Ashley didn't understand what was happening, but everything about her family seemed to have changed overnight, right after the coming-of-age ceremony.
Was it because she had failed to awaken her wolf? Maybe, but it wasn't just her parents who seemed different. Even Nathan's attention appeared to linger on that girl more than on her.
Now, her father had called for a family meeting. Ashley felt like a cornered cat, bracing herself for judgment as she fidgeted nervously at the side of the living room. But what unsettled her most was the sight of that same frail woman from last night, now seated between her mother and father, treated as though she were their own daughter.
As that realization sank in, Ashley trembled, and that nameless fear clawed at her chest once again.
Although Ashley had countless questions swirling in her mind, she felt too embarrassed to speak. She felt like she had failed her family, and no one even tried to reach out to her. Before, if something upset her, her parents, her two brothers, or even Nathan would have rushed over to see what was wrong.
But now… her brothers were clustered around that same girl, and Nathan was nowhere to be seen.
Ashley didn't know what to do. Fear gripped her, tightening around her chest like a vise. The sudden shift in her family, combined with that nameless dread gnawing at her heart, left her frozen, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to stop the panic rising inside her.
Ashley pursed her lips and lowered her gaze, trying to make sense of the scene. She knew the girl, Maddison, the daughter of an Omega who worked in the packhouse.
Rumors had long swirled around them that Maddison's mother was called a whore who had seduced someone's mate, been cast out, and eventually found refuge in the Black Mountain Pack.
Because of that, neither mother nor daughter ever received much respect. They were given the dirtiest, hardest tasks in the packhouse, and the male werewolves often tested their luck at taking advantage of them. Maddison, by extension, had inherited that same treatment.
Ashley had always been too absorbed in her training to involve herself in the lives of others, and she had never exchanged a single word with the mother-daughter pair. But now… Maddison was here, and Ashley didn't understand why.
Before she could even process what was happening, the door slammed open, and there was Nathan. Ashley's eyes sparkled with unshed tears; for a fleeting moment, she thought she had found her anchor, the one who could give her strength when everything around her felt uncertain.
But Nathan didn't even glance at her. Instead, his gaze was sharp, cold, and edged with something almost murderous.
Ashley froze, her feet rooted to the spot. She wanted to run to him, to fall back into the familiarity of his embrace, of being his pampered childhood sweetheart, but his presence, his Alpha aura, pressed down on her like a physical weight, making her body feel like lead.
She had never seen Nathan like this, and he hadn't even directed his aura at her before. For the first time, she felt like she truly didn't know him, and that unnamed fear clawed more heavily at her chest, whispering that she was about to lose something precious.
It was only then that Ashley noticed that Nathan was dragging a frail, middle-aged woman by the collar, as if even touching her had sullied his hands. Before the woman could even regain her footing, Nathan flung her to the ground like a discarded rag.
"Ah!" the woman cried, her voice weak and trembling. She looked around helplessly, fear etched into every line of her face. And then, their eyes met, Ashley and the woman locked in a silent, suspended moment, as if the world had stopped around them.
"Oh?! So it seems you've noticed the bond that ties both of you together… mother and daughter, huh?!" Brent sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. His words hit Ashley like a sudden blow, and for a moment, her head spun.
She caught each word, but strung together, they made no sense. Combined with the sharp shift in her brother's attitude, from warmth to coldness, Ashley's heart twisted painfully, leaving her bewildered and shaken.
"W-What?" she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "What do you mean?"
"I thought you were smart… but I guess I was wrong," Brent added, his eyes flashing with a murderous gleam as he stared at Ashley, as if he wanted to tear her apart on the spot.
Ashley felt the killing intent pressing down on her like a physical weight, and her knees nearly buckled beneath her. She looked around at her family, disbelief frozen on her face, every gaze was filled with the same hatred, the same murderous intent, as if she were the worst criminal who had annihilated their entire clan.
The sheer level of hatred directed at her was unlike anything she had ever felt. Trembling, she tried to understand why her family had suddenly turned against her. Then her eyes landed on Maddison, whose triumphant, vindictive glare burned into Ashley's chest, as if she were savoring the moment everyone despised Ashley to the core.
A cold shiver ran through Ashley's body, as if she had just awoken from a nightmare, and not just any nightmare, but one so vivid it blurred the line between dream and reality. How could her loving family, the same people who had joked and laughed with her just yesterday, suddenly turn against her with such hatred, their eyes sharp and ready to tear her apart?
The weight of their animosity crushed her chest, and Ashley felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. She couldn't accept it, couldn't believe her family could despise her so completely, without reason.
Desperate for some anchor, she looked up at Nathan, who had remained silent all this time. But when her eyes met his, she froze. His expression was equally cold, brimming with a silent, lethal intent. Her body trembled, and with every passing second, her heart seemed to sink further, fracturing all over again.
She wanted to call out to Nathan, but the pressure radiating from him felt as though it were closing around her throat, stealing the air from her lungs. It wasn't his Alpha aura she feared; it was the fear of losing him. Right now, it felt as though he was already slipping away.
Was it because of how he was acting?
No.
When he first entered the room, he had looked cold, yes, but there had been a brief flicker of emotion in his eyes, something entirely different from the killing intent she felt now. She tried to convince herself that she had imagined it, that it was only an illusion born from her own insecurity.
But how long could she keep deceiving herself?
She had clearly seen the way Nathan looked in Maddison's direction, a gaze that was gentle, almost affectionate. If that wasn't her imagination, then what else could it be?
Was it meant for her parents, who were seated beside Maddison? That didn't make sense. Nathan respected her father, Alpha Derek, but they were both Alphas, equals in status. There was no reason for Nathan to look at him in such a way, much less at her mother, who was Alpha Derek's mate and Luna.
Which left only one possibility.
Maddison.
But why?
Ashley didn't know the answer, nor did she have the capacity to understand it right now. Her mind was in chaos, struggling to process what was happening and why her own family had suddenly turned hostile toward her… and toward the woman Nathan had brought with him.
Her gaze shifted back to that woman, then to her parents, as if silently begging them to explain. Her head was already spinning with countless possibilities, yet none of them felt certain. Still, she never imagined that the truth, whatever it was, would be something so completely beyond her expectations.
"Mom… Dad… Brother Brent… Brother Blake…" Ashley asked again, her voice trembling this time. "What's really going on?"
A sob crept into her words as her eyes reddened and blurred. She didn't even realize she was crying until cold tears dripped onto her hands. She felt deeply wronged, abandoned, and with no one to turn to, no one to comfort her, the ache in her chest only grew heavier, threatening to break her heart entirely.
"Hmph! Why don't you ask your whore of a mother what she's done?!" Brent roared at Ashley, his glare fixed on the woman lying on the ground.
The words hit Ashley like a physical blow.
Her sobbing stopped abruptly as a loud buzzing filled her ears. It felt as though something had exploded inside her mind. A chill swept through her body, leaving her trembling as her head slowly turned back toward the woman. Her eyes widened in dawning horror.
She would have to be a complete fool not to understand what Brent was implying, why everyone in the room had suddenly become so hostile toward her and the woman on the floor.
And yet, even with that realization creeping in, she still felt as though she couldn't fully grasp what was happening.