Hazel's POV.
They shrieked, a chorus of delighted triumph, like they had just won a lottery.
They descended on me, a pack of hungry wolves.
Lilian and Sophia seized my arms again, pulling them roughly, and I yelled out in pain.
Natasha, her face contorted with malicious pleasure, grabbed a huge chunk of my hair near the crown of my head.
The cold steel of the scissors pressed against my scalp for a terrifying moment before the sharp snip echoed through the room.
I watched in horror as a thick, long swath of my beautiful black hair, still attached to the very scissors, fell to the polished floor. It lay there, a dark, lifeless contrast against the gleaming wood, a testament to their casual cruelty.
They all laughed, a chorus of triumphant cackles, including my FATHER.
His laughter, cold and devoid of warmth, felt like the ultimate betrayal.
Ariel, tearing free from my father's grasp, rushed back to me. "OMG! Hazel!" she cried, kneeling beside me, her small hand reaching out to touch my bleeding scalp.
Tears streamed down her face, mingling with my own. I could only watch, numb with shock and pain.
Then, something inside me snapped. I suddenly lost it all.
The horror, the pain, the humiliation – it all coalesced into a searing, righteous anger.
My eyes, which I thought were empty, blazed with a fierce, burning fury.
I stood up, shakily at first, then with a sudden surge of strength.
My hand shot out, grabbing a handful of Natasha's prized, blonde hair.
She shrieked, a sound of genuine surprise and pain.
"You bastard!" she screamed, struggling against my grip. "I'll kill you!"
Without thinking, driven by a primal need for retribution, I grabbed the scissors still in Natasha's hand.
With a desperate yank, I pulled them free. The cool metal felt heavy, dangerous, in my trembling grasp.
With a vicious snip, I cut a large chunk of her blonde hair, mirroring the damage she'd inflicted on me.
Natasha's scream intensified, a sound of pure outrage and disbelief.
Before I could revel in the small victory, my father's hand, large and immensely strong, closed around my arm.
He flung me across the room with shocking force.
My back hit the wooden wall with a sickening thud, and for a terrifying moment, the breath left my body.
Stars exploded behind my eyes, and my world tilted, crashing around me.
I lay there, crumpled against the wall, my body screaming in protest, my life flashing before my eyes in fragmented, painful images.
"Father! Sophie! Lilian! She cut my hair!" Natasha wailed, her voice a horrified shriek. "OMG! She ruined my hair! Cayden won't love me any longer… I won't be the befitting Luna!"
Sophia and Lilian immediately rushed to her side, offering dramatic consolation, their voices a cacophony of feigned sympathy.
While they doted on the furious Natasha, my father stalked towards me, his eyes blazing with a terrifying, murderous intent.
He grabbed me by the throat, his fingers closing around my windpipe, cutting off my air supply.
The world began to darken at the edges.
"Father! No!" Ariel's desperate scream cut through the haze.
She rushed forward, pulling at his arm, her small body trembling with effort. "Father, she's human! She can die!"
Her words, filled with genuine terror, seemed to momentarily pierce his rage.
His grip lessened, just a fraction, allowing a desperate gasp of air into my burning lungs.
But before he could react further, a loud, imperious voice, sharp as a whip-crack, fired across the room, cutting through the chaos like a lightning bolt.
"What in the name of the Moon Goddess is going on here?!"
I knew that voice very well
I recognized it.
STEP MOM.
Selene stood framed in the doorway, her usually immaculate silver-blonde hair slightly disheveled, like her daughter's her striking emerald eyes wide with a mixture of shock and fury.
She took a slow, deliberate step inside, her gaze sweeping over the chaotic scene: Natasha sobbing dramatically, my father flustered, Lilian and Sophia still lingering, and me crumpled against the wall, blood smearing my forehead, my hair a ruined mess with Ariel clinging to me like a protective limpet.
Her eyes locked on Natasha, her expression hardening. "No… no, it can't be…" she whispered, the initial shock breaking into a raw, guttural shriek that shattered the tense silence. "Who did this to you?!"
Father, ever the diplomat when Selene's fury wasn't aimed at him, rushed to her side, his usual arrogant demeanor melting into a pitiful attempt at reassurance. "Darling, it's fine… it's just hair. It will grow back." His voice was a placating murmur, at odds with the rage he'd just shown me.
But Selene was beyond placation. Her scream escalated, pure, unadulterated outrage. "I SAID, WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!"
Lilian, quick to deflect, pointed a trembling finger at me, still lying on the floor, my breath shallow and ragged. Ariel, my tiny shield, instinctively wrapped her arms tighter around my bruised body, her face a mask of fear.
Selene's eyes, blazing green fire, swiveled to me. "This… ruin of the litter… did this to my child?!" She shirked venom lacing her voice. "You… bastard!"
The insult, so familiar from my father's lips, stung even more coming from her. She surged forward, a predator scenting blood, swift and merciless. I flinched, bracing for another blow, but Ariel, despite her fear, immediately stood firm, placing her small body between us.
"Mum, please!" Ariel's voice was a desperate, uncharacteristically firm plea. "She's weak already! She needs the healer!"
Selene faltered, her fury momentarily checked by her youngest daughter's plea. But only briefly. Her face twisted into a snarl. "She needs death!" she yelled, her gaze boring into me, promising retribution.
Then she rounded on my father, her anger diverted. "Marcus! How could you let this happen?! How will she be the Moon Chosen with her hair like that?!"
Natasha, sensing her mother's full attention, seized the moment. Her sobs escalated into ear-splitting wails. "Let's kill her, Mother! She ruined everything!" she cried, clutching her chopped hair. Sophia, ever the eager follower, nodded vehemently beside her.
My father swallowed hard, jaw clenched. His gaze flickered irritably to me, then back to his enraged mate.
He shook his head slowly, weighing Selene's fury against pack laws. "No… no, let's not do that," he muttered. "They'll question us if we do. She's… part of the pack too." The words tasted like ash. "But she'll be punished." His eyes fixed on me, cold and unforgiving. "Bring me the whips."
Ariel screamed in horror, a raw, piercing sound that tore at my heart. But Sophia, face alight with grotesque excitement, shouted triumphantly and rushed out.
Seconds later, she returned with a long, thick whip coiled in her hands. Not the kind used for training or sport this was a torture device, intricately braided leather ending in multiple cruel thongs.
My breath hitched. I knew that whip well. Its twisted thongs had mastered every inch of my body, leaving behind a map of scars only I could read. My skin crawled just looking at it.
"Strip!" my father commanded, his voice ironclad.
My legs trembled from exhaustion and pain but pushed me upright. Ariel, tears streaking her face, clutched my torn gown. "No, Hazel! Don't!"
I gently took her hand, fingers brushing her warm skin. I forced a sweet, fragile smile that didn't reach my eyes. "I'll be fine," I whispered.
With detached hands, I began to unbutton my gown a rough homespun garment discarded by my sisters. The stained fabric slipped away, revealing bruised skin. I stood shivering in only my petticoat and bra despite the room's warmth.
"Come forward," my father ordered, void of emotion.
Each step was agony, my muscles protesting silently. I walked toward him, toward the waiting whip, toward the pain I knew was inevitable. My eyes fluttered shut, bracing for the searing bite of leather the ritual pain, the public display of my worthlessness.
But instead of the whip's crack, a sudden scream pierced the room.
"Sir!" Mara, one of my co-maids, burst in, eyes wide with fear and urgency. She bowed curtly to my father, voice trembling. "Beta Caspian is here."