Chapter 1

Nysera’s POV

Today was supposed to be my wedding day.

A soft smile tugged at my lips as I stirred awake, the distant chatter from the hallway pulling me from sleep. Memories of my bachelorette party floated through my mind, but they quickly grew hazy, leaving me frowning in confusion.

“GET THAT SHAMELESS MURDERER OUT OF THAT BED!”

Murderer?

I groaned, the loud voices making me uneasy. I shifted in bed, trying to shake off the discomfort, but another smile crept onto my face as I pushed the strange words aside.

“Murderer! She’s a murderer! Get her out of the bed!”

The shouts pierced through again, leaving me utterly confused. Was I hearing things? My eyes fluttered open slowly, and through blurry vision, I saw a figure looming over me.

What is going on? I wondered, sitting up straight. Everyone had gathered around the bed, their faces frozen in shock as they stared at something beside me.

Dread twisted in my stomach as I turned to look. The moment my eyes landed on the scene, I screamed in horror and scrambled out of bed. My hands were gripping a dagger, its blade slick with blood. I cried out again and flung the weapon away in terror.

Lying on the bed, drenched in blood, was my soon-to-be father-in-law. My hands trembled violently as I stared down at them, realizing they were covered in his blood. I screamed once more and collapsed to the floor, my whole body shaking as my heart hammered wildly. This had to be a nightmare. What the hell was happening?

“You murdered my father?” Vaelor’s voice sliced through the chaos, thick with rage and betrayal. His face was twisted with fury. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I tried to speak, but fear had stolen my voice.

This couldn’t be real. It had to be some twisted nightmare. The last thing I remembered from the night before was my bachelorette party dancing, laughing, and drinking until everything went black. How had I woken up next to my father-in-law’s corpse?

“Vaelor,” I called desperately, rushing toward him and grabbing his hands. But he refused to look at me. His eyes stayed fixed on his father’s body, shock carved deep into his features.

“I didn’t do it, I swear. I don’t know what’s happening!” I pleaded, my voice shaking.

He finally turned his gaze on me and snarled, “Get away from me, you filthy murderer!” With that, he yanked his hands free and shoved me so hard that I fell to the floor.

Pain shot through my body. I clutched my stomach instinctively, trying to protect my baby.

“How dare you touch me with those filthy hands stained with my father’s blood?” he growled, his face dark with anger. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and my heart raced with terror.

Then I spotted Sylvara huddled in the corner, crying.

“Sylvara…” I whispered, crawling toward her frantically. “Sylvara, please tell them I didn’t do it! I was with you all night. You believe me, right? Please, help me.”

“Leave me alone!” Sylvara screamed, her voice trembling as she stood up and looked at me like I was a monster.

“Why would you do this? Father cared about you. Why would you do something so evil?”

Her words hit me like a knife. Was Sylvara actually doubting me? Did she really believe I could commit such a horrible crime?

Sylvara was my friend Vaelor’s adopted sister. She had always shown me nothing but kindness, and now her accusation felt like the deepest betrayal. Tears poured down my face as I struggled to understand what was happening.

“Drag her out of the room! Punish her until the council arrives and passes judgment,” Vaelor ordered coldly.

My heart sank. There was nothing I could say to defend myself. I had woken up beside the dead Alpha, his blood on my hands. Nothing made sense anymore.

“She’s practically naked, Alpha,” one of the guards pointed out. In my shock, I hadn’t even realized I was wearing only a transparent nightgown that barely covered anything.

“What use is protecting her shame when she has committed such a heinous crime? Drag her out anyway!” Vaelor barked.

The guards obeyed immediately, grabbing my arms roughly. As they started hauling me out of the room, I cried, “I promise I didn’t do anything!” I struggled against them as they pulled me into the hallway.

Outside, the entire pack had gathered. They stared at me with disgust, whispering loudly enough for me to hear.

“Did she really murder the great Alpha? How could a lowlife like her do that? She should be killed.”

“What a bitch. I never knew she was this stupid!”

“Death is what she deserves. And to think she was about to become our Luna…”

“A slut, too. She must have slept with the Alpha’s dead body before falling asleep beside him!”

“I’m pretty sure the Alpha prince isn’t responsible for her bastard child,” someone scoffed.

I was too exhausted to keep crying. With my eyes shut tight, I prayed desperately to wake up from this nightmare and go back to my normal life. But the chaos around me was all too real.

In a surge of panic, I broke free from the guards and rushed back toward Vaelor, pleading, “I know what this looks like, but please, let me explain there has to be some kind of explanation.” I rubbed my hands together, tears flowing freely. “Just give me a chance to prove myself. I swear on our unborn baby that I didn’t do anything.”

I looked up at him, hoping for even a flicker of understanding, but his expression stayed ice cold.

Suddenly, Sylvara stormed over, shoved me aside, and slapped me hard across the face, sending me crashing to the ground.

“Why do you keep lying, Nysera? Why do you keep lying?” she shouted furiously.

She turned to Vaelor, her voice breaking with emotion.

“I was waiting for the right time to tell you this, but I think it’s best to reveal it now. You’re not the real father of the child she’s carrying.” Sylvara pointed at me accusingly. “This witch told me you’re not the real father, and I was waiting for her to confess herself. But now, after she’s killed Father… you deserve to know she’s been lying to you all this time.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd, followed by a wave of murmurs.

“What kind of shameless woman is she?” someone whispered.

What was Sylvara talking about? I had never said anything like that. Vaelor was the father of my unborn child. Where were these lies coming from? Why was she doing this to me?

“Take her outside and punish her,” Vaelor ordered. The guards rushed forward, lifting me off the ground and dragging my nearly naked body across the floor.

I watched in disbelief as Sylvara stepped closer to Vaelor, sobbing into his chest while he wrapped his arms around her, comforting her warmly. I wanted to scream for someone to listen, but it was painfully clear I was completely alone.

Without giving me any chance to defend myself, Vaelor commanded, “For her first punishment, give her two hundred lashes. I want it so painful that she bleeds.”

The guards forced me down, pressing my belly against the cold floor. I groaned in pain and looked up at Vaelor with tear-filled eyes.

“We are mates,” I whispered desperately. “I would never lie to my fated mate…”

“You have been nothing but a disgrace to me,” he said. “And to think you would do this on our wedding day? To a man who loved you so much?” He took a deep breath, struggling to control his emotions, then declared, “You and I can no longer be mates, Nysera. You have proven you do not deserve to be my mate just a stranger wearing my enemy’s face.”

“No,” I muttered, more tears spilling down my cheeks.

“I made a big mistake by accepting you as my mate in the first place, and now I will rectify that mistake.” He paused, then continued, “You have proven to be an abomination to our kind, and for that, I, Vaelor Ryder, now made Alpha by you, reject you, Nyseraphine Asteris, as my mate. Now accept my rejection.”

The moment those words left his mouth, my heart seemed to stop. Tears flowed uncontrollably as a sharp, unbearable pain tore through my chest.

Whether or not I accepted it, I knew I was going to die.

“Accept it, you murderer!”

“I, Nyseraphine Asteris, accept your rejection,” I whispered.

My wolf howled in agony. I felt Seris Vale, my wolf, begin to fade away until nothing remained but an unbearable void.

When my eyes met Vaelor’s, there was nothing left in them. All the love I once saw had vanished completely.

One minute I had been looking forward to my wedding. The next, I was waking up beside my future father-in-law’s lifeless body.

The guards ripped my flimsy nightdress off, leaving me completely naked, but I barely noticed. The pain of the broken bond consumed me, drowning out everything else. Then the first lash landed across my back, and I crumbled to the floor, gasping. But they weren’t finished.

They dragged me up and struck again, each blow more painful than the last. Through the agony, I caught a mischievous smile on Sylvara’s face and couldn’t understand why she was doing this.

My eyes shifted to Vaelor. He remained cold and indifferent, completely unmoved by my suffering or the fact that I carried his child. The lashes continued, growing more brutal, until I couldn’t take it anymore. I collapsed to the floor, drew one last shaky breath, and slipped into unconsciousness.

Later that night, I lay on the cold dungeon floor, unconscious and waiting for my final sentence.

Suddenly, a hand shook me vigorously.

“Ma’am… Ma’am…” a voice called, growing clearer as I slowly came back to consciousness.

I opened my blurry eyes and saw a familiar maid kneeling beside me. Her name was Maelis, and I had always been kind to her.

“Maelis…” I mumbled weakly. The pain from the broken bond and the lashes on my back was almost unbearable. “What are you doing here?” I asked in a whisper, the floor beneath me stained with my blood.

She quickly draped a small blanket over me to cover my nakedness and whispered urgently, “We need to run away from here. Your life is at risk. The council is not going to spare you.”

I winced as pain shot through every part of my body.

“Why are you helping me, Maelis? If you’re caught, they won’t spare you either.”

She didn’t seem to care. She tried to help me stand, but I was too weak.

“You have been so kind to me, and the last thing I will allow is for you to die an unfair death,” she said, struggling to support me. “You have to leave now.”

“I can’t,” I sobbed, tears streaming down my face. “I really can’t right now. I have to talk to Vaelor. If I run away, it will only prove I did what they accuse me of, and I don’t want that.”

“You still don’t get it, do you?” she yelled, confusing me. I stared into her eyes, desperate for answers.

“Get what?” I asked, my voice trembling.

She sighed deeply, hesitating for a moment before she finally said, “This is all a plan to get rid of you. And the Alpha’s son, Vaelor, is in on it.”

I gasped, shock flooding through me. A plan to get rid of me? And he was part of it?

Did Vaelor want to get rid of me?

Why?

“We are working on borrowed time, ma’am. We need to go NOW!”

We hadn’t even run a yard when I suddenly heard Vaelor’s furious voice echo behind us.

“DON’T LET THAT MURDERER ESCAPE!”