whispered.
Then I left.
Outside, the Silver Pack’s cars waited,
Katerina was already seated in the lead car. Her smile when she saw me didn’t reach her eyes.
“Well,” she said as I climbed in, “the little mute bride. I hope you understand what you’ve done.”
I looked down, hands knotted in my lap.
“You’ve tied yourself to a man who doesn’t make mistakes,” she continued, “Ryan Carson doesn’t choose out of pity. He chooses for a reason. I wonder what his reason is for you.”
The car started and the estate gates opened.
“I’ll tell you something, dear,” Katerina went on. “The Silver Pack doesn’t welcome weakness. If you can’t speak, you’d better learn to listen. If you can’t fight, you’d better learn to endure. The world will eat you alive otherwise.”
Her words were cruel, but not a lie, I braced myself for the life ahead as I watched the mansion shrink behind us.
Zoey stood at one of the balconies, her hand raised slightly, the others were nowhere in sight.
As the car sped down the hill, I pressed my fingers against the window and whispered the goodbye I couldn’t voice.
Hours passed in silence and Katerina busied herself with her tablet, occasionally glancing at me like I was a stray animal. She looked wary, curious and slightly disgusted.
When we stopped briefly at the Silvercrest border station, she turned to me again.
“You should be grateful, you know,” she said. “Whatever he wants from you, it’s better than rotting in that house. Ryan could have chosen anyone, but he picked you. Don’t make him regret it.”
Her tone softened. “And for your sake, try not to look like you’re about to faint when he returns. The Alphas smell fear.”
She looked away, done with the conversation.
I sat quietly, tracing the seams of my bag with my thumb, trying to steady the ache in my chest.
Ryan Carson, the man who had spoken for me when I couldn’t speak, who had looked at me like he knew. I didn’t know if I was being saved or sold.
When the gates of Silvercrest came into view, night had already fallen, and the scent of pine filled the air.
“Welcome home, little bride.” Katrina said.
The word home felt wrong coming from her tongue.
The Silver Pack’s territory was nothing like Wolfsburg. It was cleaner, colder, carved with precision and power.
And somewhere inside its walls was the man who had turned my world upside down without even touching me.
My reflection in the car window looked small.
I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, or what kind of game Ryan was playing but I knew one thing: I was no longer the same girl they’d locked in that room.
I’d been chosen, for better or worse. I was given a better chance at life and I was going to use it.
This is just the beginning of the end.
- Writer
