How Does The Collar Of Lies Work In Mythology?

My wife, Cassia, was a wood nymph. A cursed one. Forbidden to love mortals. But she fell for me anyway. Every time her heart fluttered for me, the gods struck her down with agony. She willingly endured that torture ninety-nine times just for a chance to be with me. Then, demons dragged me to Tartarus. Hellfire and whips became my sun and moon. Right as I was about to break, I remembered a prayer Cassia taught me—a desperate whisper to the gods. It finally worked. But instead of help, I heard Cassia talking to her patron goddess, Hecate. "Cassia, how could you bargain with the Furies? You let them drag Aiden to Tartarus!" Cassia's voice choked with desperate tears. "Adonis was supposed to suffer this fate. But he's a fragile mortal. This would destroy his soul! I had no choice if I wanted to save him." "Aiden is a child of prophecy. His soul is strong. The Fates watch over him. He'll survive." "Once I save Adonis, I can stay in the mortal realm forever. Then, I'll use my eternal life and all my love to repay the hell he's enduring for me." My heart shattered. As the monsters closed in on me, I stopped fighting. I gave up.

I was Apollo’s most devoted follower, the lover he handpicked from a sea of worshippers. With me, he’d always shed his divine arrogance. He was so tender, so attentive. I actually thought he loved me to the bone. Until seven days before our Consort Ceremony, when I used my gift of prophecy to peek into our future together. I expected to see a lifetime of blinding love. Instead, I saw him violently tangled in the sheets with my adopted sister, Cassandra. Wrapped around him, Cassandra giggled. "You're so good to me, my Lord. Thanks to you, I'll finally get my sister's Sight and take her place as High Priestess." And Apollo—my god, my lover—smiled down at her with pure adoration. "Whatever makes you happy, little bird. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have played pretend for this long, let alone allow her to become a god's consort." In that split second, my heart turned to ash. My faith shattered into a million pieces. With seven days left until the ceremony, I didn't confront them. Instead, I fell to my knees before the altar of Hades, Lord of the Underworld. "I offer you my gift of prophecy. I will be your most loyal follower in exchange for your sanctuary." "Please. Take me away from here. Take me somewhere Apollo can never find me."

Since I can remember, I have been a liar. That is the conclusion my mother made about me. After my twin brother, Daniel Benson, and I are born, she becomes obsessed with a so-called scientific parenting method. So, she puts a lie-detecting collar on each of us. Whenever we lie, the collar lights up in red. The moment it turns red, she presses a remote and shocks me. She says it will help form muscle memory to correct the bad character in me. Daniel's collar is always green. Even when he tears my mom's favorite clothes to shreds and calmly claims a dog does it, the collar still glows green. But I am different. Even if I just say, "Mom, I’m thirsty," The collar would suddenly flash a blinding red light. Then, a current shoots through my neck and into my body, making me tremble in pain. At first, I try to explain. But my mom always says the same thing. "The machine doesn't lie. You have to feel pain to learn. I'm doing this for your own good." After being shocked thousands of times, I slowly start to believe that maybe I am truly born a liar.

If you start with a lie, you live within the lie and die embracing the lie. She who is clueless about the world yet has a strong personality, enough to not get intimidated by others. Is now held captive within the realms of someone dear. Is it for the best or for the worst? Will happiness finally find it's way or will the past repeat itself like a curse to her tragic love story. Will she finally start appreciating her new life or is even that a rose mirror. "I...I can't remember anything! W...who are you?"

“You're going to die, Camila. The bond is killing you.” “That's a lie. Carlos marked me. We're companions.” “Then tell me... did you feel the bite? Did you feel the bond explode inside you? Because the mark... isn't on your body. Nor on your soul.” She froze. Her throat burning. The cruel truth seeping in like poison: no. She never felt it. Camila had been living a lie. She believed she was Luna. She believed she had a home, a mate, a son who loved her. But everything fell apart when Maura returned—the she-wolf that Alpha Carlos truly loved, the only one he ever wanted to mark. No mark. No bond. No forgiveness. She was betrayed by everyone—even her own son, who started calling her “annoying” and preferred the other woman. And what Camila thought was love... It was just an act. But before the disease takes her, before she dies as a shadow of what she once was, Camila will show the world who she really is. Because she was never a weak omega. She is a Lycan. And she is awakening. When Carlos begs for forgiveness... Will Camila still be there? Or will she have already chosen a new path—and a new love—alongside the one who has always recognized her?

The first time I find a hair tie in Ryder Jones' jacket pocket, his mother, Nara Winter, comes to me to explain. "Thea, you've misunderstood Ryder. I accidentally left that hair tie in his pocket." The second time, I find a moonstone earring in our den. His buddy comes over with a grin to claim it. "So, that's where the other one went. Ryder's hopeless. I asked him to buy me a pair of earrings, and he somehow lost one. Don't overthink it, Thea." Then, there's the third time, and the fourth time… Every time after that, one of his family members or friends would step in to defend him. The ninth time, I pull a pair of female panties from beneath his pillow. Holding them up in front of him, I ask softly, "Whose are these?" Ryder's fingers pause almost imperceptibly on the newspaper he's holding before he nonchalantly reaches for his phone. "Which one of you left your panties at my place?" On the other end of the line are my younger brother, Zane Thornton, and my best friend, Talia Stone. "Ryder? Talia must've left her panties over there. Sorry. You know what we're like during mating season. We can't control ourselves. Is Thea being paranoid again?" Talia's voice also sounds reproachful. "Thea, I really can't stand this anymore. How can someone like you be worthy of being the Luna?" When the call ends, Ryder flashes me an innocent look. "See? Can you stop doubting me now? How many times has this happened? If you keep making a scene, I think—" I cut him off with a smile. "Let's dissolve our mate bond." What he doesn't know is that the panties belong neither to his lover nor to Talia. I bought them myself and deliberately hid them under his pillow.