<h4>Chapter 1: The Taste of Despair</h4>


    <strong><i>~Hazel’s POV~</i></strong>


    I scrubbed the floor harder, tears stinging my eyes as the wine soaked into my rag. Natasha had spilled it on purpose again. The tile was already spotless before, but she didn’t care. None of them did.


    The moment I was done, she kicked the ss over again,ughing cruelly.


    "Oops," she giggled, and Lilian and Sophia joined her, theirughter echoing through the room. And then her face gleamed with intense menacingly in a way I could recognize she’s about to say something horrible.


    "Use your face this time," She snapped, her voice sharp like broken ss.


    I froze. "What?" I hissed under my breath.


    That was enough to set her off.


    "I said Use your face this time." She said as her hand flew to my face, the p ringing loud in the silent tension that followed.


    "No..please." I whispered fearing another p.


    <i>Natasha had always been my father’s pride. I on the other hand, Was a mistake.</i>


    I whimpered as Sophia and Lilian yanked my arms behind me, holding me down while Natasha shoved my face to the floor.


    "Pls don’t do this, Pls." I cried.


    "Scrub it properly," she ignored all of my pleas.


    The wine burned against the fresh cut on my cheek, and some trickled into my mouth. I choked, gagging.


    "That’s what your ugly face deserves," Natasha spat.


    Sophiaughed beside her. "Poor floor," she mocked. "Imagine having to be kissed by that."


    When they finally let me go, I scrambled to the far corner of the room. My face was bleeding. I could see strands of my brte hair on the floor where they’d ripped it out.


    "Ew," Lilian sneered. "Her hair’s disgusting. Let’s chop it off."


    Panic gripped me. <i>Hit me. Shame me. Fine. But not my hair!</i>


    I watched in horror as Natasha reached for a pair of scissors, her eyes gleaming with cruelty.


    "Don’t worry, sister," she said in a sugary-sweet tone, tilting her head. "Maybe next time, don’te back as a human."


    They all howled withughter.


    Before I could run, Lilian and Sophia grabbed me again.


    "Hold her," Natasha said, stepping closer with the scissors in hand


    And then the door mmed open.


    A normal child would’ve felt relief seeing their father. But not me. Never me.


    The moment his eyesnded on me, my heart dropped.


    He didn’t ask if I was okay. He didn’t care about the blood or the fear on my face. His lips curled in disgust.


    "Father," Natasha purred.


    "What, darling?" he answered gently, his expression soft only for her. Then he nced at me, eyes narrowing. "Why is there noise?"


    "Nothing, Dad," she said with a smile. "Your maid daughter just doesn’t know how to y."


    He looked at me the same way he always did. Like I was a stain on the family name.


    The former Beta of the mighty Blue Moon Pack once feared, now just bitter cursed with four powerful she-wolves... While I was just a result of the one-night stand he had with a human.


    "They were going to cut my hair, Fa—"


    Before the word even left my mouth, his hand struck me.


    "Don’t you ever call me that," he growled. "You should be grateful they even want to y with you. Not scream like we’re torturing you."


    "y?"


    The tiny voice stopped all of us.


    Ariel stood in the doorway, her wide green eyes filled with horror. She was the youngest of us, and the only one with a heart. She ran to me without hesitation, wrapping her arms around me.


    "Father! They wanted to cut her hair!" she cried.


    He yanked her away from me. "And so what?" he snapped.


    "She should be thankful. That horrible hair needs a fix anyway. Natasha’s just being generous."


    "NO!" Ariel screamed, struggling in his grip.


    But he didn’t listen.


    Instead, he turned to my sisters.


    "Go on," he said.


    They all shrieked like they’d just won the damn lottery.


    Before I could even move, they were on me. Lilian and Sophia grabbed my arms, pulling me forward as I thrashed and screamed.


    "No! Stop!"


    But they didn’t care.


    Natasha yanked a handful of my hair my long, beautiful ck hair and with one brutal slice, she chopped it off.


    The sound of the scissors echoed in my head like a scream, but it was nothingpared to the hollow silence that followed. I stared in disbelief as strands of my hair fluttered to the floor.


    And then... theyughed.


    Not just the sisters.


    My father too.


    He threw his head back and chuckled like it was aedy show.


    Like my pain was entertainment.


    Ariel broke free from his grasp and ran to me, her face pale and soaked in tears.


    "Hazel!" she cried, kneeling beside me. Her tiny arms wrapped around my trembling frame as her voice cracked. "Oh my God..."


    But I wasn’t crying anymore.


    No.


    Something inside me snapped.


    My vision blurred—not from tears, but from rage.


    zing. Pure. Unfiltered rage.


    I stood up slowly, trembling like a live wire. I could hear the blood pounding in my ears.


    Natasha was stillughing, flicking my severed hair with her fingers like it was a trophy.


    "You" I whispered. Then I snapped.


    I lunged.


    My hands shot out and grabbed Natasha by her fake blonde waves. She shrieked, trying to pry my fingers off, but I was too far gone.


    "You bastard!" she screamed. "Let go! I’ll kill you!"


    "No," I growled, grabbing the scissors from the floor. "I’ll go first."


    And with one clean slice, I cut arge chunk of her precious golden hair. She let out a blood-curdling scream.


    "<strong>MY HAIR! YOU FREAKING BITCH!"</strong>


    But before I could move again, I felt his hand.


    My father’s monstrous grip mped around my arm, yanking me back like I weighed nothing.


    Then CRASH.


    NovelFire


    He threw me.


    My back mmed against the wall with a crack. My vision went white.


    For a second, I didn’t feel anything. Not the pain. Not the screams.


    Just emptiness.


    Like my soul floated above my broken body.


    From somewhere far away, I heard Natasha’s sobbing.


    "She ruined my hair!" she wailed. "Oh my Goddess..Cayden won’t love me anymore! I I was supposed to be Luna! Look what she did!"


    Lilian and Sophia rushed to her side,forting her like she was the victim.


    And then he came at me again. Heavy footsteps. A looming shadow.


    I could barely breathe before his hands were around my throat.


    Choking. Crushing.


    "You dare touch my daughter?" he growled. "You disgusting little mistake"


    "FATHER!" Ariel screamed. "She’s human! She can die!"


    That stopped him for a second. Barely.


    <i>Then..</i>


    <strong>BANG</strong>.


    A thunderous voice cracked across the room like a whip. Every single person froze.


    I knew that voice—We all did.The air turned cold.


    Standing in the doorway, dressed in sleek ck silk and dripping with quiet fury, was the only person my father ever flinched at:


    <strong><i>Stepmom</i></strong>.