Chapter 002

Valeria POV

It’s been a few weeks since I arrived here weeks of torture, weeks of being drained. I couldn’t blame it on anything but fate. I was destined to die mateless. Yet thoughts kept flooding my mind. Could I escape this place? Maybe, if I attacked, I could run back to my family’s house. Maybe my father would accept me. But then I remembered how they sent me off to this ruthless tyrant. I could only sigh, frustrated, and accept my fate.

A knock on the door jolted me from my thoughts.

“Come in,” I muttered, throwing myself onto the bed.

A masculine voice echoed into my ears, and I quickly sat up. A guard stood before me.

“My lady, Alpha Sebastian requests your presence in the throne room,” he muttered.

I froze. Why would Alpha Sebastian request me there? The only times he ever wanted to see me were in his bed and afterward, he pushed me out like nothing.

I forced a smile, nodded. “Give me a few minutes,” I whispered. He bowed and left. Instantly, I rose, adjusted my dress, and slowly opened the door. The guard straightened, pointing toward the hallway.

“No. Please, lead the way.”

He bowed again, then walked ahead. I trailed behind him, my heart racing with every step. Was Alpha Sebastian granting me freedom? Or was he about to parade me before the council of elders as a trophy?

We reached the throne room. The guard knocked. The door opened. Someone inside motioned me in. My stomach tightened. I had carried pain in my heart so long, I thought nothing could hurt more. Yet as I stepped inside, I froze.

My father. My mother. Standing at the corner of the courtroom.

For a heartbeat, hope flared, maybe they could explain why they were here. But they didn’t spare me a glance. They turned their eyes away.

“Perfect timing.”Alpha Sebastian’s cold voice echoed. My gaze snapped to him. Then I saw her.

Helen. My sister. Kneeling on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

“Sister…” I muttered in worry, rushing toward her. But her next words caught me off guard.

“Don’t come any closer, you traitor!” she yelled.

I froze, confused. What was she talking about? Last time I checked, she said she was going to pick flowers from the garden and never returned. She disappeared before my wedding, and now suddenly, she shows up, calling me a traitor.

“Sis, what are you talking abou-”

Before I could finish, a hot slap landed on my cheek. My head snapped in the direction of the blow. My mother stood there, eyes blazing with hatred and rage.

“How could you do this to your sister? It’s not her fault you couldn’t get a mate after four rejections. But stealing your sister’s mate? You crossed the line, Helen!” my mother shrieked, pointing at me.

I couldn’t understand. It felt like I was hallucinating.

“Mama, what’s going on? You told me to take Helen’s place because she disappeared I…I…”

Another slap cut my words short. My lips trembled, but no sound came out. Everything felt like a cruel game. What was happening?

“How dare you lie?!” my mother shrieked, ripping my dress from my shoulder. She forced me to face Sebastian, exposing the skin where no mark showed.

My mind spiraled. Why was she calling me by a name that wasn’t mine?and my mark, my mother had always warned me never to expose it. Said it was the sign of a curse. So I had always kept it hidden.

“Yes, Alpha Sebastian,” my sister’s voice rang out, trembling with tears, “she pretended to be me. Valeria. I’m Valeria,and she’s Helen. This is my birthmark. I’m your true mate.”

She ripped her dress from her shoulder, exposing a moon-shaped mark. Gasps filled the room.

I shook my head in disbelief, desperate to speak. My eyes darted to my father. But he turned away.

“Papa, say something!” I screamed, my voice breaking as tears streamed down my face. This was all a setup. My father didn’t speak. He only lowered his gaze to the ground. And in that silence, I realized the truth,I was utterly alone, My family had betrayed me. They had traded me for their lust for power, for the throne.Alpha Sebastian’s voice thundered across the room.

“Is this true, Beta Edward?” His gaze never left mine, a cruel smirk tugging at his lips. He had always hated me and hated me so much he never once bothered to ask my name. I knew he could kill me without a blink.

“Yes, my lord. My wife speaks nothing but the truth. I never thought my daughter Helen would do this to us.”My father’s words shattered the last flicker of hope inside me. I tried to speak, to defend myself, but before I could, Alpha Sebastian rose.

The court followed, standing in his shadow as he descended from his throne with calculated grace. He extended a hand not to me, but to my sister lifting her gently to her feet. Then his eyes met mine. Something cold, something indescribable burned within them.

“You will be executed by nightfall.”

His voice rolled through the courtroom like thunder. My body trembled, my tears unending. My fate was sealed, Rejected four times, Mateless, Betrayed by my own blood,To die at the hands of a merciless tyrant.

Just when despair consumed me, my sister’s voice sliced the air.

“My lord, perhaps you should reconsider. I’ll be needing many slaves to serve me. Add her to them. Let her work under me.”

My knees gave way, and I collapsed, sobbing as the weight of her cruelty pressed into me. Through the blur of tears, I saw her face, radiant with triumph. My parents tried, and failed, to contain their joy.

I wiped my eyes slowly. I stared at them all my smiling sister, my silent father, my treacherous mother.And in that moment, I swore one thing.This was not the end.My revenge would come.