Chapter 4

I dragged myself to Crimson Pack territory. Gregory was sitting by the bed, tending to a delicate Mina.

"Why did you get me fired? Why did you send pack guards to protect those crooks? Do you have any idea what I'm—"

Before I could finish, Gregory’s hand flew across my face, snapping my head back.

His eyes were stone cold.

"You still have the nerve to come here? You really won't admit your crimes until blood is spilled, will you?"

"Samantha, running your mouth in the pack wasn't enough? You hired thugs to stalk Mina and drove her into jumping into the river! If I hadn't pulled her out in time, your miserable life wouldn't be enough to pay for it!"

"No more excuses! You are getting on your knees and apologizing to Mina in front of the entire pack!"

Hiring thugs to stalk her?

He pushed me to the point where I couldn't even afford my medicine. Where on earth would I get the money to hire anyone?

Every time his mood soured, he backed me into a deeper corner of hell!

I laughed out loud, choking on the absurdity.

"How about I die right now to pay her back? Would that satisfy you?"

My words struck a nerve. His jaw clenched tight.

"You owe her! Even your worthless life couldn't pay off your debt!"

Ignoring my struggling, he dragged me out into the pack assembly hall.

My stomach slammed hard against the stone stairs, white-hot pain shooting through my abdomen as cold sweat drenched my hair.

A brief flash of panic crossed his eyes, but glancing back at the frail-looking Mina, he looked away.

"Samantha, until the truth is settled, I forbid you to die!"

Fine. Before I die, I'll settle it for good.

I'll give him and Mina the "innocence" they so desperately wanted.

The moment I was thrown into the hall, pack members swarmed in.

"Samantha, you've been telling everyone Ms. Clark broke up your mate bond! Is that true?"

"Exactly! Samantha, no matter how bitter you are, you can't slander an innocent woman!"

I stood frozen.

Mina had already bribed the entire crowd to tear me apart.

There was no anger left in me. I just wanted to say my piece and never see their faces again.

Gregory stepped closer, his fingers digging into my fresh wounds, his voice a low, threatening hiss in my ear:

"Samantha! Watch your fucking mouth!!"

I ripped my arm out of his grasp and raised my voice for everyone to hear:

"Ms. Clark, I'm sorry! I made up all those lies to frame you. I hired those people to harass you! It was all my fault. Please, forgive me. I beg of you!"

I locked eyes with Mina, but she immediately shrank back, unable to hold my gaze.

A loyal pack member shouted in outrage:

"A few empty words can make up for the trauma Ms. Clark suffered?!"

"Kneel down! Beg until Ms. Clark is satisfied!"

Tears welled in Mina’s eyes as she burrowed deeper into Gregory’s chest, her voice trembling.

"I never stole Gregory from you... I wasn't the one who drugged him all those years ago..."

Gregory wrapped his arms around her protectively, glaring at me with contempt.

"Samantha! You can kneel for tips at a bar, but now you want to act like royalty?"

Seeing my cold silence, he pulled out his phone and swiped rapidly.

My phone buzzed. A high-definition video pinged my screen.

"Samantha, take a good look. Isn't that you on that bed..."

It was a recording of our mating night from ten years ago. But the edited captions painted me as a filthy, shameless whore who stripped naked to seduce the Alpha!

At that moment, I understood everything.

He wanted me dead.

Swallowing the humiliating bile in my throat, I bent my knees and dropped to the cold stone floor.

A bloody cough slipped past my lips, and I forced it back down.

"Alpha Gregory and I only mated for political gain. In ten years, he never loved me. The only woman he ever loved was Ms. Clark. I was the one who poisoned his drink back then. I was the one who spread rumors to tear them apart..."

"Alpha Gregory, are you satisfied now?"

Since he had already condemned me, explanations were meaningless.

Truth didn't matter to a dying woman.

Clutching my aching stomach, I threw my head back and laughed uncontrollably.

Watching my manic breakdown, Gregory roared:

"What the hell are you laughing at?! Are you trying to piss me off until I lose my mind?!"

That night, lying in bed, Gregory couldn't get the image of me kneeling out of his head.

That hollow, despairing laughter echoed in his mind.

An inexplicable panic gnawed at his chest.

Just as he prepared to reach me through the Mind Link to demand answers, his phone rang with a call from the pack clinic.

"Are you Samantha's ex-mate, Alpha Gregory? She left your contact info."

Before Gregory could snap, the receptionist spoke in a cold, matter-of-fact tone:

"She owed us a massive debt for her treatments. Just calling to let you know—the deposit for her antidote is completely non-refundable!"