Chapter 6

Aria's POV... 

Somewhere around me, it felt like I was plunged into a pit of darkness. I could hear some faint voices that sounded quite angry. 

"You bitch!" Breona growled at me. "it's all your fault that I have to go through all of this. And you still can't do what is expected of you!" 

Her voice resounded far from my consciousness, and my lashes fluttered as I tried to get up. My head ached, and my vision blurred. Whatever Wade had hit me with did its job quite well. 

After what appeared to be a long minute of trying to remember my environment and how I got here in the first place, I sat up a bit. 

"Why would you do this to me?" I inquired in a coarse voice.

Wade chuckled dryly, exchanging a knowing look with Breona. "She still thinks this is an actual joke. Now, listen...." He glared at me, crouching to my level. "you will finish the final rites and then we will decide what to do with you."

Tilting my head a bit, "I don't want to. I will not finish that rite even if it would cost me my life!" I said weakly.

A loud slap landed on my cheeks, and I felt my pupils shift from their usual position. "How dare you argue with me?" Wade bellowed. 

"Don't stress on it, baby." Breona scoffed in irritation, "how did I even manage to harbour you after all these years? It's all your fault I have to put up with someone who isn't my mate. And here you are fighting to live a pathetic life. Do you even deserve to?" 

I was confused as to everything she was saying. What I didn't understand exactly was why she bred so much hate and still blamed me for what her parents had decided on. I had thought we were sisters and nothing could get in the way we felt about each other. And to think Wade, who had claimed to love me so much, would try to hurt me too. 

"What did I ever do to you, Bree? Where is all of this coming from? I did the ritual to please you and your parents. Why are you blaming me for it and forcing me to give up my whole self for you?" My eyes were flooded with my own tears. 

She threw her head to the back, burning holes into me with her eyes. 

"You know what, Wade! Kill her already. She is of no use anyways. It makes no difference whether she finishes the final rites or not. Her death would be more satisfying." The hate in Breona's eyes had me curling into myself.

"Please, Wade, don't listen to her." I pleaded teary-eyed when his eyes dilated in a way that scared me.

Both of them looked possessed as they stared down at me. My heart palpitated as my wolf also cowered in fear. 

"Come here, Bree." Wade cooed, pulling her to his side. "You know, on a different note. I think it would be nice to actually execute her on public grounds. That way, we wouldn't be held responsible for her death. Thinking of it now, that exactly is what we would do."

"What? Please, you can't do that! On what ground would you have me executed!" I screamed 

Breona grinned widely, "Oh my darling, you don't have to worry about that. We will sort that out for you. Easy peezy." 

"How could you forget that you just indulged in some major witchcraft. You having two scents is enough to prove you were practicing sorcery." Wade grinned. "Prepare yourself for the public verdict in the next few hours."

"Guards!" He summoned his men. "Lock her up."

"No! No! No! Please, you can't do this to me. Bree, please don't let him lock me up, please." My wails bounced through the walls of the whole building.

As I got pulled away, I could hear the faint mocking laughter of both of them. The guard that took me had me tossed into the cold room of the prison like I was a sack of trash. I still didn't get the hang of the situation I was in until the gate got locked, and all the guards taunted and laughed at my misery. 

This was never going to end; my whole life came crashing right before me. And it hurt more since it came from the most trusted people in my life. 

My eyes were beginning to drift off to sleep when I heard the gate open again, just as they had done before. I was dragged out of prison; it felt good seeing the bright light yet again. 

I remembered that Wade mentioned the passing of judgement over my execution would happen in two hours. I didn't realize two hours had passed since I got locked up in prison. Since all I did was cry my lungs out. 

I was just about to ask where we were headed exactly when I got pushed outside into the large open ground where a whole lot of the pack members were assembled. I was made to kneel in what appeared to be a wooden stall.

Looking towards my left, Wade sat in all his glory with a murderous look in his eyes; Breona stood behind him. No doubt, they were about to pass judgement over me. 

Everywhere went quiet, and Wade began to address everyone. 

"We are here today as a whole pack to pass judgement over this young woman here who is hell-bent on ruining the image of the night walker's pack. It has been discovered that she has indulged in forbidden witchcraft for a long while."

The ground shook as all of the members in attendance had one thing or the other to say. Tears rolled down my cheeks uncontrollably at the offences I knew nothing about being levelled against me.

How was I supposed to defend myself that this same set of people who were going against me were the ones who had pleaded with me to indulge in the act? With the anticipation on their faces, no one would believe me. They are all out for the kill.

Wade had a satisfactory expression as he kept talking, "Turns out she is from that horrible pack. The prowlers pack." 

My heart ached at that; Wade knew my weakness and used it against me. I have always been grateful to my adoptive parents for taking me out of my birth pack and preventing me from ending up like them. On another thought, I should have just been left alone. 

"It's no surprise she has a different aura to her. If Rob and Marie hadn't been nice enough to adopt her, she would have rotted away!" Someone from the crowd yelled.

The whole crowd also protested, throwing further snide comments at me. 

"Calm down, everyone. This is why I have brought her here to ask if you all are in support of us executing her." Wade didn't ask a question; it was a decided suggestion that would be done whether anyone supported the motion or not.

But they all agreed, yelling for me to be executed. My body shook as each of their words pelted me like ice. 

"So, we have all agreed she would be executed right here tomorrow morning." He said with finality in his tone. 

The crowd cheered heartily as they dragged me back to the prison. I tried to cry, but nothing popped out of my eye. The tiredness wasn't just about me being beaten, but it came from the depth of me, and I no longer had the strength to keep stressing on it. 

This gruesome death is an unavoidable fate of mine.

**********************

 My body ached badly from sleeping on the cold floor. My eyes fluttered as the daylight shined through the cracks of the tall prison. My heart thumped when I remembered I was to be executed today. 

When the guards came for me, I had already surrendered my whole self. My life was over before it even started. 

The crowd was different today, and they cheered hungrily like my death would do them a lot of good. My heart got ripped to pieces when I saw the two people I had considered my parents all my life, not excluding Breona and Wade. 

They had satisfactory looks on their face. Obviously, my death would make them feel like the happiest on earth. After all, I mean nothing to them.

My heart ached, and I felt pity for myself. No one loves me, and it's obvious I don't love myself either. 

As I was being tied to the pole for my execution, I prayed to the goddess to save me if there was anything like an actual redemption for me. With my eyes closed, I waited for the rope to be placed over my head. It's not like I would really know what happens next by the time my body hangs away over the dusty ground.

Deep within me, I kept mumbling for help. My wolf howled in despair. From my side eye, I saw the executor making his way towards me. Throwing my head to the back, I cried for help as the rope got placed underneath my head. 

All of a sudden, it felt tight, and my breath ceased. I tried hard to keep the rope from sinking further into my neck, but I was too weak to keep up with it. My hands dropped to my side, and there was a strange sort of movement in the air at that last moment. I could hear all of them dispersing the moment my hands lingered lifeless. In a flash, I was in Kyle's arms moving farther away from my death scene.