Hannah has quickly become my solace in this place. It's only been a day, but she's been by my side the whole time. I tried to argue at first, but seeing that she wasn't going to leave, I stopped all protests. It's hard to be mad at her when she cleaned the vomit from my hair. She also disinfected the slashes on my cheek, but she said they would need stitches. For now, my cheek is cleaned and patched. It still stings and throbs, but that I can handle.

Hannah listened as I cried and held me when my shoulders shook. She let me speak and she let me reveal everything I've been holding in since adolescence. All her previous judgement was washed away and I know a large part of that has to do with pity. But it's okay because it feels good to have someone while Rory is away. Because as she cried with me, swearing up and down she wasn't home while Timothy assaulted me, I realized that there are some people who would never wish something like rape on anyone. That and she seems to actually feel guilty for years of unnecessary hatred.

"Your birthday is tomorrow," Hannah whispers, turning onto her side to face me. I face her just as she does me and give an awkward shrug. "What do you mean? Aren't you worried?"

"There's nothing I can do, so what's the point in being worried? My fate has been set in stone."

Hannah sits up quickly. Her hazel eyes widen in disbelief as she gazes down at my face. She looks beautiful with her blonde hair messy from laying and her cheeks red with a natural blush. What I would give to live as carefree as her.

"Isn't your friend locked in a cell? Sophia-Grace, you cannot just leave him there," she shrieks, shaking her head.

My eyebrows become downcast as I frown in sadness. "Don't you think I know that? What can I do? Timothy raped me because I went down there and I don't want to know what he'll do when or if I get to set Rory free. God, I know that I need to get him out, Hannah, I know!"

Hannah grows quiet with my outburst. She purses her lips and looks away from me. I watch her as she lifts a hand to run through her tangled hair. Then she turns back and watches me. Hannah's lips part as she sighs.

"That's why I have a plan, Sophia-Grace." Her words cause me to rear back. They're unexpected and I didn't think she would put forth such effort for me.

I sit up and gaze at her, blinking rapidly. "What? What is it?"

Hannah shakes her head and presses a hand to my shoulder. "Listen, I can't tell you—"

"What do you mean?" I cut her off, groaning in annoyance. "Hannah, I need to know... we have to get Rory out, even if I'm stuck here."

A hand is pressed to my mouth, Hannah's hand. Her own mouth is agape and her eyes are disappointed. Something about her look causes me to feel upset, like I don't want her to look at me like that. I'd rather her look at me with disgust than disappointment. My whole life, everyone has been disappointed in me and I can't let my second friend be.

She drops her hand and shakes her head. "My plan gets the both of you out, Sophia-Grace. Do not, under any circumstances, try to sacrifice yourself. You will be fine, Rory will be fine. Do you understand me?"

Slowly, I nod my head. It feels as if my mother is scolding me, but instead I'm faced with this girl. The girl who, until last night, didn't care for me. But that doesn't matter now. What matters is the underlying guilt she's feeling. I can tell by the sadness constantly popping up in her eyes when she looks at me. I hate it, but at least I know that she's remorseful for her hurtful words of the past.

Hannah gives me an odd look. One of her eyebrows is raised as she tilts her head to the side. She's biting down on her bottom lip, hard enough to draw a small bit of blood. It makes me wonder just what she's thinking at the moment.

Before long, she turns away. I watch her as her chest puffs up, her breath being held before it's let out in a heavy gust. When her eyes are back on me, I look away awkwardly, not sure what this moment is meant to be or mean.

"You'll know what to do when the time comes," she whispers as she climbs off of my bed. "You need to know."

She doesn't give me time to reply as she leaves the room quickly, almost vanishing before my eyes. Hannah leaves nothing but a whiff of her flower scented perfume and a blonde strand of hair that rests on my pillow. I turn onto my back, sighing. Am I a coward for not going to Rory again? It's only been a day since the incident and I know he'd want me to stay safe. I'd also hate to explain to him why my body is battered and I have this wound on my face.

With those thoughts in my mind, I turn on my side and close my eyes. Sleep doesn't come easy, but the night before, after Hannah had cleaned me, I was plagued by nightmares. The result was a lack of rest to which I'm sadly paying for now.

When I do finally settle, I'm harassed by Timothy's face in my mind once again.

* * *

My body is shaking and I can't stop it. I throw my hands out to push away whoever is disturbing my sleep. It's the first time in two days I'm actually sleeping with no troubling thoughts or nightmares. That seems to not correlate to whoever this is as they continue their forceful shakes.

Slowly and cautiously, I open my eyes. The sun shines brightly through the window, blinding me momentarily with its rays. Clenching my eyes closed, I try again, this time slower than before. The face I see before me surprises me. It's my mother.

She has a grimace on her face as if she'd rather be doing anything but touching me. Her eyes are focused away from me as she tries to avoid as much eye contact as possible. The crow's feet by her eyes are prominent, a lot more than the last time I saw her. Her dark brown hair is riddled with strands of gray ones. They're new additions from what I can tell. Though I can say it has been a while, at least half a year. It seems she's been doing all she can to avoid me and she's been succeeding.

"Mother," I greet softly, as if I'm talking to a newborn kitten, trying my best not to startle her. "Hi."

Her response is first an annoyed sigh that causes my heart to ache. "Get up, Sophia-Grace. You need to shower and get ready for the ceremony." She doesn't even bother wishing me a happy birthday as she turns on her heel and struts out. What had I truly done to deserve such treatment from the woman who birthed me?

Her words register in my mind, smacking into me like a freight train. Today is my birthday, the day that I'll inherit the role of alpha before being forced to give away. It's the day my father is selling me to his beta's son. It's the last day of a somewhat free life.

I start to feel myself imploding as these thoughts repeatedly circle my mind. My breaths start to come out in pants as tears fill my eyes. I'll be forced to mate with Timothy—fully now. I'll bear his disgusting mark, never getting a chance to see if Rory is my mate or not. I'll not get a chance to know my actual mate because I'll be stuck with a ball and chain wrapped around me.

Lost in my thoughts, I barely register the creaking of my door. "Sophia-Grace?" Hannah's voice sounds into my small room. I turn my head to look at her and immediately catch the pity in her eyes.

"Please, don't feel sorry for me," I croak, reaching a hand up to wipe at my tears. My pinky finger grazes against the bandage on my cheek. "Will you help me redress my cheek? I have to get ready, today's the big day, you know?"

Hannah only watches me as I stand to my feet. The burning in my southern regions has stopped, thankfully. Now there's just a dull throb accompanied by slight soreness. It makes me wonder if there is any damage done down there. Shaking my head, I push that negativity away. It's my birthday and I'm not even able to properly enjoy it.

"Soph..." Hannah steps closer to me. I avoid her eyes, not wanting to have a heart to heart right now. She sighs and shakes her head. "Come on, let's get you ready then."

And I force a smile onto my face, hoping that it's enough to hide my pain.