The Lunar Curse: A Second Chance With Alpha Draven novel Chapter 297

Chapter 297: Already Bleeding

~Third Person~

Wanda held her smile, but her words began to stumble under the pressure of her father’s gaze. "It’s the truth, Father. Draven had no—"

Suddenly, a sharp crack split the air before she could finish.

A whip, long and thin, lashed across her cheek so fast her head snapped to the side. And immediately, pain flared hot, her skin splitting open as blood streaked down.

Before Levi could even react, Reginald struck again. The second lash curled around Wanda’s leg, biting into the skin before yanking her off her feet. She fell hard against the polished floor, a cry breaking from her lips.

"How dare you tell a straight lie to my face!" Reginald’s voice thundered, reverberating through the sitting room like a storm.

"Father!" Levi’s tone rang out, sharp with fury. He held his father’s furious gaze for a few seconds, then, he dropped to his knees beside Wanda and quickly moved his hands to steady her.

Wanda winced as one hand clutched against her bleeding cheek, her body trembling from the shock of both pain and humiliation.

Her breath came ragged, and for the second time already, her sharp tongue failed her completely.

Levi’s jaw tightened, his glare flashing back up toward their father. But Reginald stood unmoving, his whip coiled in his hand and his eyes cold as steel, as though he had done nothing more than swat an insect daring to defy him.

The next moment, he stepped forward and spoke with a sharp tone.

"Did you really think I wouldn’t know?" His glare pinned Wanda to the floor where she lay. "This nonsense about reassignment—do you take me for a fool? I know very well that Draven sent you packing."

Wanda flinched, her lips parting as if to argue, but no words came.

Reginald’s tone sharpened, every word a lash of its own. "If it were true, if Draven had truly reassigned you, why weren’t you brave enough to send word first? Why slink back unannounced and crawl to my doorstep like a beaten dog?"

Wanda’s breath hitched. The prideful confidence she had once flaunted in Duskmoor seemed like a distant memory; here, before her father, she was reduced to nothing but silence.

Reginald stepped closer, his voice rising, heavy with disdain. "You failed me, Wanda. I gave you one task—get rid of Meredith Carter, and win Draven’s heart. And instead?"

He let the words hang in the air as his eyes narrowed into slits. "You return empty-handed, humiliated, and with nothing to show but excuses."

Levi clenched his jaw, his hands steadying Wanda as she trembled. "Father—"

"Silence!" Reginald barked, the crack of authority in his voice silencing even Levi for the moment.

Just then, his gaze returned to Wanda, hard and unrelenting. "You’ve brought disgrace into this house. And worse, you have proven yourself useless to me."

Wanda’s fingers curled weakly against the floor, the sting of the whip burning on her cheek and leg, but sharper still was the crushing weight of his words.

Regardless of what she had been through, she forced herself into an upright position, thanks to her brother’s help.

"Father, you blame me, but this isn’t all my fault." Her voice shook, but the words tumbled out in a rush.

"Yes, Draven sent me away, but ask yourself why. He didn’t cast me aside because of any random reason. Instead, he did it because you betrayed me."

At last, he spoke in a low cutting tone, "You will not grovel here on the floor. You will rise and prove you are still a Fellowes." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Wanda lifted her head slowly, fear and confusion mingling in her expression.

"I am giving you one final chance," Reginald said, his hand tightening around the coiled whip.

"If you want to redeem yourself, you will find a way to break that woman. You will dismantle her influence, weaken her bond with Draven, and make her stumble in her place as his wife.

If you cannot win Draven’s heart with that woman there, then you will make his mate stumble so badly that he will regret ever placing her by his side. And finally, you will kill her off."

Levi’s jaw tightened, but he held his tongue, his hand still steadying Wanda.

Reginald’s eyes burned into Wanda. "Do this, or you are no daughter of mine."

The words cut deeper than the whip had. Wanda’s lips trembled as she searched for air. Then, in a voice both bitter and broken, she whispered bitterly, "I... can’t."

Reginald’s head snapped, his voice sharp. "What did you say?"

"I can’t touch her," Wanda said louder this time, though her voice cracked. Her fingers curled tight against her bloodied cheek, nails digging into her skin. "Because Meredith is Draven’s mate."

For a moment, the room stilled. Even Levi’s breath caught at the admission.