CHAPTER TWO

As I was dragged into the pack’s slaughterhouse, in chains and blood, it stretched with old blood, the floor stained with dark crimsons. 

They kept moving, and I prayed in my heart that maybe a miracle might happen, but nothing stopped the movement; they surged on, big hands dragging my hair and arms; the pain was unbearable. 

Two guards conversed in a low tone;

“If she will be killed in the slaughterhouse, then she will be hanged, surely” 

“Yes, but the Alpha king didn’t mention such” the second retorted

“Well, it’s the rule of the kingdom that whoever is sentenced to death must be hanged” 

This can’t be true, I didn’t steal or kill anyone to even be hanged, I wish I didn’t wake up today, maybe I should have just died in my sleep in Lowell’s room, it would have been a more peaceful and slow death, the one that I won’t feel much pain as now, I won’t see the ones I thought loved me betray me this way, the stares, the rage, the emotions all in one.

I wept more like I never did. I knew I would die someday, but not like this, not this way; the pain I felt in my heart was more than the continuous aches in my head. 

I have lost my voice and my strength; even my heart is broken, and my trust is shattered. 

Tears trickled down my cheeks, blood dripped through my hands and my head, hurt oozed through me, and my heart was broken; I could never believe this was my end; from the people I knew, this was more than betrayal. 

When we finally arrived, I was dragged to the centre of the slaughterhouse where the execution platform stood, I looked up and saw the crowd, The Alpha king, The elders, and Karl, they had followed, I was lost in my thought and silent prayers I didn’t notice anything outside my heart, their eager eyes staring at me, their faces filled with rage as they await my death.

The guards roughly pushed me to the executioner, who wasted no time in securing me to the gallows. The rope tightened around my neck, he gave the Alpha king a stare, permission rather, to commence with his deadly task, a chilling reminder of the fate that awaited me.

I gave one last glance at Karl; he wasn’t in a rage anymore; he was more pitiful than anyone else. He could have changed everything, but he didn’t.

He instead pointed fingers at me, giving the council a solid reason to dispose of me.

“Karl, please save me, this time, I beg of you, I am innocent.” My eyes were pleading more than my voice because it sounded more like a whisper than a sound. I had lost my voice, but I wouldn’t give up. 

But he never flinched or moved an inch; I gave up on him at that instant.

Whatever life has for me, I had concluded it was pain from the people I love.

Just before the lever was pulled, Reika moved close to me, her voice barely a whisper amid the chaos. “Uriel, I…” she began, her words choked with emotion.

I turned to her, desperation in my eyes. “Reika, please,” I begged, grasping onto the last shreds of hope. “Tell them the truth. You know I didn’t do this.”

But her next words shattered my hopes like fragile glass. “I never wanted you alive,” she confessed, her voice filled with regret and something darker. “Now that the first son is dead, Karl will take over the throne, and I’ll be his Luna."

The betrayal cut deep, deeper than any physical pain I had ever felt. Reika’s words echoed in my mind as the lever was pulled, and the floor dropped beneath me.

As I stood, the rope tight around my neck, I could feel the gaze of the crowd bearing down on me like a heavyweight. Reika’s betrayal still echoed in my mind, her words a sharp dagger of betrayal.

The executioner's hand hovered over the lever, ready to send me to a land of no return. Immediately, he got consent from the Alpha. The anticipation of death and the feeling of pain surged through me.

But then, unexpectedly, a woman from the crowd broke out in tears, her cries echoing through the slaughterhouse. “Stop!” she screamed, her voice raw with emotion. “Set her free!”

Confusion rippled through the crowd, their murmurs of surprise filling the air. The executioners hesitated, unsure of what to do.

The blood that clouded my eyes had failed me from recognizing her; who was that brave soul, so loving enough to stand for me? It was neither Karl’s voice nor Reika’s, then who was it?

I strained to wipe off my eyes but the chains wouldn’t let me, but I felt grateful that someone was giving me a chance to live, a glimmer of hope.

“If you want to kill anyone, kill me by butchering instead,” The voice suddenly demanded, her voice filled with desperation. “I want to feel the pain.”

The chaos erupted with confusing orders and emotions. Some argued for my release, while others demanded justice.

But amidst the chaos, I felt a sense of hope and the voice stopped everything at once;

Alpha King Conri echoed “Kill her”!

Without warning, the lever was pulled, and the floor dropped beneath me. The sudden jerk of the rope snapped my head back, cutting off my air supply. Panic surged through me as I struggled against the suffocating pressure around my neck.

The world spun in a dizzying whirl, my vision darkening as the noose tightened further. I could hear the muffled sounds of chaos around me, the shouts and cries blending into a distinct voice.

And then, as if from a distance, I felt a sharp, quick pain slice through my neck. It was as if the world slowed down, each second stretched into an endless excruciating torment.

The taste of my blood filled my mouth, and I gasped for air that wouldn’t come. The pain was blinding, consuming me in agony. My vision blurred, the edges turning hazy and indistinct.

As the knife continued its merciless cut, slicing through my flesh, I felt dizziness wash over me. 

With each passing moment, the world grew dimmer, the sounds fading into a distant echo. I struggled to hold on to consciousness, but the pain was too intense, too all-encompassing.

And then, slowly, everything went blank. The pain receded into a dull throb, distant and muted. My body went limp, unconsciousness sipped in.

In that final fleeting moment of awareness, I felt a strange sense of detachment, as if I were floating above my own body, watching the scene unfold from a distance. The chaos of the slaughterhouse faded into the background, replaced by a profound stillness.

And as the darkness swallowed me whole, I welcomed it like an old friend, knowing that the pain and betrayal of this world would no longer torment me.

But the hope didn’t fade, the voice gave that feeling, and I held on to it. I knew it wasn’t the end, but this was the beginning of a new era.