Chapter 3 – The Alpha’s Death

Selene

A cold, heavy fear settled deep inside me, like chains wrapping around my heart. Presented. Like I'm an offering. My heart pounded hard and fast in the silence that followed his command. Fear kept the other omegas still in the dim light.

Suddenly, there was a strange ripping sound, and then something heavy dropped.

Alpha Lord Voran stumbled forward, and a deep, unsettling vibration went through his immense body. His dark eyes, still looking at me, opened wide in shock, then went blank. He fell hard on the stony floor.

The two giant guards beside him roared, their shock turning to anger. They dropped to their knees, reaching for Voran’s throat. Dark, thick blood came out fast from the cut.

"His throat!" one of the guards cried, his voice raw with disbelief. "Torn out! Mother Moon forgives us, what… what could have done this?"

The other guard,  looking horrified and angry, quickly looked around. "The scent… It's not a wolf. It's… something else. Something dark."

Chaos erupted. The omegas gasped, their quiet fear turning into a terrified murmur. The guards spun around, their golden eyes blazing, searching for the attacker.

Their gazes locked on me.

"Witchcraft!" the guard who had spoken before roared, pointing a trembling finger at me, his voice full of accusation. "She did this! The omega! She was the last one he looked at."

"No!" I cried, my voice barely a whisper against the rising tide of panic. "I didn't touch him! I was just standing here! I didn't even move!"

"Lies!" another guard growled, revealing his pointed teeth. "He looked at her! He chose her! And then he died! You cursed him with your dark powers! We all saw it!"

Elara stepped forward, her face pale but strong-looking. "That's impossible! She was across the room! There's no physical way she could have reached him in time! You saw it yourself!"

"Silence, you pathetic creature!" the first guard roared, shoving Elara roughly back against the wall. "You're all in league with this… this abomination! Hiding your dark powers! But she will pay! She will pay for the life of the Alpha Lord! We will have justice!"

Rough hands, strong as iron and stinking like wolfsbane, grabbed my arms and pulled me forward with brutal force. 

I cried out wildly, sounding like a scared animal, my nails scraping against the rough stony floor as I fought against their strong grip. My fear lent me a surge of adrenaline, but it was nothing against their werewolf strength.

"I swear by the Mother Moon and all that is holy, I didn't do it!" I sobbed, tears streaming down my face, blurring my vision. "Please… you have to believe me! I wouldn't… I couldn't… I don't even know how! I have no powers!"

No one heard my desperate pleas because of the rising tide of accusations and the sound of the guards’ heavy boots as they dragged me out of the chamber. 

As they dragged me through the loud hallways of the fortress, the other omegas' horrified, sad faces just became a quick blur.

The weird whispers from last night were gone. Now it was just me fighting to get away, and the guards yelling angrily.

"To the Blood Forest! She will face the judgment of the ancient spirits!"

"No! Please! Not the Blood Forest! Please, no!"

"She is cursed! She is an abomination! The forest will decide her fate!"

They dragged me outside into the cool night, The blood-red moon was hanging there like an evil guard in the dark sky. I felt a rush of cold fear when I saw our destination.

The twisted, old trees of the Blood Forest looked scary in front of us, their branches like skeletal fingers reaching for the crimson moon. A bad, old, and deadly aura came from the dark woods.  The guards looked at each other with worried faces illuminated by the eerie glow.

"Are you sure about this?" one of them muttered, his voice was low and hesitant. They seemed to fear this place, too.

"We have no choice," the other snarled, squeezing my arm harder. "The elders have spoken. She is guilty. And the forest will cleanse this evil, or consume it."

"But… no one returns," the first guard whispered, his eyes wide with a fear that mirrored my own.

"Then she was truly guilty," the other guard retorted, his voice hard. "And the pack will be safe."

"No… no, please!" I choked out, my voice was rough with fear, my legs felt weak, but I tried to stop them from dragging me as I desperately tried to dig my heels into the ground. "Not the Blood Forest! Please! I beg you! I'm not a witch! I'm just… I'm just an omega!"

They were deaf to my pleas. 

They dragged me to the very edge of the woods, the air growing heavy and cold, carrying the faint, metallic scent of old blood and decay, mingled with the earthy aroma of damp soil and decaying leaves. The oppressive silence of the forest was broken only by the rustling of unseen leaves and the distant, mournful cry of a night bird.

"Your sentence, witch," the guard whose hand still dripped with Voran’s blood snarled, his grip tightening like a vise on my arm. 

"The forest claims its own. May whatever dark powers you serve have mercy on your soul, because we will not."

With a brutal, final shove, they sent me stumbling forward into the suffocating darkness beneath the ancient, intertwined branches. Thorns tore my clothes and skin, and unseen vines snagged at my feet, pulling me deeper into the cursed woods. 

The shouts of the guards faded behind me, swallowed by the oppressive silence of the forest, broken only by the rustling of unseen leaves and the distant, mournful cry of a night bird.

Then, a sound closer than a bird. A soft, guttural growl, low and scary, then a twig snapped right in front of me. Something was in the Blood Forest with me.

And it was drawing nearer through the darkness.