Chapter Two

Selene’s POV

I’m staring at the ceiling. The hardness of the floor I feel on my back informs me that I have fallen.

Someone released a piercing scream filled with agony. I then realized the sound came from my throat. Diana was howling in the back of my head.

It felt as if shards of glass were sawing into my chest to get at the mate bond that was unwilling to break.

I was on the floor, writhing and screaming in pain, begging the Moon Goddess for death.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Hunter keeled over but still standing, feeling the same pain as me, but only grunts escaped from him. When I felt the mate chords finally rip, I began to breathe again, finding the rhythm to slow my racing heart.

After what felt like eternity, I slowly stood up to face the mate who betrayed me.

“Why?!” I croaked, my throat sore from my screams. All around was noise from the pack, wondering why their Alpha rejected his fated mate and Luna.

Hunter glared at me with contempt.

“You know why,” was his response.

“Say it!” I growl.

“Because you’re a wolf-less whore,” Sandy sneered as she wrapped her arm around Hunter’s.

“Wha-“

I blinked as blood drained from my face, making me wonder if I genuinely did die and now I was standing in the ninth circle of hell.

“What are you saying?” I asked when I found my voice. “Sandy! You’re my best friend!”

Sandy’s beautiful face turned into something ugly as she raised her lips in disgust.

“I’ve always hated you,” she spat.

A noise from behind the throne caught my attention, and I turned to see a pristine white sheet hanging from the balcony.

“Behold the marriage sheet!” Hunter yelled to the startled crowd. “My wife is no virgin!” And then the whispers began.

We wolves are in no terms conservative with our sexuality. However, when we marry, we must swear if we are or aren’t “intact.” It doesn’t matter if we had multiple partners before finding a mate. What matters is our honesty. A dishonest wolf is a dire wolf.

I vowed I was a virgin. But the proof of the bloody sheets my “best friend” took this morning was gone. I will be shamed as a dire wolf and not fit to be Luna.

My eyes filled with tears at the betrayal as my soul shattered. I lowered my head, understanding that I was outmaneuvered and defeated.

“I have a wedding gift for you also,” Hunter stated, making me lift my head again as I watch their faces fill with glee.

Dread filled me as I watched Sandy release Hunter’s arm and casually walk behind the Luna’s throne, retrieving a large box wrapped in paper with a big bow.

“Open it,” Hunter commanded using his Alpha influence once Sandy placed the box at my feet. I kneeled, tearing through the paper and lifting the lid, preparing for whatever was in it.

Nothing. And I mean nothing prepared me for what was inside the box.

“Let us see your gift,” Hunter pressed, using the command.

Tears streamed down my face as I reached in with shaking hands, pulling out a horrific taxidermy display of Whisker’s final moment. Somebody ripped her throat out as she was nailed to the board.

I began to loudly sob as I placed the cruel trophy on the floor, rocking back and forth from the pure evil that Hunter and Sandy had done at my expense.

Why?!

I glanced at the evil duo and saw Sandy with a smug, triumphant smile. Hunter, however, was grinding his jaw, and his eyes narrowed as if he wasn’t expecting the gruesome display of my beloved cat.

He was there when his parents gave me Whiskers as a birthday present. I’ve caught him a few times playing with her when he thought I wasn’t around. But to hate me so much as to do this was beyond cruel. It was sadistic.

I knew then and there that my future would be dark and full of pain if I stayed.

With determination, I stood to face them. “I Selene Bradley ac-“

“YOU WILL NEVER ACCEPT MY REJECTION!” Hunter barked, the Alpha command stopping my acceptance of his rejection from passing my lips.

Then he turned to the pack. “Sandy is my Luna,” he commanded, and no one would or could speak against it. Not even the shaman, since I was now a pariah for being accused of dishonesty while making a sacred oath.

I was truly fucked.

“What shall we do with your wife?” Sandy sweetly asked Hunter.

“She can be your maid,” he replied while gazing at her with longing. “Show my wife her new living quarters.” Servants stepped forward to do Hunter’s bidding by grabbing my arms to drag me away.

I pulled away from them. “Lead the way,” I told them, not wanting my fear to show. Understanding that I would make their job harder if they dragged me, one of the servants began to walk, and I followed while being surrounded so that I couldn’t escape.

As we marched through the crowd, every pack member turned their back on me. Readily believing Sandy’s and Hunter’s lies.

I was truly alone now.

” Diana,” I called to my wolf, attempting to reach her. But there was nothing. As if she receded into the darkest part of my mind, hiding from the pain our mate caused and the betrayal from our best friend.

I couldn’t even feel her stir in my chest. It’s as if she vanished, leaving me alone to face whatever was coming.

Somebody led me past the servants’ quarters and into the rarely used dungeon. The smell of mildew and mold filled my senses, and I felt fear. The dank hall was dimly lit and cold.

We stopped at the first open cell with an open bar door, and I was roughly pushed into it.

“Welcome home, slut.”

I ignored the jab as I examined my new living situation.

A small mattress with a woolen blanket was on the floor. In the corner, there was a toilet and sink with an open shower stall. My only amenities were a bar of soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and a hairbrush.

Something thud behind me, and I glanced back, seeing a small pile of clothes on the damp floor.

“Your uniform,” the servant snorted before shutting the door, but not locking it. The echo of the servants’ footsteps dimmed, informing me of the severity of the situation. I had no one to help me escape.

As if I have anywhere or anyone to escape to!

I walked over to the mirror above the sink, taking in my image. My tiara was gone, my hair a mess, and my once beautiful gown ruined. But what struck me most was the gaunt face, with ruined makeup staring back.

She looks so lost and scared.

Hindsight being twenty-twenty, I wish I had kept my personal cell phone on me to message my current situation to Alpha Damen.

After the funeral, I texted Alpha Damen about Hunter and me being fated. He was kind in his response, wishing me well. A few hours later, all cell phones were confiscated, and the local cell tower and the area’s internet were turned off.

The new Alpha wanted the pack on lockdown until he became the official Alpha with his Luna.

Now I know why!

Exhausted, I lay on the thin mattress, the coldness of the floor seeping through. But I didn’t care. I could die tonight, and no one in the world would know or find me. I pulled the itchy blanket over me and closed my eyes, dreaming of a better place.

Hunter’s POV

“You went too far killing Whiskers,” I told Sandy once the chaos of the Luna Ceremony was handled and we were alone in the Alpha’s bedroom.

Sandy shrugged. “You told me to destroy something she cherished and loved.”

“I meant a fucking trinket or doll. Not her fucking cat!”

Sandy turned her beautiful face towards me, her perfectly groomed eyebrows raised at the harshness of my tone.

“You wanted her to suffer for Colin, remember?”

“Yeah, but I’m not sadistic enough to order the murder of an old and defenseless cat. And then have it stuffed!”

Sandy walked towards me, her beautiful blue eyes never wavered from my hostile gaze until she was mere inches away.

“How may I make it up to you, my Alpha?” She purred. My anger towards her lessened, but I kept my gaze sharp on her.

With a knowing smile, she got on her knees and pulled down my zipper to reach in and grab my semi-hard cock. With proficiency, she began to lick the bulbous tip, tracing her tongue down the shaft while still staring at me.

She then licked back up and sucked my now hard cock into her sweet mouth. I groaned in pleasure as I felt my balls beginning to swell. I grabbed her golden locks and began to fuck her throat.

Sandy endured my roughness as my need to cum grew insistent. I was about to release deep down her throat until a sharp pain in my length prevented me. I immediately went flaccid, and Sandy stared up at me in disbelief.

“What’s wrong, Alpha?” She pouted. I was also confused because I had never had issues with her before.

” Before you were mated!” My wolf Morpheus yelled in my head. Morpheus was beyond pissed at what I did to our mate.

” She was wolf-less and not worthy of us after what happened to Colin! I reminded him.

” Don’t care!”

“Morpheus is still hurting from breaking the mate bond,” I explained to Sandy as she rose.

“He’ll get over it once he sees my wolf as the best option.”

” I’d rather mate with a cactus!” Morpheus announced. My wolf was getting on my fucking nerves!

“You’re right,” I soothed to Sandy, bringing her into me for a kiss. This is MY CHOSEN MATE!

Selene’s POV

Pain erupts in my stomach. It felt like I was being kicked over and over again.

” He’s with another she-wolf!”Diana cried.

” How is this possible?! He destroyed the mate bond!” I cried through agony.

” He cut the fated bond. Not the mate bond!”Diana howled before retreating far back into my mind.

It felt like hours had passed, and I lay in the fetal position until the pain abated. Fatigue took over, and I thankfully passed out.

“Wake up, whore!”

Freezing wetness hits me. I sit up sputtering, my reaction to the cold instantly waking me. The Luna Ceremony, Hunter’s rejection, and Sandy’s betrayal hit me simultaneously.

I glance towards the jail door, surprised to see Sandy standing beside a servant with a large pail. She’s still wearing her golden dress from the ceremony, which tells me the night just started.

I rise, my body shaking from cold and trepidation—my gown clings to me like a heavy wet mop. Sandy smirks gleefully at my discomfort.

“Bring her,” she snaps and turns to move as two huge servants step around her and grab my arms.

I was too tired to resist, so I let them haul me out, trying to keep up with their long strides as my bare feet were trying to acclimate to the freezing stone floor.

Luckily, we didn’t have to go far.

Very unluckily, when we arrived at our destination, the servants immediately forced my arms above my head to shackle my wrists. I heard a few clinks as the cuffs forced my body until I was on my toes.

“You thought a wolf-less bitch like you was going to be Luna?” Sandy sneered as she walked into my view.

“What did I do?” I whispered-plead.

“You stole what was rightfully mine!” She hissed.

I gave her a quizzical expression, not understanding her accusation.

“Hunter!” She screamed.

I scoffed. “He’s ALWAYS hated me! It’s not my fault that the Moon Goddess fated us!”

Sandy’s hate-filled face didn’t change despite my facts. “As your Luna, and by my Alpha’s decree, I am allowed to punish you for any infraction as I see fit!” She cruelly grins.

She shifted her eyes to something behind me. “Twenty lashes.”

Without warning, scorching fire branded my back. A small, pained shout escaped my lips as hot, unwelcome tears streamed down my face.

Sandy’s beautiful face lit up at my agony. “The lash is silver-tipped and was dipped in wolfsbane,” she said sweetly between each cracking stroke.

I pressed my lips together, forcing my screams to stay in my throat as I eyed Sandy with unwavering hatred.

I swear I will kill you one day!

” I will slowly rip her throat out for what she’s done! Both of them!”Diana snarled. My wolf and I know we’ll be physically scarred forever by the wolfsbane. It’s the one thing that prevents an unshifted werewolf from fully healing.

Alpha Richard didn’t want me to reveal my wolf, so I have NEVER shifted. His command to keep Diana a secret also prevented me from shifting.

Thoughts of revenge filled me as I was whipped mercilessly. My back lost feeling after the tenth stroke, but my strength was fading fast as I began to slump against the shackles that kept me standing.

My eyes drifted shut around the time the twentieth stroke hit. I was barely aware when my wrists were released and was dragged back to my cell.

I will be avenged!was my last thought before darkness took me.