CHAPTER 5

ATHENA

The door to the chamber opened and Mira was brought in with Darrel trailing behind her. Her head was bowed, refusing to meet my eyes. Her hands trembled at her sides, fingers clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her skin. It wasn’t until she shifted closer that I noticed the thin line of blood trailing down her finger.

“Tell them the truth, Mira. Tell them what you told me earlier,” I voiced but was only met with silence till Enzo spoke up.

“Mira, daughter of Elijah Brooke, tell us all you know.”

“I…I… I overheard the mistress telling the guard on how she will poison the Luna,” Mira said with her head still bowed.

I looked at her speechless, unable to find my words. I have just been betrayed by the one person I thought would save me.

“Is that all?” Enzo asked.

“The child inside her isn’t for the Alpha,” Mira added. My legs suddenly became weak and I fell on my knees. I opened my mouth to defend myself but was betrayed by words. I heard the guests murmuring among themselves and flashing glares of hatred on me.

This was all Ginny’s doings.

Using the last strength left in me, I picked myself up and lounged on Ginny. I grabbed her hair and pulled it so hard till Enzo came to her rescue. He kicked me so hard that I fell on my knees.

Ginny herself blinked, completely caught unaware by my outburst. Then she let out a wail when she recovered.

I was back on the ground in a second kick in the stomach from Enzo. But this time he did not stop. He kept at it, making sure he aimed at the stomach I was covering with my arms. The baby I was protecting. My baby.

“Hold on a little longer. I will protect you,” I whispered to it.

Just then, I heard a little footstep run towards Enzo and kicked him with her little feet. It was my baby sister, Astra. She was trying to save me. Enzo wasted no time in flinging her away so harshly. I saw my father walk up to her and bundled her out of the court room. Enzo came at me again, this time harder.

My Mother screamed and tried to come to my rescue but was held by Beta Darrel. She struggled till she freed herself from his grip and then, everything shredded into darkness.

…

I woke with a gasp as I was hit by a cold water, the shock jolting me upright. My skin burned from the icy chill as I tried to figure out what was happening till I heard a cold familiar voice.

"I thought you were gone. You’ve been gone for hours," it was Enzo.

I looked up at him, unable to form a word. I felt drained, and I instinctively put a hand over my stomach.

"Don’t worry, I saved you the disgrace. It’s dead," Enzo informed without emotion. I felt my world shatter and my intestine knot. I failed. My child was gone. The one that I hoped on was forcefully snapped away from me. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came. Only tears spilled down my cheeks.

"Since you have nothing to say, I’ll do the talking."

I gulped.

"You should be dead by now, but you are only alive for a reason. Your mother is in the dungeon and charged for treason for accusing my mate and I and for obstructing justice." He dropped the bombshell and my whole body shuddered.

“I know you want her alive, so I will give you a choice."

He placed a knife in front of me. "I take every last drop of your blood and she lives, but don’t worry, everyone will think you have been exiled. Or I hang you both by sunset tomorrow."

I looked at him incredulously, but he only looked stoically at me. "I will give you only ten seconds…."

"Take my blood and let my mother live," I blurted.

He grinned slowly. "So be it."

He signaled one of the guards who dragged in a bloodletting chair.

After they were done harvesting my blood, I was brought before the pack court. I was so weak that I could barely stand. The guards on either side held me up, their firm grips the only thing keeping me from passing out entirely.  I looked up to see my mother chained in the corner of the hall. She was alone. I felt a little relief. Enzo kept to his words, but I had a horrible feeling that I was wrong.

The trial went on with me as the main convict. I was going in and out. Unable to keep my eyes open for too long. My thoughts strayed to my child that I had just lost. The only thing that matters to me and I had failed to protect. I might be a wolf but my healing process was too slow.

Soon it was time for the verdict to be passed, I tuned in to their voices. Enzo was speaking.

"Athena Blackwood, for your crimes against the pack and for infidelity to your Alpha, you are sentenced to a quest.

I blinked in surprise. Enzo never said anything about a quest.

"You will be deposited to the Void Obsidian pack territory."

My blood ran cold at the mention of the Obsidian pack. They were not only the mortal enemy of the Phoenix Pack, but every other pack. They were not werefolks like the rest of us. They were Lycans, the accursed. The ones that survived the curse. They didn’t just survive the curse, the turned them blood lust feral creatures. There were monsters with intelligence, but that only made them more horrible. They were being led by an Alpha no one dare speak his name. No one dares to wage a war against them.

"You must assassinate the Alpha of Obsidian pack and bring back his head, and with that bringing freedom to your mother and yourself." Gasps filled the hall.

This was worse than an exile. Worse than an execution. This was a death trap set by Ginny. The Alpha of Obsidian, a monster whose name most never be mentioned even by the greatest Alpha, not even Enzo himself.

Even if I was a trained assassin, I would fail. Many have attempted but not a single one returned. For how could one kill a man whose touch could burn a person from the inside? A touch that no person was immune to. This was no rumor because I had seen his handy work with my own two eyes.

Enzo hit the gavel three times, the sound echoing through the hall. Everyone stood as he walked out without a glance back. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him. The guards grabbed my arms and dragged me toward the exit, my legs too weak to keep up. The last thing I heard was my mother's scream before darkness took over.

I regained consciousness on the cold hard ground of the dungeon. My body ached, every bruise and lash from the kicks and whips hurt. I forced myself to sit up, wincing as I moved. My heart dropped the moment I took in the environment. This wasn’t the dungeon.

Dead bodies hung around the fence, their skin twisted and charred as if burned from the inside. The air reeked of death. I wasn’t in the Phoenix pack anymore. I was in the Obsidian pack- a place just as deadly as the stories claimed.

I turned to escape, but footsteps approached from the side. My foot landed on a branch, and it cracked loudly.

"Did you hear that?" a voice asked, and they immediately ran to where I was. I clamped over my mouth and hid behind a big tree.

I held my breath as the guard came closer to where I hid. My body hurt even more with the action. I clenched my jaw, waiting and hoping. He looked around for a while, but he did not see me. When he began to move away, I let out a sigh of relief thinking I was safe. But then, grabbed me by my dress and lifted me off the ground. My feet dangled as I turned face-to-face with a guard so tall and heavily built. His cold glare sent shivers down my spine. Phoenix warriors can’t stand a chance against him.

Without warning, he threw me to the floor. A small knife I didn’t know I had fell from my body. The silence that followed was loud.

“Let’s take her to the Alpha.” One of the guards said.

At the mention of the Alpha, my stomach churned. I could not muster a word in protest. What would I say?

The guard who had apprehended me carried me effortlessly as if I were weightless, while the others followed closely behind. My head spun from being upside down, and the pain from my injuries intensified with every step.

Soon, we appeared to be a grand hall, adorned with dark tapestries and lit by flickering torches. The guard carrying me dumped me unceremoniously onto the cold stone floor, causing me to let out a cry of pain.

Before I could steady myself, a tall, imposing figure approached. He wore armor adorned with intricate designs, and his eyes were dark as the shadows. He dwarfed everyone else I had seen in my life. He was indeed the monster that the people spoke about. His hair was long, dark and unbound. The way it alighted the hardness of his features only made him even more daunting in appearance.

But what I thought was most odd and terrifying about the Alpha were his veins. They were highlighted on his arms to his elbows. It looked like death itself flowed through his veins which made his aura more severe.

"What have you brought to me?" he demanded, his voice deep and commanding.

"An assassin, Alpha. We found a weapon with her," one of the guards responded while another showed him the knife.

The Alpha's gaze narrowed as he studied me. "Is that so?" he mused, circling around me like a predator assessing its prey. "Who sent you, little wolf?" There was no amusement in his voice.

I struggled to sit up, wincing as I moved. Everything hurt. "I... I was sent by the Phoenix Alpha," I managed to say.

A murmur rippled through the guards at my words, and I could see the Alpha's interest piqued even further. His green eyes accessed me even further.

"So Enzo sent a woman to my territory, huh?" He replied, his tone tinged with both disbelief and curiosity. "A woman?" He let out a laughter.

I swallowed hard, trying to summon the courage to speak. "I... I had no choice… I…"

The Alpha's expression darkened, and a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. "There is always a choice, little wolf?" he growled, his voice low and menacing.

I said nothing but gazed up at him watching his hand. I noticed that even his own men stood far away from him as though he were a plague.

I gulped. “I…I…” I began, but was immediately cut short.

"You should have heard by now, little wolf. No one comes in here and makes it out alive."

Then, at a speed I could not comprehend, he was right in front of me, his hand around my neck, forcing me to look up at his face. A menacing smile slashed across his lips.

"Send my regards to the fallen heroes just like you," his green eyes flashed gold.

My mind was spiraling. This was the end. He touched me. My body would burn spontaneously and that would be the end. I failed in my quest, failed my mother, and failed my child. I had failed myself. I had pursued Enzo's happiness instead of mine. I wished I had lived for myself.