Abandoned Then Reborn, The Entire Pack Trembles | Read Free Preview
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Chapter 1 — The Abandoned Princess
Scarlett’s POV
Who would’ve thought that as the only princess of the Blackwood pack, I’d get dumped by my parents and all four of my brothers, offering me up as the sacrifice to save their adopted daughter, Lilly?
The forest was nothing but howls.
I ran for my life, torn up and bleeding, while trying to shake off those hunger-crazed rogue werewolves.
“Scarlett… You actually made it out here.” Lilly suddenly stepped into my path.
I stared at her cute little face and saw a demon crawling out of hell. “It was you. You had me kidnapped and thrown into the Rogue Forest!”
Lilly smiled sweetly, her voice soft as a cloud while her words cut like knives. “Yep. Shame you’re still not dead.”
She tilted her head a little.
“Since you’re alive, let’s run a little test. Let’s see who our parents and brothers will choose—me or you?”
She sliced her skin, and the reek of blood hit the air.
Damn it. Those brain-dead rogues would flock here to kill us in seconds.
I cursed under my breath, but before I could move, Lilly burst into loud, ugly sobs. “Scarlett! Why would you do this?! Dad, Mom, brothers—help me!”
In a heartbeat, a few huge, powerfully built wolves charged in from the distance.
They bared their fangs at me and slammed into my side, hurling me away from Lilly.
I flew and crashed into a tree. It felt like my insides got pulverized and my bones snapped.
They didn’t give a damn about my injuries. They all shifted back, turned human, and walked over to surround Lilly.
“Scarlett… Just because I got sick on your birthday and Mom and Dad stayed with me at the hospital, you dragged me to the Rogue Forest? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it! I never wanted to take your place. Please, don’t kill me!”
Lilly sobbed like she was about to break apart. My father, Daniel—the Alpha of the Blackwood pack—looked at her with tenderness I’d never seen. The same went for my brothers and my mother.
From the way they stared at me, they looked ready to rip me to shreds on the spot to make it up to Lilly.
“Scarlett! I never thought I’d have such a vicious daughter!”
My father’s jaw clenched. Alpha rage rolled off him as he kicked me again.
Blinding pain exploded through me. My vision went dark at the edges. Blood spilled from my mouth and wouldn’t stop.
I’d bet anything a rib snapped and punched through my lung. Nothing else could hurt this bad.
But even that couldn’t touch the pain in my chest.
A month ago, I’d thrown myself in front of monster hunters for my father.
A wolfsbane-laced bullet slammed straight into my chest.
I thought that would prove how much I respected him as my father—how badly I wanted his love.
But all he did was grab Lilly and rush her to safety. I lay there, barely conscious, until the Beta warriors finally showed up and got me to a hospital.
The wolfsbane almost killed me.
My father never visited. Not once. The only time he showed up was right before I was discharged.
He told me that because I was coming home, Lilly would feel lost, and they had to focus on her mental state.
And me? I was the true princess of the Blackwood pack. No matter how long we were separated, we were still family.
Blood would bind us tight.
I believed him.
I was thrilled to find my birth parents. I was even excited to have four brothers.
And for what?
It turned out Lilly was their real princess. She got to pout and demand whatever shiny thing she wanted.
I tried to fit in. I even handed over my own gifts, making sure everyone knew I’d do anything to come home.
Thinking about it now, tears burned my eyes, and I mocked myself for being such an idiot.
“Scarlett! You have to be punished!”
Father stood over me and passed a sentence. “You hurt Lilly and tried to kill her. As punishment, you’ll walk out of the Rogue Forest on your own. No one will help you.”
He turned and left. His four sons—my brothers—propped Lilly up and closed around her like she was a fragile jewel that might shatter if they breathed too hard.
Behind me, countless rogues crept closer.
I forced my head up and caught one last look at their backs, hard and unyielding. Then, I looked at Lilly’s smug little smile as she glanced over her shoulder.
I clenched my fists. They never saw me as part of their family. From start to finish, the only “real princess” in their hearts was Lilly.
Only now did that truth land like a knife between my shoulder blades.
The vicious rogues had me—starving, wild-eyed, and desperate to devour their rare prize.
I didn’t have an ounce of fight left. I shut my eyes and braced myself while they tore into me.
What a joke. The family I’d dreamed about turned out to be the executioners shoving me toward the grave…
With my last breath, I hurled a prayer at the moon, burning with hate.
Moon Goddess, forgive my stupidity. If I get another shot at this, I swear I’ll make them pay.
Chapter 2 — Go Apologize To Lilly
Scarlett’s POV
I stood in the bathroom, staring blankly at my face in the mirror. Young. Pretty. There was no single mark of what I’d been through.
And there it was, that warm, familiar presence in my body. I knew exactly what it was. My wolf—Esme.
“Esme? Is that you?”
“Of course. Scarlett, your emotions are all over the place, but nothing’s actually happened.”
Esme picked up on my mess of feelings and answered, puzzled.
Hearing her voice again almost broke me. After the wolfsbane tainted me, I hadn’t heard Esme once.
It was insane. And yet I had to admit it—I’d come back.
I was out of that nightmare called the Rogue Forest and went five years back into the past. It was the year I first returned to the Blackwood Pack.
This meant I could redo everything.
I could be myself. I didn’t have to suck up to Lilly to win my parents’ and brothers’ attention. And I sure as hell didn’t have to end up killed by rogues after they tossed me aside.
The thought made me want to laugh out loud.
Thank the Moon Goddess. She handed me my life back.
I was barely holding down the rush of joy when my bedroom door suddenly thudded.
Yeah. Someone was kicking it. I swore.
Bang!
Another hit shook the frame.
I frowned and yanked the door open. A man stood outside.
Elijah. He was my fourth-oldest brother. He was tall with the same brown hair as our mother, the kind that made him look sunny and approachable. Every girl at school ate that up.
Well, except me.
Because whenever Elijah looked at me, he turned into a jerk.
“Ugly thing. Get downstairs. You’re paying for what you did.”
He leaned on his height, looking down his nose at me, and his voice dripping with glee.
I hated that crap. In the past, I would’ve pretended not to care just to keep the peace. But not anymore. I wasn’t expecting anything from them again.
So he could forget about me tolerating his rude attitude.
“Maybe go learn how to knock on a lady’s door before you try this again,” I shot back with pure sarcasm and brushed past him.
“Scarlett! You dare talk to me like that?!”
After a quick burst of yelling, Elijah stared at me, confused, like he couldn’t figure out why I’d suddenly stopped playing nice.
Back then, this was when I’d still call him “brother.”
It took all of a few seconds for him to stop staring at me and move on.
Not surprising. In his heart, delicate and sweet Lilly was his real sister. Me? I was just the girl who’d spent over ten years out there before coming home and was simply the bitch who stole Lilly’s place.
“Scarlett, be careful,” Esme warned, her voice on edge. “They’ve found another way to push you around.”
I looked down into the living room. My mother, Sophia, was cradling Lilly, who was crying against her chest. A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. “Don’t worry. I know exactly what’s coming.”
I’d already lived it once.
Lilly had teamed up with a reporter to run a story about our parents, the Alpha and Luna, playing favorites with their adopted princess and abusing their real daughter. Then, she pinned the leak on me.
It made everyone think I was a vicious girl who’d do anything to steal my family’s love and kick Lilly out of the manor.
Mother’s gentle voice cut through my thoughts. “All right, Lilly. No more tears, okay? Your eyes will hurt if you keep crying.”
She was patient to a fault, like she was holding her own flesh and blood.
Even with a do-over, it still hurt. That embrace would never be mine.
Elijah stalked up behind me, planting himself beside Sophia and Lilly. He frowned at me. “Lilly’s crying her heart out. You can’t even comfort her?”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
I met his eyes, calm. “If you’ve got time to grill me, why aren’t you comforting your precious sister?”
“You!” Elijah jabbed a finger at me, furious.
If Lilly weren’t still crying, he probably would’ve slapped me.
“How did I end up with such a cruel sister?” he spat. “Listen up, Scarlett. Lilly is the only sister I’ll ever have.”
He wanted that to crush me. He wanted to make me bow and scrape for all of them again.
I glanced at my mother, who was still hugging Lilly. She acted as if she hadn’t heard a word. All her attention was on Lilly’s tears.
I let out a bitter little laugh and stopped paying Elijah any mind.
He hadn’t expected to be ignored and went red with rage.
Father had just finished a call in his study. He stepped out, heard Elijah barking at me, then saw me. And his face went even darker.
“Scarlett! Get on your knees and apologize to Lilly!”
His Alpha aura slammed into the room, thick and heavy, warning everyone just how pissed he was.
My father figured I’d fold and that I’d kneel and take the blame with no questions asked for whatever had made Lilly cry.
Once upon a time, I would’ve.
Not now.
I straightened up and stared him down, my face blank. “Why the hell should I?”
Why should I cater to Lilly?
Why should I suffer for your favoritism?
No one refuses an Alpha’s order. Least of all, the old and soft Scarlett. Even Lilly stopped hiccuping, burrowed against Mother, and stared at me with Elijah. Both of them were stunned.
Chapter 3 — Favoritism And Abuse
Scarlett’s POV
“Scarlett!”
My defiance humiliated my father like never before, and he blasted out another wave of Alpha aura.
Elijah threw an arm out to shield our mother and Lilly from the pressure and frowned at me.
“I’m not kneeling for Lilly. Or are you planning to break the sentencing rules you wrote yourself and personally punish your own daughter who just got back to the pack?”
My voice was flat as a blade.
I was done respecting him as a father. In my eyes, he didn’t even deserve to be Alpha of the Blackwood Pack.
“You should’ve learned the damn rules a long time ago!”
I’d never seen my father this furious. He barked for the Beta warriors at the door and ordered them to drag me to the cells.
They started walking towards me. I frowned, ready to move, when Lilly, still tucked in our mother’s arms, suddenly spoke up.
“Dad, don’t… please don’t do that…”
She pulled out from mother’s embrace, sobbing. “Scarlett is your own daughter, the pack’s princess. If you do this, everyone will think she’s some unruly mess.”
Mother looked at Lilly, her heart breaking. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to be this considerate.”
Father came back to his senses a bit and shoved his temper down.
Watching Lilly put on her show, I honestly wanted to give her a standing ovation.
Look at this “pure” girl. One sentence from her and she scooped up all the sympathy again while making me look like the savage.
“Daniel, talk to Scarlett. Don’t make us a joke for everyone to see.”
Mother finally spoke.
She glanced at me, and the sadness in her eyes wasn’t subtle at all.
I bet she was wondering why her real daughter was me and not Lilly, who made everyone ache for her.
“Scarlett, are you okay?” Esme felt my mood and spoke up, worried.
“I’m great.” I forced a smile at Esme. “Better than ever. It’s just a little clash. I need to make it crystal clear to myself that these people don’t deserve to be my family.”
While I was talking to Esme, Elijah helped Lilly up from the couch like she was made of glass, terrified she might get the slightest bruise.
“Scarlett, I never wanted to steal your place. The only reason our brothers brought me home back then was because they pitied me. I’m sorry. I should’ve left the day you came back!”
She looked at me with pitiful eyes.
“I know you had it rough living out there alone for over fifteen years. Now you want a stable home, and I get that. I do… but you could’ve just told me to my face. Why spread it around outside and make Dad, Mom, and our brothers look bad?”
Tears kept streaming down Lilly’s face.
Elijah looked gutted while holding her up. He couldn’t help murmuring, “Lilly…”
“Lilly, no one’s making you leave. This will always be your home.”
Mother stood and hugged her, aching for her. Daniel’s eyes went red too. He walked up and stroked Lilly’s hair to comfort her.
“Scarlett, why don’t you learn from Lilly? She’s the one who actually treats us like family. And you? You just stand there and enjoy the show!”
Elijah caught me standing off to the side—unmoved—and snapped.
I almost laughed from sheer anger. “So what now? I kneel and beg Lilly to stop crying?”
Elijah shot back, “Now you get it!”
I snorted. All I saw was a brainless idiot.
Then, Elijah finally heard the sarcasm in my voice. He lost it, so he spun around and hurled the folder off the couch at me. Newspaper pages covered in text scattered across the floor.
“Look what you did! Are you still trying to dodge responsibility?! Scarlett, you really are a greedy, never-satisfied stray!”
With his shouting in my ears, I lowered my gaze to the paper by my feet.
It was written in my voice, telling the press how, after getting lost fifteen years ago and finally making it back to the Blackwood Pack, I was ignored. Meanwhile, Lilly, the fake princess who took my place, got spoiled rotten.
In a way, I didn’t see anything wrong with those articles.
Because all of it actually happened to me.
So I looked up at them, my voice calm and almost curious.
“Are you pissed because your own crap just got called out?”
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