Chapter 126
Ellie's POV
My lip curls.
"Excuse me?"
Anger flares through the exhaustion.
"I didn't do anything wrong."
My voice rises.
"Don't suddenly act like you're my father. I told you—"
Before I can finish, he reaches behind him.
An envelope lands on the table between us.
Hard.
It slides across the surface until it stops in front of me.
I don't need to open it.
The crest stamped on the paper says enough.
Dominic's family's crest.
My stepfather's expression twists.
"You think I wouldn't find out?"
His voice is sharp.
"You think I wouldn't hear about you having dinner at the Alpha estate like some kind of prized offering?"
My fingers tighten at my sides.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
He steps closer.
"They chose you."
His voice grows louder.
"They want you as Luna, and you just kept that from your own family?"
"I didn't ask for that."
The words come out immediately.
"They invited me. I went there to refuse."
"Refuse?"
He laughs, but there is no humor in it.
"Are you hearing yourself?"
His hand gestures toward the envelope.
"Do you have any idea what this could mean for this family?"
"For your mother?"
My anger spikes.
I grab the document and shove it back across the table.
"I'm aware."
My voice shakes, but I don't back down.
"But this is my choice. Mine and Dominic's."
I swallow.
"And they can't force me if I—"
"Oh, so now you understand pack politics?"
He cuts me off.
"Interesting."
His eyes narrow.
"Funny how quickly you learn when it benefits you."
"It doesn't benefit me!"
The words burst out louder than I intended.
My voice cracks.
"I don't want this."
"I don't want him."
I point toward the envelope.
"I don't want to be Luna. I don't want any of this."
His expression hardens.
A bitter laugh escapes him.
"Don't insult me."
"I'm not lying."
"Yes, you are."
His voice explodes through the room.
"You've been lying to everyone."
He steps into my space.
"You had your sister believing she had a chance while you were secretly undermining her."
My stomach twists.
"That's not true."
"You've been playing innocent."
His anger builds with every word.
"Letting everyone look at you like some future Luna while pretending you had nothing to do with it."
"I told you I rejected it!"
"Rejected what?"
His eyes burn.
"You rejected the one thing that could secure this family's future?"
He points at me.
"You either give this opportunity to your sister, or you stop playing games."
His voice turns cruel.
"But now that they offer you power, status, protection..."
He scoffs.
"Now, after everything you've done, you're suddenly saying no?"
"I don't care!"
I shout.
The sound echoes through the room.
"I won't be his Luna."
Something cold settles over his face.
"You don't get to decide that."
My hands curl into fists.
"Yes, I do."
The anger in my chest burns hotter than the pain.
"And I am sick of everyone deciding what I can and cannot do."
"No."
His voice drops.
"You aren't understanding me."
He takes another step forward.
"You don't have this choice."
Heat crawls up my neck.
"Right."
I laugh bitterly.
"Because that's what this is, isn't it?"
My eyes narrow.
"This isn't about me."
"This is about you."
"It's about what you can get from this. Favors. Influence. Status."
His jaw tightens.
"Watch your mouth."
"My real father wouldn't sell me off."
The words leave me before I can stop them.
The room goes silent.
Completely silent.
And then—
Crack.
The sound is louder than everything else.
The slap comes so fast I barely register it.
Pain explodes across my cheek.
My head snaps to the side.
For a second, everything blurs.
I stumble backward, hitting the edge of the table.
The table tips with me.
A glass falls.
Then another.
Water spills across the floor as the glass shatters into pieces around my feet.
I clutch my cheek.
Shock gives way to rage.
"Don't ever say that to me again."
His voice is low.
Dangerous.
"Ever."
I stare at him.
My cheek burns.
My entire body shakes.
"Is that what strong men do?"
My voice trembles with fury.
"Hit people when they don't get what they want?"
His face hardens.
"I struck you because you're acting like a foolish child."
He steps forward.
"Do you think this world is kind to girls who tell Alphas no?"
His eyes narrow.
"To their fathers?"
He gestures around the house.
"I run this house."
Every word feels like a threat.
"You hear me?"
My breathing turns uneven.
"You will marry well."
His voice lowers.
"You will stop embarrassing this family."
"You will stop interfering with your sister's future."
A chill runs through me.
"You will either accept this marriage offer..."
He pauses.
"Or you will leave this house and stop ruining her chances."
His fist tightens.
"And you will learn when to keep your mouth shut, or so help me—"
"Stop!"
My mother's voice cuts through the room.
She rushes between us, grabbing my arm.
Her face is pale.
Her hands are shaking.
"What are you doing?"
For the first time, he hesitates.
His chest rises and falls heavily.
Then, slowly, he steps back.
He smooths his sleeve.
Like he can erase what just happened.
"Take her upstairs."
His voice is cold.
"Before she says something else she can't take back."
My mother doesn't answer.
She just pulls me away.
Up the stairs.
Away from him.
Away from the room.
The moment my bedroom door closes, my legs give out.
I collapse onto the bed.
The shaking starts before I can stop it.
Tears spill down my face despite every attempt to hold them back.
From downstairs, I can still hear him.
Pacing.
Moving.
Still angry.
My mother sits beside me.
Then she pulls me into her arms.
She holds me so tightly I can barely breathe.
But after a moment...
I realize something.
She's shaking.
More than I am.