Chapter 3My Mate Exchanged Me for His Kidnapped Ex

My daughter raced back with the therapist at her side.

They had just reached the main entrance of the pack house when they encountered Willow blocking their path.

When Willow spotted my daughter carrying pain-relieving herbs, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Without warning, she shifted into her wolf form—a sleek, tawny beast with gleaming yellow eyes. She lunged forward, knocking my small daughter violently to the ground.

Her razor-sharp claws dug into my daughter's tender skin, tearing four deep gashes across her shoulder and chest. Blood immediately soaked through her thin shirt.

"You worthless little runt," Willow snarled, partially shifting her face back to human form to speak while keeping her claws extended. "Know your place."

My daughter cried out in pain but refused to let go of the herbs in her small hands.

Willow turned her attention to the trembling therapist.

"Didn't Alpha Kieran order all healers to help treat me after I was kidnapped? Why are you wasting time with this brat instead of protecting the pack from rogues?"

The therapist's face turned ashen. He stammered, "M-Miss Willow, all the senior warriors are patrolling the borders. The pack is safe. I'm just a therapist, I wouldn't be much help in a fight—"

Willow's claws extended further, threatening. "Are you saying I'm not worth protecting? Is that what you're saying?"

"No! Of course not!" The therapist took a step back, but my daughter still clutched the herbs tightly.

Willow's attention snapped back to my daughter. With a savage growl, she raked her claws across my daughter's back, shredding her clothing and leaving bloody furrows in her skin.

My daughter screamed in agony but held on tighter to the herbs.

"Please," she begged through her tears. "My mother needs these. She's in pain."

Willow shifted fully back to human form, but her movements were no less vicious. She grabbed my daughter by her hair and slammed her face against the stone floor.

"Willow?"

Kieran's incredulous voice suddenly rang out, freezing everyone in place.

My daughter's dull eyes suddenly brightened, and she called out weakly through her split lips:

"Daddy..."

Kieran started to walk over, but Willow spun around and intercepted him.

"Kieran, I was just looking for you," she cooed.

Willow signaled to her beta friends to block my daughter from view, then laughed softly as she threw herself into Kieran's arms.

Kieran sensed something was wrong and frowned:

"Willow, is that Emma on the ground? Did you hurt her?"

Willow's eyes flickered, and tears immediately began to flow:

"Kieran, I'm sorry, but when you weren't here, Emma came up to me and accused me of lying about being kidnapped by rogues."

"I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but then she deliberately ran into me,"

"You know I'm still traumatized from the kidnapping, and the therapist said..."

Kieran's expression grew increasingly dark, the doubt in his eyes gradually transforming into anger.

"Ava really doesn't know how to raise a child anymore."

"You're already so fragile after your ordeal, if she had triggered your trauma and caused lasting damage, I definitely wouldn't let them off."

My spirit stood right in front of Kieran, desperately trying to explain.

No, Emma didn't do anything wrong!

My daughter is a good girl, Willow is lying to you!

My daughter seemed to hear his words too, and painfully called out:

"Daddy..."

The beta friend immediately covered her mouth before she could say more.

Kieran heard her voice and paused, about to turn around.

"Is Emma calling me?"

Willow's expression twisted for an instant, then she pretended to be strong and released Kieran's arm:

"Then go comfort Emma, I'll be fine."

"Even though she's the one who told the rogues where to find me and nearly took me away from you forever..."

"She's still just a child, I forgive her."

Her words transformed the hesitation in Kieran's eyes into cold determination.

Kieran let out a harsh laugh, leaving Willow behind as he strode away.

"Since her mother can't control her, Willow, you can help me discipline her properly."

"Without proper punishment, Ava will eventually ruin her."

"I'll wait for you upstairs."

Watching his retreating figure, my daughter struggled more violently against the betas.

Willow walked up to my daughter and slapped her hard across the face several times.

My daughter's face was completely swollen now, her lips split open, streams of blood flowing down.

Yet no matter what happened, she refused to let go of the pain-relieving herbs clutched in her small hands.

Willow wasn't satisfied yet. She extended her claws and dragged them across my daughter's eye, leaving deep scratches.

"Little mongrel, just as worthless as your mother."

I frantically tried to strangle the violent Willow, but my ghostly hands passed through her.

I fell to my knees, sobbing and banging my head against the floor in desperation.

Begging Willow to spare my child, to remember she was just a little girl.

It was useless.

I felt such hatred—hatred that I died too early, that I couldn't protect my own child.

The violence continued until Willow's pet dog whimpered nearby.

"Baby, did that scare you?"

Willow stroked the dog's smooth fur, asking softly.

Then, as if she'd finally grown tired, she signaled the betas to release my daughter.

But before letting her go completely, Willow snatched the pain-relieving herbs from my daughter's bloody hands.

"Oh, what are these? Pain-relieving herbs? How perfect!"

My daughter tried to grab them back. "No! Those are for my mother! She needs them!"

Willow laughed coldly. "Look at my poor dog. He just scratched his claws while playing. He's injured and in such pain."

She knelt beside her pet, cooing softly. "Your father couldn't bear to see me so sad about my dog's little injury, so he just told me to use any herbs I need from the pack's supply."

As my daughter watched in horror, Willow crushed the herbs and mixed them with water, feeding the mixture to her perfectly healthy dog.

"There you go, precious. It might taste bitter, but it will make your scratched claw feel all better."

Willow then raised her foot and stomped hard on my daughter's bruised face, wearing an expression of false pity.

"Look, your father doesn't want you anymore."

"How sad."