Chapter Four—The unwanted bride

Chapter Four—The unwanted bride

I scrambled to my feet, throwing the fruits back into the pile of spoils before I was caught and probably whipped by father again. The mud on my skirt was however going to earn me some scoldings,. Although it was unavoidable, father wasn’t one to reason.

Cecile’s screams were even louder, I could hear father trying to calm her down. I gulped hard, knowing I was at fault somehow….it was only a matter of time before she came gnawing at me.

And so she did. In a matter of seconds she was in front of the stall. I took a step back, terrified by the pure unbridled rage in her eyes when she pointed at me.

“You!!!!”

“Me.” I quivered.

Father rushed out, holding onto her before she lunged at me, “Cecile relax. Nothing has been confirmed yet.”

My sister bawled, trying to wrangle free from my father’s grasp, “She’s ruining my life. She’s ruined everything!!”

“Calm down, child,” father pleaded with so much genuineness, he was never this affectionate towards me, “Relax Cecile. We don’t know if it’s true yet, the elders could be wrong. It’s all hearsay.”

Rumors.

Elders.

Hearsay.

None of their words made any sense, or how I played into the situation.

She glared at me, those purple eyes of hers enveloped by a milky red. I could taste the pure hatred that oozed out of her. She wiped away her tears, sniffling loudly before she stormed off in anger.

Father let out a breath, raking his hands through his hair before he looked at me.

I couldn’t help but ask, “What is happening?”

He shook his head, “We should’ve sacrificed you in the woods that day. Your mother died for nothing.”

My eyes stung from the abrupt brashness unleashed upon me. He’d called me all sorts of names—Abomination, disgrace and the likes of it, never did he attribute my mother’s death to nothing……until now.

“Father…..” I stepped forward, I was a hurt child trying go find solace in the only parent she knew.

He took a step back, brushing away the tears that formed in his duct, “I regret bringing you into this world, Lydia. Just end it already.”

~TANNER~

The chamber of the elders reeked of blood, incense and smoke. The air was heavy, almost choking as I stepped into the circle of summons, watching as their eyes peered down at me—pale, unclouded, with no form of blinking. They looked like relics, old Lycans granted with the sole power of immortality by the goddess herself.

I was the alpha of the pack, and yet I was powerless against them. I was the figurehead, they were the ones actually playing the strings. So I gulped hard, waiting until the first elder spoke—the oldest of them all, clad in his robe resembling ash and bone.

They were the custodians of the law and history of the pack. Stronger than the high priestess even, getting a full hand experience of the moon goddess’s power

“Alpha Tanner.” He said, “To what do we owe this—

“Imelda said something about a prophecy.” Tanner cut him off. It didn’t matter if he was in front of an elder, he was still the leader of the pack.

The first elder looked at the other three, their eyes filled with secrets untold. Then his gaze returned to the alpha, “I suppose you have met the girl.”

“What girl.”

“The cursed one.”

Tanner’s brows creased deeply, “Lydia? What does she have to do with this?”

“The Alpha blind, shall take her hand,

And be doomed to save the shattered land,

Fear the Luna, crowned in night,

For she will break the Alpha’s might.” The second elder added, “Do you know what it means?”

That slight twinge coursed through my veins all over again. The inkling of truth was only an inch away and yet I couldn’t reach it, so I gulped hard and shook my head, “I’m not a sightseer. What does it mean?”

The first elder sighed deeply, “We should have gotten rid of the girl a long time ago. It was a mistake. Now the land is doomed forever, unless you—

“Head to the point.”

“Patience, child.” The third elder chided, he was the youngest of the bunch although thrice my age, and was the only one I listened to, “Let the truth be revealed to you in due faith.”

“The girl needs to be caged.” The first elder spoke again, “I don’t mean a literal cage. The moon goddess revealed the truth of the prophecy to us, and to subdue her curse she needs a mate.”

“A mate?”

“That mate is you.” The second Alpha added, “The Alpha blind shall take her hand, and be doomed to save the shattered land. You have to marry the cursed one, and keep the curse under control.”

My very sense of being sunk to a whole new low. I was supposed to be the leader of the pack, the figure of authority and power, and yet in the moment a waving sense of weakness engulfed me with full force. I could barely breathe, not with the devastating prophecy which had just been pushed down on me.

Lydia.

The damned wench.

I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t be her mate, not when I harbored feelings of affection towards her much better sister.

“I have only one Luna whom I want to mate with.” I grunted, finally speaking and trying to take a stance, “You must have interpreted the prophecy wrong. The Luna could be Cecile…..it has to be.”

They went mute, throwing unsure and silent looks at each other. The third elder sighed deeply as he shook his head, “Cecile isn’t the cursed one.”

“No!!” I shook my head vigorously, raising my voice, “You cannot simply expect me to go ahead with this bullcrap!! Not when my entire future is at stake. I will not be tied to a cursed Luna when I love another! I simply will not do it.”

“How dare you?!!!” The first elder yelled as he shot to his feet, tremors from the alpha’s soles could be heard—it was just the pure testament of their power, “The goddess’s word is absolute and so is ours!!! You will marry Lydia Ashor and make her your mate!!!”