Chapter One

CASSIOPEIA NYX

My hands shook as i rested against the wall of the grimy and dirty cell that i called home. The solid structure of the wall against my back gave me more support than i had ever felt in my entire life. The sad life of being born a cursed one.

Incessant squeaking from the edge of the cell resounded in the quiet and vast room, making me feel so small as i huddled into myself, My dark hair falling over my face as i rested my head on my knees.

We were two to be executed.

The first was Erica, She had found out her husband disregaded their mate bond and mated with another female so she injected silver into his blood stream and killed him.

Just like me she was quiet, not a sound could be heard from her cell.

Although my fingers trembled, my palms were clammy and my head dizzy from imagining the feeling of death, i looked foward to it and so did she.

The time came just as light began to seep through the tiny window at the top corner of the cell.

The rusted chains wrapped around my wrists and ankles jingled as I shook the dust and dirt off my palms.

If i had a last wish.

I would probably wish to see my mother and tell her i was sorry.

The door to the cell swings open almost sweeping off its hinges. The cold glare of Delta Raymond harshens even more as his eyes fall on my marred face.

He grunts a command out and detaches my chains from their resting place. I knew better not to resist and followed eagerly as he walked out . The instantaneous spark as the morning sun hits my skin for the first time in months and it felt like paradise. I must have been lost for minutes for when I came back to my senses, A stoic and trembling female stood beside me, clad in the drab and dreary garment I was adorned with.

" I'm innocent, I didn't kill anyone that didnt deserve to die " She screamed at the warriors that surrounded us.

Her audacious statements were met with the warrior's bootheel and she crumpled like a thin layer of glass unto the floor, Her ungracious fall piqued the interest of numerous warriors as her fair and round bottom peeked out from under the dreary garment. The bright contrast of her milky skin against the dirt covered floor was undoubtedly evident.

"Should've just kept your mouth shut like your fellow mutt over there".

I could feel the vibrations of the cart in the very sole of my feet as we steadily rode through thepack. The wind frizzled through my hair and my skin basked in the warmth of the sun, despite the cangue around my neck and the incessant jingling of chains, this was the most fulfilled I had felt in years.

Erica lay still like a log of wood beside me as the jostle 0f the carriage shook her about, it seemed that it was only this moment that realisation began to settle on her.

According to pack laws, anyone convicted of murder was to be burnt alive. The law was set in place by the Great Alpha King and i heard he would be attending. Ofcourse my father was quick to use this opportunity to curry favor with him as he thought maybe they could bond over the screams and torture. Great Minds think alike.

Finally.

Hundreds of commonfolk stood around the pyre at the town square, patiently waiting for their lambs to arrive. The crowd parted as we trotted through, they grew painstakingly to an ensemble chanting and grunting all kinds of crude remarks.

A familiar bootheel brought Erica back to life and for a millisecond, relief passed through her eyes as she took in her surroundings, gasping heavily. Her relief was snuffed out just as fast as it came as her eyes darted comically from my expressionless face to the glaring snare on the warrior's face , the looming pyre a few feet away and finally to the enraged and scorned crowd.

Fear and tears fill her brown eyes as the guards grab her underarms and haul her out of the cart. They toss her unto the floor and make moves to do the same to me but I was already up on my own and making my way out of the cart.

My knees buckle as I trot through the pathway. A sharp blow to the leg brings me straight to the ground right infront of the podium. I merely watched as Erica was dragged to the pyre, Her beautiful brown eyes searched around helplessly for a savior that didn't exist. Despite trying to put up a fight, she was no match for even the weakest warrior and was soon strapped to the pyre, She trembled like a leaf as she watched helplessly as the town folk cheered the warriors on.

The dull pain in my head increased sligthly as my heart became heavy.

"p..please", Her voice was just as heavy as a mountain, weighed by tons of fear and despair yet as smooth as a river. "Have mercy"

The flames begun like a sweet old slow dance increasing its tempo voraciously, dancing to the gut wrenching screams of its canvass and the excited cheers of the crowd. It seemed the more the crowd chanted the more the flames increased, Her eyes were boring straight into my soul, eyes that spoke of unfathomable torment and her mouth was stuck in a wordless scream as the flames lapped greedily at her hair, skin, face and arms. It wasn't long until her screams died down leaving in its wake the subdued fragments of a once exuberant form of life. My fearless façade crumbled a bit as I watched them gather her ashes into an earthenware pot.

Soon enough I had taken her place - strapped to the pyre.

The metal chains burned slightly as Raymond wrapped them around my neck -rather forcefully, The sharp pain was like an appetizer, giving me a little taste of what was to come. My heart thrummed violently in my chest as I watched the surrounding warriors place some more wood into the pyre. This was it. The end I had been waiting for was finally coming. My eyes forced to a close as he grabbed a kindling and tossed it unto the pile of wood under the pyre. Smoke came first warning me of the racing pain. My toes curled as my whole body trembled and I waited for the pain to settle in.

There was pain allright. But not the infinte and torturous pain i had expected it to be. i didnt feel my life force draining out of me instead the pain i felt made me fully aware of my existance as my head and my heart beat so healthily, my blood circulating with unsupressbale force. I could literally feel my head cracking open. My breath came out in pants as i tried to blink the pain away.

Make it stop.....

The pain started to recede a little giving me a short-lived breather. Tiny dot like stars fill my vision as I try to pry my eyes open, It was only then that I noticed the ghoulish figure before me, through blurry eyes, I tried to make out what it was.

A smile blossomed on my face as I saw the light slowly fade from the sky, a flash of ocean and then total darkness.

And just as my consciousness faded, a single thought kept ringing in my head.

The flash of ocean was the glaring and haunting eyes of a man.