Chapter 2- Betrayed

Zephyra

“Arrest her now,” the head guard, Jamal, ordered. His voice was cold, and his eyes were filled with hate I had never seen before.

Two soldiers stepped forward to grab me, but my stepmother moved quickly and blocked their way.

“You can’t arrest my daughter! Are you insane?” she shouted at them. “Tell me, what has she done wrong? And who gave you this order?”

My heart pounded so hard I could hardly breathe. My eyes were wide with shock. Why were they coming for me?

The head guard stepped closer and held out a scroll to my stepmother. She snatched it from him and read it quickly. I watched her face change from anger to something else… something more terrifying and I knew that whatever she saw was bad.

Looking up at me with cold eyes, she gave an order. “Take her away,”

Her words left me frozen. There was no way she said that. “Mother? What do you mean?” my voice trembled. “What have I done?”

For the first time in my life, I spoke back to my mother in a tone I never used. My chest was squeezed, and sweat covered my forehead as I tried to make sense of what was happening.

She shouted back at me. “I will tell you what you did! This scroll says you have been accused of murdering Elder Gareth. It says you poisoned him with wolfsbane. How could you do something so cruel?”

“No! I didn’t do anything to him, believe me!” I cried out. My words were lost as the two soldiers grabbed my arms roughly and pulled me towards the door.

“I am supposed to be the Alpha of this Pack! Who gave the order to arrest me?” I tried to pull free.

The soldiers stopped walking for a moment. The head guard looked at me and spoke. “The new Alpha did. Alpha Eryc.”

His words made my blood go cold. I turned to look at him, my eyes wide. “You’re lying! Eryc would never do that! He loves me!”

The head guard shook his head. “He did. He signed the arrest himself. He holds the King’s seal now.”

My heart felt like it would break into pieces, but despite the pain in my chest, I forced myself to remain calm. I couldn’t believe that. “If that is true, then take me to him right now,” my voice shook.

The head guard nodded before he made a sign to the soldiers, and they began to drag me out of my father’s living room. My legs felt heavy like they weren’t mine anymore as they pushed me around.

They took me to my father’s office, down the hallway. The door opened, and what I saw nearly stopped my heart.

Eryc… my mate… was sitting in my father’s chair, looking proud and relaxed as if he didn't just lose his father. Or, am I missing something? And on his lap sat my stepsister, Naya. They were kissing as if nothing matters.

For a moment, I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even breathe. My knees went weak, and if the soldiers hadn’t been holding me, I would have fallen to the floor.

Naya stood up from Eryc’s lap, and cat-walked towards me. Her face changed. For the first time, I saw hatred in her eyes. Real hatred, and it was directed at me.

The next thing I got was a slap on my face.

She hit me hard across the face, making my head turn from the force she used.

Hot pain flared into my cheeks and I hadn’t realized when tears slipped out of my eyes.

“Murderer,” she spat at me. “How could you kill Elder Gareth? He was going to be your father-in-law and he cared about us. You disgust me!”

My lungs seized, making every breath a struggle. I searched Eryc’s face, desperate for any sign that he still loved me.

But he had changed. His deep blue eyes were now cold like ice. He stood up and walked to me, wrapping his arm around Naya’s waist as if to show me I meant nothing.

“Do not look so shocked,” Eryc said. His voice was calm, almost bored. “I gave the order.”

“Why, Eryc?” My voice almost couldn't come out. “What did I do to deserve this?”

He looked at the soldiers and the head guard. “Leave us,” he ordered.

The guards bowed and stepped out, closing the door behind them. Now it was just me, Eryc, and Naya.

I was shaking so much I could barely stand while my tears kept falling. “Eryc… what is going on? Why are you doing this? Why are you with my sister?”

He walked around me slowly. Stopping in front of me, his hand reached out and grabbed my chin roughly, forcing me to look into his eyes. “Do you really think I would bond with a wolfless she-wolf like you? A curse of the moon?” He mocked.

His words tore my heart. The pain was so sharp I could hardly think straight. What did he just say to me? He never called me a curse….he told me he never saw me as one. So why was he doing this to me? What changed?

“I accepted you as my mate for one reason only, Zephyra,” he said. “So I could trick you into giving me your right as Alpha. Now that I have it, I don’t need you anymore.”

My tears wouldn’t stop. My heart felt like it was dying inside my chest.

“I loved you, Eryc. I still do. Why would you betray me like this?” I asked, my voice shaking between sobs.

He let go of my chin and walked back to Naya. “Because I only love one woman, and that is your sister,” he said coldly.

I let out a bitter laugh, though it hurt. “Why?” I asked. “Why her and not me?”

Eryc smiled, but it wasn’t kind. “Because, unlike you, she is stronger. She is pure and she is fit to be my Luna. How you turned out to be my mate still remains a mystery to me. I almost lost my mind having to pretend I was in love with you. But that does not matter anymore.”

The aching in my head kept increasing, but I needed answers, I needed to know the truth. So I asked the question that burned in my mind. “Tell me… did you kill Elder Gareth, your father?”

Eryc's grip on Naya tightened as he pulled her close. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, right in front of me. And when he was done kissing her, he turned back to me. “I didn’t do it myself,” he said. “But someone who obeys me completely did. Just like she did to your father…”

I stopped breathing for a moment. “Wh-what do you mean… just like she did to my father?” I stammered.

Eryc’s eyes glittered. “You heard me, Zephyra. Your father’s death wasn’t an accident. Someone made sure of it.”

My head spun as my vision blurred. “No…” I whispered. My chest burned with pain.

“Is mother part of this too? Did she support both of you in this?” I forced myself to ask. Even if I was going to die because it felt so already. I deserve to know the complete truth.

Naya stepped forward, her eyes cold and full of pride. “Mother planned everything, sister. She knew from the start.”

My knees weakened, and I stumbled back. The truth crushed me like a mountain.

“It was always all about you, Zephyra. Father chose you to rule, only because I am sick, not because you are fit. He knew that you were cursed. Yet, he chose you, instead of me. But not anymore, because now I will take my place.”

And when I thought that was all, Eryc stepped forward, his voice turning cold again.

“I, Eryc Bryndan, son of Gayous Gareth of the Stoneheart Pack, reject you, Zephyra, daughter of Kaelen Garrik, as my mate.”

The moment he said those words, it felt like something inside me broke. A sharp pain stabbed into my chest preventing me from breathing properly. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even scream.

My legs gave out, and I fell to the floor. My hands clutched at my chest as the pain tore through me like fire.

Through my blurred eyes, I saw Eryc holding Naya, whispering something to her.

Darkness covered me and just before I lost consciousness, his last cruel words echoed in my head.

“Now, we can get her kidney.”