~2~ BLEEDING SOUL

BELLA

How could he do this to me?

The question loops endlessly as I curl into a ball on the cold, damp floor of the cell. They dragged me here without letting me speak a single word. The dagger they found in my hand was all the proof the epsilons needed.

It feels like a nightmare I can't wake up from.

Tears silently roll down my cheeks. I don't even know who was murdered.

Without warning, a sharp, crushing pain pierces through my chest, and I cry out, my whole body shaking.

It's the bond. My bond with Steven.

Goddess, it hurts. Am I dying?

I whimper, coughing up blood as the pain continues to climb.

'Our mate is with another she-wolf', Skye, my wolf, tells me, her voice weak.

My heart splits in half, a raw cry tearing out of me. Haven't I gone through enough?

Tears continue to leak from my eyes, tremors running through me. My bones feel like they're being shattered into tiny pieces.

For a while, I lose track of time as waves of agony continue to assault my body.

After what seems like hours, the sound of approaching footsteps reaches my ears, and I strain to follow the sound, fear gripping me.

Who is it?

I hear the thud of metal, and the familiar scent of jasmine drifts into my nostrils. Betsy!

"Bella!" My sister sobs.

"Betsy..." I crawl towards her, feeling feverishly for the door of my cell.

She's sobbing bitterly now. Her hand grazes mine through the bar, and I grab it with everything I have.

"What do we do? That bastard set you up for Candy's sake! She was kissing him and crying. And...and...she had blood on her hands. He seemed to be comforting her. I'll kill him. I swear, I'll—"

"Whose body did they find?" I ask, my voice cracking.

My sister sobs harder.

"Alpha Jacob."

I freeze, suddenly unable to breathe.

"S-Steven's father?"

She hesitates. "He had a stab wound on his neck. And his stomach. The blade was poisoned."

"N-no," I choke out.

Does it mean I've been poisoned too?

But it's strange, if it was accidental, does it mean she'd been carrying a poisoned blade with her wherever she went?

"B-Bella!" A different voice calls out, the sound of pattering footsteps floating towards me.

Candy.

Anger consumes me. My fingers curl into fists, my nails digging into my palms.

"How could you?!" I cry out.

"I-I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I-I was just trying to protect Steven," she cries.

"You shameless bitch!" Betsy screams at her. "Steven was cheating, and his father caught him, didn't he?"

"N-no...that's not—"

She cries out. Betsy must have hit her. Candy sounds like she's choking.

"Betsy, n-no! You'll kill her!" I cry out.

"She deserves to die!" Betsy roars.

"ENOUGH!" A powerful voice growls, and I shrink on instinct.

Our father. He's Alpha Jacob's beta, and now that the alpha is dead, power has automatically fallen into his hands.

“Father,” Betsy whispers.

“Leave.” His voice is icy.

“Do you not understand your position? Why involve yourself in Bella’s disgrace? Return to your room and prepare for your suitor’s arrival.”

“But—”

“We have planned this carefully. Do not ruin everything. Go.”

Betsy’s breathing turns shaky. She squeezes my hand one last time.

Then she’s gone.

Candy too.

And just like that, I’m alone with him.

My father. The man who is supposed to protect me.

“Tell me the truth,” he says, his voice lowered.

“Please, Bella. Tell me you didn’t do this.”

“I didn’t!” I cry. “Father, I swear it—I was framed! Steven gave me the dagger. Candy—”

“Enough!”

I flinch.

“Your mother is sick in bed, and now this? She is devastated. Do you understand what you’ve done to this family? The shame? The disgrace?”

Fresh tears roll down my face. He doesn’t believe me.

To him, I am still the family disappointment.

The blind daughter.

The burden.

My poor mother… She must be heartbroken.

But I can’t die like this. Not carrying someone else’s sin.

“Father, please—”

A scent fills the air. Pine and lemons.

Steven.

My entire body recoils. Even Skye whimpers inside me.

“Beta Matthew. Leave us.” Steven’s voice is calm.

He uses the Alpha command on my father.

“Please… do not hurt my daughter. She must have been desperate. There must be another explanation—”

“Desperate?” Steven’s voice sharpens. “She murdered my father.”

I sob.

How can he do this?

“Then punish me instead,” Father pleads. “For old times’ sake. Please.”

“She will suffer for what she’s done. If you wish to die beside her, I can arrange that.”

My blood turns to ice.

“No—”

“Seize him.”

Footsteps rush forward. My father struggles.

“No! Please!” I scream, throwing myself against the bars. “Don’t hurt him! Please!”

“Take me instead!” Father shouts. “Please—”

“Stop it!” I’m sobbing now. “I’m begging you!”

They drag him away, his voice echoing down the hall.

“Don’t hurt my little girl! She’s still a child!”

My chest caves in.

“I don’t want to die,” I whisper, collapsing to the floor.

The dungeon door slams shut.

Then I hear the slow, familiar footsteps of Steven. He stops just in front of my cell.

“Come now,” he says softly. “You were willing to die for me once. Surely becoming a martyr isn’t so different.”

Bile rises in my throat. I can barely breathe.

Where was the man who had cried in my arms when darkness took my eyes?

Had he ever existed at all?

“What?” he drawls. “You look shocked.”

I laugh coldly.

“You’re my mate.”

He lets out a humourless chuckle.

“Mate?”

His voice drops. “Did you really think sacrifice makes someone lovable?”

I go still. Every word is a knife stabbing at me.

“Did you think going blind for me would make me love you? That gratitude would turn into desire?”

Tears slide down my face.

“Steven…”

“Candy walks into a room and men stare because they want her. You walk into one and people stare because they pity you.”

Something inside me cracks.

He draws even closer.

“You were never the woman men choose, Bella. You were the woman they settle for when they have no better option.”

I can’t breathe.

“I was kind to you because I had to be. Because you made yourself useful. Because your pathetic little devotion was convenient. Rejecting you then would have made me the villain.”

His voice turns softer.

“But love you? Desire you? A woman with your body? Your weakness? Your constant need?”

His words flay me alive.

“I would never choose you.”

I whimper, lowering my head.

"Candy is carrying my child, and I had to protect her. My dad would have stood in the way. I had no choice."

Candy...is pregnant?

My best friend?

My whole body begins to shake, my claws digging into the concrete.

"I, Bella Jordyn Mayweather, reject you, Steven Atlas Jacob, as my fated mate!" I growl.

"You little—" The rage in his voice sends goosebumps spreading over my skin.

In a split second, he's in the cell, driving his boot into my stomach.

"What? You're rejecting me?! After everything, you think you still have that right? You don't reject me, you fat cow! I reject you!" He screams at me.

Pain shoots through my ribs and my chest. But he doesn't stop.

Suddenly, a pair of hurried footsteps rushes in.

"Alpha, the Lycan King is here for his bride," a breathless voice says.

Steven stops and takes a deep breath. "Alright. Lead the way."

"We have a problem," the same voice speaks.

I'm coughing, blinded by the pain in my body.

"Say it," Steven spits.

The messenger hesitates for a moment.

"Uh...his royal majesty is insisting that Betsy isn't the one he's here to marry."

My body goes rigid.

No.

No, that’s impossible.

Betsy’s suitor… is the Lycan King?