Chapter 1: Shattered Pride

Alison's POV

"Here's your glass of...?"

The world shattered around me in an instant, one second, I was just doing my job, and the next, I was standing frozen, watching the man I once adored with someone else.

The glass slipped from my fingers and shattered against the floor, echoing in the empty hall. I didn't even realize I had dropped it until the shards of crystal scattered around my feet. Alpha Kendrick looked up from the couch, his hands still tangled in Priya’s hair, while Priya’s narrowed eyes found me in an instant. Silence fell over the room, thick and dangerous.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing walking in like you own the place?” Priya’s voice cut through the silence like a whip.

“I.. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I didn’t know…” My words stumbled out, tripping over each other as I stared down at my hands, trembling.

“You didn’t know?” Priya sneered, untangling herself from Kendrick’s grasp. “You didn’t think to knock, either, did you, slave?”

I wanted to speak, to retort, to say something, anything that might stand up to her venomous glare, but nothing came. Instead, I clenched my jaw, tightened my fiat and lowered my gaze. Sarcasm burned into my tongue, but I swallowed it, knowing better. I could feel Alpha Kendrick’s gaze on me, cold and impassive, as if he barely saw me.

With a quick step, Priya closed the distance between us and raised her hand. I braced myself, but nothing prepared me for the sting as her palm cracked across my face. The impact sent me reeling, throwing me backward. I hit the floor with a sickening thud, sharp pain radiating through my body as shattered glass bit into my palms and knees. The pain was a thousand tiny fires beneath my skin, but I didn’t dare make a sound.

"Pathetic." Priya’s voice dripped with disgust as she watched me struggle to sit up. “It’s your own fault for being so useless.”

I fought to keep my head down, to avoid showing how much I was hurting, how much the pain twisted and curled inside me. My mind raced with thoughts I couldn’t control, anger, sadness, a desperate longing for the man I fantasized about to defend me. He was right there, just feet away from me, but he might as well have been a thousand miles away.

“Enough Priya.” Alpha Kendrick’s voice boomed cutting through my thoughts, sharp and commanding.

My heart leapt, and for one foolish, ridiculous second, I thought he was about to say something in my defense, to chastise Priya for her cruelty. I glanced up, hope flickering in my chest like a dying flame, but one look at his expression extinguished it instantly.

“Alpha, I... ” The words died on my lips as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a small, glimmering box, he opened it to reveal a ring. My stomach twisted as he took Priya’s hand, right there, in front of me.

“Priya,” he said, his voice as smooth as silk, “will you be my wife?”

Priya’s eyes sparkled with triumph as she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in an exaggerated display of surprise. “Oh, Kendrick,” she purred, turning the ring so it glinted in the light, “yes, a thousand times yes.”

She turned her gaze toward me, a cruel smile tugging at her lips as she held her hand out to flaunt the ring. My vision blurred as I fought the tears that threatened to spill, but I couldn’t hold back the overwhelming ache that spread through my chest.

"What the hell are you still doing here, you slave?” Kendrick’s voice was cold, dismissive, as though I were nothing more than a smudge on the wall, an inconvenience.

“N-nothing… Alpha,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. It took everything in me to stand, to rise from the broken glass and make myself small enough to escape this nightmare. I felt numb, like a ghost slipping from the room, trying to disappear into the walls.

But his eyes... oh, those dark, terrifying eyes... followed me, pinning me to the spot before I could take another step. There was something in that gaze, something far more dangerous than Priya’s slap or her sneering insults.

He signaled for Priya to leave, she glanced between us, her amusement fading as she caught the darkness clouding Kendrick’s face. She opened her mouth to protest, but Kendrick’s low growl silenced her.

"Leave us,” he commanded, his tone brooking no argument.

Priya’s face contorted with fury, but she hesitated only a moment before she turned on her heel, throwing me one last glare before slamming the door behind her. The silence that followed was suffocating. Kendrick’s gaze lingered on me, that same dark intensity that made my heart pound with dread.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” I whispered, clutching my bleeding hands to my chest. My voice shook, and I hated myself for sounding so weak, so pitiful.

Kendrick advanced, each step echoing through the room as he closed the distance between us. I tried to back away, but my feet felt rooted to the floor, trapped beneath his cold, unfeeling gaze. He stopped mere inches from me, his eyes tracing over the cuts on my hands, the trembling in my shoulders.

"Look at you,” he said softly, his tone almost amused. “So fragile… so easy to break, what a pathetic life.”

I swallowed hard, willing myself not to react, not to flinch. I knew better than to give him any satisfaction, any hint of the fear simmering beneath my skin. But as his fingers grazed my cheek, tracing the spot where Priya’s slap had landed, I couldn’t help the shiver that ran down my spine.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Alpha,” I stammered, desperate to say anything that might appease him, to make myself small enough to escape his wrath. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Oh, I know you didn’t mean to.” His voice was soft, almost a whisper, and that made it all the more terrifying. “But you did. And now… you’re going to have to pay for it.”

I felt the walls closing in, the air thickening around me as his fingers trailed down my arm, stopping at the torn skin on my palm. He pressed down on the wound, sending a jolt of pain shooting through me, but I bit down on my lip to stifle the cry threatening to escape.

“Pain looks good on you, my dear little Alison,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. “It suits you.”

I fought to keep my voice steady, to hold back the tears that burned in my eyes. “Please… don’t…”

He leaned in close, so close that I could feel his breath against my ear, and whispered, “Begging now, are we?”

My heart raced, a wild, panicked rhythm that I couldn’t control. I forced myself to hold still, to keep my breathing steady, but every instinct screamed at me to run, to flee from the twisted satisfaction in his gaze.

“Do you know why you’re still here, Alison?” His voice was low, dangerous, as he took a step back, crossing his arms and regarding me with a disdainful glare. “Because I enjoy watching you squirm.”

I flinched, the words cutting deeper than any slap, any bruise. He enjoyed this... my suffering, my helplessness. I was nothing to him but a pawn, something to toy with, to control.

“Now,” he said, his voice a cold command, “clean up this mess. And don’t let me see you slacking, or you’ll regret it.”

“Yes, Alpha,” I whispered, lowering my head to hide the shame burning in my cheeks. My hands shook as I knelt down, gingerly gathering the shards of glass with trembling fingers. Each piece cut into my skin, fresh blood mingling with the tears that finally slipped free, no longer able to hold back the overwhelming weight of despair.

As I worked, Kendrick’s footsteps retreated, but I knew he hadn’t left entirely. He stood by the door, watching me with that dark, predatory gaze, as if waiting for me to falter, to give him a reason to punish me again.

And in that moment, I knew I was truly trapped. There was no escape from him, from this place, from the endless cycle of cruelty and power that bound me like chains.

As the last piece of glass slipped from my fingers, I dared to glance up, meeting Kendrick’s gaze one final time. His expression was unreadable, his eyes as cold as ever, but I could feel the threat simmering beneath the surface.

“Good girl,” he murmured, a twisted smile tugging at his lips.

And then, without another word, he turned and left, leaving me alone with my shattered pride, the sting of his words echoing in my mind.

But something inside me stirred, something small and defiant... a glimmer of hope that one day, somehow, I would be free from him. Even if it was just a foolish dream, I clung to it, holding onto that fragile spark as if it were my last shred of sanity.