“No!” I scream, knowing my father won’t submit to him.
Greyson’s grip on me tightens, an overwhelming panic propels me to twist and sink my teeth into his arm. Startled by my unexpected retaliation, he momentarily loosens his hold, granting me the opportunity to break free.
Yet Vance’s grip is still strong until I punch him in the nuts, cringing with him, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Their wolves circle each other, predators about to fight to the death. The snarls that leave them as they rush at each other makes me panic. In a frenzy, I sprint toward the center of the ring, kicking up plumes of dust in my wake. Despite the hazeobscuring my vision, I strain to see through it until it eventually settles, revealing a chilling sight.
I am met with a new horror, two wolves on a collision course right where I stand. I suck in a breath, clenching my eyes shut, when I hear their snarls cut off. Opening my eyes to see my father’s wolf skidding to a stop while Zarek is poised to lunge straight at my face, all teeth and claws. I see the recognition on his face just as I brace, flinching at the contact. His body collides with mine.
A bone-chilling scream escapes my lips as Zarek’s claws tear through the flesh on my arms, leaving a searing trail of agony along my arms. As the world spins and shifts around me, I brace for the impact of the unforgiving ground beneath me. Yet to my astonishment, instead of landing on the hard ground, I find myself cushioned by Zarek’s massive body, softening the blow and sparing me from further harm.
A furious growl tears out of my father, and I gasp to see him still coming after Zayn. Zarek, though, is quick, and I slip off him, landing on my stomach on the ground. I cover my head as they clash above me. Yet no harm comes to me with Zarek above me, almost like he is aware of where I am underneath him and is careful enough not to move, just taking the brunt of my father’s attack. Blood sprays all over me and I can tell it’s a mix of Zayn’s wolf and my father’s.
“No! Stop it!” I yell, loudly before yelling even louder, my throat becoming raw. I scream myself hoarse trying to make them stop.
But it’s to no avail; they keep fighting, growling, and snapping viciously at each other, tearing at one another’s fur and skin and I am unable to move without being trodden on or caught in the middle. I can only cover my ears.
Finally, Zarek throws my father’s wolf down with a growl. I can feel his roar of dominance, his aura crushing as it rings out,every ounce of it in my bones as he bears his fangs and growls deep in his chest, stepping over me as he stalks my father.
My father’s wolf whimpers softly in submission, a whimper I’ve never heard from his powerful wolf before. Zarek doesn’t ease up though, instead he sinks his teeth into my father’s shoulder, not enough to kill him just enough for him to know who the Alpha is here.
I scramble backward, staring in horror as blood pools around them both, Zarek shakes out his fur and my father is forced to shift back to heal. A loud screech from the stadium speakers has everyone clutching their ears. The sound is horrendous as someone sounds an alarm through them. We all peer up to the speakers when the huge screen turns on. Confusion washes over everyone.
“Someone shut that off,” I barely make out before someone screams out. Then the blaring stops and so does my heart in my chest when I see an image of myself. At first, it takes a second for my eyes to focus on what I’m seeing. The image flickers to a more vulgar one. Murmurs break out and I feel the blood drain from my body at the next one, my breasts on display, my skirt hoisted up and my legs wide open.
My eyes dart to my father as he sits up and turns to see what everyone is looking at. Zarek shifts back, giving control to Zayn, who screams at someone to shut it off. Vance and Greyson are already running for the control room – but it’s too late. Everyone can see it, and there is no doubt who it is, my face is clear along with the rest of me.
My father sputters and his eyes dart to me, the shame and confusion I feel makes me throw up. My stomach upturns as I try to figure out where these photos came from. Zayn rushes toward me, grabbing my hair as I throw up on the dirt. The screen cuts out just as I look up to see my father walking out of the stadium. “Dad!” I gasp, trying to get to my feet, but Zayn grabs me.
“Cleo, leave it,” Zayn growls, and I shrug him off, chasing after my father. Before I am even near him, he spins around to face me and I almost run right into him.
The moment he does, his hand connects with my face, and the sting burns right through every inch of me. I blink back tears as my head whips to the side, the next second all hell breaks loose as Zayn attacks my father. His fists rain down on my father with a fury that makes his wolf look calm. My father can only try to block him while I stare stunned, wondering how everything got so out of hand when my eyes fall on Lydia, Vance dragging her from the control room.
Greyson rushes over, grabbing Zayn and ripping him off my father. My father sits up, choking on his blood, before he heals swiftly. Zayn lands on top of Greyson as he is ripped away. My mind is whirling, spinning uncontrollably just like my life is at this moment. The look of disgust on my father’s face speaks louder than his next words. “This! Him! You’d pick him over your pack!” he shakes his head, getting to his feet. I move to stop him, to try to explain what even I don’t understand.
“Cleo!” Zayn calls and I stop, glancing at him to see him shake Greyson off and stand, my father also stops watching me. “Choose, Cleo! Choose. Tell him you choose your pack over him,” my father orders. I am numb, cold as I glance between them.
“I choose neither,” I tell him, stalking toward the exit when my father speaks. “Then you leave me no choice. As Alpha of Shadowcrest pack I stand you down as future Alpha,” my father states.
Clenching my teeth, I blink back tears and turn to face him. If he’s going to banish me, he can do it to my face. My father’s lips tremble but by the hard set of his jaw, I know he’s made up his mind. “I banish you from my pack and declare you a rogue,” he finishes.
“Then so be it.” I gasp as pain slices through me. I almost drop to my knees in front of him, defiance and betrayal burn hotter than the agony I feel as my tether to the pack breaks. I glare at him before leaving the stadium.
Chapter 15
• Cleo •
The cool afternoon air hits my face like a slap as I step out of the stadium, my chest heaving with sobs that threaten to break free at any moment. My whole world has just been turned upside down—I am officially alone, abandoned by the man I called father for nineteen years. Somehow, my feet carry me away from the mess behind me, away from the whispers and glares of everyone who saw those horrific images.
I stumble around outside, the ground coming fast toward me. I lean against the brick wall for support before my legs give out completely, dropping me onto the cold pavement. Humiliation, anger, grief—they all rush through me in an uncontrollable torrent. Hot tears stream down my cheeks, creating streaks in the dirt and blood that coats my face—a result of Zayn and my father’s fight above me.
“Cleo!” Zayn’s desperate voice cuts through the thickening fog in my mind. I can’t bring myself to look at him, not now. His footsteps come closer, crunching on the gravel, relentless. “Cleo…”
“Go away!” I choke out, the words like shards of glass in my throat. My eyes are swollen, my vision blurred by the onslaught of tears. I can barely make out his form as it approaches, a shadowed silhouette against the waning light.
“Look at me,” he demands, there is a tremble in his voice that betrays his own turmoil.
“Why?” I spit out bitterly, pressing my back against the bricks as if I can disappear into them. “So you can gloat? So you can see the mess you’ve made?”
