NovelEnglish39 Chapter 39
39 Chapter 39
Valerie's POV 1
The taste of blood still lingered in my mouth as | stumbled up the front steps of our shabby apartment complex,
my designer dress torn and stained with dirt and my own blood. Every step sent fresh waves of pain shooting
through my ribs where that freak Seraphina had
throwninto the trophy case like | was nothing more than a ragdoll.
My hands shook as | fumbled with my keys, the metal slipping between my fingers that were slick with blood
from the glass cuts. The hallway light flickered overhead, casting sickly yellow shadows that made everything
look even more pathetic than usual.
“Fucking bitch,” | muttered under my breath, finally managing to unlock the door. “Fucking psycho omega freak.”
But the moment | stepped inside, | knew something was wrong. The apartment was trashed-not just Gabriel's
usual slovenly mess, but actually destroyed. Couch cushions were slashed open, stuffing scattered across the
floor like snow. Our cheap particleboard
entertainment center had been kicked in, the television screen spider-webbed with cracks.
“What the hell-"
“Valerie!” My mother’s voice cracked like a whip from the kitchen doorway. Elizabeth emerged from the shadows,
and for the first tin my life, she looked genuinely terrified. Her perfect blonde hair was disheveled, mascara
streaked down her cheeks in dark rivulets, and
her hands were shaking as she clutched a dish towel like a lifeline.
“Mother?” | stared at the destruction around us, my brain struggling to process what | was seeing. “What
happened here? Where’s-"
“Look at your face!” Elizabeth shrieked suddenly, her eyes focusing on the bloody scratches that decorated my
cheek like war paint. “My
God, what did that little bitch do to you?”
I rushed to the bathroom mirror, and what | saw there made my blood turn to ice. Four parallel gashes ran from
my temple to my jaw,
deep enough to scar, deep enough to ruin the perfect face I'd spent years perfecting. Blood had dried in ugly
brown streaks, and I could
see that sof the cuts were still oozing.
“That psychotic whore!” | screamed, spinning around to face my mother. “Look what she did to me! LOOK AT MY
FACE!”
“Harold chere. With friends. Big friends. They were not happy about your little failure.”
The bottom dropped out of my stomach. “Harold was here?”
“He wanted his money back,” Elizabeth said bitterly, gesturing at the destruction around us. “Fifty thousand
dollars for a wife, he said.
Since you couldn't deliver the merchandise, he felt entitled to compensation.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him the truth-that you're a worthless disappointment who can’t even handle one pathetic omega!”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtElizabeth's voice rose to a shrick that made the broken windows rattle. “He took everything he could carry. Your
father’s golf clubs, my jewelry, even the good china we got for our wedding” 1
“Where's Dad?” | asked, though | already dreaded the answer.
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39 Chapter 39
“Hospital.” Elizabeth's face crumpled briefly before the hardness returned. “The stress triggered another
episode. They don’t know if he'll
make it through the night.”
The news should have devastated me, should have broughtto my knees with grief and guilt. Instead, all I felt
was a cold calculation
spreading through my chest like ice water.
“How much do we owe for the medical bills now?” | asked quietly.
“Sixty-seven thousand and climbing,” Elizabeth said, her voice hollow. “The insurance barely covers anything,
and they're threatening to
transfer him to the county hospital if we can’t make a payment by Monday.”
She turned to facefully, and | saw something in her eyes that I'd never seen before-desperation so pure it
was almost frightening.
“We need money, Valerie. Real money. Not the fantasy bullshit you've been feedingabout marrying into the
Nightshadow family.” Her
gaze moved to my ears, my wrists, my neck. “That necklace you're wearing-the one Gabriel gave you for our
anniversary. How much did
it cost?”
My hand flew instinctively to the delicate gold chain at my throat, the one with the small diamond pendant that
was probably the most
expensive thing | owned.
“Mother, no. This is-"
“How much, Valerie?”
“Three thousand,” | admitted reluctantly. “But Gabriel saved for months to buy it for me. It's special.”
Elizabeth's laugh was like breaking glass. “Special? Your father is dying, we're about to lose everything, and
you're worried about a
fucking necklace being special?”
“It's not just the necklace!” | exploded, my carefully controlled facade finally cracking completely. “You want me
to sell my earrings too,
don’t you? And my bracelet? And my rings? Everything Gabriel has given me!”
“Gabriel?” Elizabeth spat, moving closer until | could smell the desperation rolling off her like sour sweat. “He's a
loser, Valerie! A pathetic
failure who can’t even get his own brother to acknowledge his existence!”
“At least he chose me!” | screamed back, tears streaming down my cheeks and stinging in the open scratches.
“At least someone wanted
The slap cso fast | didn’t see it coming. Elizabeth’s palm connected with my injured cheek with enough
force to makesee stars,
and | felt one of the deeper cuts split open again, sending fresh blood trickling down my jaw.
“You selfish little bitch, Elizabeth hissed, her voice dropping to something cold and dangerous. “I sacrificed
everything for you. | scrimp and save so you could have nice clothes and a good education. And this is how you
repay me? By clinging to cheap jewelry while your
father dies?”
“Everything you've done FOR yourself!” | screamed, blood flying from my split lip. “You want to know what |
really think? | think Dad is better off dying than living with a greedy bitch like you for another day!”
The slap charder this time, but | was ready for it. | caught Elizabeth's wrist and twisted, using every ounce
of strength | had to spin
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39 Chapter 39
her around and slam her against the wall.
“Don’t you EVER hitagain!” | snarled in her ear. “I sure as hell am not selling my jewelry to pay for some
dying old bastard!”
“You're insane!” Elizabeth gasped, finally breaking free from my grip and spinning to face me. Her hair was
disheveled, her makeup smeared, and there was actual fear in her eyes for the first t| could remember.
“Maybe | am,” | said, wiping more blood from my mouth. “But at least I'm not stupid enough to throw good
money after bad. Dad is dying,
Mother, DYING. And no amount of medical bills is going to change that.”
“Fine,” Elizabeth said finally, her voice shaking with fury. “Keep your precious jewelry.”
Elizabeth straightened her torn blouse with as much dignity as she could muster and headed for the door. The
door slammed behind her
with enough force to rattle the broken windows.
| wiped the blood from my face one more tand headed for the bedroom. | had packing to do.
| pushed open the bedroom door and immediately gagged.
Gabriel was sprawled on our unmade bed, completely naked except for a pair of stained boxers bunched around
his ankles. His laptop
was balanced on his soft stomach, the screen displaying shardcore pornography that made my stomach
turn. His right hand was
moving rhythmically, and the disgusting sounds of his self-gratification filled the small room like obscene music.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” | exploded, my voice cutting through his concentration like a knife.
Gabriel jumped, his laptop nearly sliding off the bed as he scrambled to cover himself. “Val! Jesus, you scared the
shit out of me! I didn’t
hear you cin!”
“Of course you didn’t,” | said, my voice dripping with disgust as | surveyed the pathetic scene before me.
“Baby, | can explain-" Gabriel started, but | held up a hand to stop him.
“Don’t.” | moved to the closet and pulled out my largest suitcase, throwing it onto the bed beside him. “Just
don’t. I'm done.”
Gabriel finally seemed to notice my injuries, his eyes widening as he took in the scratches on my face and the
torn dress. “Holy shit, Val,
what happened to you? Are you okay?”
“No, Gabriel, I'm not okay,” | said, yanking clothes from the closet and throwing them into the suitcase. “Our
apartment got trashed by
loan sharks, my father is dying in the hospital, my mother just disowned me.” 1
| continued packing, throwing in my jewelry box, my expensive perfumes, anything that could be converted to
cash when | needed it.
Gabriel watched from the bed, still half-naked and confused.
“Where are you going?”
“Away,” | said simply. “Far away from this shitshow”
“Wait!” Gabriel scrambled off the bed, his boxers still around his ankles. “You can’t just leavehere! What am
| supposed to tell people? What am | supposed to tell Damien’?”
“Up to you.” | opened the front door, letting in the cool night air that felt like freedom against my bloodied face.
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39 Chapter 39
An hour later, | was driving Gabriel's beat-up Honda through the empty streets of Silver Moon Harbor, my
suitcase in the backseat and
everything | owned in the world reduced to whatever | could carry.
But as | drove, something else occupied my thoughts. Something that should have terrifiedbut instead filled
curiosity.
Seraphina Knight was not what she appeared to be.
I'd grown up around wolves my entire life, had seen alphas and betas and omegas in every possible situation. I'd
never-never-seen an
omega display the kind of supernatural strength and primal fury that Seraphina had shown tonight.
Omegas were weak. Omegas were submissive. They weren't supposed to be able to lift full-grown women off the
ground with one hand.
They weren't supposed to have reflexes faster than most alphas.
“What are you really, Seraphina Knight?” | murmured to my reflection in the rearview mirror.
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