Chapter 1 Way too broken
Soraya’s POV
“You useless, worthless bitch! Why the fuck are you not pregnant still?!”
The backhanded slap comes so fast that I don’t even see his hand move, I only feel it, and then I’m flying across the room and crashing into the wooden table hard enough that it breaks into pieces. A groan tears out of me as I hit the floor, pain exploding through my hips and arms.
I quickly raise my arms up to cover my face, already bracing for the next one, because there’s always a next one. I hear Damien approaching me slowly, and for one stupid second I think maybe, maybe this time he’ll stop.
He doesn’t. Before I can even move to protect myself, he drives his pointed shoe right into my stomach, so hard the air just… leaves me. Stars explode behind my eyes. I try to breathe through the pain but it doesn't work.
“Stop… please…” My voice comes out broken, barely a whisper, and I hate how small it sounds. I hate that I still bother begging, when begging has never once worked on this man.
This isn’t the first time my husband has done this to me. It won’t be the last, either. When I got married to the Alpha Damien of Bridgestone pack two years ago, I thought I would be happy. I thought that the moon goddess had finally smiled down on me after the tragedy of losing my family, but I had absolutely no idea that I was about to enter into even more suffering.
After a few months of marriage, I started to notice the subtle changes in Damien. The man who had promised to make me the happiest woman in the world, who had promised to fulfill all my dreams suddenly became cold towards me. Why? Just because my womb didn't "catch" on time like he expected. That was when I realized that Damien didn't marry me because of love. or attraction. He married me just to continue his bloodline with a golden wolf.
I'm Soraya Thanos. A pure bred golden wolf. She-wolves like me are special and rare. At least that's what my mother used to tell me. But looking at the state of my life right now, it's comical to think I'm special when I'm actually unfortunate.
"I asked you a fucking question! How is it possible that you are still not pregnant? We had sex a million times over the last few months!”
Meanwhile, what he considers sex is him forcing me into his bed, penetrating me without waiting for my body to prepare to take him and then finally releasing in me after a few rough pumps.
I had to learn to stop crying from the pain and humiliation and just allowed him to have his way because whenever I refused, it often resulted in me being punished for days not just by him, but by his mother, the reigning Luna and pack’s Gamma, his uncle, Wilfred.
I force myself to look up at him through the haze of pain, feeling a heavy hatred looking at his cruel face.
“It’s not my fault!” I cry out in a raw voice.
“It is your fucking fault!” Damien roars, stepping closer, until his shadow swallows me whole. “You are cursed! That’s why the Moon Goddess refused to bless you with a child! You’re defective!”
I want to scream at him that he’s wrong. I want to tear down his fragile pride and tell him the truth. After the pack’s doctor checked me months ago and confirmed I was perfectly healthy, the truth became painfully clear. The problem isn't me. It’s him. He’s the one who is impotent, the one who needs to see the doctor for a solution.
But I keep my mouth shut. The last time I dared to suggest it, he smashed a vase straight into my head. I passed out in a pool of my own blood and woke up chained to the bed, trapped in his room for six agonizing days. I learned my lesson. I don't speak up anymore. I just stay quiet and pray to the Moon Goddess that one of us will die soon…preferably me.
Before he can rain his fist down on me, the bedroom door swings wide open.
Head Luna Sheba steps inside, her eyes sweep over the wreckage. She takes in the shattered wood on the floor, the blood dripping down my face, and the menacing posture of her son. She lets out an irritated sigh, as if we are nothing more than a minor inconvenience in her afternoon.
“You know, son, I’ve always told you not to spoil your wife’s beautiful face just because you are upset,” Sheba says, shaking her head in mild disappointment.
For one treacherous second, my chest fills with relief that she's stooping her son and saving me.
But then she continues. “If you must punish your wife for her transgressions, Damien, you should take her to the whipping block and give her a few lashes. It keeps her face presentable for pack events.”
My eyes widen in horror as I stare at my mother-in-law. How can a woman be this cruel? How can she stand there and support her son with a smile?
“Stop looking at me like that, Soraya, when you know I’m right,” Sheba sneers, crossing her arms over her chest. She looks young even though she's over fifty. Even she herself took years before conceiving the demon she calls child. “You need to face proper punishment and atone for your sins. Maybe then the Moon Goddess will finally show you mercy and open your womb.”
When Damien reaches down to grab my hair again, I find a surge of strength I didn't know I had and slap his hand away with a hard smack. I pull myself up against the edge of the broken table, glaring at both of them with every ounce of hatred in my soul.
“You make me sick,” I spit, my voice trembling with rage. “Both of you! I am not the reason there’s no heir! You want to know why I’m not pregnant? It’s you Damien! You are impotent!”
Silence deadens the room. Damien freezes, his jaw dropping as the color drains entirely from his face. Luna Sheba looks shocked for a second.
“What did you just say?” Damien asks in a dangerously low voice. I raise my chin up, refusing to cower any longer.
“You know the truth Damien. You need to see the pack doctor.”
“You know what? Maybe I should just kill you right now.” Damien reaches down to grab his gun.
Do it, I pray silently, staring straight into his eyes without flinching. Please, just do it.
He unholsters his gun and aims it straight between my eyes. I close my eyes, feeling a sense of peace settling over my shattered body. Finally. It’s over. I’m going to be free.
“Damien, stop!” Luna Sheba’s sharp voice cuts through the air, messing up my moment of relief. She steps forward and pushes his arm down. “Do not be a fool. The Council will arrest you for murdering your Luna, and we cannot afford that scandal. You need a golden heir. You will continue trying to get a child with her.”
A new wave of fear crashes over me, shattering my peace. No. No. I'd choose death a thousand times before letting myself be violated again.
Damien’s chest rises slowly, a creepy, dark smile spreading across his face. “You’re right, Mother. As usual.” He turns his icy gaze back to me, “Get on the bed. Right fucking now.”
“No… I can’t,” I sob, shrinking back against the wall and clutching my bruised ribs. “I need time to heal… I’m bleeding—”
“I don’t give a damn!” he roars, taking a menacing step toward me. “Get on the bed!”
Luna Sheba turns toward the exit, completely unbothered. “Let me know when you are finished, son. We will make sure she remains lying down so she stays filled with your seed.”
Without another word, she walks out, shutting the door behind her and leaving me alone with her evil son.
My eyes quickly flick to the window across the room. It’s a three-story drop to the stone courtyard below. The fall would break my spine and probably kill me. But falling to my death sounds like a better option right now.
I make a desperate move to throw myself toward the ledge, but Damien is too fast.
He lunges forward, his large, heavy hand clamping onto the back of my head. He brutally shoves me face-first onto the mattress, pinning me down under his crushing weight. A scream of pure agony tears out of my throat as my bruised body absorbs the impact.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he growls in my ear.
I hear the clink of his belt buckle coming undone, then the sound of fabric ripping. Tears blur my vision as he roughly pulls at my clothes, tearing them off me until I'm left in my underwear. My body is filled with fresh cuts, bruises that have turned purple, and old scars. He's about to add more wounds to my body and soul. I close my eyes tight, finally giving up on fighting back.
But before he can continue, the bedroom door suddenly opens and Damien freezes on top of me.
