3 - Survive Somehow

Henry laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. “Oh, I think you know. For years, my father, Alpha Vorlag, was... fond of you. Very fond. So fond, in fact, that he blessed you with a son. An Alpha blooded son.”

He pointed a thick finger at Rhys, who was now standing near the platform, a strange, triumphant look on his face. “Rhys Veridian! Or should I say, Rhys Kaelen! My half brother!”

My mind reeled. Rhys? Vorlag’s son? That’s why he never felt like one of us. Why he resented Papa. Why his eyes were that cold, pale blue....like the old Alpha’s.

“It’s true, isn’t it, Juliet?” Henry pressed, his voice like a whip. “Alfred Veridian knew. He knew he was raising another wolf’s pup. A TRUE Alpha’s pup.”

Mama was shaking her head, tears streaming down her face. “No.... Vorlag...he forced me—Alfred knew, yes, but he loved Rhys. He loved me..”

“Love?” Henry spat. “An Omega loving an Alpha’s son? He was hiding him! Defying the natural order! And you, Juliet, you birthed a cuckoo in an Omega nest!”

“Alfred did nothing wrong!” Mama cried. “He’s a good man!”

“He was a fool!” Henry roared. “And a traitor for hiding Alpha blood! As for you, Juliet, your crime is clear. And for your daughter..” His eyes, cold and pitiless, landed on me. “She is the daughter of a traitorous Omega and a woman who lay with an Alpha. Her blood is tainted. Unclean.”

“No!” I choked out. This couldn’t be happening.

“Rhys!” Henry called out. “Your loyalties. Where do they lie? With this.... Family??” He gestured dismissively at Mama and Papa. “Or with your true blood? With your Alpha brother?”

Rhys stepped forward. He looked at Mama, then at Papa, his face hard. Then he turned to Henry and knelt. “With you, Alpha Henry. My true brother. My true pack.”

A wave of nausea hit me. Betrayal, so absolute, so cold, it stole my breath. My own brother.

Mama let out a sob, a broken sound that tore through me.

“Good,” Henry said, a satisfied smirk on his face. “Then you will understand why justice must be served. Alfred Veridian, for harboring Alpha blood and defying pack law, is sentenced to death.”

“NO!” Mama screamed.

Two guards moved towards Papa. He lifted his head, his eyes finding mine. Even through the pain, there was love there. A desperate, heartbreaking love.

“Juliet Veridian,” Henry continued, his voice devoid of any emotion. “For your deceit and for tainting the pack with your questionable loyalties..death.”

My world shattered. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. This was a nightmare.

“And Selena Veridian,” Henry said, his gaze locking onto me. “Daughter of traitors. Her existence is an insult. She too will die.”

The guards started to untie Papa. He was too weak to struggle. One of them drew a long, wicked-looking knife.

I saw Mama lunge, a desperate, wild cry tearing from her throat. “Not him! Take me, not him!”

It happened so fast.

The flash of steel.

Mama’s cry cut short.

She fell.

A dark stain spread on the ground beneath her.

“MAMA!” The word was ripped from my soul, a raw, agonizing sound.

I tried to fight, to get to her, to Papa, but the guard holding me was too strong. I thrashed, kicked, bit, but it was useless.

Then another flash of steel. Papa slumped against the post, silent.

Dead. They were dead. My kind, gentle Papa. My loving Mama. Murdered. Right in front of me.

And Rhys ..he just stood there. Watching. His face impassive.

A cold, dark rage, colder than any winter, filled me. It choked out the grief, the terror. It was a living thing inside me, clawing its way up.

I stopped struggling. I went still.

Henry was saying something, his voice distant. Something about cleansing the pack. About my execution.

I didn’t care.

All I could see were their faces. Mama. Papa.

And Rhys.

My silent scream was trapped inside me, a promise of vengeance that burned hotter than any fire. They would pay. Henry would pay.

And Rhys...Rhys would suffer most of all.

I didn’t know how. I was just an Omega girl, declared a traitor, about to die.

But as they dragged me away, towards the river, I made a vow.

I would survive somehow....

And I would have my revenge.