THE HUNT FOR REYNA’S REVENGE

Reyna slammed into a large body of water. The dirty liquid filled her eardrums quickly as she struggled to climb to the surface. When she finally did, gasping for air, a round of cruel laughter echoed around her.

Her heart pounded. How did she get here? She had been walking home a moment ago, no, she had been interrogated. Right? Her mind spun in confusion.

She looked toward the shore, where three pack members stood, smirking. Recognition hit her like a blow to the chest. This was her pack. But why were they here? And why was she barely dressed?

“It seems someone disturbed your rest,” one of the men mocked.

A chill crawled down her spine. The hairs on her arms stood as she turned her gaze toward the large oak tree at the edge of the water. Beneath its branches, seated in a chair like a king overseeing his domain, was Ryan Night, her mate.

The moment she saw him, something in her chest tightened, as if instinctively seeking comfort. But then she met his eyes, cold, detached, devoid of anything remotely resembling concern.

“Ryan, help me,” she pleaded, her voice hoarse.

A muscle in his jaw twitched, but his gaze remained unyielding. The silence stretched between them, suffocating.

“An omega bold enough to enter your backyard,” another man sneered.

Reyna’s stomach dropped. Entering Ryan’s property without permission was forbidden. But she hadn’t come here on her own. Had she?

“No, no… I didn’t,” she stammered, her mind racing to piece things together. Something told her everything about this was wrong. She had to get out of here.

A chain snapped through the air, its metallic sheen catching the dim moonlight. She barely managed to dive before it struck. The iron links grazed her side, sending a stinging pain radiating through her ribs.

Coughing, she turned to Ryan, desperation clawing at her throat. “Please,” she tried again. “I was brought here; I don’t know how.”

A beat of silence. Then, Ryan’s voice, detached and final. “You have three minutes to leave. After three minutes, release the swimmers,”.

Panic gripped her. Three minutes. That was all he would give her? And then she remembered, the swimmers.

Her blood ran cold. Swimmers. Alligators. But Ryan didn’t keep alligators.

How did she know this?

A sickening wave of nausea overtook her. Something wasn’t right. Everything felt eerily familiar, yet distorted, like a nightmare she had lived before.

Reyna panicked and swam quickly in an urge to escape. But how could the other brothers let her?

“She is escaping,” one shouted.

“You dare run!” another sneered

The first whip struck her back, pain searing through her nerves. She cried out but kept swimming, her strokes growing weaker. She was losing strength fast. Was she poisoned?

“She’s stronger than I expected,” someone scoffed from the shore. “A little cockroach, still crawling even after a few lashes.”

Another blow. Then another.

Her breaths came in ragged gasps as the pain blurred her vision. Then, something brushed against her leg.

She barely had time to react before a powerful jaw clamped down on her ankle. The world tilted. A fresh wave of agony shot up her leg as she was yanked beneath the surface.

Reyna flailed, kicking wildly, her nails clawing at the murky depths. The creature released her for a brief moment, just long enough for her to break the surface, sucking in a desperate breath,

Then she was airborne.

Her body slammed onto the shore, coughing and shaking violently. For a brief moment, she thought, hoped, that someone had saved her. But as she looked up, all she saw were those same cold, detached gray eyes staring down at her.

Ryan.

Hatred like she had never known burned through her veins.

Her chest heaved. She hated them. She hated them all.

And then, everything froze.

The world around her seemed to blur. Her body went weightless, her vision turning to nothing but shadows and moonlight.

She woke up gasping, her throat raw from screaming.

It was a dream. Not just any dream, a dream of truth.

“She harbors hatred for the pack,” the elder who had cast the dream pronounced.

Reyna’s pulse thundered in her ears. No, no, no, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. The dream of truth was supposed to reveal whether she had betrayed them. But it had twisted the evidence. Instead of proving her innocence, it had shown them her anger.

Murmurs rippled through the gathered crowd.

“We have decided,” the elder continued, voice cold and resolute. “Execute her.”

Reyna’s breath hitched. “No! Just because I hate the pack doesn’t mean I let the Highlanders in! Please,”

Her protests were drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

“Traitor!”

“Filthy wench!”

“Blood for blood!”

She was yanked forward, her body too weak from days of torture to fight back. The clearing spun as she was dragged toward the execution platform, her legs barely functioning.

Then she saw her sister.

Lilian stood in the front row; eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

Something in Reyna shattered. Why was she smiling? Did she… enjoy this?

“I promised you an answer,” an elder said, stepping forward. “When the desert wolves slaughtered our people, she was the one who let them in. All evidence points to her.”

Lilian met Reyna’s eyes. And then, she winked.

Reyna’s stomach dropped. Ice spread through her veins.

This wasn’t a mistake.

It was a setup.

Her lips parted, but no words came. There was nothing left to say. The people who were supposed to be her family had made up their minds.

"Quiet!" A loud voice echoed through the clearing, silencing the crowd.

"A tragedy has happened here, that one of our people turned traitor and helped in the massacre of her pack.

A shame, but this travesty must not go unpunished. I call her mate to speak up now or forever hold his peace." The Elder spoke with gravitas.

“Ryan!” she screamed, her last hope. If anyone could stop this, it was him.

A hush fell over the crowd as he stepped forward.

Reyna’s breath caught. Maybe, just maybe, he would see the truth. Maybe his wolf would recognize her plea, see the injustice, do something,

But his eyes were like stone.

“What do you say, Ryan?” the elder asked. “Any last words for your mate?”

The silence stretched. Ryan’s jaw tightened. Then, without a flicker of hesitation, he turned away.

“None,” he said. “A traitor should be treated as one.”

Reyna felt something inside her wither and die.

As if to drive the final nail into her coffin, Ryan lifted Helen Stone’s hand for all to see. Holding it tightly like a quiet statement.

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Reyna stared blankly at the scene before her. It was over. Everything was over.

At that moment something broke, she didn't know what but she felt hollow inside.

Ryan did not care about her. She had followed him around as a child yet he did not hold one sliver of emotion for her.

Reyna looked at the crowd surrounding her, at her sister Lillian, flanked by the Hunter brothers grinning like a Cheshire cat, and the cold eyes of her mate.

She regretted, that if she had known it would all come to this, she would have left the pack earlier. Sure, it was harder to be without a pack, but she would have survived.

She had never been part of this pack. She had never belonged. Her mother, her sister, her mate, none of them had ever truly cared.

She had been a fool to believe otherwise.

“Here comes the Gozena” a voice cried from the crowd. There was total silence which made Reyna wondering who it was. A helper from the Moon-Goddess.

A hefty man with silver blade in hand walked forward, one step at a time.

The blade in his hand flashed through Reyna’s vision as she tried lifting her gaze towards him. Pain seared through her neck when she saw who the man was.

The executioner…