“Father—”

A loud, resounding smack echoed and the girl crumbled to the floor. My eyes rounded as I turned to look at her. Had he just-? Did he just-? I couldn’t believe it. My wolf howled inside, determined to protect the girl we didn’t even know yet. Maximus only ever came out to protect me. I didn’t question it as I lunged toward her, shielding her with my body.

My hand crunched against the ground as a boot stepped on it. I gritted my teeth right before pain erupted on the left side of my abdomen. I wheezed as the air was knocked out of me. I didn’t want to crush her but I also didn’t want her to get one of the kicks meant for me. I dropped to the ground next to her, shielding her behind me. My forehead smashed against the stones that littered the ground as my abdomen was struck with another kick.

I hadn’t had time to take in a breath and my lungs tightened with the need for oxygen. I curled into a ball and covered my head with my arms. Kick after kick, blow after blow landed on me. I heard a sharp intake of breath from Adealine as Alpha kicked me over and over again. Eventually, he stopped and I listened tentatively until his footsteps disappeared. For a minute, I don’t move.

The sound of rocks being dragged along the ground alerted me to her movements. I swallowed the lump in my throat and struggled to get my breathing under control as rocks crunched beneath her feet.

“Leave him alone,” the kitchen maid whispers. “If the Alpha finds out you’re talking to anyone that hasn’t been approved you’ll be in trouble.”

“I’m in trouble regardless, Agatha,” she whispered back. “He tried to protect me.”

To that, the maid kept quiet. There was silence as she faced me. I watched as she lowered herself to her knees and the kitchen maid gasped. Soft fingers danced up my temple and my eyes fluttered shut as she pushed away a few of my curls from my face. It felt good. I shivered under her gentle touch. I stayed still, afraid that if I moved, she would stop. If that was her father, I knew exactly who she was. She was Adealine, the oldest daughter of the Alpha of Clear Mountain Pack.

Devin hadn’t been lying when he said she was beautiful. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard of her beauty. I’d spoken to the servants in the packhouse. They whispered of her beauty even at a young age. The boys in the field and the boys who picked up the meat from me to deliver to the packhouse had spoken of her too. As I did with Devin, I didn’t pay attention to it. I wasn’t interested in dating. My focus had been solely on my sister and working. At least, it had been.

I’d been beaten down by the Alpha of Clear Mountain. I shouldn’t feel excited about this but I did. I had lived and the feeling I felt in my chest was wrong, all wrong. I had survived. The cockiness in me was starting to shine through. His kicks hadn’t even been that hard. Pride washed over me. Now that I think about it, his kicks had felt… weak. I chucked but it was followed by a groan as my ribs protested. Adealine’s gaze trailed down my face to my ribs where I clutched.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.

“Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything,” I grunted. She was quiet for a second before her eyes stared into my soul.

“I wouldn’t say that, I’m the reason he’s in a foul mood. He has a short fuse and has been itching to take it out on someone. The next person to cross his path was bound to be his next target. I’m sorry that it was you,” she said quietly. She sounded older than her twelve years. She sounded like someone wise beyond her years, like someone who had lived through horrors, just as I had.

“I’m sorry he struck you,” I whispered. She didn’t say anything but her lips curled as she smiled sadly. The words were coming up and I couldn’t stop them. “You can’t take on the responsibility for your father’s actions. You can’t blame yourself for the actions of an adult,” I groaned as I uncurled myself and lay on my back. I raised my chin and forgot how to breathe.

“I’ll do what I damn well choose… whatever your name is,” she said haughtily. There was a spark in her eyes, her words were firmer than they had been. “Besides, if not me, who would he blame?” She asked.

“Definitely not his child,” I said.

Her hair framed her face and hung from her as the stars did from the night sky. She avoided my gaze, looking away from me. I took the opportunity to reach up and wrap one of the strands around my finger. I could hear her swallow and could feel her eyes on me but that didn’t hinder me. I did what I wanted and I took my time. I twirled her hair around my finger, my gaze locked on hers.

I could hear in the back of my mind Mitch telling me not to touch her, to get as far away from her as possible, and not to talk to her ever again. I could hear him telling me to stay away from the packhouse from today onward and I couldn’t help but smirk. I didn’t like being told what I can and cannot do.

I wanted to grab my knife from my hip and take the strand. Now that I was thinking about it, I wondered why I hadn’t already. With my free hand, I reached down and grabbed my knife. Her eyes tracked my movements but by the time she realized what I was doing, it was too late. In one fluid movement, I brought the blade across her soft hair.