CHAPTER 1 - REBIRTH

--REINE--

"Please," I begged, the thick chains around my wrists and arms rattling as I sobbed. "I did everything you asked, Karlos. I tried to give you an heir. If you wait for the next cycle, it might happen. Please, don't do this."

He took a slow step closer, the wind teasing his silver hair. His eyes gleamed red under the grey evening sky, void of all emotion. The air felt charged with current, and dark clouds shrouded the remnants of sunlight.

"I warned you, my love," he said, his voice deeper than normal--mixed with that of his lycan's. "I gave you two dreadful years. But my kingdom will not wait any longer."

Hot tears rolled down my cheeks, my heart knocking against my ribs.

This couldn't be happening.

This was wrong.

A nightmare.

I would wake up, and I'd be in his arms again.

He would stare at me with love.

I would be his perfect queen.

But my knees ached from chafing against the rough ground of the cliff, and even the pain didn't snap me back to reality.

Because this was it.

This was reality.

"You... you said I was everything you ever wanted," I tried, staring up at him.

He placed a hand under my chin, the sharp points of his claws pressing against my skin.

A shudder swept through me.

"Unfortunately, you weren't what I needed, Reine," he mocked. "Your beautiful sister Emerald--she gave me what you couldn't. So you're just... dispensable now." He clicked his tongue.

Something broke within me, if everything wasn't shattered already.

I... had given up my own kingdom to be with him.

I was to be queen of Nymore, yet I'd chosen to be that of Warhill.

Just because I thought he loved me...

"Beautiful?" I whispered, my voice small. "You had a choice, Karlos. You chose me. You said I was the most beautiful lycan you'd ever seen."

"Oh, I know." He laughed, shaking his head slowly. "But what use is the outside if the inside doesn't work?"

My chest ached as I watched the man I loved with all my heart stare at me so cruelly.

My gaze shifted behind him, landing on the girl watching us from a safe distance. She had a hand over her protruding belly, and an expectant, calm smile on her face.

She really was pregnant.

With my husband's child...

My sister's betrayal hurt more than Karlos's.

He snapped his fingers, making me flinch and look at him again.

He towered over me, the gleam in his eyes darkened now, almost black.

"You know what, Reine?" he whispered, his voice completely his lycan's. "You don't deserve that face. The face that bewitched me and wasted two years of my life. But I will correct it today, so you may never use it to fool another man again."

My eyebrows pulled together in confusion, as uneasiness settled deep within my chest.

The silver chains shackling me burned harder against my skin.

"What... what are you going to do?" I whispered.

Karlos caught my throat, his sharp claws pressing against my throbbing veins.

A gasp formed in my throat, but no sound left my mouth as terror suppressed it.

Karlos leaned in, until all I saw was the black of his eyes.

"I will carve up your face with my claws, Reine, so that whoever finds your body knows what you really looked like. A useless, manipulative, and ugly little witch."

His claws cut into my throat to hold me in place, and I wheezed as hot blood trickled down my neck.

Tears fell next, but even through my blurred vision, I caught the glint of his claws as he raised his free hand.

It came down so fast that I couldn't even shut my eyes before he tore apart my left cheek.

Then lower.

All the way down to my collarbone.

The sky above roared with thunder, drowning my pained, pathetic scream, like the Goddess herself protested the scene below.

But Karlos... my mate, my husband... he didn't stop.

The man I'd given up all my dreams for didn't stop.

And Emerald, my sister, she merely smiled.

Hot blood gushed out, drenching my blue gown, turning it purple.

Karlos's claws slashed the other side of my face too, my neck, my collar, even my forehead and chin.

I screamed at the top of my voice, desperate, yet futile.

No one came.

No one heard.

No one helped.

Eventually, silence surrounded us, save for the soft whoosh of the wind and the rattle of my chains as I squirmed.

Blood flooded my eyes too, taking away my vision.

Maybe it was mercy from the Goddess above.

Maybe she knew how much it hurt to watch him do this.

Or maybe, there was no one in the skies either, and that faint, stupid hope would die too.

With me.

Chains snapped, and I was lifted into the air by my throat.

The remaining air left my lungs, but I grabbed his hand with both of mine, kicking my legs.

I couldn't give up.

I wouldn't.

Not like this.

No way.

"Good bye, my beautiful queen."

His words echoed in my ear before I was flung off the cliff's edge like a broken toy.

Gravity pulled me down, my skin on fire, every inch of my body burning with excruciating pain.

My back hit the surface of the river, and it pulled me towards its heart like a welcoming mother.

The water cleaned the blood from my eyes, clearing my vision, and I watched everything turn red as I sank deeper and deeper towards the river bed. My gashes stopped hurting as much, but my heart was torn, and nothing could soothe it ever again.

My eyes fluttered close, tired and stinging, until my back pressed against solid ground.

Everything I'd loved had been snatched away or betrayed me.

Some, I'd sacrificed all on my own.

My kingdom. My title.

The girl I used to be.

This was the end.

It was all over...

Until it wasn't.

Light shone in my face.

I frowned, my eyes shooting open to take in my new surroundings.

Everything had changed.

I wasn't in the river.

I was somewhere else entirely.

Somewhere divine.

My wounds still hurt, but not as much, and a second later, a figure approached me.

Glittering, white light radiated from its body, bright enough to shroud its every feature.

I squinted my eyes, blinking, trying to make sense of what was happening. My heart still thumped away out of terror, but I wasn't shivering anymore.

Was I dead?

"My child..." a voice came from all sides, like it was everywhere.

I frowned deeper at the figure, but didn't say anything.

A part of me was afraid. Another too tired.

"Do you wish to live?" the voice asked, and I somehow knew instantly that it could be granted to me.

Maybe I was dreaming.

Maybe I really was dead.

But still, I nodded. Vehemently. Despite the pain.

"Are you sure?" I was asked gently. "Life may be reclaimed. But never freely..."

The words echoed around me.

I had nothing left to lose.

Not life.

Not dignity.

Not love.

Nothing.

I opened my mouth, and was surprised to find my voice.

"Yes," I breathed, nodding. "Yes... please."

"Alright. But remember... when the time comes, you must pay."

I would.

Whatever they wanted from me.

The figure extended its light towards me, like the hand of life itself.

It blessed my forehead, then my face, and then surrounded my entire body, seeping into my very skin, bones and heart.

Before I knew it, I was on solid ground again, this time above water, in a place that looked all too familiar and safe.

Nymore.

My home.

My birthplace.

The kingdom I'd left behind.

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