CHAPTER FOUR TILL DAWN.

RORY'S POV

"No, no!" I shivered, kneeling before Alpha Renzo. "You can't hurt my mother!"

Renzo dragged my mother by the neck. "Watch me hurt her," he sneered.

My heart broke into pieces. I regretted returning to the forest for Prince Ryker. My mother winced in pain.

Elara rushed forward, pushing herself through the crowd with her eyes blazing.

"You're hurting our mother!"

Renzo's expression turned cold. "I don't have time for family drama," he spat.

I felt a surge of anger and disgust. In my heart, I knew Alpha Renzo enjoyed hurting people. He reveled in their pain and fear.

The werewolves howled in the background, their voices rising and falling in a chilling chant. I saw pain and tears in my mother's eyes. She was being sacrificed for my actions.

"Mum, I'm sorry," I whispered.

She nodded, smiling weakly.

As Elijah dragged my mother away to the execution site, Alpha Renzo approached me, his fingers closing around my chin like a vice. Again, I felt that mysterious jolt, like a spark of electricity flowing through my veins. It was as if my body was responding to his touch, drawing me in with a strong connection.

I was torn, my emotions in chaos. The bond I felt with Ryker was strong, but this... this was different. Deeper. More intense.And I sensed that Alpha Renzo felt it too.

"I don't care about your feelings towards your mother's fate," he whispered, his breath scorching my ear.

"But I'll give you a choice."

His face remained stoic, devoid of emotion. "You have until dawn to transform into a wolf. If you fail, your mother burns."

I tried to speak, but my voice caught in my throat. "I... I can't—"

Alpha Renzo's grip on my chin tightened.

"If you're to be my mate, you can't be weak. I despise weakness,”

"I don't want to be your mate,"

I whispered, my heart belonging to Ryker. Alpha Renzo, of all creatures, couldn't be mine.

"You're weak,"

he spat, his eyes flashing with contempt.

"And pathetic. No wonder you'd settle for a human. I don't want you either. You're not even a real wolf, do you agree to my terms?"

he asked loudly.

"It's almost dawn, Alpha. I'll never transform in time," I pleaded.

Renzo grinned wickedly.

"Then perhaps I should burn your mother?"

Elara glared at me with a fierce gaze, while my mother's pained expression tore at my heart.

"I agree to transform before dawn," I said desperately.

"And if you fail?" Renzo's piercing eyes bore into my soul.

"Then burn me for my actions," I declared, my words bold and resolute.

Renzo nodded.

"Your mother will take the fall for now. This case will be revisited by dawn, and my party will be complete by then. Lock her mother up."

He walked away, leaving me shaken.

"You've brought pain, shame, and terror to us," Elara screamed, her face inches from mine, the moment Alpha Renzo departed and the werewolves began to disperse.

"Are you happy now?"

I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. "Elara, please—"

"Are you happy now? Are you?"

Elara's eyes blazed, her wolf claws extending. "You better find a solution to your wolflessness before dawn," she warned before turning to leave.

"Elara, you can't leave!" I cried out.

Elara spun back, her hand connecting with my face in a stinging slap.

"Mum will be getting burned for your stupid actions! Are you happy?"

she screamed, her voice echoing through the werewolves' park, tears streaming down her own face.

"Mum said you need a trigger to turn," Elara said, pulling me up. "We'll try new things."

Elara took me to the werewolves' training ground near the castle. There were strange weapons and tools everywhere. The birds were chirping, and dawn was approaching. Alpha Renzo always kept his word.

My heart was racing. I didn't want my mother to get burned.

"Take off your coat," Elara said. I obeyed, unsure what she had planned.

"Bend over the wooden beam," she instructed.

I did, and Elara started hitting me with a whip. The pain was intense, and I cried out.

"Elara, please!" I begged, but she kept whipping me.

“We need to save mum,” Elara said.

The lashes cut deep into my back, and I felt warm blood flowing out. I screamed and screamed, but I didn't transform. Elara kept whipping me until dawn.

***

As the sun rises, Elara's whip cracks through the air one final time. Just then, Elijah arrives, his face grim, and drags me out of the training ground. The werewolves were gathered, waiting. I was weak and injured, and Elijah threw me onto the stage floor.

Alpha Renzo stood above me, a cold expression on his face. My mother was brought forward, tired and worn out. She smiled weakly at me, and I cried, feeling helpless and defeated.

"I gave you a chance,"

Alpha Renzo said, puffing on his cigar.

"Tie her to the tree and light the fire," he ordered, his face devoid of emotion.

"No!" I screamed in a weak voice, but no one listened.

Elijah bound my mother to the tree, and then lit the fire. I watched in horror as the flames engulfed her, her screams echoing through the air. I cried out in agony, my heart shattering into a million pieces.

"Mum! No! Please!" I begged, but Alpha Renzo just stood there, unmoved.

My mother's cries grew weaker, and her body slumped against the tree. The fire crackled and spat, consuming her completely. I felt my world crumbling around me, my heart heavy with grief and anger.

At that moment, I made a vow to myself: I would pay Alpha Renzo back for his cruelty. I would make him suffer for taking my mother away from me. The flames that consumed my mother's body ignited a fire within me, a fire that burned with a desire for revenge.

"You can have her remains for breakfast,”

Alpha Renzo declared, his voice dripping with malice,

The crowd erupted into cheers and jeers, their faces twisted with cruel delight.

I felt a wave of nausea wash over me, my mind horrified.

Alpha Renzo's gaze locked onto mine, his eyes glinting with triumph.

"And as for you, Rory," he bellowed loudly,

"you will be taken into the castle to stay. You are not to leave under any circumstances. You are, after all, my mate.”