“No, no!” I screamed, fighting the iron grip on my biceps. “No, you have to believe me. I never – Cass, please, you have to believe me!” I screamed, looking at my mate.
I heard a whoosh. My heart went into free fall before my world went still. He didn’t believe me. I looked around at all the eyes fixated on me. No one did. No one believed me. The silence in the room rang in my ears. It was loud. Deafening.
“Cass, I – I would never –“ The silence still rang in my ears. My voice sounded like it belonged to another woman. It couldn’t have been mine. “I would never poison April.” The silence shattered with the glass in my mate’s palm.
“You dare – How dare you speak her name?” My mate hissed at me. His red eyes glowed in the dimly lit hall. They brimmed with hatred.
“Cass –“ I looked around a second time. I did not want to believe it. How could I? How could I believe that everyone turned their backs on me when I needed them the most?
“You will address me as Alpha Cassius Raven.” He stepped forward. I moved back but I was met with a wall of warriors blocking me. He took a breath, his chest heaving. Distress, pain, anger, and murderous intent brimmed in his eyes as he gazed down at me.
“For the attempted assassination of my true mate, I, Alpha Cassius Raven, sentence you to death by poison. The same poison you fed my beloved.” He spat the words with venom.
The spell of silence in the room broke with an uproar. People spoke all at once, someone laughed, and another clapped. I went weak in the knees but the warriors held me upright.
“Take her away.” The words from my mate’s lips were directed at the men holding me hostage.
“Cassius Raven, what is the meaning of this?” A voice boomed from the doorway. We all turned to look at the white-haired man walking into the hall.
“F – Father.” I sighed in relief. I had never been happier to see my father. He turned to me with a sharp look that made me falter. “Father, I swear, I swear I didn’t do it! I am being framed! I would never – I would never –“
“Silence!” Cassius commanded. The sound of a pin dropping would be too loud in the ensuing silence that followed the Alpha’s command. “Rufus –“ Cassius turned to address my father but he was cut off mid-speech.
“What is this nonsense?” My father’s voice boomed, his back and shoulders stiff as he addressed the Alpha. “How dare you accuse my daughter of trying to kill your true mate? What motive does she have to do that?” He demanded.
“Jealousy,” someone in the audience shouted.
“Isn’t it well known that the Luna is a wicked and jealous woman?”
“Hasn’t she been playing all sorts of tricks to chase out April, Alpha Cassius’s true mate, from the pack?”
All sorts of questions broke out in the ballroom. It seemed quite obvious but it fully dawned on me then. I was the villain; the wicked woman who could not stand that her mate had found his destiny.
“Why would she be jealous of a mere omega when she is already the Luna?” My father’s voice bellowed in the room. “Cassius, you promised before the goddess and this pack to cherish my daughter as long as she is alive to rule by your side. Why would she be jealous of another woman when she has your vow?”
“What importance is a vow between two people when the true mate comes into the picture?”
“How can Alpha Rufus side with his daughter when she has been caught red-handed?”
More murmurs broke out in the hall. They condemned me. They condemned my father for siding with me.
“Father –“ I called out for him. I could not bear to see his pride shattered like this because of me. I hated to hear the way people spoke of him as if he were a mere man and not the Alpha of Legends.
“Rufus –“ Cassius’ voice had a cold edge to it.
“Cassius.” My father squared his shoulders and looked the Alpha in the eye. “Tell your warriors to unhand my daughter. She is innocent of this allegation.”
“Is this, perhaps, a plot by your family?” The Alpha’s voice went low, exuding a weird calmness despite the charged atmosphere. “Did you and your wretched daughter plan to kill my mate to secure her spot as my Luna!?” The crowd gasped at the force behind the allegation. They stepped back as he stepped down from the podium, his eyes fixated on my father.
“Father –“ My stomach twisted at the look in my mate’s eyes.
“You dare to besmirch my daughter and my family?” My father growled. “Even a fool knows better than to serve a poisoned glass of wine herself in this teeming crowd.” The air around my father and my mate charged.
My father was the last person I expected to defend me at such a time. We never had a good relationship and he often scolded me for being a ‘silly little girl’ yet, he was the only person in this crowd vouching for my innocence.
“Father –“ My guts twisted. I did not like the feeling washing over me
“My daughter is innocent of this allegation. Someone here is framing her.” My heart shook, stopped for a second, and pounded faster. “Did you plan this with your true mate to humiliate my child?”
“Father!” It happened in the blink of an eye. The sword that was part of Cassius’s official accessory whipped at my father and slashed his throat. “Father!” I screamed, starting forward. The warriors holding me did not let me go.
“No, let me go! Father –“ I fought against my captors as my father fell to the ground, blood spurting out of his throat. “My father! I – Father !” I screamed. My eyes blurred, my heart pounded, my world tilted on its axis.
“Take her away. Her execution will be in seven days.” Cassius wiped his sword of my father’s blood and turned. The hall, hitherto silent in the face of death, went into an uproar. People cleared out of Cassius’s way, others ran from the hall as I was dragged away, screaming and kicking.
“Let me go!”
The sound of iron doors slamming resounded in the dungeons as the warriors threw me into a dirty cell, stripped of dignity.
“Let me go! I am still your Luna! I command you to let me go!” I raised my head to glare at the warriors manhandling me. “I – Liam? Lucas? Even you two?” I looked at the twin warriors who had served as my guards since I was sixteen. Their shifting gazes fell on everything but me as they walked away.
My laughter escorted them out of the dark dungeons; loud, cold and mirthless.
Loud laughter tore from the depths of my stomach. I leaned forward, bracing myself with my hands on my knees as I shook with laughter. I cannot recall the hour the sound of laughter metamorphosed into violent sobs and cries for help.
~ ~ ~
On the seventh day after the incident; the day of my execution, my head maid came into my cell with her head bowed, a bucket of water in one hand and a lavish dress in another.
“Luna Persephone.” She curtsied, her head remaining bowed.
“Raise your head,” I called out with what was left of my voice. “The time has come, hasn’t it?”
“Luna –“ Sylvia trembled as she stepped forward. “I – I –“
“It’s okay, Sylvia. You don’t have to say anything. I will go peacefully and quietly. I won’t be a nuisance to anyone anymore.”
“Luna –“ Her eyes quivered, tears gathering in them. “I – I am sorry.” She bowed again.
“What for, Sylvia? You didn’t poison Cassius’ princess, did you?” My weak voice maintained a bit of wryness.
“N – No. I am sorry I couldn’t protect you.” She raised her head as the tears gathered in her eyes spilt. “I promised your mother – I promised to take care of you. I failed.”
“You did your best.” I forced the muscles on my face to conjure a smile. “It is my fault that I turned out to be a silly little girl, chasing after something that was never mine.”
“I – I-“ Sylvia lost her voice as she choked on a sob.
“Thank you, Sylvia. I should have thanked you every day for dedicating yourself to me as you did.”
“Luna –“ She wailed, sinking to her knees. If I had more tears to cry, I would have cried but I was dried up.
I had seven days to reflect on my life and my imminent death. There were a lot of things I could have done better and I never thought of them until death caressed my cheeks.
“Save your tears.” I beckoned at the woman who acted as my mother throughout my lifetime. “Come, tell me how the other girls are doing. I hope Hannah didn’t cry too much?” I asked, swallowing to moisten my dry throat. Who would give me water when I had poison waiting for me?
“The girls – They – They have turned to April. They serve her now and they – they condemn you with everyone else.” My stomach twisted.
Everyone already abandoned me. Why did I think I would be missed? Why did I think they would cry because they served me?
“I see. There is no point in following a dead master.” My lips pulled up at the left corner.
“Luna, don’t say that! As the closest people to you, they joined in slandering your name! They betrayed you!”
“I would have done the same.” My words were cool. The only person to defend me met an early death. I would curse my name if I was in my maid’s shoes.
“No, you wouldn’t have.” Sylvia clutched a fist against her chest. “I – I believe you, Luna! You could never –“
“I am ready to join my parents. Please get me ready.” There was no use believing me. I accepted my fate already.
Sylvia silently cleaned my body with the rag in her bucket. I watched the water turn a murky brown with each dip of the rag. The silence stretched as she helped me into my white dress; the one I wore on the day Cassius claimed me as his mate. Sylvia diligently detangled my hair with her fingers, apologizing for the guard’s refusal to let her in with a comb. She piled my hair into a ponytail with soft and familiar hands.
“Sylvia, what are you still doing there!” A guard approached with a menacing glower. “Luna April is here.” He dragged out Sylvia, slamming the cell shut as April entered.
A petite lady with brown hair, brown eyes and olive skin stared at me as the others left. Her usually friendly face was expressionless as she stared at me. Her rich olive skin had lost colour but other than that, she looked the same as always.
“I have something I must say to you before you leave this world,” her soft voice wrapped around me. Her bright and innocent smile had a strange darkness then.
“I am sorry.” I bowed my head at her. “I am sorry for all the trouble I caused you. I know you don’t believe me but I never tried to poison you.”
“I believe you.” My heart froze at those words. Coming from her – coming from her, they meant everything.
A glimmer of hope that I had squashed rose its head. If she believed I wasn’t the one who poisoned her wine that day, she could vouch for me and I wouldn’t have to die! If she put in one word with Cassius, he would listen because he loved her. He trusted her.
“You had no hand in poisoning me.” She took the other stool in the dungeon and sat in front of me, grasping my cuffed hands. The cuffs were made with silver and had marked my wrist with deep burning cuts.
“R – Really? You –“ My heart leapt. “Have you come to save me? Did you speak to Cassius before coming?” Of course – Of course, she told Cassius before coming here. They were lovers who hid nothing from each other.
“You silly little girl.” She smiled brighter as confusion contorted my facial features. “How dumb can you be?” She laughed in my face.
“What? April –“ April was twenty, which made me two years older than her. Why would she call me a little girl?
“Everything has been leading up to this moment. Everything.” My eyes widened. Could it be – “From the moment I met my true mate and found out he was already shackled to you, I had to take you out.”
“April –“
“Shut up! Just shut up! Goddess, you have no idea how long I’ve waited to say that!” She laughed again, the sound too free, too jovial, to have come from a person I was starting to see in a different light.
“How could I let you continue as Luna while I stayed in the shadows? How dare you mate with Cassius?” She couldn’t scream because the guards were near but I knew she wanted to.
“He needed a mate and I – I was his friend –“ I said, sounding like a silly little girl.
“You were his friend, indeed. He told me everything. You forced his hand,” she hissed. “All this time, I had to pretend to be pitiful. How could I, an unknown omega, compete with you, the daughter of Alpha Rufus, a paragon of beauty and a noble lady? Why did I have to compete with you for my true mate!” She hissed again.
“I knew I could not compete so I had to kill you.” My mouth fell open. “Goddess, I am happy you are in pain. I am happy you are miserable. Now you will feel a fraction of what I felt every time someone addressed you as Cassius’s Luna while I stood to the side.” She glared at me. “I poisoned that wine. I framed you. I wondered how I would deal with Alpha Rufus but he took care of himself, didn’t he?” She giggled.
“You – You monster.” My eyes widened.
“Oh, don’t be dramatic. I merely did what had to be done.” She flipped her hair. “I was behind everything. Your wardrobe fails, the rumours, everything that made you lose your temper and throw a tantrum, I orchestrated all of them. Messing with you was boring, considering how little I had to try to get you riled up but watching you lose Cassius’s favour satisfied me.” She beamed.
“You bitch!” I screamed.
“Guards!” She shouted, jumping away as tears filled her eyes.
“I – Why are you crying!” I yelled, surprised at how fast her countenance changed.
“How could you attack me!” She pretended to stumble as guards rushed to open the cell.
“I didn’t! You pretender! You –“ Cassius came into the cell behind the guards. “I won’t take it! I won’t die without a fight after you confessed to framing me!” I screamed when I saw the cup one of the guards held.
“I knew you would not accept retribution nobly,” Cassius said in a cold voice. He pulled out a blade and I flinched. “Get out, all of you,” he commanded the guards. “You don’t have to witness this, April,” he spoke softly to his mate while I trembled.
“No – No, I can’t leave you here with her. What if she attacks you? She’s dangerous.” She clutched at Cassius’s bicep, her face flushed and wet with tears. “I will stay to protect you.” She flashed me a secret smile.
“Cassius –“ He sprung over to me and plunged his blade into my chest, his eyes cold. “Cassius –“ The blade was laced with poison and silver. The minute it hit my bloodstream, I felt myself slipping away.
“Die, you silly little girl. Die!” Cassius snarled in my face.
No, no! Goddess, no! We were all deceived! I can’t die! I don’t want to die! I am innocent! Goddess!!
“Goddess, no!” I swatted at the blinding white light filling my vision.“Miss Persephone, please calm down!” A muffled voice sounded in my ringing ears. Pins pricked all parts of my skin, making me moan in pain. “Miss–“ The voice calling out my name faded as darkness embraced me.“Anastacia,” an ethereal voice wrapped around me in the darkness.Anastacia.It was my middle name which no one addressed me by except my aunt who died over a decade ago. It was what my mother called me before she died but my father preferred Persephone, a name fitting for a bringer of death to his beloved mate.“Is she awake?”“Miss Persephone?” Blinding white light filled my vision again. My eyes opened to see what the afterlife had waiting for me. It was dark, quiet, mournful, and somewhat angst-ridden.“Where – Where am I?” I looked around me, turning back to the white light. I flinched when I realized the ‘white light’ was actually Doctor Lorenzo’s salty white hair. “Ha, did he get you too?” Light floode
Two years after Cassius became an Alpha, his pack demanded a Luna and I thought he would choose me. I was stupid to think that. To him, I was his best friend but my heart stuttered in his presence. Cassius didn’t see me as a romantic partner. He had no interest in romance, actually.I made my father propose the idea of linking our families. Cassius revered my father too much to say no to his face, so he came to me. He told me he didn’t want to mate with me as he only saw me as a friend. It broke my heart but I was persistent. I sent my father back with an ultimatum. If Cassius did not mate with me, the Adelard family would find another pack to support. He had no choice.His pack had their reservations. My father’s name was the only good thing about me. I had a bad temper. I was vain and rude. How could I lead as the Luna when I behaved like a surly sixteen-year-old even at twenty? No one opposed me to my face because I had Cassius and my father backing me but I heard all the bad thing
“The – The Alpha is in a meeting right now.” My father’s secretary shivered in his boots when I arrived. “If the Missus had made an appointment, perhaps –““An appointment to see my father? Does it sound right in your ears for a daughter to schedule an appointment to visit her father?” I asked Mr. Kim, my father’s secretary.“My lady, the Alpha is an important person who one can’t –““I shall wait for him,” I cut him off but he kept going.“You cannot barge in – What?” His mouth fell open. “I mean – You will wait for him?” His voice shook with disbelief as he asked.“Yes. I would like a cup of tea while I wait.” I saw myself to the waiting room.“Is that really Lady Persephone?”“She will wait rather than barge in on the Alpha?”“It seems she knows the relevance of this meeting.”“Doesn’t she seem a bit – off?”I zoned out of the whispers exploding around my father’s office. Wolves had great senses. Some could smell things hundreds of metres away while others had enviable night vision
“Sorry for keeping you waiting.” Cassius came out with a smile on his lips. It was a smile I came to call ‘my special smile’ because Cassius never smiled.Born to an omega single mother, he lived as the pack runt for the better part of his life. When his mother died from a mysterious disease that degenerated our kingdom’s omega population, his Alpha took him in, only to mistreat him. He served as the Alpha’s steward, his knight, and a vessel for unleashing his anger until he killed him. He lived a tough life that toughened him.“It’s no problem.” I adjusted myself in my seat. My mission here was tricky and might fail but I had to try. “How are you?” I cleared my throat. My words had no emotions in them, sounding as if I did not care about his well-being.“Why does it sound as if you don’t care about that?” He chuckled. “I have a meeting in twenty minutes so let’s cut to the chase. Why did you request an audience with me so early in the day?” He was in the best mood during the mornings
“This won’t do.”Back in my room, I stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes were hollow and red and my skin was shockingly pale. My head hurt, my body hurt and my mind hurt. Knowing the past or the future, I suppose, I could not afford to mate with Cassius but I also could not annul the engagement on my own, not without Cassius’ consent. The only other way was for my father to step in and I had vowed to keep him out of all this.This was the mess I created and the last time he tried to clean up my mess, he had his throat cut. I swallowed through my dry throat. “No, this won’t do,” I muttered to myself.“Miss Persephone?” Sylvia knocked on my door. “Emma is here for the final dress fitting.”“Send her in. Have someone prepare tea and some snacks. She must have set out without breakfast to arrive here this early.” My fingers drummed against my chair handle.This would not do.Cassius was one of the most powerful men in the Deimos kingdom now and I made him. I built him with my hands fr
On the day of my engagement to Cassius, I wore a black dress. It was a dress that sparkled under even the smallest lights– but black. I kept my makeup simple because I knew that if there was one thing I had, it was a face that did not need much to capture people’s interest. “Your dress…” Cassius’ mouth fell open and I fought the urge to laugh.“Isn’t it beautiful?” I asked, forcing a smile.The only feeling that came up every time I saw or thought of Cassius was disgust. It was even hard for me to smile while looking at my killer but now that I had decided to take the path of revenge, I had to pretend to avoid suspicion. I had to play the part of a fool.“Of course, it's beautiful,” he said with a smile. “You are always beautiful but the colour…” Again, he trailed off. “Do you want me to change?” I pretended to be nervous.In fact, whether or not he liked the dress didn’t matter to me. I remember dying in my engagement dress in my previous life and now, I decided that if I was to d
Despite how much I wanted to be unbothered, my chest still felt stuffy. Soon, Cassius would introduce another woman and everything would change.Even if I forgot everything that happened in the past, I would never forget how my world shattered on the day I met April. On a day when people came in from all around to celebrate Cassius’ and I’s engagement, he brought in another woman and joyfully announced he had found his mate.How did I love such a wicked man?The way he smiled that day haunted me. A man who never smiled brought in a strange woman and beamed like it was the best day of his life while his new fiancée stood to the side. It was supposed to be a big day for me but it ended up with me being humiliated. Everyone left that day with a sigh on their lips, talking about how we wasted money on an engagement that ended on the spot.“Are you okay?” Ayla asked when I looked at the clock for the tenth time in ten minutes.“I’m fine,” I lied with a smile on my face but she reached out
My mouth opened and spit out words before I had the chance to engage my brain. It wasn’t until after the words left my mouth that I thought of how they may sound to this rumoured crazy guy. The weird expression on his face evaporated and his gaze hardened. I stilled myself, waiting for him to open his mouth and curse at me but he was silent for a long time; long enough for me to become anxious. My wolf paced, her anxiety heightening mine.When he opened his mouth, the voice that flowed out of his mouth was calm.“What do you mean?” He looked me square in the eyes, his gaze unwavering and without giving me a chance to hide.It was unlike me to hide so I straightened my shoulder and held his gaze. A thick brow raised and the corner of his lips pulled up in a derisive smile that seemed to taunt me. It fueled my irritation but it also made me feel hot inside, hot with the urge to wipe that stupid smirk from his face.“You want the throne, don’t you?” I asked.Despite never having any int