THE STEPMOTHER

The world was quiet, too quiet.

Aria’s eyes fluttered slightly. She had fallen asleep after Lyra had left her there on the snowy plains. Her entire body hurt. With a grunt, she opened her eyes and winced in pain.

She blinked as she noticed the rays of the morning sun shining down on her. She had not meant to fall asleep, but after her body had been broken again the previous night, it had given up. She had curled into herself and ended up falling asleep half-buried in the cold deep snow.

She tried to sit up, but she fell, her eyes widened as she realized the reason why she could hardly feel any pain in her body. It had become numb.

She grunted and, with more force, pushed herself up, teeth chattering. Her body shivered as she allowed herself a reprieve to look around the forest. Her wedding was supposed to happen today. She knew that there was no excuse she could give that would stop her stepmother from killing her if she ended up being late to her own wedding.

With a groan, she took a deep breath and tried to stand up. A flash of pain passed through her body and she quickly fell down.

“No Aria.” She muttered under her breath, “You need to get up, you need to – ”

A large hand seized her shoulders and yanked her up, “Get up Stillblood.” Ronan hissed, his icy tone cutting straight through Aria’s heart, “Running away from the only duty you have ever been given is pathetic.”

Aria scrunched her nose as she was dragged close to her brother. He smelled of sweat, smoke and alcohol.

Aria chose to keep silent. She knew how this would go if she refused to.

Ronan sneered at her, still grabbing her by her hair, he dragged her through the snow and back towards the servant’s entrance. Back towards her nightmare.

“This is where you belong.” He cursed as he opened the servant’s door and tossed Aria in. “Make yourself presentable. We have breakfast in thirty minutes.”

Thirty minutes later, still bruised and scarred. Aria dragged herself towards the dining hall. With her head down, she walked straight to her stepmother, Lilith, and knelt down.

“Well, well, well.” Lilith chuckled, “Look who decides to grace us with her presence.” She stretched out her hand and raised Aria's chin up, “Every single time, Ari, you prove that you are a disgrace to the family.” She hissed.

Aria coughed, blood sputtering out of her mouth. She took a deep breath and forced herself not to cry. She had cried enough for a lifetime. She had decided that she was cursed, and she was going to take whatever punishment was given to her.

Lilith stood up and walked around Aria, checking out her bruised body. She nodded when she saw that Aria was not injured in any place that would be visible when she wore a dress.

“You should be glad that your little stunt did not ruin the arrangement.”

“Arrangement?” Aria blinked,

“Your marriage dear,” Lilith answered with a smirk, “Or did you think we were going to stop the marriage just because you went and injured yourself?”

The words hit Aria like a blow to the chest. “Please, No… please.” She pleaded.

“Shut up,” Lilith roared, “Do you think you matter? You are a Stillblood. You do not matter. The only reason you are still alive is because you have value in being a broodmare.”

She stopped circling her stepdaughter and smiled down at her, “Your womb is the only reason you are alive.”

“Who?” Aria replied with a sigh. She had accepted defeat. “Who am I marrying?”

Even though Aria knew she was going to get married off, her stepmother had always refused to tell her who she was going to get married to.

A cruel smile curled across the lips of her stepmother, “The Crippled Vine himself. Lucien.”

Aria blanched, the name cracking through her. “What?” She stuttered out, unable to stop her outburst.

Of course, she had heard of the Crippled Vine – everyone had.

Lucien Vine was the once mighty alpha of the Vine Clawhold. He was beaten in an ambush, mutilated, disgraced and crippled. A man so mighty that he had once been the envy of the entire world, was now one that people spat on when he walked past them.

He was more myth now – a crippled wolf with a shattered leg and an arrogant demeanor.

“Isn’t it great?” Lilith smiled, her expression growing brighter as she saw the disbelief on Aria’s face, “The Crippled and The Broken Wolf. You guys are practically made for each other.”

Aria’s stomach turned in disbelief.

She was wrong, her family was not marrying her off. They were discarding her. This was not a marriage alliance, this was instead just two people regarded as trash by both Clawholds being forced to be together.

“You leave at dusk,” Lilith muttered, her tone dangerously low, “And this time, try not to pull any other stunts. Lyra would not be as merciful, if you tried that again.”

And with that, her step-siblings and her stepmother walked out of the dining hall. Leaving a broken Aria on the ground.

Lyra sneered at her as she walked past, “You can eat the leftovers when you are done crying. We don’t want our little bride fainting just because she is hungry now, do we?”

They all laughed at that remark, their eyes shining in mischief as they walked through the open doors.

Aria stayed sprawled on the ground, long after they had all left.

She was being given away by her own blood. She was cattle to them, disposable, useless, broken.

For the first time in her life, Aria did not hold back her tears.

She let them flow.

Because maybe Lyra was right.

Maybe she really was broken.