Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

JUNE 27, 2020

DEEPWATER PARK

HAILEY

The prison cell is cold and empty, a perfect replica of how I feel. In just a few days, my whole life has changed in the worst way possible.

My parents were brutally murdered by God-knows-who and if that wasn't enough pain already, somehow, I was blamed for their death.

The prison gate suddenly opened, startling me out of my reverie and I looked up to see Maya, my friend.

"You finally came!" I said, my mood brightening. Maya was the only friend I had and seeing her here was enough to make me temporarily forget my predicaments.

Maya let out a stiff smile and walked towards me. "I brought food." She said, opened the flask and then placed it before me.

Due to how long I've been in custody and how starving I was, I quickly devoured Maya's delicious meal without any second thought.

"Thank you" I sighed happily and wiped the food stains from my mouth. I felt a slight discomfort in my stomach but I likened it to overeating.

"It's a pleasure to be the one that fed you your last meal" Maya smiled sinisterly.

"Huh?" I blinked in confusion as I tried to assimilate her words. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hope you enjoyed your last meal, my dear friend" She laughed out loud and I felt chills run down my spine.

"Maya....." I drawled with a shaky voice, my chest was already threatening to burst open with the way my heart was thumping in fear. "What's going on?"

"Can't you tell? I thought you were the smart one between us?" Maya looked at me with so much hatred that I shuddered. Her words were cold, it was unlike Maya. 

It was then it dawned on me. Maya had poisoned my food!

"Why?" I couldn't stop the tears from falling down my cheeks as I questioned her. "Why did you do this to me? I thought we were friends?"

"Friends?" Maya snorted loudly. "In your dreams bitch. We got what we wanted from you, now it's time to get rid of you. You should even be thanking me for deciding to give you a painless death." 

She squatted to touch me and then clicked her tongue. "Don't struggle anymore, just let it happen. I'm sure by now you can feel your heart contrasting and it's difficult to breathe. Let it happen."

Of all the words she uttered, the only thing I picked was that she said 'we'. Who were the 'we'?

"Where's Tristan? He's supposed to sort this out. He promised me that he'd get me out of here in no time" I was drenched in nervous sweat. The poison had already begun to do its thing in my body, causing me to feel weak.

"Tristan?" Maya smiled then proceeded to rise to her feet. "You mean my Tristan?" She said dreamily with glimmering eyes. "He's busy getting ready to take his long awaited Alpha position."

The moment I heard her say those words, I didn't need a soothsayer to let me know that this was hers and Tristan's plan but I wanted to give him the benefit of doubt. He's my mate and he loves me right? He wouldn't betray me, mates don't betray each other, right?

I hear someone walking in and I look up. It's Tristan!

"Tristan!" I call out, with hopes that the love we shared would make him have pity on me and take me to the hospital before it's too late but to my dismay, he doesn't even spare me a glance, instead he kisses Maya right there in my presence!

"W-why?" I choked on a sob, it felt like my heart was being cut into tiny bits. Tristan never loved me, while I loved him with the whole of my heart. It hurt like hell, I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't stop asking why. What did I ever do to deserve this? Why did the two people I loved the most chose to stab me in the back and orchestrate my death? 

"Why are you wasting your time on her, babe?" Tristan asked Maya with the tender voice that he's only ever used for me.

"I just wanted to let her know how naive she was. It's not like she can do anything now other than die" she said and they both laughed in my face.

"Tristan....," I cough profusely and blood splatters out of my mouth. It was getting quite difficult to stay conscious but I struggled to complete my statement. "why did you do this to me?" 

"How could I not?" Tristan turned to face me for the first time since he walked in. "You were like an open check and it's difficult to say no to one." 

"Your idiot father made his beta and took my position as Alpha and thought he could get away with it. How on Earth would I be beta to a silly old man?" He laughed mockingly.

I was protective of my father so the manner in which Tristan described him pained me and I wished I had even strength to shut him up.

He continued, "The moon goddess being so kind, brought us together as mates, putting my plan into action." 

 "I feigned interest in you and since you were so love deprived, you fell for it like a fool. It made your parents trust me blindly, leading them to their death. But don't be sad about that, you're gonna be with them soon. You put the cherry on the cake by walking into the scene of their murder at the right time, making it easier to frame you. You were the perfect pawn, Hailey."

"So all this while, you never loved me?" My voice came out as barely a whisper and I looked up at him with half-lidded eyes. 

"Yes" he paused for a moment as if gathering the momentum for his next words. Then he dropped the bomb, "I, Alpha Tristan Alexander, rejects you Hailey Damian as my mate and Luna"

His rejection hit me like a wrecking ball, I could feel my heart shattering into a million pieces. It was like he took my energy with him and the effect of the poison had multiplied a thousand times. I was dying but he didn't feel a thing. Perhaps did he fake the mate bond?

I stared at Tristan hoping he'll turn back and help me but he makes no attempt. Heck, he doesn't even look me in the eye.

Is this not the man I'm mated to? Isn't he supposed to love and cherish me more than anything else in this world?

"You caused this" Maya's cruel voice resounded in the empty cell, reminding me that she was still here. I thought she had left me alone to die. "If you hadn't showed up when you did and snatched my man, I wouldn't have done this but be thankful, I spared you the shame and pain of being stoned to death so die quietly."

"Goodbye dearest friend, I hope you rot in hell" her final words felt like a dagger twisting in my heart, killing the last ounce of feelings i had for her.

I watch with hooded eyes as the two people I love walk out on me, leaving me to my death.

A lone tear slides down as my eyes fall close, pain and void filling my heart. What did I do to deserve this sort of betrayal?

If the moon goddess could give me another chance, I promise to not to make the same mistake twice and I'll protect my family and pack with my life.