Chapter 02: The day I died

The king walked in and met me on the ground. "What's going on here?"  

"Father, Ophelia and her mom should face severe punishment for deceiving the entire pack," Asher replied.  

"Yes, punish them," the pack agreed.  

"They've been manipulating us all this while, claiming Ophelia tamed my curse, but it was Lilian who did."  

"What? What is the proof of your accusation?"  

"Father, Lilian here overheard them saying they were going to take over the throne. Her mother wants the throne, so she is using her daughter."  

"Is this true?" The king turned to Lilian. 

I could see the fear in her eyes and was sure her mom had told her to lie. 

She was good at manipulating people.  

"Yes, my king," she lied through her teeth, and I wished she would bite her tongue.  

Asher clapped his hands, and a cage was brought forward. 

Inside was my mom.

 My heart broke into a thousand crumbs after all the sacrifices my mom made for the pack, defeating countless wars against other packs and dark forces.

 Is this how the pack repays her?

My mom sat in the cage, she had shifted to wolf form. 

Her deep blue eyes now held tears as she looked at me lying on the floor. 

She whimpered, dragging herself from all angles.

The look on her face showed that of a desperate mother.

 If she could free herself, she would tear down the entire pack just to save me.

 Purple lines began showing on my neck, but no one paid attention. The king sat quietly as if he didn't know my mother.

Ungrateful people, I lay there helpless, I heard my mother's wolf whimpering helplessly I know if she wasn't chained, she would have tear the entire pack down to safe me, if only the moon goddess gave me another chance to go back in time I'll correct all of my mistakes.

 After all these years of trusting Lilian, stepmom, and my dad,  this was what I got in return , betrayal dressed up as grief.

 "Asher, please, give me a chance to prove myself, I tamed your curse not lilian" I begged, crawling toward him. 

My wolf was too weak to fight. 

My body wouldn't cooperate.

 

"You fool. You are nothing to me. You don't deserve my empathy," he said, each word landing like a blow.

Then he turned to Lillian and pulled her against his waist, cradling her like she was the only thing that mattered in the world.

"You are the one who deserves this position my love. No one else."

He actually called her his love, my mother and I  have been nothing but a tool for this pack.

"My Lord, no, I don't think...."

 "Shh." He pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her mid-sentence. 

My chest burned with a rage so sharp I could have torn her apart with my bare hands. 

She and her mother, playing the victims without an ounce of shame. 

I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms.

 No, no, no, Ophelia, do something, my wolf cried out, weak and afraid.

"Daddy," I called, my voice breaking. "Why do you just stand there and watch your daughter suffer?"

"Ophelia, you and your mother brought this on yourselves. I can't go against the King's judgment," he said coldly, not even meeting my eyes

"You know the truth," I said. The crowd gasped in shock at my words.

"You ungrateful child. How dare you accuse me, are you trying to drag me into the mess you created?" he snapped.

"Pathetic. How can she be so selfish?" someone muttered from the crowd, and the words spread like wildfire, whispers and mockery  came from every direction.

Then a glow rose from the center of the hall.

I managed to lift up my head to look, it was Asher.

His eyes lit up, gold burning through them, and a wave of wind swept through the crowd, scattering cloaks and hair. 

A fierce, hungry passion blazed in his gaze as he pulled Lillian close and marked her ... right in front of me. 

I died ten times in that single second. 

My whole body went numb, and the entire hall fell into a stunned silence.

He kissed her passionately in front of everyone, something he had never once done to me. 

I have waited and longed for that kiss for a long time, but here he was serving it to my sister, as if he's been waiting for it his whole life.

He hadn't even glanced at me when he'd marked me, all those months ago. 

I had thought he simply needed time. I never imagined he didn't want  me at all.

"Take this greedy bitch to the dungeon. Keep her there until I decide her punishment" he ordered. 

“Ash…Asher please” I tried to speak, forcing my voice until I could barely hear it.

The guards dragged me away. 

I was too weak to even walk, my legs dragging uselessly against the stone floor as purple veins spread across my skin like cracks in porcelain.

"Call the doctor, she's been poisoned!" I heard my mother scream at the top of her lungs. 

"If she dies, I will tear this entire pack down!" she swore, thrashing against her chains, but her powers had been suppressed. 

She could do nothing but shift, sobbing uncontrollably, her cries echoing down the corridor long after they'd dragged me out of sight.