Before I could react, his hand shot out and gripped my arm, pulling me closer. “You came back,” he murmured, his breath hot and sour against my cheek. “I knew you wouldn’t leave me. My angel…”
“No, Alpha—” I tried to pull away, but his strength was overwhelming. He wrapped his arms around me, crushing me against his chest, his lips brushing against my temple. My heart thundered in my chest, panic surging through me. “Please, you’ve got the wrong person. I’m not—”
But he wasn’t listening. He pressed me against the edge of the table, his lips finding mine in a desperate, drunken kiss. His hands roamed my back, pulling me closer, his body heavy and suffocating. I squirmed, trying to free myself, my mind racing with fear.
“Alpha Lucas, stop!” I pleaded, my voice muffled against his lips. “I’m not Gloria!”
Those words seemed to snap him out of his drunken stupor. His eyes sharpened, and his expression twisted into something cruel. He shoved me away so hard that I stumbled back, hitting the stone floor. I barely had a second to catch my breath before his hand cracked across my face, the force of the slap ringing in my ears.
“You disgusting bitch!” he roared, his face twisted with hatred. “How dare you trick me? How dare you show your face to me, looking like her? Get out of here! Now!”
I scrambled to my feet, my cheek burning, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. I ran, my heart pounding in my chest, my breath ragged. I sank to the ground, my body shaking with silent sobs. The tears came then, hot and fast, freezing on my cheeks as they fell.
Why was I still here? Why hadn’t the rogues just killed me that night? I should’ve been the one to die. I should’ve…
But I was still alive, clinging to this cruel existence like a threadbare rope. And for what? For what?
Nadia'S POV
I stumbled back to my shabby room, a dark, damp space in the far corner of the servants' quarters that smelled of mold and neglect. The floor creaked beneath my feet as I dragged myself to the thin, ragged mattress that served as my bed. The stone walls were cold to the touch, sucking the warmth from my bones like a leech. I curled up on the worn fabric, hugging my knees to my chest, and the tears I had held back in the hall came rushing out, hot and uncontrollable.