Mia’s POV
The moment I saw Alpha Diego, I ran toward him, my legs moving faster than I thought possible. His arms opened wide, and I stumbled into his strong embrace, the tension in my body easing just slightly. He pulled back to examine me, his sharp eyes scanning my face, lingering on the bruise forming on my temple and the dried blood near my hairline.
“You’re hurt,” he said, his gaze hardening as he looked past me toward my stepbrothers.
“I’ll be fine,” I whispered.
Diego’s expression softened, and he placed a hand gently on my shoulder. “You don’t need to cry anymore, Mia. I know what they’ve done to you. Everything.”
The weight of his words hit me like a tidal wave, and the tears I had been holding back spilled over. “You know?” I managed to say.
He nodded. “I’ve been hearing whispers about their behavior, but I didn’t act fast enough. For that, I owe you an apology.” His hand tightened slightly on my shoulder, his expression filled with regret. “You’re my responsibility, and I failed to protect you.”
His words took me by surprise, and for a moment, I didn’t know how to respond. No one had ever apologized to me for what I’d been through.
“You didn’t fail me,” I said softly. “It’s not your fault.”
Diego shook his head, his jaw tight. “It is my fault. I should have stepped in long before it came to this. But I’m here now, and I promise you, Mia, I’ll make sure they never hurt you again.”
I looked over my shoulder at my stepbrothers, who were kneeling on the ground, unable to move under Diego’s Alpha command. The sight of them like this was surreal, and yet, I couldn’t ignore the small flicker of satisfaction it brought me.
“Go inside and rest,” Diego urged gently. “You’ve been through enough. Let me handle this.”
I hesitated, glancing between him and the brothers. “What are you going to do to them?”
Diego’s expression darkened as his gaze shifted toward them. “What they deserve. You don’t need to worry about that.”
Diego’s gaze shifted to them, cold and unyielding. “Kneel.”
The word carried the weight of his Alpha command, a power so strong that it made my brothers’ bodies teThe nse instantly. They resisted for a moment, but the force behind the order was too much for them to bear. One by one, they dropped to their knees, their heads bowed.
I watched in stunned silence. I’d never seen my stepbrothers so powerless, so vulnerable. The way Diego commanded them, the sheer authority he exuded, was like nothing I’d ever witnessed.
His words should have reassured me, but a part of me couldn’t help feeling uneasy. My stepbrothers had always found ways to retaliate, and I knew this punishment wouldn’t go unnoticed.
“Please,” he said again, “Go inside. You need to rest.”
I nodded reluctantly and turned toward the house, my steps slow and hesitant. But instead of going to my room, I found a place near the corner of the building where I could watch without being seen.
Diego stepped forward, the whip in his hand trailing along the ground as he approached my stepbrothers. The tension in the air was suffocating, and I clutched the wall for support as I watched.
“You’ve disgraced your roles as her mates,” Diego began, his voice low and commanding. “You’ve abused her, humiliated her, and put her life at risk. This is not the behavior of Alphas or men worthy of the bond.”
Xavier lifted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing. “It wasn’t-”
Diego snapped the whip against the ground, silencing him instantly. “I didn’t ask for excuses.”
Nathan tensed, his fists clenched at his sides. “We-”
Diego paced in front of the brothers, the whip in his hand dragging lightly across the ground. “You’ve crossed the line,” he began, his tone sharp. “Getting Mia into an accident? Putting her life at risk? You dare call yourselves her mates, yet you treat her like this?”
Xavier lifted his head slightly. “It wasn’t-”
“Silence!” Diego’s command thundered through the air, and Xavier immediately dropped his head again.
The whip cracked against the ground. I flinched, my heart pounding as I watched Diego circle them.
“Do you think this is how an Alpha protects his mate?” Diego continued. “Do you think this is how a family behaves? You’ve failed her. All of you.”
I bit my lip, my hands gripping the edge of the crate tightly. Part of me felt a twisted satisfaction watching them get what they deserved, but another part of me was filled with dread.
Diego raised the whip, and the first strike landed on Nathan’s back. He didn’t cry out, but I saw his body tense, his fists clenching in the dirt.
“This is for every time you humiliated her,” Diego said, striking again.
Another crack of the whip, this time across Rolex’s shoulders.
“For every cruel word, every reckless action.”
The strikes continued, each one accompanied by a declaration of their wrongdoings. Sean winced as the whip caught his arm, and even Xavier, who always seemed so stoic, flinched under the force of Diego’s punishment.
I leaned against the crate, my chest heaving as I struggled to process what I was seeing. Diego was defending me, punishing them for what they’d done, and I should have felt relieved. But instead, all I could think about was how they’d retaliate.
Nathan’s smirk flashed in my mind, his mocking words echoing in my ears. He’d never let this go. None of them would.
The punishment ended after what felt like an eternity, and Diego stood over them, his presence looming. “You will not harm Mia again. If you do, you’ll answer to me.”
They didn’t respond, their heads bowed as they remained on their knees.
Diego turned and walked toward the house, and I quickly scrambled back to my feet, slipping inside before he could see me. My heart raced as I made my way to the room I’d been staying in, locking the door behind me.
I sank onto the bed, my mind spinning. The image of Diego standing over them, whip in hand, played over and over in my head. I should have felt safe, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom.
“They’re going to come after me,” I whispered to myself, my voice trembling.
I buried my face in my hands, tears streaming down my cheeks. The thought of facing them again, of enduring their wrath, was too much. For the first time in my life, I wished for an escape-a way out of all of this.
An hour passed, the silence in the house thick and suffocating. I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the locked door, my body tense and ready to run at the first sign of trouble.
When the sound of footsteps approached, my heart leapt into my throat. The doorknob turned, and I jumped to my feet, I got scared.
The door opened, and I froze.
Diego stepped inside, his expression calm but serious. Behind him was Tristan.