9: PREJUDICE 

Darkness enveloped me like a thick blanket, its suffocating embrace pulling me deeper into the depths of unconsciousness. Though my body lay still, and I was unable to move any part of it, my mind remained alert, tethered to the realm of the living by threads of consciousness that refused to let go.

I could hardly see what was going on, but I was certain I was on Mother Earth. The sun showers all of its rays upon me, but the darkness that surrounds me can only make it cloudy.

Voices drifted through the haze, distant and muffled, like echoes from a far-off shore. I strained to make sense of the words, the fragments of conversation swirling around me like leaves caught in a gust of wind.

"Ava is cursed," Maria's voice cut through the darkness like a blade, its sharpness sending a chill down my spine. "The wedding must be canceled. It's for the safety of the pack."

I wanted to protest, to defend myself against the accusations that hung in the air like a dark cloud. But my voice was trapp