4

Elise

Rivulets of water run down my body as I sit huddled underneath the shower this evening. I scrub my body rigorously, trying to get rid of the disgusting feel of Jared's hands on my body. My tears run down my face, mix with the soap, and settle on my lips. The saltiness of my tears is a harsh call to reality.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all, but I'm suffering from sensory overload. This isn’t what I had planned for my life. Today was supposed to have gone far better than this, but now I was under the mercy of the Moon Goddess and her cruelty. The ceremony is probably going on without me right now, with someone else taking my place.

The bathroom door swings open, and my foster mother steps in. I smell her expensive but horrid smelling perfume before I actually catch sight of her. I shrink further into the shower stall as she approaches.

I'm certain she knows that I'm taking a shower, but that doesn't seem to stop her from sliding open the glass door. She glares down at me, with hands on her hips. "Get ready for your trial, you mangy mutt. I can't believe I ever took such a depraved individual into my own home. You even had the guts to try and rape the Alpha of this pack," she reaches out, picks up the sponge sitting atop the shower, and flings it onto my face, "you must be crazy indeed."

She huffs, faces red with embarrassment or anger, before turning around to leave.

Even worse than her insults were what came before. Rape? Jared? My shaking body stills for a moment as I try to understand what I heard. There's a faint ringing in my ears that makes every other sound nonexistent.

I've been accused of a crime I didn't commit.

—

The courtroom is colder than I imagined. It isn't the typical modern type, but rather a little tented space with tree stumps as chairs opposite the heart of the werewolf village.

Four elders of the pack are already seated when I get there. Their eyes shine in the descending darkness, and their faces are as hard as stone. I don't mean to be a pessimist, but they don't look like people that will take my word seriously.

I barely get a word out of my mouth before one of the elders rises to his feet and points at me. "Your case has already been settled before you came here, child. What you have done is unforgivable, and is ten times worse because you chose to defile the Alpha of this pack."

I wipe away the tears already falling down my face. What is everyone saying? I'm the one who got assaulted, I'm the one that was attacked! These people are dismissing my pain and it hurts so much.

I point at Jared seated amongst his family members, as well as some pack members. "He's the one that tried to rape me! I'm innocent, I swear!"

Jared rises to his feet and pulls open his shirt, exposing three gashes running across his chest. "Look at this, Elise. This is what you did to me when I refused to sleep with you."

Gasps rise from the audience.

Words fail to get past my throat as I look at the marks on his chest. If they haven't healed by now, they were most likely caused by silver, or by a werewolf repellent like Wolfsbane.

If Jared went to such lengths just to humiliate me, what wasn't he capable of?

"Elise Gretel Ian, on account of irrefutable and concrete evidence, you are hereby sentenced to four years of banishment from Silver Moon Pack. You will serve those four years at the Farson Correctional Facility for Undisciplined Wolves," says the elder. Then, with a soft cough, he settles back into his seat.

"She totally deserves it," someone in the crowd says.

"I always knew that Jared would never love someone like that. He must have been with her out of pity," another voice says.

I can't believe this is happening. I'm being dragged away in handcuffs, accused of something I didn't do. As I'm led out of the courtroom, I can't help but beg Jared to tell the truth. "Please," I plead. "You know I'm innocent. You have to tell them what really happened."

But Jared just looks at me with a smug expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Elise," he says, his voice dripping with fake sincerity. "I had to protect myself. You were the one who came to me. I had no choice but to defend myself."

Just like that, my foster sister presses herself into his side, looking at me with nothing behind her eyes. "Let's go now, Jared. She won't be able to bother you for a very long time."

As the two of them move away, the guards continue to take me away.

I can't believe he's saying this. He's lying, I know he is, but no one believes me. My adoptive family is seated in the front row, fake tears streaming down their faces. They had never been supportive of me, and now they can finally have me off their hands. Jared is a skilled liar, and he's managed to convince everyone that I'm the one in the wrong.

As I'm taken away to the correctional facility, I can't help but feel a sense of despair wash over me. I know I'm innocent, but no one believes me. I'm being punished for something I didn't do, and there's nothing I can do to change that.

As I make my way out of the little town that hates me so much, I can't help but feel a sense of relief wash over me. I'm finally free, and I can start to rebuild my life.

I'm determined to make things right. I'm going to work hard to gain the respect that I've been deprived of for so long, and I'm going to do everything in my power to prove that I'm innocent.

As the transport vehicle takes me away from the village that has caused me so much pain, I can't help but feel a sense of hope for the future. I know that I have a long road ahead of me, but I'm ready to face whatever comes my way. I'm strong and resilient, and I'm not going to let anyone or anything stop me.

I'll return, and they will all pay for treating me like shit.