Chapter 1
The werewolf pack found their real and long-lost daughter, Chloe Foster.
She was covered in mud, but she still couldn't let go of Gavin Reed, her violent ex-husband from the slums, a rogue werewolf.
No matter how much Leonard Sterling, the man she was engaged to, pampered her, she always gave him the cold shoulder.
"I can't forget Gavin. He has a bad temper. Without me, he would binge-drink and get into fights every day," she said.
Leonard ground out his cigar.
"The girl your parents adopted has always been pampered. She graduated from a prestigious university.
"I'll break her arms and legs and dump her in the slums to be your ex-husband's punching bag.
"Let her take all the beatings for you for the rest of her life. In this way, can you finally stay in Uptown?" he said.
Chloe looked up timidly and thanked him with a blush.
Everyone praised Leonard for his devotion.
And I was that poor adopted daughter who was about to be the punching bag in the slums.
*****
The werewolf guards rushed over and held my shoulders.
My adoptive father, Richard Foster, was laughing. His eyes glowed yellow in the light.
He ran to the corner and picked up a silver-alloy rod.
He handed the rod to Leonard.
I knew Leonard was the future Alpha of the Silvermoon Pack.
"Prince Leonard, use this solid one," Richard said.
My adoptive mother, Mary Foster, stood nearby and yelled at me, "Selena, you ungrateful beast. We took care of you for twenty years and gave you food and clothes. Now we're asking you to have it rough in the slums for Chloe.
"Why the hell not? Chloe is our real daughter. She spent twenty years suffering out there, and you stole the twenty years of the good life from her. So, you deserve every bit of it."
Leonard took the rod. "Richard, the daughter you raised has quite the attitude."
Richard bowed to him. "Prince Leonard, please don't be angry. Do whatever you want. If she dies, I'll take responsibility."
Leonard walked toward me. The scent from his rut overwhelmed my scent gland. "You bring this on yourself. Chloe is so kind that she even begs me to let you go. But you still make her unhappy."
He raised the rod, aiming it at my left knee.
As the rod was about to come down, I wrenched myself free from the guards.
I dived for the table, snatched up the silver letter opener, and held the blade against my own throat. I roared with all my strength, "Don't move.
"Leonard, you want Chloe to be satisfied, right? But if you break my arms and legs and I die on the way, how's a corpse supposed to be a punching bag for her ex-husband in the slums?"
I stared at him and noticed that his eyes shrank.
"Why not let me go over there unharmed? Only if I'm alive can I suffer for Chloe for the rest of my life," I said.
Leonard stopped. Chloe walked over and held his arm. Her scent smelled sweet but felt insincere.
"Honey, let her go. She didn't do it on purpose," she said. She was all words of comfort, but her face was pure gloating.
Leonard chucked the rod away. "Tie her up and throw her in the car. Drive her over there."
The guards pulled out a thick rope soaked in wolfsbane and tied my wrists behind my back.
The wolfsbane was burning my skin.
I was shoved into a black off-road vehicle.
As the door slammed shut, I saw the smiles of my adoptive parents and Chloe.
The car started and pulled away from the villa where I had lived for twenty years.
The night view of Uptown slid past the window.
I checked how tight the rope around my wrists was.
I bent down and fished out a thin silver sheet I had hidden in the shoe sole.
The car raced down the highway.
I sawed at the rope around my wrists bit by bit through the silver sheet.
The rope was thick, but the silver sheet was thin.
Finally, the car rolled to a stop in front of a shabby courtyard.
The door was yanked open, and the guards threw me out.
I stumbled and fell into the mud.
They returned to the off-road vehicle and sped off into the night.
The man with tattooed arms and a cigarette in his mouth was Gavin Reed.
His wolf form was falling apart, and his scent smelled rancid.
He spat on the ground. "What are you looking at? New here? That bitch finally sent over a stand-in punching bag."