Chap-3*The Accused Mate *

“Say it one more time,” I clenched my jaw, preparing my fist as I progressed in his direction to attack him.

“Whoa! I was just joking how I used to, remember?” the subtle way of confusing me with him being playful didn’t work this time. I refused to believe all that time when he harassed me, he was only joking.

“I mean; it is not like you will not face any difficulty anymore. You are stuck for life after you accepted that Alpha King’s brother. No matter how wrong he does you, you can never leave him, or else the Alpha King will --,” he chuckled as he left the rest for my imagination.

Now that he made me aware he didn’t enter my room to proceed to harass me, I stopped in my tracks and slid my hands into my pants’ pockets. I was able to see how disgusting he looked even with his gifted handsomeness.

He had these brown upturned eyes with high cheekbones, a strong jawline, and long brown hair that could easily make him stand out in a crowd but it didn’t, because his personality sucked.

“You know, everybody will laugh when I will make a joke out of your life,” I cocked my face to the right while smirking confidently. It wasn’t easy to look at your abuser and pretend to be fine, I wouldn’t be fine until he is exposed for his actions and my siblings get on their knees to beg for mercy for turning against me and making my life even harder.

“So I was right about you. You did all that just to prove what? you can fight? Sure, you give a man your vagina and he would love to lose against you in the ---,” he had started his usual blabbering when my grunt sealed his lips shut. He knew it was the right time he zips his lips before I do that for him.

“Your love for my ---,” I paused, seeing my sister walk into the room carrying a skeptical look on her face.

“Oh! Look who decided to look for her mate. Dear sister, your husband here was asking me if I have lost my virginity already?” the smirk on my face matched perfectly with a stupefied look on Hassel’s face.

“Phoenix! Just because you have won some game, doesn’t mean you get to speak inappropriately to your brother-in-law,” Veronica stole eyes from the agony in my eyes every time we spoke about his mate. There were times it mattered, but now I have adapted to the fact that my sister would prefer her mate over me even when she was given reasons to see the truth.

I didn’t break the stare from her face as the flashes of the memory blinded me. I was young, had lost my mother and my siblings decided to pick up on me.

They didn’t once feel wrong, instead, they all got very upset when I got on my feet and fought for myself. I was now standing in front of them with a confidence of a Phoenix, they didn’t like seeing me this powerful and it just hurt.

They are my family; family is supposed to stick together.

“Y---,” I shook my head to be able to speak when the whole mansion shook for a few seconds. We all shared a horrifying glance as we knew what it was, it wasn’t an earthquake.

It was the sign of the appearance of the Wailing Brides.

“Wailing Brides!” Veronica held onto Hassel’s hand as she panicked.

The Wailing Brides were like a curse to our land. Every time somebody dies, the Wailing brides, women in black veils and gowns would appear out of dust to weep loudly enough to be heard by the pack of the deceased werewolf. They will mourn for a few minutes before they disappear into dust again. After the pack has spent a few minutes with the deceased, sadly enough, they have to discard the body to the Wailing River.

People had all kinds of speculations about what happens to the souls once their body has been handed over to the wailing brides' River. They say, the souls suffer forever, it is like there was no heaven left for anyone anymore.

“Somebody died in our pack,” I announced while the two were paralyzed out of their minds at the horror of seeing the weeping women.

I rushed out of my room to the downstairs because the weeping started to merge with the cries of my brother; Markus.

I was numb to notice who else had followed me to the doorstep of our mansion.

“Markus!” I said his name in a whisper, watching him kneel on the ground with his mate’s dead body in his arms.

“Savia!” seeing her body covered in bruises and a silver dagger through her chest crumbled my heart.

“She is g---one!” he let out a weep to announce the agony his heart was feeling.

“Ahh! She is gone!” the wailing brides repeated after him, crying and yelling while terrorizing the pack once again.

It was then I noticed I was the only one accompanying my brother because the others were too afraid to get a glimpse of the wailing Brides. Though the wailing brides never interacted or got into physical contact with anyone due to being made of dust, they have the pack appalled.

“Go away!” I grunted at them, but they ignored me. They were crying in my brother’s ears, causing him more pain.

“Markus!” my heart shattered at the sight of my brother weeping like a part of him died with her. Savia was an omega in our pack, a very nice and decent girl. My brother has felt the mate bond the instant he had set eyes on her a few years ago and ever since then, he kept convincing my father for a mating ceremony.

Finally, the wailing brides started to scatter around and turn into dust, and the others came out of the mansion and witness a heartbreaking sight.

“Somebody ple---ase wake her up,” Markus yelled at my siblings and father, sobbing and unable to get a hold of himself.

“What happened to her, how did she get stabbed?” I demanded an answer because it only meant somebody attacked her.

And for that to happen in our pack meant there was a criminal wandering around now.

“I don—t know, I looked for her when I felt the mat—e bond severed,” Markus was hugging her tightly, not letting go of her even when she has already left.

“Th---.” My father stepped ahead angrily, “this ridiculous! Whoever has done this will be punished to death in front of the whole pack as a lesson for others,” he declared to support his son and bring justice to Savia but no amount of words would ever be able to comfort Markus in this state.

“And what is that going to do? Is it going to bring Savia ba---ck?” Markus shouted back while choking on his tears.

“Markus! You are the next in line Royal Beta of the pack, get yourself together and get up to find the culprit,” my father commanded, eyeing Zion to split Markus up from Savia because her family has to spend time with her before they leave her body in the river.

“I can tell you who did that,” suddenly, an Omega 19-year-old boy came forward with a huge claim. Markus, who wasn’t letting go of Savia, abruptly got on his feet to lung at the boy and grab him by his collars.

 Kian Leroi was a shy and introvert, he had never spoken up so now that he did, everybody took him seriously.

“Who did it, tell me who did it?” Markus shook his body while breathing profusely like a mad bull.

“It w*---s --,” Kian stuttered, looking in my direction, “It w*s h---er mate, it w*s Tanner Knight,” As he named the person who did that, my heart dropped in my chest.

Markus let go of him and turned around to look at me, I was getting judged on the spot.

“I saw him with my own eyes,” as he confirmed, Markus grunted and approached me aggressively.

“THIS IS THE MAN YOU HAVE ACCEPTED? THIS IS THE MATE YOU WANT TO BE WITH?” Markus’ eyes were glowing red; his body was radiating heat of anger.

“You are crazy? Why are you yelling at her? how is it her fault?” my father argued but Markus’ eyes were telling everything.

“Did you not hear what her mate did?” Zion argued with dad, I knew they would give me a hard time and force me into demanding justice because they cannot go against the Alpha King on their own.

“Reject him right away,” it was then Hassel’s idea grabbed my attention and I knew what he was trying to do.

He was suggesting the idea to bring me and The Alpha King face to face in a war.