The Eve of the Final Rite

Once Ellie was brought back to the pack… everything changed. For one thing, her pack mates- her friends- or whom she once viewed them to be, all turned on her. Called her traitor to her own kind. Some even tossed scraps and rotten fruits at her. To say she was baffled by the sudden treatment would be an understatement. She couldn’t believe the people she once got along with all turned on her so easily. Worse off, she heard claims and whispers about how it was expected of her… as a stray werewolf.

It was not just their treatment towards her that changed; unlike before when they usually treat Maddie as though she did not exist, the pack treated her with a lot of respect. The very same respect… that they gave to Ellie. From the way Maddie accepted their sudden change, as though it was something extremely natural… Ellie could tell… Even the whole pack was in on this act. They never really cared about her; they only cared about Maddie! The thought and realization of that hurt so much… Ellie rushed to attack Maddie again. She who was practically the main reason why Ellie was brought here in the first place, and was losing her real wolf.

Sadly, before she could even touch Maddie, the latter reacted fast and knocked Ellie down. Before the downed werewolf could react, her assailant then grabbed her by her collar and head, and proceeded to drag her along the ground, leaving a trail in their wake. Try as she might, Ellie couldn’t do anything to free herself, as Maddie crashed her into a tree, causing the plant to get tumbled down. Though she was recovering from the horrible blow, Ellie could hear people calling her out for treason, and labeled her a true criminal.

As for her home experience, it was even worse. Aside from the incident that occurred on her return, upon learning that she knew the truth behind the rite, Lila and Aiden kept her locked up in a cage in the room they use to perform the rite. Not only that, but they even went through with the conversation they had prior, and forced her to perform the rites daily. Forced her to endure the process more painfully than ever before. In addition, as further punishment for attacking Maddie- the real future Alpha- Ellie was subjugated to numerous bullying from her former peers

To top it all off… By the end of each rite, she constantly saw it… Steve comforting Maddie. Now that Ellie knew the true purpose of the rite, her ‘family’ decided there was no need to continue separating their ‘two daughters’ in separate rooms, and so initiated the daily rites in the hidden room. Not only that, but Steve was always present as well. He who apparently had been helping Maddie get through the rite these past couple of years in secret, and continued to do so by providing her comfort, instead of his own mate.

It was painful enough to have to go through the rite weekly, and even more so in a daily manner. But having to go through that continual pain while watching her mate comfort someone else in that loving way? The sight of it made her heart more than her whole body. If she wanted to- if she could- she would break herself out of the cage these people trapped her in and brutally murder Maddie and her family, take her life back or die trying. Unfortunately, with the state her body was in, it became impossible for her to do anything at this point; only endure the extra Wolf Swap Rite progress.

Speaking of the rite, ever since she began to do it daily, it became more than just simply torture to her; she might as well be experiencing her actual death sentence.

It was one thing for her to be left severely exhausted from the rite, but lately she felt as though her body was starting to break down on her from the inside out. It started with a bit of nosebleed, but then she began to get bruises on her arms, then her legs, then her body. As if that was not bad enough, recently she even started to cough out some blood, and even started to bleed out her nails and eyes. Everyday was filled with nothing but pain; she couldn’t even sleep through the agony.

All that suffering, and yet… not one person even bat an eye on her. Instead, they would give praise to Maddie, and gave her all the immediate medical treatment she needed from the daily rites. All that torture being inflicted onto her… Ellie could even feel as though her mind was beginning to break down from everything. However, for the sake of at least preventing these people from taking away everything that defined her, she refused to lose her sanity to them as well.

“Here’s your lunch,” came Lila’s voice, the woman coming to deliver food for the stray werewolf.

Well… If Ellie could even call it that. All she was being served these past few weeks were some scraps of bones, rotten fruits and greens, and a glass of water, with the water not looking clean at all.

Ellie- lying weakly on the floor- briefly glanced at the ‘meal’ before looking away in silence.

“You better eat up and regain your strength. You’ll need it for later tonight,” Lila spoke. “It is the last day of the rite. Once the last rite is performed, your wolf- your destiny- will finally be Maddie’s. And you? You can do what pitiful mutts do, and try to survive out in the woods.”

No response was given from those words, as Ellie just laid there unmoving.

 “I best get going. There’s lots of preparations to make for tonight. Oh! And speaking of which, you have some special guests. I will leave you to them~”

At that, Lila returned to the house, and Maddie and Steve exited out, approaching her.

One look at the pair, at how close they were publicly, and Ellie narrowed her eyes in a sad glare. She still could not believe that Steve betrayed her all this time, that what they had- the bond they once had together- meant nothing to him. How the latter was ever possible, she did not know- In fact, maybe it was not that he somehow overcame their bond, but rather that whatever loyalty he had for Maddie was strong enough to fight against the mate bond. She did not know what the reason was, but she most certainly did not like the sight before her.

“Hello, dear sister. Or maybe I should be saying ‘dead sister’,” Maddie greeted.

“Oh, come on, Maddie, don’t be like that. She’s not dead yet,“ Steve retorted, in which Maddie playfully shrugged her shoulders in response to.

Ellie’s eyes were not focused on her adopted sister, but on her supposed ‘mate’. Perhaps it was because of the bond they had- or at least the bond she had with him- but seeing his face again, after his act of betrayal towards her, she felt her chest tighten, and her throat gradually clogging up. “Does it amuse you that much…?” she began weakly. “Pretending to love me, to see me broken later?”

Steve playfully tapped his chin, pretending to be in thought. “Hmm… Let’s see… Did it now? I mean, at first all the act did was gag me. I mean, I wanted to just strangle myself if it meant not even remembering all those ‘lovey-dovey’ moments with you. But then I took notice of how much you truly loved me. Whether it was from our so-called ‘bond’ or you truly felt that way, I didn’t know, but the thought of how broken you’ll be when you find out my true feelings, find out the true purpose of the rite… I admit, the thought did hurt, as did the thought of betrayal, but only because I was heavily under the influence of that stupid bond. I knew deep down, I don’t feel any sort of love for you at all. That I instead will feel much joy when the time comes, and I be free of this curse. And what do you know? I don’t need to wait for the completion of the rite to be emotionally free. As I thought, even just watching you wallow on the floor has brought much joy to me~”

With each word coming out of his mouth, Ellie felt more enraged by this werewolf, as well as more hurt from their bond.

“And now, soon enough, your wolf will get swapped over to Maddie, as will the bond. Once it gets transferred to my true love… We can finally say ‘goodbye’ to you,” Steve continued, inching his head closer to hers mockingly.

Ellie shot up to her feet in anger and tackled against the cage, freaking him and Maddie out by how strongly the hit was. “Once I get out of here, escape will be the last thing on my mind! Killing you will be the first thing I do!”

In response to her threat, Maddie harshly kicked Ellie’s prison, causing her to recoil in shock. “A mere mutt like you will do no such thing!“ she said. “Once the rite is done and you have my weak wolf, you’ll be the one done!”

Ellie glared at the woman in great rage.

“Don’t go giving me that look. Geez, and you’re supposed to be an Alpha’s child? It’s no wonder why your parents abandoned you with that attitude,” Maddie exclaimed.

“Like you would know. You never met them!”

“Doesn’t matter. What sort of werewolf would leave a child out all alone in these woods, anyway. If that’s not abandonment, then I don’t know what it is. I believe we’ve overstayed our ‘welcome’, Steve. Come now, I need to get ready for tonight, as well. It will finally be the end of it all~”

“True that, Maddie. I don’t want to see that despicable mutt any longer,” Steve agreed.

Without much of a goodbye, they also took their leave.

Left alone once more, Ellie tumbled back down, frustrated with everything. Her adopted parents for using her, Steve for lying to her all this time…

… Her real family for leaving her…

Why did they leave her in those woods, only to later be picked up by people who treated her like some object? Did they drive her out of the pack? Saw her as a werewolf too weak to take care of? She couldn’t even remember what they look like anyway… Were they even good people?

So many questions flowed in her head, but not enough answers for them all. At this rate, she really will lose her wolf, and most likely her life.

‘How could this have happened…?’ she wondered. ‘What have I done to deserve this life? A life where even my own mate thinks nothing of me…’

‘Mate’… Now that she thought about it, how was that injured werewolf she found in the woods all those days ago? Did his wounds heal up? Was his wrist okay? Did he find his way back to his pack?

… Will he- by any chance at all- come save her from her fate?

… No… Most likely not.

Nobody could save her… Only Ellie herself. Seeing around the cage, Ellie wanted to find some exit but nothing. She even wanted to shift but failed. 

Suddenly, the bell rang, far way. Time was up…

Ellie would lose her wolf and fall into the hell… Tonight.