SOMETHING UNEXPECTED.

CHAPTER 2: SOMETHING UNEXPECTED.

KAYLAN'S POV.

Camila kept on screaming for help at the top of her voice as she crawled backward on one hand while she held the blade with her other hand, as though she was trying to stop the bleeding as well as get away from me.

Soon a crowd began gathering.

"Help me. She's trying to kill me!" Camila cried. The folks who first arrived were terrified and angered. They glared at me. Some of them rushed to offer her some help in the way they could.

The crowd grew larger by the second, then I saw my father and Camila's mother rushing over, as well as the delegates from the capital.

"Oh, my God!" Regina rushed over and crouched on her knees. "Sweetheart, what happened? Who did this to you?"

"Camila! Oh, God!" Jace got on his knees on the other side. He looked compassionately at her. He never showed me that depth of compassion and affection.

"Who did this to you?"

"K— Kaylan," Camila said weakly as she strenuously pointed a finger at me.

"I didn't do anything. Tell them, Camila! Tell them I didn't do it!" I yelled as I got furious at her.

"You demon!" Regina snarled.

"Healer! Somebody get a healer now!" My father barked.

Regina then got up and walked toward me.

"I swear, I didn't—"

I was interrupted by a rude slap across the cheek. "I knew you hated my daughter, but to the extent of attempting to murder her?!"

"I didn't—"

I got another dirty slap. "You still have the nerve to stand by that lie?"

"We saw everything. Kaylan attacked Camila. She stabbed her and pushed her to the ground," a girl testified.

"Yes, that's exactly what happened!" Another girl concurred. Both girls were Camila's friends.

"I did no such thing. You both know I didn't, so why are you lying to everyone?" I challenged in defense.

"We know what we saw," one of the girls maintained. Kaylan seethed with rage as that bunch bore false witness against her.

The healers arrived and hurriedly began administering their healing magic.

"You know you're lying, Camila. Tell them what really happened," I demanded.

"Don't you say another word to my daughter!" Regina snarled.

One of the healers pulled out the knife as the other closed up the wound.

"Wait. Is this not your blade?" Regina asked, furrowing her brow as she pointed at the blade. My heart thumped when I saw that the blade was exactly like mine.

It was a gift from my mother on my seventh birthday.

"You murderer. Arrest her. Arrest her now!" Regina ordered the guards. In a matter of seconds, I was by

"I thought you were different, Kaylan. I never thought you had it in you to do such a thing, to your own sister." Even Jace had the guts to say such a thing.

Everyone threw hateful stares at me. No one seemed to have the slightest faith in me that I was innocent.

"This matter cannot go unsettled this night, Alpha Nolan," Lord Felton suggested.

"I couldn't agree more," Regina concurred.

My father puffed in anger as he glared at me.

"To the hall," he said coldly and turned, walking ahead of everyone else. The guards dragged me along, leading me to the hall.

I turned and looked at Camila. She cracked a brief smirk as our gaze met. It was then it dawned on me that she had schemed this.

The hall that was once packed with folks celebrating was now transformed into a hall of judgement.

The guards set me on my knees in front of the dais, where my father, the council of our pack, and the delegates stood.

Regina and Jace helped Camila in. They stood in front—a few feet away from me.

"Silence!" Father's voice thundered throughout the hall. It got quiet really quickly. Then Father faced me.

"Why? Why did you try to kill your sister?"

"I did no such thing. You know me, Father. You know what I'm capable of," I responded.

"Shut your trap, liar!" Jace flared, stepping forward. "You attempted to kill Camila because you were jealous."

"What? Jealous?" I furrowed my brow in perplexity.

"You got jealous and attacked Camila because you found out that I chose her as my mate, instead of you, despite how desperately you threw yourself at me."

Folks gasped at Jace's revelation.

I chuckled softly, but deeply pained. "That is ludicrous."

"Yes. I, Jace Stormborn, claim Camila Wulf as my mate," Jace boldly declared.

The corner of Camila's lips curved into a satisfied smirk. Tears streamed down my face as I sulked. I was pained by his betrayal as well.

"This cannot go unpunished. Kaylan has to pay for what she's done!" Regina pressed.

I lost the will to try to defend myself. I knew there was nothing I'd say that would make them believe otherwise. I was ready for whatever punishment they'd mete out to me. It wasn't the first time I was unfairly judged.

"Based on the gravity of the crime, the only punishment fitting is banishment."

"What?" My eyes widened in shock at Regina's proposal. The guests seemed surprised as well, but seemed to be in support as they nodded.

"Banishment is more leniency than she deserves," Lord Magnus chipped in, snarling.

Father kept quiet for a bit as he mused. I could tell that it was a hard decision for him to make. And something in me wished that for the first time in a really long time, my father would step up and be my father — I wished that he'd defend his girl.

"Kaylan. You are hereby deposed of your claim as the firstborn of House Wulf, and thus, banished from the Silver Fang Pack!"

I went numb hearing that. I couldn't cry. I couldn't sob. I just stared at my father in utter disbelief. That was the final blow.

Regina and her daughter smirked disdainfully as they looked at me.

"Your punishment commences with immediate effect," Regina said coldly to me.

Weakened in my bones, I got up and began walking out slowly. My head swirled. I couldn't even hear what the people said to me. But I'm sure they hurled insults at me.

I got to my room and headed to my walk-in closet to get my things. I briefly saw my image in one of the numerous mirrors there. I looked hideous as my tears washed off the mild makeup I had on.

I decided to leave everything. I took nothing with me, except my photo album and the gold custom-made case which contained my mother's blades.

I went ahead and opened the case and saw that all the blades were intact.

"So she crafted a counterfeit, huh?" I muttered. Without washing my face, I headed out.

As I got outside the mansion, I saw that the guests had already left. But the delegates, the council, including my father, Jace, Regina, and Camila, stood at the entrance, waiting for me. A couple of guards were with them.

I walked past them, not sparing them a second look. I got into my car and drove off without hesitation. I couldn't bear to spend another second there.

I found myself tearing up as I drove. I clenched the steering wheel. I tried really hard to keep it together, but I couldn't. How the hell could I?

I lost everything. My whole world crashed in one moment.

I didn't even know where I was going. I just drove.

I got to a crossroads, then suddenly, blinding lights beamed on me from the side, causing me to reflexively squint my eyes. Before I knew what was happening, I got rammed from the side of the vehicle.

Everything went vague after that collision.

My car tumbled more times than I could count and came to a stop with me hanging upside down, still strapped to my seat.

My vision blurred. Pain exploded through my body.

The smell of smoke and fuel choked me. It made me even more nauseous.

A few folks began gathering.

"Don't go any closer. Can't you see it could explode at any moment? I'm calling 911," A man said.

"But we've got to help her," a woman replied.

I tried to move, but I couldn't. My bones felt too weak. I couldn't help myself at such a dire moment.

'So this is how it ends for me? Is this how I go?'

I could feel the cold grip taking hold of me slowly. The thought of dying didn't seem to frighten me as much as it should have.

Maybe death would be easier.

A strange warmth spread through my chest. For a moment, I thought it was the warmth of death.

Then I heard something.

'Beep.'

My brows twitched. Then another 'beep' sound followed. It wasn't outside. It was inside my head.

'What... Is that?' I asked.

Then a cold, emotionless voice spoke.

[Vital Signs Detected]

'What?'

[Cardiac Function: 18%]

[Respiratory Function: 11%]

[Severe Blood Loss Detected]

[Multiple Fractures Detected]

'I must be hearing voices because I'm at the brink of death. Yeah," I said to myself.

[Estimated Time Until Death: 01:47]

My heart thumped upon hearing that. And the voice continued.

[Searching For Dormant Wolf...]

My chest heaved. Even while I was dying, whatever this was taunted me. It reminded me of my defect.

Even death wouldn't let me forget.

[Search Complete]

[Dormant Wolf Not Detected]

Of course. What was it expecting?

But the voice continued.

[Running Secondary Genetic Scan]

[Scanning Bloodline]

The voice suddenly became distorted. For the first time, it sounded almost surprised.

[Anomaly Detected]

[Ancient Blood Signature Detected]

The darkness around me seemed to tremble at this point.

[Recalculating Compatibility]

There was a pause at this point. Then the voice spoke.

[Compatibility Confirmed]

[Lycan System Compatibility: 100%]

'Lycan what?' I froze.

A translucent blue screen materialized in front of me. I stared at it. I could read every word.

[LYCAN SYSTEM INITIALIZATION]

Host Compatibility Confirmed.

Species: Unknown.

Bloodline: Ancient Lycan — Locked.

Level: 1.

Rank: Unranked.

[System Initialization: 100%]

[Welcome, Host]

My mind went completely blank. I had no clue what was going on.

Then another notification appeared. The words flashed red.

[WARNING]

Host is approaching biological death.

[Emergency Survival Protocol Available]

I stared at the screen. That information was no lie.

For the first time since the accident, something inside of me wanted to live. Not for anyone, but for me.

I wanted another chance. I wanted to live and prove that my family — my betrayers were wrong.

I wanted to know why I had been born different. I wanted to know what a Lycan was.

[Emergency Survival Protocol Requires Host Authentication]

Then two words appeared.

[ACCEPT?]

YES/NO