ASHLEY
My mother was the first to break the silence.
“Oh, Ashley,” she burst into tears. “What happened to you?”
She whispered, reaching to touch me once more, but I pulled away before she could.
She didn't know what happened, or she was just faking it and pretending to be pitiful about my condition? After all, they had made the order along with Jason to punish me for a crime I didn't commit.
I glanced at my father, who hadn't said anything. The shock was still present on his face. This might be the best reaction I've been getting from him in a while.
“You know what happens in the slave barracks, you sent me there,” my eyes locked on my father. “I didn't go there to have a fabulous vacation.”
I wanted to be sarcastic, but the crack in my voice at the end didn't make it come off that way.
“I might be the beta, but I never made any order for you to be punished or even branded in this manner, leaving you riddled with scars!” My father denied.
Even as the alpha was in charge of the whole pack house and nothing went by him unnoticed, sometimes the beta almost had the same control. My father, in particular, had a fair share of control over the slave barracks and could order things to be done.
“It's your fault anyway. If you weren't hellbent on disgracing us that night and trying to kill Maria, you wouldn't have been sent there, and Maria wouldn't be in that position she is in now!” He snapped.
“Joshua,” my mother murmured, touching his shoulder, but my father wasn't done speaking.
“We raised you to fight back and stand for what's right. It's not our fault either, you didn't fight back and chose to be punished.”
I was the one suffering. Yet, I was the one to be blamed for things that were out of my control. As if I could fight off the guards in this pack house or disobey Jason’s authority.
“Enough. I'll get you medicines,” my mother's voice snapped my attention back to her, and I watched as she walked toward the door. She had barely taken three steps when my father spoke.
“Wait. We need to go. Maria needs blood now.” He has touched his two fingers to his temple. Someone was midlinking with him. It must be Jason.
With that said, he gripped my hand and began to drag me out of the attic and back into the room Maria was in.
I couldn't protest or try to fight off the guards that bound my hands and legs with silver chains while the doctor had several vials of blood drawn.
On the sixth blood draw, dizziness began to set in. The room spun, and I could barely keep up with the conversation that was going on. The silver shackles used to bind me weren't helping either.
I was glad I was sitting. Otherwise, my face would be flat on the ground.
“Is she going to be alright?” Maria spoke up for the first time since I arrived here.
I looked at her. Since I was sitting close to her, I could see every expression.
She winced as she tried to sit up. Jason helped her up, and she was now sitting on the bed with her legs dangling.
“I think she needs to rest. She is already getting too weak,” Maria whispered, her voice weak. She looked at me with concern.
I glanced at her, close enough to catch the faint glimmer of triumph behind her worried eyes. A humorless snort escaped me.
Jason turned sharply. “You’re unbelievable,” he spat. “She’s worried about you, even after what you did, and that’s how you respond? You really are selfish.”
“I didn't do what you are accusing…” I started, my voice shaking.
Maria stood from the bed, taking a step, and fell forward, cutting off everything I had to say.
Jason caught her instantly, holding her like she was made of glass. My stomach twisted painfully.
“Maria, what were you thinking?” he scolded gently, brushing hair from her face. “You should’ve told me before trying to stand.”
She whimpered softly, playing into his arms.
I stood there frozen, invisible. Jason didn’t even glance my way. Not even once.
It was too painful seeing my mate want someone else instead of me. Panic coiled in my stomach. A sharp, metallic tang suddenly crept up my throat. I swallowed, but it didn’t go away—if anything, it grew thicker, heavier. Blood.
Without another word, I pushed myself to my feet and walked out. The transfusion had stopped. Their focus was solely on Maria, with nothing else in mind.
When I reached the room, my stomach clenched violently, and I couldn’t help but cough, falling to my knees.
“Blood,” I whispered, seeing the contents of what I had vomited on the floor.
Once again, the room began to spin. I fell back on the floor on my back, looking at the ceiling. I remained in the same position.
I was too exhausted and weak to stand up. If my mother returned to the room, she'd help me and speak to Jason so they could put a stop to the madness, seeing how negatively it was affecting me.
Or so I had thought.
******
A week had passed since I returned to the Beta’s house. I kept donating blood to Maria, and with each draw, I vomited more of my own. I was getting weaker, but no one cared.
On the other hand, Maria got stronger by the day with every donation made.
They didn’t care if I died. As long as Maria lived, I was nothing but a body to drain.
So, I decided to sneak out of the house to find a solution to my condition, wearing a disguise to make myself unrecognisable. A garment that obscured my features with a veil covering my face, a blue veiled cloak, was the perfect coverage.
I was in the pack’s doctor's office waiting for the result of the test. When he returned, I saw the grim expression on his face.
“You have bloodrot.” He said, looking at me from glasses perched on top of his nose. “Too much blood loss, too fast. Your body’s turning on itself.”
“Am I going to die?” I didn't care about the explanation. I just wanted to know that.
Doctor Kael sighed. The sigh was enough to answer me.
“It can be fatal from further blood loss or injury. So you need to be careful henceforth.”
Careful? How?
I stumbled out of his office, dazed.
Fatal. I was going to die. And they wouldn’t stop until I did.
“Surprise!”
I nearly jumped out of my skin as soon as I opened the door. The various aromas of food, candies, and dessert hit my nose all at once.
Strings of confetti were thrown around the room, and I saw Maria standing in front of the huge cake, in the room’s centre, with my parents behind her.
“Today, we're celebrating the full recovery of my daughter, Maria. The next shall be her Luna ceremony preparation.” He sounded boastful.
The wide smile and admiration present on everyone's face in the room meant they were happy and couldn't wait for what my father had announced.
I, on the other hand, could wait.
I walked towards my father. “Isn't it a little bit too soon to announce her being the Luna and wanting to prepare for that? There are so many suspicious things about her father. We don't even know who she is and what her mission is here. Yet you are doing all those things?” My voice was desperate.
I wanted my parents to look at Maria keenly. The way I was seeing it. I mean, they weren't that blind that they couldn't know that she was manipulating all of them, were they?
The room fell silent at my statement, and Maria stepped away from the cake towards me.
She stared at the floor, chewing on her bottom lip before looking at me. “I am sorry, Ashley. I didn't know you felt that way about me. What can I do to make you see me truly as I am? I am only trying to be a sister to you. But it seems I am not very much needed here.” She stared at the floor once again, sniffling.
Goodness. The manipulative witch.
“How dare you say that to her? She has done nothing but be good to you. How can you be so selfish and cruel with your words?”
“Selfish?” I scoffed. “Maybe, I prefer being called that to watching her ruin us!”
My father hand-raised, and he smacked me across the cheek, cutting off every other word I desired to say. The same place he had hit before. It fucking stung.
Fury radiated off him. He looked like he was going to burst from the anger. My father pointed at me, “Y-you…throw her into the cell. No food, no water. Let her rot until she learns what respect means!”
I was dragged away like a criminal, for loving this family more than they loved themselves. For seeing clearly what everyone else refused to.
And for not being Maria.
ASHLEYI didn't know how long had passed or what day it was. I couldn't even tell what the weather was and how beautiful it looked. Ever since I was taken, all I could see was darkness. Total darkness. My eyes were covered with some sort of blindfold.I leaned against the wall I had managed to find a few seconds ago, breathing in and out, trying not to make any sound so my captors wouldn't come in. I had even stopped making sounds. The first time I was brought into this place, separating me from Kael, I had screamed for help, but all I ever received was cruel laughter. Nothing else.No one had even moved to help me, even attend to my needs. I believed I was left in here to wither away as she had promised.Maria.I twisted my hands behind me several times, groaning as the rope used dug deep into my skin. I swallowed, wincing at the sour taste in my mouth, my ears perking up as I heard sounds, and I fell back to the position I was in, no moving.The door opened, and my breath hitched;
JASONTWO DAYS LATERThe great hall was packed with guests. We had done the necessary ritual, and now it was time to exchange vows that'd finally bind us together.But I wasn't interested in what the Elder was saying one bit. My mind had been off since the ritual began. I was staring at the entrance of the great hall, hoping to see Ashley, but of all the guests that had arrived, she wasn't among them.Not even her scent was anywhere in the room to be able to tell she was hiding somewhere or not.That wasn't all; weirdly, I hadn't seen Ashley since two days ago. I asked her parents and Maria, but no one was saying anything meaningful to me.Maria told me Ashley was indoors and wanted to be alone, while her father only just shrugged and sometimes gave the same narrative as Maria. Yet, I believed something was wrong. But I couldn't say they were lying. I had no evidence.Besides, it would be weird if I went searching for her myself. I had thought of doing that, but decided to let it go d
JASONI glared at where my father had sat. He left the room after he was done dropping the canon. My head still reeled from what he had said.I couldn't possibly go on with what he had said. I didn't want to fucking mate with Maria. I had no fucking feelings for her. But for tradition's sake.Damned the fucking tradition. I couldn't escape it. I shut my eyes, dragging in a deep breath, and I opened them as a familiar scent wafted into my nose.It was foul, and it made vomit surge up my throat—Maria’s scent.‘She's here!’ My wolf growled, claws out, threatening to rip itself out of me to charge at her. ‘She should not be here. She isn't our mate!’I grunted, suppressing it. ‘Leave her alone.’‘Why?’ My wolf retorted. ‘Why do you keep entertaining her when she isn't ours? Who knows what evil she has already committed before she came in here? We don't like her scent. She shouldn't be here!’‘Stop it!’ I slammed down the voice of my voice.It wasn't Maria’s fault. It was the rule. No matt
ASHLEY“I stole from you?” I asked incredulously. “Why would I want to do that? You are still the alpha heir, whereas I am nobody. You are getting married to Maria. If there's one person who should be complaining right now, it should be me!” I flung at him.Why would he suddenly say such silly things that made no sense? Could he continue with his ridiculous narrative of me deceiving him and stealing from him? That was one thing I had never done. He was the one who had hurt me over again without thinking about how I felt.Jason laughed out loud. He held his stomach as he did.I bite my lips, about to shout at him again for laughing at my misfortune, but Kael's grip on me stops me from doing so.“I don't have much time to live, Ashley,” he whispered. His voice had gotten even weaker, and his lips were turning blue.“What are you talking about? I told you I won't let you die. I'm going to make sure you return to the clinic,” I vowed, staring at my hands that were now stained with his blo
ASHLEYSomething was terribly wrong.I could sense it. I didn’t need to have a wolf to tell me that. Since the minute we stepped into the forest, an unfamiliar cold chill enveloped me. Every one of my senses was on alert, and I felt something trying to rip out of me.It was painful. And I tried my best to suppress every urge I felt while walking further with Jason.I felt danger. But Jason was with me. He wouldn't hurt me. Even though he wasn't in his right senses, and he had chosen someone else over me, he would protect me. He had done the same with Warrior Bob, even though he acted like he didn't care about me.“How long do we need to walk for?” I asked him, already feeling my limbs hurting. I was hoping we'd rest for a bit before continuing the journey. Also, it was starting to get dark, and I didn't think it was a good idea to keep walking deep into the forest.“Not very long,” Jason answered, his grip still tight on my hand.I looked around, barely recognising where we were. I co
JASONThey were still pursuing their wishes. I had even tried to convince them to give Ashley the chance to make her own choice, but they told me it was the best for her. I didn't argue. No matter what I said, Beta Joshua would still go ahead with what he wanted.He was pretty stubborn. And I wondered if that was where Ashley had gotten her stubbornness from.I groaned, standing from where I was seated behind my desk, walking to the window. There was nothing much to see outside; it was getting darker, but I didn't make any move to leave the office.Ashley's thoughts occupied my head, and this was the only place where I could think about her without interruption. Also, the only place where my wolf wouldn't have the strong urge to want to rip itself out of me was because I was ignoring her and trying to comfort her myself.The door opened. I grimaced, without turning around to see who it was. My father. What did he want? I hope he wasn't here to speak about Maria.I had tried my best to