WISE DISASTER

AURELIA

My eyes flung open at the whispers and footsteps in the background.

But I felt heavy to get up, I felt like I had slept for days as I weakly stared at the Dregs, rearranging the room.

Dregs were the lowest set in the pack , found in the Northern Kingdom after the thralls and chainborns who no longer exist after being exiled.

They were the lowest of the low , and couldn't speak or look at the eyes of royals, so it was humiliating to be served by them, since they are servants of the omegas and gammas.

Slowly, I got up and stared at them, and as always, they immediately averted their gaze and continued with their duty.

I beckoned on the girl with messy blonde hair, but she didn't move.

“You won’t die,” I whispered, but she hesitated.

My phone wasn’t by my bedside, and I couldn’t remember what had happened last night.

How did I fall asleep?

Didn’t Ariston’s antidote work to clear the herb?

My last memory was pretending to pass out as the Betas led me away.

But here I was.

My heart raced, hoping our plan was still intact.

Where… am I?” I half-yelled, demanding a response, but they remained mute.

And then a slow clap echoed from the doorway.

“Well, well,” a familiar voice purred.

“The sleeping angel has finally woken up.”

I looked at the door as Tania stepped inside, wearing a silky white robe, her hair curled in soft waves with my crown comb on it, that was my favorite hairstyle, she also had on glasses that looked exactly like mine.

“You should see your face, Lia. You look so confused,” she laughed, tilting her head. “Don’t overthink it. You just… passed out.”

My stomach dropped.

Passed out? How? The antidote…

“Oh, this?” She raised the bottle Ariston had given me, and I gulped hard.

“Did you think this could help you?” She waved her hand carelessly like she read my mind.

“Though it worked, I knew my sister wouldn’t go down easily, so I went for a stronger drug. You’re not the only one who knows herbs.”

Fear slid down my spine like ice.

“Tania, where am I?” I asked.

“Somewhere safe. Somewhere in the Northern Pack House,” she replied, stepping closer. “For me, of course. Definitely not for you.”

She snapped her fingers.

Two large men in black entered immediately. Their presence made me cold.

“Take her,” Tania said simply, not even looking at me.

I scrambled backward on the bed.

“Stop! Don’t touch me!” I yelled, trying to keep myself in check. If Xena was revealed, then I was done.

“Tania! Please… stop!” I screamed, my voice cracking. I didn’t know what my mentally ill sister would do. I didn't trust her.

But she watched, unbothered.

Then another figure appeared at the door… our mother.

“Always causing problems,” she hissed as soon as she walked in. “If you ruin tonight for Tania again, Aurelia… I swear I will make sure you disappear for good.”

My blood froze.

For the first time in my life… I believed her.

The men grabbed my arms, dragging me off the bed.

“Mum, please…” I gasped.

“Shut your mouth,” she snapped, stepping closer.

“You cursed child. Do you have any shame at all?”

Tania just folded her arms, a pleased smile on her lips.

She leaned casually against the dresser, like this was something she had been waiting for.

I didn’t grow up with my mother. Tania and I were separated at age five, but we always met at school.

My grandparents had taken me away, because I was almost killed by my mum and since then I avoided her like the plague.

“Don’t stress her too much, Mum,” Tania said sweetly.

“She still needs to be alive enough to stay hidden. The coronation starts in a few hours. Imagine having her body turn up immediately. We can’t raise suspicions for the Apex wolves when they realize I am dead,” she mockingly said, clearly stating that I was taking her place.

“You… you’re going to kill me?” I whispered. But got no response.

“I am pregnant, Mum. With your first grandchild.”

'Slap.'

I held my cheek in disbelief, staring at her.

Tania laughed delicately. “Oh. Well, don’t be dramatic. I just need you to be quiet. Very, very quiet.”

By now, men in black suits had already led most of the Dregs away, leaving only two behind, their heads still bowed, and I didn't need a soothsayer to know that the Dregs led away would be killed.

I didn't have the time to think about them, my life was also at stake.

“Take her,” Mother instructed the men. “Tie her up downstairs. And for the goddess’ sake, gag her. The guests will arrive soon. No one must hear her screaming again.”

The guests would be occupying all wings.

“YOU CAN’T DO THIS!” I screamed, my voice cracking. “I’M AURELIA, NOT TANIA!” I sobbed.

Mother paused in the doorway and turned back, her eyes void of emotion.

“Look around, Aurelia. No one cares who the real Luna is.”

Her words weakened me like poison.

“You were born to serve Tania. That is your only purpose. Stop embarrassing us and accept your role.”

I shook my head violently. “No… no. I won’t let you take everything from me.”

Tania walked up to me, her perfume chokingly sweet, and leaned close to my ear.

“You already did, Lia,” she whispered. “The moment you were born.”

She flicked my chin up with her finger like I was a pet.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’ll keep your memory alive. I’ll tell the pack you died peacefully… in your sleep, from your ‘sickle cell attack’.”

She laughed, and I doubted whether she even really had that diagnosis.

As the men dragged me, I felt Xena roar weakly.

“I want her locked up before the coronation drum starts,” Tania urged the men.

I whimpered.

Xena was awakening. I tried to control my breathing, but it wasn’t working. I could feel her stir and move.

In a bid to survive and protect her and my secrets, I used my last strength and broke free from the men, where I tackled Tania to the floor.

Her crown comb clattered across the marble as Mother ran toward us, screaming.

“Tania.”

In the chaos, I slipped the antidote from her, hiding it in my gown.

But when I looked at the floor, Tania had clutched her stomach, curling up in pain, the muscles in her arms and legs visibly trembling uncontrollably.

My heart raced at the sight. She was having an attack…she really had sickle cell anemia. I took a step back, watching mother and the two guards try to revive her and call for her doctor.

I decided to use this opportunity for my own advantage. I opened the antidote and without a thought, gulped it all, fully aware of what it would do to Tania.

Her blood bags weren’t in the Northern wing, and it would take time for them to arrive. I was the only option for her survival; she would take my blood, and the effect of the drugs would soon take hold.

And soon enough, Mother rushed at me, pulling me forward with a knife.

“Cut her!”