SAMANTHA.

The resting room was small and cramped and it smelled like sweat and dirt and fear. Wooden benches lined the walls and they were rough and splintered against my skin. Water basins sat in the corners and the water was murky and cold. The only light came from a single torch that flickered weakly in its sconce.

I sat on one of the benches and I pressed my head into my hands and I tried to catch my breath. My body was screaming with pain and my muscles were burning and my ankle was swollen to twice its normal size. Every part of me ached and I was exhausted and I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and sleep.

But I could not rest. Not yet. Not while Molly and the sisters were still out there.

I heard the door creak open.

I looked up and my blood turned cold. Molly Hanes stood in the doorway and her smile was wide and cruel and her eyes glittered with malice. She stepped inside and she closed the door behind her and the sound of the latch clicking into place echoed through the room like a death sentence.

"Samantha," she said sweetly. "I heard you had a very special night with Prince Darlington. How wonderful for you."

I did not answer. I did not move.

Molly walked toward me and her footsteps were slow and deliberate and they echoed against the stone floor. She stopped in front of me and she looked down at me with contempt.

"I heard about the chocolates," she continued. "And the villa. And the way he looked at you like you were something special." She laughed and the sound was bitter and cold. "Do you really think he cares about you? I want to remind you, that you seem to be forgetting your place in this palace as a slave. Do you really think for one day in your stupid little head, that the princes will take you seriously? Do you really think that you would ever reach up to par or you will be like any of us, the royals? You’re just a forsaken omega!! Don’t forget. "

"I do not know," I said. "And I do not care. I did not ask to be here. I was sold. Don’t you remember."

"Of course you care. You are desperate for any scrap of attention they give you."

"I am not desperate."

"You are pathetic. That is what you are. A pathetic, weak little wolf who does not deserve to be in the same room as the princes."

I stood up. My legs were shaking but I forced myself to stand. I looked her in the eyes and I said, "What do you want, Molly?"

She stepped closer and her face was inches from mine. "I want you to understand something," she said. "You are nothing. You will always be nothing. The only reason the princes even look at you is because they feel sorry for you. They pity you. They do not love you. They do not want you."

"That is not true."

"It is true. And I am going to prove it to you. The sisters and I are going to destroy you in the next round. And when you are sent away, I will be there to watch."

"You do not scare me, Molly."

"Maybe not. But I should."

She stepped back and she laughed again and the sound was hollow and cruel.

"You should have stayed in the shadows where you belong," she said.

I felt my face flush with anger. "You do not get to decide where I belong. You do not get to decide anything about my life. You are just a jealous bully who cannot stand that someone else might have something you do not."

Molly’s smile faded. Her eyes darkened.

"What did you say to me?"

"You heard me. You are jealous. You are jealous of the attention the princes give me. You are jealous of the villa. You are jealous of the chocolates. You are jealous of everything."

"You do not know what you are talking about."

"I know that you are threatened by me. And that is why you are here. That is why you are trying to scare me. Because you are afraid."

Molly’s face twisted with rage. Her hand shot out and she grabbed my throat and she squeezed.

I gasped. I could not breathe. Her fingers were like iron bands around my neck and they were cutting off my air.

"You should have kept your mouth shut," she hissed.

I tried to push her away but she was too strong. I tried to scratch her face but she grabbed my wrist and she twisted it and I cried out in pain.

I could not breathe. The room was spinning and I was seeing spots and I felt my body growing weak.

"I am going to make you regret ever coming here," Molly said. "I am going to make you wish you had never been born."

I tried to speak but no words came out. I tried to fight but my arms were too heavy.

Then I heard the door fly open and a voice shouted, "What do you think you are doing?"

Molly’s grip loosened and I collapsed to the floor and I gasped for air. I pressed my hand to my throat and I tried to breathe.

I looked up but my vision was blurry and my eyes were filled with tears. I could not see who was standing in the doorway.

But I heard the voice again. A voice that was cold and furious and full of authority.

"Get away from her. Now."

Molly stumbled backward and she said something but I could not hear the words. The room was spinning and my head was pounding and I felt myself slipping away.

The last thing I saw was a figure rushing toward me. The last thing I heard was a voice saying my name.

Then everything went dark.