## KAYLA'S POV
Sunlight crept through the glass windows, stinging my eyes. I blinked, trying to sit up, but my body felt like lead. My head pounded with a sharp, heavy ache. I had drunk far too much last night.
Stretching my limbs, I forced myself to sit up.
That was when I noticed the man sleeping beside me.
My heart dropped into my stomach. The haze in my mind cleared in a second, shattering the paralysis holding me down. The sudden move made my head throb violently.
"Ah," I gasped, clutching my forehead.
I looked at the sheets, then at the stranger beside me. It hit me all at once. I had given my virginity to a man I didn't even know—someone whose face I had never seen before in my life. Shame washed over me. I covered my face with both hands. I never could have imagined opening my legs for a complete stranger.
Pieces of the night began returning to me. The drinks. The table I danced on. The pervert touching me, and then this man stepping in to save me.
I got out of bed and dressed quickly, relieved to find my clothes neatly folded on a nearby chair. I glanced at him again. Even in his sleep, he was striking. His broad chest and lean, muscle-carved physique made him look like someone straight out of a magazine. Given his presence last night, he clearly held power.
I took a deep breath, turning to leave. But as I reached for the door, something on the bedside table caught my eye.
It was a bracelet. Simple, yet undeniably striking. The moment I saw it, an urge surged through me to take it. But doing that would make me a thief.
*Kill the urge, Kayla,* I told myself. *You are not a thief.*
I had already acted like a stripper last night. Adding theft to my list of bad decisions wasn't going to help.
I turned back toward the door, but my feet stopped. I hesitated, then walked right back over to the table and picked it up. The stranger was still fast asleep, completely unbothered.
Leaning down near his ear, I whispered, "Mr. Stranger, thank you for saving me last night. I'm taking your bracelet, okay? Consider it a keepsake from the night I lost my virginity."
Satisfied that I had at least said it out loud, I slipped the bracelet into my pocket and left the room.
On the walk back to my pack's territory, my mind raced. How was I going to face Adire after what she did with Diego? If I could, I would pack my things and run far away. She and her mother, Kate, had made my life a living nightmare for years.
When I finally reached my house, I froze.
Luggage, clothes, and personal belongings were scattered across the front porch and dirt pathway.
"What the hell is going on here?" I muttered. "Why are my clothes outside?"
Adire stood at the front door, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed. Seeing her face brought the memory of her in Diego's bed flooding back. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing the rage down, and began gathering my clothes from the ground.
"And where do you think you're going, bitch?" Adire called out.
I kept my voice flat, refusing to give her a reaction. "Move out of the way, Adire."
She let out a harsh laugh. "Or what? Look at you. You stink of misery. Get out of here. This isn't your home anymore."
I clenched my fists so hard my nails bit into my palms. I was done being pushed around.
"Who are you to tell me where I can live?" I snapped, stepping onto the porch. "I am an Alpha princess. You don't have the authority to kick me out. Move, or I'll make you."
"A loser like you can't threaten anyone," she sneered. "I'm terrified, Kayla. Really."
I tried to push past her into the doorway, but a heavy hand shoved me hard from the side. My feet tangled, and I hit the wooden porch floor, scraping my arms against the rough planks.
"Argh!" I gasped, clutching my bruised elbow. I looked up. "Why are you doing this?"
Kate stepped out, glaring down at me with pure venom. "There is no place for a whore in this family! If you want to be a stripper, go live in the gutters where you belong!"
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
"I'm talking about this!" Kate shoved her phone directly into my face.
On the screen was a video playing on loop. A woman dancing in her undergarments on top of a bar counter in front of a crowd of men. It was me.
My heart sank into my throat. How had someone filmed that? How was it online already?
I scrambled to my feet. "Kate, I can explain. It's not what it looks like. I was drunk—"
"Don't speak to me!" Kate cut me off, her voice sharp as a blade. "Your mother was a pathetic whore, and she raised a pathetic loser. You are nothing."
Tears spilled over my eyelashes.
"Now get off my property," Kate spat, stepping back into the house. "We won't let you bring any more shame to this name. If you have nowhere to go, go dig a hole next to your mother!"
The door slammed shut, and the lock clicked into place.
I stood alone on the porch, surrounded by my scattered clothes. My chest burned so badly I could barely breathe.
*Mom,* I thought, staring at the closed door through a blur of tears, *I don't think I can get up from this one.*