Free Web NovelChapter 8: Chapter 8 Secret Butterflies
Jade’s POV
I walked through the pack grounds with my mind completely tangled around one single question
Why would Renzo secretly protect me?
It didn’t make sense.
None of it did.
Renzo despised me, or at least, he acted like it with every cold stare, every clipped word, every time he joined his brothers in tormenting me. He never spared me a second glance unless it was to judge or condemn.
So why.... why pay a guard to go easy on me?
I just couldn’t stop thinking about it.
But as I moved through the grounds, my confusion was drowned out by the voices around me.
“There she is.”
“The little thief.”
“Did you see how they flogged her?”
“On her birthday too, what a curse.”
“She deserves more.”
“Should’ve been fifty strokes.”
“Should’ve been death, like her father.”
Their laughter stung more than any whip.
Fingers pointed.
Whispers followed me like a shadow.
Some didn’t bother whispering at all.
I kept walking.
My back burned, my chest tightened, and humiliation clung to my skin like filth. All I wanted was to reach home, to hide, even for a little while.
When I finally pushed open our door, I expected silence.
Instead, I found my mother crouched on the floor, shaking violently, her face buried in her hands.
“Mum?” My heart lurched as I rushed to her side. “Mum, are you alright?”
She looked up, eyes red and swollen, and before I could say anything else, she grabbed me and pulled me into a desperate embrace.
“Oh, Jade,” she sobbed, her body trembling against mine. “My baby.... my baby, I’m so sorry.”
I wrapped my arms around her tightly, holding her as she cried into my shoulder.
“Mum, it’s okay,” I whispered, though my voice cracked. “I’m here. I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not,” she choked out, cupping my face with shaking hands. “I couldn’t come, I couldn’t bear to see you locked behind those bars... like him. And then... then watching them flog you? My heart.... I thought I would break.”
Her voice shattered, and another wave of sobs wracked her body.
Guilt stabbed through me like a dagger.
“Mum, listen,” I murmured, holding her hands. “It didn’t even hurt that much. Really. And because you pleaded with the Alpha on my behalf, they only gave me twenty strokes instead of fifty.”
Her face twisted with pain.
“You’re not supposed to be going through any of this in the first place,” she cried. “It’s your eighteenth birthday, Jade. You should be celebrating with friends, not.... not being framed for theft or humiliated in front of the entire pack.”
“Mum....”
“It’s unfair!” she screamed softly, voice cracking under the weight of suffering. “Why is life so cruel to us? Why does everything go wrong? How much more do we have to endure?”
Tears welled in my eyes, spilling down my cheeks before I could stop them. Seeing her like this, heartbroken, defeated, hurt more than anything I’d experienced today.
I hugged her again, tighter this time, burying my face in her shoulder.
“I’m okay, Mum,” I whispered, even though my voice trembled. “We’ll get through this. We always do.”
A shadow appeared in the doorway.
We both looked up.
One of the younger kitchen staff stood there, arms crossed, face twisted with irritation and something that looked disturbingly like satisfaction.
“You’re needed in the kitchen,” she said to my mother, her tone dripping with spite. “Right now.”
My mother quickly wiped her tears with the hem of her worn dress and stood up, trying to compose herself.
“I’m coming right away,” she said softly.
She turned back to me, placing a gentle hand on the top of my head.
“Wait for me here, okay? I’ll be back soon.”
I nodded, forcing a small smile.
“Okay, Mum.”
She hesitated, just for a heartbeat, like she didn’t want to leave me, then followed the girl out.
As the door closed, the room fell silent.
And my heart....
My heart shattered just a little more, watching the strongest person I knew being dragged through life like this.
I let out a long, shaky sigh as soon as the door closed behind my mother.
Everything inside me felt tight, my chest, my throat, even the muscles on my back where the whip had kissed my skin over and over again.
I needed a break.
Just a moment to breathe.
Somewhere quiet. Somewhere private.
Somewhere the world couldn’t reach me.
And I knew the perfect place.
I pushed myself off the floor and stood, ignoring the sting that shot through my back as I straightened. A hot bath would help numb the pain.... even if only a little.
Without wasting time, I slipped out of the house and headed down the small path that led toward the forest. The trees grew thicker the farther I went, branches arching over me like a natural canopy, swallowing the light and leaving only soft rays reaching the forest floor.
Deep inside these woods, hidden far away from prying eyes, was a hot spring, my secret place. A small pool fed by warm underground waters, surrounded by tall trees and thick bushes. People rarely came here, most didn’t even know it existed.
It was quiet.
It was peaceful.
It was mine.
By the time I reached the spring, steam rose gently from the surface, curling into the air like a soft invitation.
Finally.... something good today.
I let my dress fall to the ground and stepped in, naked. The instant my skin touched the water, heat wrapped around me like a comforting cloak.
Then....
The sting hit.
Sharp and biting along my back where the whip had split my skin.
I sucked in a breath but stayed still, letting the warmth seep deeper into me, letting the water soothe the parts of me that still trembled from shame and anger.
Eventually, I sank until the water reached my shoulders, leaning my head back against the smooth stone edge.
For the first time today, I allowed myself to close my eyes.
At least for a few minutes... I could relax.
Tonight was the wolf awakening ceremony for everyone that turned 18 today, though Linda had basically hijacked the event as her birthday party to showcase herself as the main character of everything. And she would awaken her wolf tonight too.
I wasn’t looking forward to it. At all.
But that was a problem for later.
After a while, my fingers wrinkled and my body loosened, the heat working its small miracles. When I finally stood up and stepped out of the spring, water dripping down my skin, I reached for my dress....
And froze.
A large snake was coiled right on top of it.
A loud scream tore out of me instinctively.
“Who would’ve thought a snake would be afraid of its own kind?”
I spun around, heart pounding in my throat.
Ryder.
He stood leaning casually against a tree, arms crossed, watching me with a blank, and annoyingly amused, expression.
Heat rushed to my cheeks when I realized, I was completely naked.
I gasped and immediately used my arms to cover my chest, mortified.
“W.... What are you doing here?!” I demanded, voice high and panicked.
Ryder didn’t answer.
He just walked forward, completely unfazed, bent down, grabbed the snake with one gloved hand, and tossed it effortlessly into the bushes.
Then he straightened and looked at me again, as if waiting.
I swallowed hard.
“What are you doing here?” I repeated, quieter this time, trying desperately to keep my voice even. freёwebnoѵel.com
But Ryder didn’t bother replying.
“Turn your back,” he said flatly.
I blinked. “Why?”
He didn’t shout.
He didn’t glare.
But the expression he gave me, the quiet, piercing one, told me arguing would be very, very stupid.
So I slowly turned around, clutching my arms tightly to my chest, still confused and on edge.
“What are you....”
I flinched hard when I felt his fingers graze my back.
A soft gasp slipped from my lips.
His touch was gentle, but it still hurt, every stroke of his fingertips trailing along the raised welts from the whip.
He didn’t say a word.
But I heard his breath, low and controlled behind me, as he traced each line like he was studying the damage.
Something cold touched my back.
I stiffened, but Ryder’s hand pressed lightly against my shoulder, silently asking, no, telling, me to stay still.
He was applying something.
An ointment. Something cool that soothed the burning in my skin almost immediately.
My breath hitched.
Of all people....
Ryder Ashridge was the last person I expected to find here.
The last person I expected to help me.
And yet...
Here he was.
Silently tending the wounds him and his own brothers had demanded to see inflicted
I didn’t know what to think.
I didn’t know what to feel.
All I knew was that my heart was suddenly beating far too fast, and Ryder’s quiet touch on my bruised skin was making my thoughts scatter in every direction.
