Chapter 3: The Betrayal

“Lyun…?” I said her name, still in disbelief, shattered. “What… What…”

I wasn’t even able to finish the question.

Lyun let out a restrained laugh and crossed her arms.

“What is this? What am I doing? What does this mean? That’s probably what you’re trying to ask. But I understand the difficulty in articulating words, you were never that smart to begin with.”

The scorn dripping from her voice was something completely unknown to me, I had never seen her speak that way.

“Lyun, why? You were-”

“What did you think, Violet?”

Before I could finish speaking, Lyun exploded in screams and spat out the distorted truth that resided in her chest, her voice heavy with rage and resentment.

“That I would be a f*cking bodyguard my whole life? That’s all my father was his entire life. He was loyal to Mavi, he was faithful to your father until his last breath. Every second of his life was dedicated to serving the alpha, to being the advisor, the second-in-command. And what did he get for it?”

She stopped and looked at me intently. I could swear I saw her lower lip tremble as if she were about to cry.

Or maybe it was hatred.

“He died, Violet.”

She spoke with heavy breathing, slowly.

“He died because of your father. He died because of you!”

The accusation cut deep like a red-hot blade. Almost unbearable.

But it was a lie, and she had to know it.

“Your father died because Roamur killed him!”

I screamed, a genuine desperation echoing in my voice. I tried to break free as I shouted, but Rayan’s hands were stronger. So I just kept screaming.

“He killed him on the same ground where he killed my father and my mother. You know that, you were there, you saw it! He handed me over to you and we both ran into the woods, Ly-”

Before I could finish saying her name, a sharp, penetrating pain struck me. My face had been hit by Lyun’s hand, a slap delivered with all her strength.

I stayed frozen, my head turned, expression locked.

My cheeks burned, stung with pain that spread into my chest. The same hand I had held while running across that battlefield, the same hand that had caressed my head while I cried over my parents’ deaths.

That same hand was the one that struck me.

She leaned down, resting on her knees, and spoke with restrained hatred in her voice.

“What I saw was a man giving up his life to save a spoiled little princess. Your father was already dead, Violet, the war was already over. We could have given up that territory and reclaimed it later with more men. He could have come back. He could have come back to me.”

She spoke the last part with more intensity, anguish and bitterness that seemed encapsulated inside her for a long time. Quickly recomposing herself, she stood up and continued to spit venom in the form of words.

“But he decided to obey that b*tch Ruby, your mother, hand you over to me and then go after her while she marched straight to her death.”

Lyun placed her hands on her waist, puffed out her chest and raised her chin, making it clear she was in control.

“I won’t be like that. I won’t be just another pawn waiting for the time to die. I want something, I deserve something, just like he did. He may have been too good to demand what he deserved, but I’m not.”

“I thought we were friends…”

The words tore out of my throat with a choked sob, leaving my mouth almost by impulse, with throbbing pain in my chest and a look of disbelief and denial in my eyes.

Part of me couldn’t process that the one I called “Sister chosen by the Moon Goddess” was really telling me all that. Had really done all that.

Lyun seemed affected by my words too, if only slightly. I noticed she hesitated. The words hung in the air as she stared at me in silence. Until, with a certain pain in her voice, she replied:

“We were, Violet… But since that day, every time I look at you all I feel is rage. All I feel is hatred and resentment.”

She paused for a moment, took a deep breath, crossed her arms, and spoke again with the same arrogant tone as before.

“But I knew that only by staying close to you could I bring you down. And when Rayan offered me a deal, it was all I needed.”

A deal? Was that what our friendship was worth? That’s what I asked myself silently.

“What deal?” I asked, now feeling a growing rage inside me.

“Oh, isn’t it obvious? I hand you over and the east, and they let me keep the entire south. Full security, no threats, and complete control of the pack.”

Her smile was full of victorious, arrogant scorn, spilling from her words.

“If you think they’ll honor any sh*t they promised you, then you’re not the Lyun I know. You’re just some stupid fool who believes any crap the guy you’re f*cking tells you.”

As I spoke, I saw her expression darken, but she only reacted after I finished. She shoved a kick into me, pushing me against Rayan’s legs, who held me.

“Whoa, easy, come on now, don’t break my toy. I haven’t had a chance yet.”

He said, pulling me back in front of her.

“Play all you want, just keep the deal.”

Lyun said, turning and walking towards the door.

“Don’t worry, darling.”

His voice carried a smug smile in its tone.

Lyun didn’t look back, didn’t say another word to me. She just walked straight out the door. That was the last time I saw her, the last time I heard her voice.

I was too broken to care about Rayan still holding me; all I could think about was how I had never truly known my best friend, how none of those moments we helped each other and laughed together had meant anything to her.

Suddenly, pulling me back into my cruel reality, I felt Rayan’s grip tighten. He pulled me against his chest, my back against him as he forced my face upward, clutching my neck.

“Now it’s just the two of us.” he whispered, sending a wave of disgust through my body.

“Don’t even think about it.” I declared in a warning tone. I may have been trapped, but I would fall dead before letting him do anything to me without a fight.

“You have no idea.”

The next thing I felt haunts me to this day. An excruciating pain spreading through my neck as I felt Rayan’s teeth tearing into my skin. He sank his fangs into me, my blood dripping, but it wasn’t just that, it wasn’t just a bite.

He sank deeper, piercing my flesh and reaching inside me, a place so intimate it had never been touched before. Branding me like hot iron on soft flesh. When I realized it, I screamed.

“No!”

The mark.

The claiming mark.

He was claiming me.