Three

CLARISSA

         "Clarissa, you're pregnant," the healer announced.

I felt the world tilt.

Pregnant.

The word felt foreign, unreal. Yet, deep down, hadn't I already known? The nausea, the exhaustion, the way my body felt different... I'd ignored the signs, unwilling to face what they meant.

Six weeks had passed since I last saw my mate. The man who claimed me and then vanished into the night. It's been six weeks since the guards captured me and threw me back into this miserable cell.

And now this?

"She's pregnant?" Kieran asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

The healer nodded, and he stormed towards me, his palm colliding with my cheek.

"You whore!" He yelled, and I glared at him.

"That's enough, Kieran," Alpha Garrick hissed, redirecting his gaze on me.

"Who is the father of your child?"

I bit my lower lip, unsure of what to say. I barely knew who my mate was. All I knew was that he had the brightest golden eyes I'd ever seen.

"Are you going to stay silent?" Kieran demanded, and I lowered my gaze, annoyed.

"It doesn't matter, does it? This baby is mine. It has nothing to do with any of you," I said through gritted teeth, and he growled under his breath.

"Father, she must've known all along that she was pregnant. It's why she tried to get me to claim her as soon as possible. She was going to give me a bastard child. No one knows the extent of her evil plans," he stated, and I rolled my eyes in irritation.

It was no longer surprising. Kieran was a professional liar, and in his desperation to see me suffer, he would say the most absurd things.

"Clarissa, I've kept you alive for the past few weeks because of my relationship with your father. But now I regret it. You will be treated as the traitor you are. I will make sure of it, cursed child," Alpha Garrick said and walked out of the cell with the healer.

Kieran followed suit but not before sending a glare my way. Alpha Garrick's statement was worrying. I didn't know the extent he would take it, but I had a bad feeling about it.

He had called me a cursed child. Perhaps he'd always had that suspicion because of my unusual appearance. Still, how could he do this to his Alpha's daughter?

I'd been born with straight silver hair that shone under the moonlight, and my eyes? They were a dark purple. As a result of my strange appearance, my father had moved from the city and settled down in a town just to hide me from prying eyes. My father once said I was "blessed" by the moon goddess, but the world saw it differently. They feared what they did not understand.

A rustling sound broke through my thoughts.

A paper plane had just landed in front of me.

Hesitant, I picked it up and unfolded it, wondering if it contained some sort of secret message. Soon, I got my answer.

Written on the paper with blue ink was a daunting message, one that sent shivers down my spine. It read:

Greetings, heir of the Lunar Throne,

There are three things you must know.

One, your father was murdered due to a conspiracy.

Two, you must attend the Werewolf Academy if you want to discover the hidden truth.

Three, your enemies are more numerous than you think.

Clarissa Nightbourne, you must live.

I stared at the paper, my pulse pounding in my ears. This letter confirmed my suspicions about my father's death, and now, a fire of determination burned in my veins.

I'd heard about the Werewolf Academy before. It was a school located in the city of New York. Apparently, it was made for elites and students with tremendous potential. I needed to find my way there. But how?

....

I was jolted awake by the sound of heavy footsteps heading towards my cell. I'd spent the past few hours searching for the object Gwen had given to me. But all my efforts had been futile.

Before I could process what was happening, several guards stormed into the cell and grabbed me. They ignored my questions and dragged me outside, a stoic expression on their faces. Once we were outside, I squinted at the brightness of the sun, and when my eyes finally adjusted to the sunlight, I was greeted by the sight of a waiting crowd.

The guards dragged me to a platform and set me down on my knees. Alpha Garret and Kieran stood by the corner along with the elders. My stomach churned as a feeling of foreboding sank into me.

"Clarissa Nightbourne, you have been summoned before the Mount Veil pack's council for judgement. You have been accused of stealing the moonstone; what do you have to say about this?" Alpha Garret asked, and my eyes widened.

"That's not true. I didn't—"

"You went to the storeroom, did you not?" Kieran asked, and I shook my head.

Panic clawed at my throat. My mate. He had been in the storeroom that night. Had he taken it?

"I swear it wasn't me!" I cried. "Someone else must have—"

"Enough."

"By order of the pack council, Clarissa Nightbourne is hereby accused of treason and shall be executed immediately," Alpha Garret said, and the guards forced me down to all fours, pressing my face to the ground.

"No! Please, listen to me!" I cried, desperation and fury surging inside of me. I squirmed and cried, sobs escaping my lips.

I didn't want to die.

My poor baby didn't deserve this either.

But these monsters didn't care about the moonstone. If they did, they would have asked me for it. This was just an excuse to get rid of me.

Internally, I prayed to the moon goddess, begging her to save me.

"This is the will of the moon goddess. We are only protecting our peace," Alpha Garrick said as my executor stepped forward with a silver-coated spear.

"Please! Please! I'm innocent! Don't do this!" I sobbed, hot tears streaming down my cheeks.

The executor lifted the spear, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I awaited the blow to my neck.

"Step Away."

A menacing voice spoke, echoing through the space. My eyes popped open, and through blurry vision, I saw an approaching figure.

Gasps erupted from the crowd, and they began to part as he approached me. As he grew closer, I saw them. Golden eyes.

It was him.

My mate.

A spark of hope ignited in my chest.

He towered above a lot of people, even while dressed in his long black coat, his muscled physique was a sight to behold.

Behind him stood a pair of identical twins. They were tall and leanly muscled, but they exuded power in a bone-chilling manner.

My mate halted in front of me, his gaze meeting mine.

My executor faltered but refused to move.

"I asked you to step away," he said in a deep, velvety voice that had Snow purring in my head.

Still, my executor refused to budge. With a graceful movement, my mate raised a hand. And with a speed surpassing that of any vampire I'd seen, one of the twins split the executor in half, using his claws. The blade fell to the ground with a thud, and the crowd shuffled backwards, the air charged with fear.

"How dare you step into this place?!" Alpha Garrick demanded with a thunderous voice, and my mate blinked.

"She belongs to me."