From the ground where she kneeled, Quinn looked up at the man who stepped confidently through
the crowd, stopping in front of her. âStand up, Quinn..."
He offered her a hand, but Quinn neglected the act of taking it. Instead, her jaws clenched tighter as
she used her own strength to gather herself to her feet.
Jeo withdrew his arm daintily and looked around at his people. âApologize...and by the end of the
day, her home should be filled with as much food as you threw at her.â
The people who had been shouting ferociously at her bowed their heads in solemn and in fear. âWe
are deeply sorry...â They hummed in unison.
Quinn didnât utter a word of acceptance to them, because that apology was not as loud and
meaningful as their curse words were.
âGood.â The man gestured towards Quinn. âNow Come...follow me, I have something to discuss with
you.â
Quinn did as told, following him out of the marketplace and onto an empty and quiet road. Her
eyes lingered on his back and her mind to a time when her arms could wrap lovingly around it.
"Are you hurt?â
His voice was passive, holding no concern or sympathy.
As she walked through the usually noisy and crowded place, she realized it was significantly empty.
Only a few people stood at their stands and when they saw her, they all turned their backs. What?
They couldn't call her useless anymore because she was their beta?
Shaking her head in disbelief, she confidently walked past them all, heading in the direction of her
home; not the one she shared with Jeo for three years, but the one her father had built years back
when he was mated to her mother.
Quinn shoved the door open and went in, meeting her father, who waited anxiously in the living
room. âWhat did he say?â
Kathrine was beside him, looking up with a set of curious eyes.
âHe said that I must be his beta or else I'll be exiled.â
"What?! That little piece of sh*t! Does he not know that you two were practically raised together?
How could he ask you to be his beta the day after he rejects you?â
âIt's okay, father.â
âIt's not, the previous alpha Gale used to ask me to babysit him, when he goes out with his mate...
and I was left with him and you playing in one space. After all of that, he dares to treat my daughter
this way? It's not fair, to any of my children. He neither deserves Delilah nor you.â He stood to his
feet, running his hand through his half grey hair. âI'm going to speak with Gale...we've been friends
since we were kids, there must be a way to control his son.â
âFather...stop this. Don't go ther~"
He walked past her. âI'll be back...perhaps in the evening.â
Quinn watched him as he went, sighing when the front door slammed shut. She hoped he doesnât
cause any trouble because of her. She twisted back around, now facing her mother who still sat on
the couch. She didn't say anything, and neither did Quinn.
When the silence became too loud, Quinn laughed awkwardly. âI'll just head into my room...have a
good one, mom.â
And she did not hesitate to walk away, hiding in the closure of her room. The laugh she faked hurt
her lips...did her mother know about this before it happened? The fact that Delilah was in love with
Jeovanni... Or was it hard for her to believe too?
Quinn walked towards her mirror, looking at herself. She looked like a mess, no, she was a mess. Her
hair was messy, her eyes were red and puffy and her neck...the mark that had been on her neck...
It was nothing but a burn now, a scar that she wanted to get rid of.
Her shaky fingers drifted across the tainted skin. The trace of Jeo was now gone, and all that was left
was the reminder that it had been there.