Memory Offering

On the seventh day that my adopted sister, Tiffany Ross, went missing, Mom's eyes had gone bloodshot, her face pale as a sheet. She hadn't slept in a week. With the full moon approaching, her anxiety drove her to the edge.

She gripped my hand, her tears soaking my palm. "Please, Seraphine, tell us where Tiffany went! You must know where she is!"

Before I even had the chance to deny it, Dad plunked down a letter. His eyes were filled with anger and disappointment. "Look—she left behind this letter. Are you going to keep on pretending?"

I had read that letter. Every word in it dripped with unfounded sorrow and accusations.

Seven years ago, I was taken by a Rogue and forced to survive alone out on the wild plains. I spent years fighting to stay alive until my family found me three years ago and brought me home.

During the year I disappeared, Mom and Dad, overcome with grief, adopted an Omega girl a year younger than me. That was how Tiffany came about.

The first time I met her, I thought we could be sisters. It didn't take long before I realized she couldn't stand the sight of me.

For the past three years, she had never stopped scheming against me. However, in the letter, she claimed that she had endured three years of torment and was finally too tired to go on.

She said she was leaving behind the parents who loved her deeply so she could give everything back to me. She even emphasized that it wasn't my fault and told them not to blame me.

My mate, Eric Hunt, the Alpha I had been promised to since childhood, looked at me with nothing but icy disappointment.

"Seraphine, are you still not going to tell the truth?" he questioned. "You've been back for three years and bullied her every day since. Now, you've even driven her away. Why can't you just accept her?"

But I had no idea where Tiffany went—that was something I had explained repeatedly over the past seven days. Nobody believed me, though. They chose to trust the letter and her crocodile tears.

I was numb from the relentless finger-pointing and accusations at this point.

In the end, I grudgingly said, "If you still don't believe me, I'm willing to undergo the Memory Offering. Let the Moon Goddess' flame reveal the truth to your eyes."

Mom and Dad were shocked at first, but they quickly looked relieved. "We're glad that you're willing to do that."

Even Eric's eyes flickered with a hint of approval. He went as far as to promise, "Once we find Tiffany, we'll hold the bonding ceremony."

Our mate bond should've been fulfilled when I returned three years ago, but he kept delaying it because of Tiffany.

"She's still adjusting. We'll let her settle in first," he said.

"You came back wild, raised by Rogues. You need to learn proper etiquette," he said.

"We'll hold the ceremony when you stop embarrassing yourself," he said.

He put off our bonding ceremony again and again. Three years had gone by, and here we were, still at the starting line.

I lowered my head, not expecting anything anymore. I knew Eric would go back on his word the moment Tiffany shed a tear.

So, they brought me to the pack's Sacred Hall, where the statue of the Moon Goddess stood tall in the center. The flame around the altar pulsed with a cold, piercing light.

The elder overseeing the ritual looked grave as he warned me, "The Memory Offering is one of the oldest forbidden rites. It burns your wolf and projects your memories for all to see.

"No one has ever survived the full offering. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Pain exploded in my chest. The silverbane was surging through my blood, ripping my bones and spirit apart with a million invisible needles.

Still, I raised my head and calmly replied, "I'm sure."

Even if the offering burned away my life, I had to make them see the truth. I was destined to die even without it, for the silverbane was tearing me apart from the inside out.

In that case, I would ensure they saw everything for what it truly was in my final breath. I was the one who had been framed, humiliated, and tortured for the past three years. It had always been me.

As the flames rose, it felt like my body was being torn apart. The silverbane in my veins tangled with the ritual fire, the pain so blinding that I nearly passed out.

And yet, a bitter smile still hung on my lips.

Would they finally regret what they did when they saw the truth? Would they regret blaming me for every sin and breaking me over lies?