Chapter 10: The Loan Sharks

Jayden and Jordan both stopped, crossing their arms in unison, their expressions instantly hardening into matching scowls.

"No way," Jayden snapped, shaking his head. "It’s way too dangerous for you to be there."

"He’s right," Jordan added sternly. "Once you get involved in gambling, there’s no stepping out of it. Besides, that place is packed with dangerous wolves from all over the district. It’s no place for a girl, let alone an Omega."

I stared at them, fighting the urge to laugh out loud. Dangerous wolves? They should be worried about them, not me. I am the danger in any room I walk into.

"Look, just take the pocket money I send you," Jordan said softly, reaching out to ruffle my hair, though I ducked slightly to avoid his touch. "Buy yourself something nice. Don’t think about casinos. Give me your phone."

The moment he confirmed he was sending cash directly to Brianna’s phone, my internal annoyance vanished. Money was money. If I had starting capital on the device, I could find my own way into a gambling den, with or without them.

Suddenly, I paused, tapping my skirt pockets.

The phone.

I had left Brianna’s device—the informative box holding all her data and accounts—sitting on the nightstand back in my room.

"I forgot my phone at home," I said, turning on my heel. "Let’s head back."

"Already?" Jayden asked, though he didn’t protest. "Alright, let’s go."

As we turned back down the alley, the twins walked ahead of me, cracking stupid jokes and shoving each other’s shoulders like idiots.

Idiots, I thought, watching their backs. Absolute fools.

Yet, deep within Brianna’s lingering memories, a soft, familiar echo resonated. She had loved their stupidity. It made her feel safe.

A sudden, quiet warmth bloomed in my chest again—that same terrifying sensation from last night. I pressed my hand flat over my chest, watching them laugh.

Well... they’re my idiots to manage now. They’re my family, so I’ll treat them as such.

We turned the corner into our street, but the light atmosphere shattered instantly.

A sharp, cruel voice echoed from our front yard, accompanied by the dull, violent thud of wood splintering.

"P-Please! Just give us a few more weeks! We’ll have the interest, I promise!"

It was our father’s voice, cracking with pure humiliation and helplessness.

Jayden and Jordan froze, their playful expressions vanishing into rage. We sprinted around the final bend and stopped dead in our tracks.

Four men were standing in our small yard, wrecking everything in sight. Two were broad-shouldered Betas carrying heavy wooden clubs, while the other two were plain human thugs kicking over our faded flowerpots and breaking the porch railing.

My mother was huddled against the doorway, weeping silently, while my father was on his knees, his hands clasped together in desperate plea.

The loan sharks.

Brianna’s memories flashed violently across my mind. Bradford and Valerie had taken loans far beyond their paycheck. Half the loan had been taken out to pay Brianna’s entry fees and tuition for Ravenhollow Academy. The other half had gone straight to emergency hospital bills when Valerie’s appendix ruptured—expenses that had destroyed them because they lacked health insurance.

"Interest?" The lead Beta barked out a laugh, spitting onto the grass inches from my father’s knee. "You haven’t even touched the principal loan in six months! You think we’re running a charity for pathetic Omegas?"

"We will pay!" Valerie sobbed from the porch. "Please, don’t hurt him!"

"Pay with what?" The thug stepped closer, looming over my father with a disgusted sneer. "You don’t have the money. You barely pay the interest! At this rate, you’re better off selling your organs."

The men chuckled, a dark, wretched sound.

The lead Beta leaned down, gripping my father by his collar and bringing his face inches away. "Or better yet," he purred, his tone dripping with malice, "sell that useless daughter of yours. I’m sure a young Omega girl will fetch a decent price on the black market."

The men cackled, a filthy, revolting sound that cut straight through the morning air.

​"No! Don’t touch my daughter!"

​The cruel suggestion instantly incited Valerie’s motherly instincts. She scrambled across the porch, throwing her frail body over my father’s back, tears streaming down her face as she pleaded frantically. "If you want anything—please! Take whatever we have. You can even take the house. If you want to take someone, then take me. I’ll do anything! Just don’t touch my daughter!"

​The Beta sneered down at her, shoving her shoulder back with a dirty foot. "You? You’re all skin and bones. No one’s gonna buy a worn-out old grandma."