Chapter 4

Ella leaned against the doorframe, a malicious smile curling at the corner of her lips. "Daphne, haven’t you been pretending to be magnanimous for long enough? Aren’t you tired?"

She stepped closer. "Let me tell you the truth, Ashton has been waiting for the day to sever the bond with you. If it weren’t for the fact that you still have some use to him..."

I clenched my fists, my nails almost piercing my palms.

Macie growled a warning in my mind: "Don’t listen to her! This is just bait!"

"Look at you now," Ella glanced me up and down, "You used to be Luna, but now you can’t even keep the master bedroom. Oh, by the way, you really think I want to have a child?"

She suddenly burst into a sharp laugh. "Once you give birth to the child, I’ll have Ashton personally take him away, just like he took everything from you—your den, your man, and everything you cherished."

Macie’s roar shook me to the core: "Tear her apart! How dare she covet your child! Let’s charge at her now!"

I forced myself to suppress the surging anger in my chest and raised a cold smile. "Ella, you’re in such a hurry to lash out because you’re afraid Ashton will discover you’re nothing but a ruthless schemer, aren’t you?"

Her face twisted in rage at my words. "You bitch! Get out of here now, or I’ll make sure you end up as nothing more than a stray dog in the Silverclaw pack!" Her laugh echoed harshly down the empty hallway.

Late at night, the sounds from the master bedroom pierced my eardrums like needles.

Ella’s exaggerated moans mixed with Ashton’s suppressed growls, hitting my nerves again and again.

Macie howled wildly in my mind: "Cover your ears! Don’t let these filthy sounds pollute you! We shouldn’t stay here and endure this humiliation!"

Curled up in the guest room, I bit down on the blanket.

I don’t know how long passed, but finally, with a creak, the master bedroom door opened.

Ashton stood in the doorway, wrapped in a bathrobe, the bite marks left by Ella still visible on his neck. "Daphne, clean up the things you’ve used," his tone was flat as if he were stating something mundane.

I froze, incredulity rising as I looked up at him. "What did you just say?"

"Can’t understand?" Ashton frowned, "I said throw away the ‘toys’ from the master bedroom, Ella finds them dirty."

Macie’s wolf howl almost shattered my consciousness: "How dare he humiliate you like this! Fight back!"

He pulled out a stack of cash from his pocket and tossed it on the floor. "Consider it your service fee."

The bills scattered at my feet, and I stared at him, my voice trembling. "Alpha Ashton, our bond isn’t fully broken yet, and you want me to clean up after you and another woman’s..."

"So what?" He sneered, cutting me off. "Don’t forget, you’re still living in my den, eating my food, using my things. Cleaning up this mess is the only thing you can do."

Ella, draped in a silk robe, leaned against the doorframe, playing with Ashton’s tie. "Daphne, don’t tell me you can’t handle this little thing?"

She deliberately revealed the red marks on her collarbone. "Ashton was so tender with me earlier. If this upsets him..."

Macie’s voice filled with bloodthirsty rage: "I want to tear her throat out! Let her never make such disgusting sounds again!"

"Enough!" I stood up suddenly. "How long are you going to humiliate me?"

"Humiliate?" Ashton raised an eyebrow, his eyes cold and indifferent. "Don’t think too highly of yourself. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re still useful, do you think you’d still be here?"

He took a step closer. "Clean up and go back to your room, don’t be in the way."

I looked at the two of them, suddenly feeling so alienated.

The Alpha who once risked everything to protect me during the avalanche was now trampling on my dignity in the cruelest way possible. "What if I don’t?" I met his eyes head-on.

"Don’t?" Ashton smirked, his tone freezing. "Then get out of the Silverclaw pack immediately, and take your wild child with you. Oh, and don’t forget to return everything I’ve given you over the years."

Ella timely covered her mouth and giggled lightly. "Sister, just be obedient. Otherwise, you’ll have nowhere to stay. How pitiful." She deliberately bumped into me as she turned. "Hurry up, don’t delay my alone time with Ashton."

Macie’s voice gradually lowered, filled with resentment: "We can’t let them get away with this... They must pay the price..."

The vows we once exchanged had long been shattered, leaving only endless humiliation and torment.

As I bent down to pick up the scattered cash, a hot tear fell onto the bills, spreading a damp stain across them.