ข้าคือนางกำนัลคนโปรดของฮ่องเต้ทรราช

Three years after my best friend Cathy and I mated to Alpha twins of the Creek Pack, their stepmother Victoria—the one that the powerful twins truly loved—came back.

Cathy and I planned to run away, but the night before our escape, she poisoned herself with wolfsbane. I called her mate Damon, but he didn't believe Cathy was really dead.

Tears stung my eyes as I spoke again, my voice hoarse with emotion.

"Damon, I'm not joking. Cathy... she's really dead. Please, you have to believe me."

A contemptuous snort came through the phone. "Is that so? She's really dead? Should I arrange her funeral then, and cry my eyes out?"

His sarcasm cut deep, but I persisted. "Damon, please. This isn't a game. She's gone."

"Luna Daphne, I call you that, but you don't actually think you're my brother’s Luna, do you? Tell Cathy, stop playing these little tricks."

Despite it being summer, I felt cold all over. My hand shook as I gripped the phone tighter.

Damon didn't believe Cathy was dead. I should have known. In his eyes, Cathy was just a tool to appease the pack. But in the end, I had hoped he might have a change of heart.

Yet, Cathy was disappointed one last time.

Suddenly, a woman's voice came from the other end of the line. It was Victoria, Garrett and Damon's stepmother. Her voice was sultry and demanding.

"Damon, why are you on the phone so long? Hang up, my back hurts. Come give me a massage."

Then came Damon's gentle, doting voice: "Alright, alright, I'm coming."

The sky was pitch black, pressing down on me until I could barely breathe.

I held Cathy's blood-covered body, my eyes vacant. I couldn't understand or make sense of it.

Just yesterday, Cathy had been determined to escape the Creek Pack with me. How could she have taken wolfsbane tonight?

She was always so timid and afraid of pain, yet she endured the excruciating agony of wolfsbane.

Numbly, I followed the pack guards to the sacred grounds where we perform our rituals for the deceased.

In less than a day, the once vibrant Cathy had been reduced to ashes in a small, square box in my hands.

As the sky turned a pale, fish-belly white, I walked out of the sacred grounds, clutching Cathy's remains.

It wasn't until a passerby called out to me that I snapped back to reality.

"Miss, your phone is ringing."

I blinked, stiffly pulling out my phone.

My eyes were misty, and I couldn't make out the name on the screen.

When I answered, a deep voice came through: "You didn't come home last night."

I gave a faint "Mm" in response, my throat tight.

Garrett's voice grew colder, each word like a shard of ice. "What's wrong with your voice? Were you out causing trouble with Cathy again? Daphne, I remember warning you to stay away from her."

The phone wasn't heavy, but at that moment, it felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for his reaction.

"Cathy is dead, Garrett. You don't have to look down on her anymore."

There was a pause on the other end, then a cold voice came through: "So you've started playing along with her act too? Daphne, if she's dead today, are you going to die tomorrow? Or do you think this fake death game is fun? Too bad we don't have time to play along with you two."

The call ended abruptly, leaving me in stunned silence.

I let out a sigh of relief. If he didn't believe it, so be it. Maybe Cathy's decision to end her life with wolfsbane was because she had completely lost hope in the Creek Pack, in Damon.

I wiped the tears from my face and carried Cathy's remains to the seaside. The salty air whipped around me, carrying memories of happier times.

She had no family, no place to return to. When we were planning our escape, she once said that besides mountains and rivers, the place she wanted to visit most was the sea.

So, with trembling hands, I scattered part of her ashes into the ocean. As soon as I did, a gust of wind swept by, carrying her ashes deeper into the sea.

My eyes suddenly grew warm. "Cathy, is that you?"

The wind seemed to understand, rushing towards me, caressing my tear-stained cheeks.

I smiled, tears welling up in my eyes. "Go on, then. When this is all over, I'll take what's left of you to finish the journey we couldn't complete."

The wind died down, just as Cathy was no longer by my side. I stood there for a long moment, watching the waves crash against the shore, feeling more alone than ever.

When I returned to the Creek Pack house, it was already noon. The sun was high in the sky, mocking the darkness in my heart.

Surprisingly, both brothers were home. As soon as I entered, two pairs of eyes fixed on me. Garrett's gaze was cold and questioning, while Damon's held a hint of amusement.

The next second, Damon let out a mocking laugh: "Sister-in-law, you're back. Where's Cathy? Still in some Alpha's bed, unable to get up?"