16 Chapter 16: Discarded
Pain pierced through my skull as consciousness returned. I squinted against the morning light streaming through the window, every ray feeling like a dagger to my brain. Where was I?
Slowly, the familiar surroundings of my bedroom came into focus. Not the Alphas‘ chambers where I’d collapsed last night, but my own small room in the servants‘ quarters. The events of my wedding night crashed back into my memory–the locked door, Lilith’s triumphant smile, my mates‘ cold eyes as they pleasured her in front of me.
A soft snore drew my attention to the chair beside my bed. My mother was slumped there, dark circles under her eyes, her graying hair escaping its bun. She must have been watching over me all night.
“Mom?” My voice came out as a croak, my throat raw.
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She startled awake, her tired face instantly lighting up. “Seraphina! Thank the Goddess you’re awake.” She rushed to pour me water from the pitcher on my nightstand.
I winced as I pushed myself up, every muscle aching in protest. “How did I get here?”
Mom helped me take small sips of water. “A guard found you outside the Alphas‘ chambers. Said you were unconscious on the floor.”
My hand trembled, making the water splash. “Outside the chambers?”
“Yes, dear. He carried you back here.”
The implication hit me like a blow. After I’d fainted from the pain of the mate bond, they hadn’t even kept me there. They’d thrown me out, discarding me like trash once their point was made.
“They threw me out,” I whispered, a fresh wave of humiliation washing over me. “They didn’t even bother to check if I was okay.”
My mother’s eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and rage, but her voice remained steady. “Are you surprised? Those boys have shown their true colors many times.”
I wasn’t surprised. But somehow, this final act of indifference cut deeper than any of their active cruelty. This wasn’t just hatred–it was complete dismissal of my existence.
“What happens now?” I asked, staring at my trembling hands.
Before my mother could answer, a sharp knock came at the door. We both tensed as a gruff voice called through the wood.
“Seraphina Moon. The Alphas request your presence at breakfast. Immediately.”
I let out a bitter laugh that turned into a sob. “They can’t be serious,”
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My mother placed a gentle hand on my arm. “Seraphina…
“No,” I hissed. “I won’t go. Not after what they did.”
The guard knocked again, harder this time. “I was told to bring you by force if necessary.”
My mother moved closer, her voice a urgent whisper. “You need to go.”
“Why should I?” I demanded. “To be humiliated again? To watch Lilith feed them from her fingers while I sit in the corner?”
“Because you need to survive,” she insisted, gripping my shoulders. “This is a battle, my darling One of many you’ll face. But you can’t win the war if you don’t survive the battles.”
I stared at her, seeing the fierce determination in her eyes that had kept her going after my father’s disgrace. She’d endured years of servitude and humiliation to stay close to me, to protect me as best she could.
“What war?” I asked quietly.
Her eyes gleamed. “The one where you reclaim your dignity. Where you show them that Silas Moon’s daughter cannot be broken.”
The mention of my father’s name stirred something in my chest. For years, I’d kept my head down, hoping to avoid notice. But where had that gotten me? Married to three men who despised me, forced to watch as they flaunted their concubine.
“I don’t know if I can face them,” I admitted.
“You’re stronger than you know,” Mom said, smoothing my tangled hair. “Each time they knock you down, you get back up. That’s your real power–one they’ll never understand.”
The guard banged on the door again. “One minute, or I’m coming in!”
My mother squeezed my hand. “Go. Eat their food. Listen to their words. But don’t give them the satisfaction of seeing you broken.”
I took a deep breath, steadying myself. “What if I already am broken?”
Then hide the cracks until you can mend them,” she replied with fierce conviction. “Your father always said, ‘A Moon reflects light even when shattered.“”
Tears stung my eyes at the mention of one of Dad’s old sayings. I missed him terribly, especially
now.
“Fine, I reluctantly agreed. “I’ll go.”
My mother helped me to the bathroom, where I scrubbed away the dried tears and sweat from the previous night. In the mirror, I barely recognized myself–pale face, hollow eyes, three angry
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red marks marring my shoulder where they’d bitten me during the mating ceremony.
The mating marks mocked me. A permanent reminder that I was bound to men who despised me, who had chosen to share another woman on our wedding night while forcing me to watch.
I dressed carefully in a simple blue dress, nothing that could be misinterpreted as trying to attract their attention. My mother braided my blonde hair, her fingers gentle against my scalp.
“Remember,” she murmured as she worked, “they can control your circumstances, but not your spirit.”
“I’m afraid, Mom,” I confessed. “Not just of them, but of myself. Of what I might become if I have
to live like this.”
She finished the braid and turned me to face her. “Then don’t live like this. Find a way to change it. Not today, not tomorrow maybe, but someday”
Her words planted a tiny seed of hope in my chest. Not hope for love or acceptance from the triplets–that fantasy had died last night–but hope that somehow, someday, I might reclaim control of my life.
The guard pounded on the door again. “Time’s up!”
I hugged my mother tightly, drawing strength from her embrace. “Thank you for staying with
me.”
“Always,” she whispered against my hair. “You are so loved, Seraphina. Never forget that.”
When I pulled away, I straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin. If I had to face my tormentors, I would do it with what dignity I could muster.
My mother nodded approvingly. “That’s my girl.”
At the door, the guard assessed me with barely concealed impatience. I recognized him as one of Ronan’s trusted men. Had he been the one to find me unconscious? To carry my limp body away from the Alphas‘ door like an unwanted package?
“Follow me, he instructed gruffly.
With each step through the hallways of the pack house, my anxiety grew. What new humiliation awaited me? Would Lilith be at breakfast, glowing with satisfaction from her night with my husbands? Would the triplets act as if nothing had happened, or would they find new ways to remind me of my worthlessness?
My legs felt heavier the closer we got to the dining room. I could hear voices inside–male voices, the triplets discussing something in serious tones. No feminine laughter, no Lilith. Small mercies, I supposed.
The guard stopped at the door. “They’re waiting.”
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I stood frozen, heart hammering against my ribs. Part of me wanted to run, to flee the pack lands entirely rather than face them. But where would I go? The mate bond would make separation physically painful, eventually fatal. I was trapped, just as they intended.
My mother’s words echoed in my mind: This is a battle. Survive it.
I smoothed down my dress, checked that my braid was neat. Small defenses against the storm I
was about to enter.
I took a deep breath and stepped toward the door. My mother gave me one last reassuring look before opening it for me.
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