CHAPTER THREE — THE EASY, OR HARD WAY.

Chapter 03.

THE EASY, OR HARD WAY.

Daphne's POV

I closed my eyes, and let out a shaky breath as Tyler opened the door leading into the black room. As the door creaked, my skin crawled with sparks of dread. I never thought that a day would come when I would have to walk into that room.

I'd heard stories of people that had been taken in there. Nine out of ten get terrible judgements.

“Come with me.” Tyler's voice broke in on my thoughts.

I could literally hear the sound of heart beat in my head. Before taking a step from where I was standing, I drew in a deep, calming breath. Having done that, I walked in. The door was sealed shut, and so was my fate.

Breathing heavily, I fixed my gaze downward, using my hair as a shield as I followed Tyler.

“You are on your own now.” he stepped aside, gesturing for me to go on with a hand.

I lifted my head. In front of me was a narrow path, leading to a circular spot where I was meant to stand. I sighed, and began to walk on the narrow path.

Looking down, my heart shook for the fear of falling off. I couldn't see anything below me: it was completely dark. I swallowed hard, and continued walking until I arrived at the spot where I was meant to stand. Suddenly, the lights came on, shining directly on me.

I swept my eyes all over the place, looking at my reflections on the mirror hanging in the air.

“My name is Caleb, and you are standing before the Five Pillars Of Truth that oversee the affairs of the White Moon pack. Would you kindly tell us why you're here, Daphne?”

They happened to be the elders of the pack, and they were five in number. From what I heard, Caleb was the kindest of them all, but Gavin was a nightmare. However, no one had ever seen their faces.

Perhaps, they were hiding behind the mirrors. If not, then maybe somewhere down below, or above. In the meantime, I looked down, and then lifted my gaze. But I couldn't find anyone of them.

I couldn't tell exactly if the voice came from behind. Or perhaps, from the side, or in front.

“Don't bother looking around, you won't find any of us.” another voice came, but it sounded closer to me than the voice that spoke earlier. “All you have to do is tell us why you're here, and then we'll decide what punishment suits you best.”

I could easily tell who was behind that voice. It just had to be Gavin.

“I–I have been wrongly accused.” I stuttered, trying to suppress the tears rising in my throat.

“Accused of what?” Caleb asked, in a curious tone. “Please, help us understand what happened exactly.”

“As you all know, my sister, Emily is the alpha of the pack.” I said, trying to steady my voice. “She asked me to bring Gabriel his dinner because she'd something to attend to.”

I lowered my head, blinking back tears as it occurred to me that I could have avoided the situation if only I'd decided not to bring him his food. But then, it wasn't anyone who'd asked me. It was my sister. I couldn't say no, even if I wanted to.

Besides, she sounded like whatever she had in mind to do was urgent, and she couldn't afford to waste any more second standing there with me.

“Go on.” he said.

“I accepted to bring him dinner, but that was my mistake.” I buried my face in my palms as I broke down in tears. “I shouldn't have accepted.”

“So what happened after you brought him dinner?”

“When I got in initially, I couldn't find him.” I sniffled, bringing back the events to mind. “Little did I know that he was hiding behind the door. By the time I realized it, he had shut the door and was coming towards me.”

“Why didn't you stop him?”

“I tried to.” I said, in a broken voice. “I tried to stop him, but he wasn't ready to listen. He was deafened his feelings.”

“Perhaps, your efforts weren't good enough.”

“Maybe they weren't.” I said, barely breathing the words. “But it's not my fault. I mean, I wouldn't do anything to hurt, or break my sister's marriage apart knowing that they have a child.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I can swear on my life.” I said, the words scraped my throat. “I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. I should have screamed, and called for help when he approached me.”

“So why didn't you?”

“I don't know.” I said, shaking my head. “I wanted to but the words wouldn't leave my lips.”

“Do you have feelings for him?”

“Pardon?”

“You heard me.” he said. “Do you have feelings for him?”

I fell silent. If anything, I didn't think it would come to a point where I would be asked if I had feelings for Gabriel. However, I couldn't understand why it seemed like I wasn't saying anything meaningful. Wasn't he listening to what I'd been saying the whole time? Or was he pretending not to?

I mean, I'm not the one at fault here, Gabriel is. Although, I should have called for help when I noticed that his intentions towards me wasn't pure, but that was just my mistake. However, it felt like that mistake would determine my fate. What about Gabriel?

“Daphne?” he called.

“Yes, I do.” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. “If he didn't make that move, I wouldn't have allowed my feelings get the better of me. You just have to believe me.”

“I do want to. But then, why did you go into his room wearing that dress?” he asked.

I looked at the dress I was putting on. Even if there was any chance that I would be forgiven, I knew that the dress would blow that chance away. I didn't have anything in mind when I decided to put on that dress. But then, did it really matter?

I mean, even if I decided to explain, it wouldn't change anything because it seemed like the case had been concluded before it began.

“I–I have nothing to say.” a tear trickled down the side of my nose.

“Are you sure about that?”

Well, what was he expecting? That I would argue with him? It would only be foolish of me to do that. Besides, would saying anything make him reduce whatever punishment he was going to give me? Or better still, would it make him pardon me? I doubt.

If anything, it was obvious that it was over. Although, I couldn't see the look on his face, but I could tell from his voice that it was over. I guess I was the fool that allowed my emotions get the better of me. I should have known better that I would be the one to suffer it should things go south.

“Yes, I am.” I said.

“In that case, there's nothing more to say. Take her to the white room.” he said.

As his words fell upon my ears, my heart sank.

“No, please, don't take me there.” I pleaded, my eyes burning with tears.“There has to be some lesser punishment, not the white room please!”

“Come with me.” Tyler gripped my hand and turned to lead me out.

“Please, don't take me there.” I cried, going on my knees. “I–I don't want to die.”

“You don't want to make this any difficult than it is, do you?” he asked, raising a brow. “We can choose to do this the easy way, or the hard way. It's up to you.”

“I–I don't want to die.” I said, shaking my head with tears in my eyes.

“Then you should have thought about that before sleeping with your sister's husband.” he said. “Now, would you get up, or would you rather I drag you out of this place?”

If there was anyone who could help me at the moment, it was my sister, but she wasn't in sight. Perhaps, Caleb could have helped too, or any one of them, but they'd gone silent too.

Crying wasn't going to solve the problem. The punishment had been issued, and it wasn't going to be reversed.

With that thought in mind, I got up on my feet, and followed him. However, as he led me out through the door, I found Gabriel walking towards me.

“Why?” I asked, in a low, pained voice.

“Oh, please, don't give me that look.” he made a face. “Why what?”

“Why did you do it?” I asked, blinking back tears. “Why did you lie to my sister?”

“It was either going to be you or me.” he said with a shrug. “We both know that it couldn't have been me; it was always going to be you who would suffer for it.”

“I should rip out your heart this minute!” I cried, trying to free myself from Tyler's hold. “You don't deserve to live.”

“I know that, right?” he said, smacking his lips, with a cynical smile. “It is such a pity to see you like this.”

He lifted a hand, and brushed his fingers on my face.

“Get your hands off me!” I yelled as a flash of amber lighted my eyes. “If you don't, I'm going to bite it off.”

“I have only ever wanted to get a taste of you.” he whispered into my ear. “I couldn't allow such beauty to leave my sight.”

He took a step back.

“It seems like you're being taken to the white room, see you in hell.” he wiggled his fingers.

“I am going to return and hunt you down!” I yelled, while being taken away by Tyler.

Before long, we arrived at the white room. Tyler opened the door, and brought me in. As I swept my eyes all over the place, a cold chill ran down the length of my spine.

In front of me were sheets of glasses extending across the room like a bridge. From what I heard, some of them could hold the weight of a rock, and others were as fragile as an egg.

But looking into the distance, it didn't seem to have an end. No one had walked out of the room alive, and I knew mine wouldn't be any different.

“Now, go.” Tyler pushed me with a hand.

With a shaky breath, I put a foot on one of the glasses, and then the other. I could feel my heart beating so fast as if it was going to tear out from my chest. I looked to the left, and then to the right, trying to figure out where to put my foot next.

Eventually, I turned to the left, put a foot on the glass, and then the other. I turned back, and glanced at Tyler.

“Keep going.” he said, his voice firm.

I looked forward. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep, calming breath. Since I'd gone left, I decided to go right. However, as I stepped my foot on the glass, it cracked. My heart sank.

“Oh, no, no, no, no.” I cried, covering my mouth with my hands. “No!”

The glass broke.