My Rib Is Her Guitar Pick Chapter 03

My Rib Is Her Guitar Pick Chapter 03

On the fourth day, I was cleared to leave the pack hospital.

The titanium-alloy rib implant felt as though it were lodged in my windpipe. Every step sent a burning pain through my lungs.

The first thing I did after leaving the hospital was go to the warrior command office and formally resign from the warrior ranks.

The title of Golden Warrior was a rare honor, and each pack could have only one. It marked me as both the strongest warrior in the pack and the one most favored by the Moon Goddess. My wolf’s coat would gleam with brilliant golden light.

Now my wolf lay inside me with her once-radiant coat gone dull. I could never hold the title of Golden Warrior again. Perhaps I could still fight, but I no longer wanted to serve Ironmoon Pack.

Afterward, I returned to my parents’ old house in Dregs Hollow, carrying a bank card linked to the account containing the money I had borrowed from Vinterborn.

I had bought the house for my parents with my savings when I first became a warrior.

But almost as soon as I bought it, my parents announced that the house would eventually belong to my sister, Vesna Ironcrest, so she could build a home there with her future mate.

If I left the pack, I doubted I would be able to keep the property.

But the moment I entered the backyard, I stopped short.

Seraphina was sitting at the patio table with her guitar, holding a pick carved from my rib between her fingers. Malak sat beside her, feeding her pieces of fruit.

When Seraphina saw me, she greeted me with a smile.

“Sunniva, you’re back? My show needs an opening music video with a humble, homey atmosphere. Malak said your house was perfect, so he brought me here. We also came to give Vesna enough money to buy the condo she wants.”

“I’m really sorry about what happened that day. I was drunk. Your parents have already said it was all a misunderstanding, and they accepted my apology on your behalf.”

My parents eagerly agreed with her, but their eyes never left the two bank cards on the table.

Not one of them asked how I was recovering after surgery.

I walked over and stared at the mermaid-cut bonding gown Seraphina was wearing, a mocking smile curving my lips.

“Stealing my rib wasn’t enough, so now you’re stealing my bonding gown too? Do your fans know you’re a thief?”

Seraphina’s expression shifted, and she looked at Malak with wounded eyes.

Malak immediately moved in front of her, displeasure written across his face. “That’s enough, Sunniva. Stop attacking her. I loaned Sera the bonding gown for her music video because she didn’t have anything suitable to wear. Besides, you don’t have her figure. The gown would have been wasted on you.”

I had commissioned that bonding gown six months ago.

I had never even tried it on, yet another woman was already wearing it.

The hem dragged through the wet grass in the backyard, collecting dirt and grass clippings.

I looked at Malak. “What am I supposed to wear? The bonding ceremony is at the end of the month. Doesn’t your Luna deserve a bonding gown?”

He frowned impatiently.

“It’s only a formality. Rent any gown you want when the time comes. Stop being so petty.”

I had nothing left to say. I pushed the two bank cards back toward him.

“Take your money back. We’ve already broken the mate bond, and Vesna doesn’t need you to buy her a condo.”

Malak’s face darkened. He turned to my parents with a sneer.

“Is that so? Do Mr. and Mrs. Ironcrest feel the same way? That’s a shame. I was planning to establish a bonding settlement trust worth six hundred thousand gold coins.”

My parents’ eyes lit up instantly.

Before I could speak, my mother pinched me viciously.

“Did the Healers remove your brain along with your rib? Vesna will have a respectable household to maintain someday. Don’t you think she’ll need money? Can’t you think about this family’s reputation for once? And you think you can simply break your mate bond with an Alpha whenever you feel like it?”

So they really had signed the surgical consent.

I closed my eyes as the last trace of warmth inside me died.

“What else do you want from me? Just to protect his reputation, you signed away my career and my health. You stood by while my mate paraded another woman around, and none of you even bothered to ask how I was recovering.”

“Vesna is perfectly healthy. If she wants a condo, she can earn it herself. I am my own person, not a bargaining chip you can trade for social status. I will not be Malak’s Luna!”

The moment I finished, my father slapped me across the face and roared at me.

“Know your place!”

“You’re nothing but a warrior from Dregs Hollow. You should count yourself lucky that the Ashwood family is willing to accept you!”

“Complete the bonding ceremony like you’re told, take your place in the Ashwood family, and help Vesna move in better circles. Wouldn’t that be safer than continuing as a warrior? If you mention breaking the mate bond again, get out of this house!”

My father had spent more than twenty years doing manual labor in a warehouse, and his strength was staggering. The blow immediately filled my mouth with the metallic taste of blood.

I cupped my stinging cheek and twisted my lips into a bitter smile.

Only when my father raised his hand to strike me again did Malak speak in a slow, measured voice.

“That’s enough. You dare lay a hand on my mate right in front of me? Are you challenging me?”

My father’s expression changed instantly. “I wouldn’t dare. Sunniva, I only lost my temper because I was worried. Don’t take it to heart. Mr. Ashwood, you two take your time. Her mother and I will go inside and pour Sunniva a glass of iced tea.”

As I watched them snatch up the bank cards and hurry into the house, grief washed over me.

These were my parents.

They had never cared about me. All that mattered was whether I could elevate the Ironcrest family into elite pack society.

They offered me scraps of warmth only when I submitted to their demands.

Malak sighed.

“Sunniva, I know how badly you want your family to get along. Think about it. I’m the only one who doesn’t look down on you for coming from a neighborhood like Dregs Hollow. I’m the only one willing to bring you into elite pack society, and the only one who can keep your parents under control. Be good and stop making trouble. Does your face hurt?”

His voice carried the condescension of a man offering charity.

This was Malak. He knew exactly how to exploit my emotional weak spots and force me to give in.

Malak reached out to touch my face, but I moved away.

“I don’t need your false concern. Since you gave Vesna that money, she can repay the debt herself.”

“As for the two hundred thousand gold coins from before, I’m paying you back now. From this point on, we owe each other nothing.”

I threw the bank card onto the table.

Malak’s face darkened at once. He seemed to sense that something was beginning to slip beyond his control.

He was about to speak when Seraphina linked her arm through mine and tried to reason with me.

“Sunniva, you only held the title of Golden Warrior for six months, and you have no powerful family behind you. Where did you get two hundred thousand gold coins? Did you find another member of the pack elite to suck up to?”

I tore my arm away in disgust. “That’s none of your business!”

Seraphina lost her balance, stepped on the hem of the gown, and fell backward.

Malak hurriedly caught her before glaring at me in fury.

“Sunniva, Sera was only trying to help, and you shoved her. Apologize right now!”

I scoffed and enunciated every word. “I will not.”

Then I left without the slightest hesitation.

Malak’s furious warning followed me.

“You’ll regret this, Sunniva!”

I never slowed down, and I never looked back.