Chapter 2

Aurora's POV

The moment Lucent, my once love and sweetheart, rejected me as his mate, a part of me died along with his fake love.

I tried convincing myself that none of it was real, that he had not been pretending to love me all this time, that everyone around me had not been pretending, especially Seraphina. I tried to find excuses for her, telling myself she was forced into this or that her father had pushed her. But seeing how close she was to the prince, it was clear their love had been blossoming long before.

She knew all along. I had told her everything about me, considered her my friend, supported her, and cheered for her as she won trophies in various fighting competitions. And how did she repay me? By stealing my supposed mate and rubbing it in my face.

“My lady, we have reached Greenfall,” the driver’s voice reached my ears, pulling me from my restless thoughts. nervous anticipation gnawing at me as I looked out of the carriage, wondering what awaited me.

But the low expectations I had for Greenfall were immediately shattered. A vast expanse of uncultivated land stretched endlessly, the green fields glistening under the sunlight, nearly blinding me with their vibrant beauty.

I gasped, mesmerised by the sheer beauty of Greenfall. “Where are we?” I asked, still in awe.

“My lady, we’re on the outskirts of Greenfall. We’ll arrive in about an hour,” the driver announced.

I sighed, sinking back into the cushions of the carriage. “My lady, do you need anything?” came the voice of Nana, my maid. Her concern made me groan inwardly. Nana had been with me since childhood, abandoned as a baby and taken in by my parents. We were close, but not as close as I had been with Seraphina. The thought of my once best friend sent a wave of repulsion through me.

“I’m fine, Nana. I just want peace,” I replied, trying to suppress the rising anger within me. I was tired of being angry at the world for how it had treated me. I was done with people smiling to my face, only to scorn me behind my back. “Stupid backstabber,” I suddenly shouted, pounding the floor of the carriage, startling Nana.

“My lady, I’m sure Master and Ma’am have your best interests at heart for sending you here. Please don’t hate them,” she pleaded in a small voice.

“Or maybe they just couldn’t stand the shame of having a daughter without a wolf, a weakling, a disgrace,” I retorted bitterly. “It wasn’t my choice to come here, Nana. This is not in my best interest, to be sent to this godforsaken, poor town.”

The sudden halt of the carriage caught my attention. “We’re here, my lady,” the driver said, opening the carriage door and ushering me into this foreign land. A world where the strong prey on the weak, stories have been told of a town that is Greenfall. Known for its accommodation of dangerous criminals and bandits, we had scorned the town, calling it a lawless town. Now karma seems to bite at me by bringing me a defenceless girl like me to be thrust into the fray, forced to live like a pauper, a nobody in the place that I wouldn't for once have thought of stepping foot in.

“And Nana, one last thing,” I said as I stepped out. “Don’t call me ‘my lady’ anymore. She died long ago at the King’s Ball. It’s just Aurora now.” I steeled my mind, bracing myself for the challenges and sufferings that would surely come.

******

The warm, welcoming feeling of my aunt’s little home enveloped me as I stepped inside. The aunty Jenny was a short middle-aged woman close to her 60s and was already bubbling with joy.

“Welcome, Aurora! I’m so happy you decided to come stay with this old woman for a while,” my Aunt Jenny said cheerfully as my bags were brought inside. Aunt Jenny was a distant relative of my mother’s. My mother had grown up as a farmer’s daughter before catching my father’s eye when he was on a mission for the royal family in the countryside.

I widened my eyes in surprise, exchanging a look with Nana. I could see the amazement in her eyes as well. She didn’t know. I sighed, realising that my father had kept everything that had happened hidden, as usual. The acidic taste of anger crept up again, but I shook my head, pushing it away. I had already decided to move on and move on. I would.

“I truly wanted to experience Greenfall, Aunt Jenny. Where is my room? I’m worn out and stressed from the journey,” I said with a forced smile, playing along with what I assumed was a rehearsed plan.

“Oh, dear, carry the bags and come this way,” she motioned for Nana to follow her, but I intercepted.

“Nana is my very good friend, Aunt Jenny. She’ll need a room of her own, and she is from a clan also,” I lied, watching the confused expression on my aunt’s face as she hesitated. “ I…thought she was…” She was about to say but caught herself in time.

“Okay… It’s settled. You girls follow me upstairs to your rooms,” she replied, her bubbly self returning as she led us upstairs. Nana’s confused expression made me chuckle inwardly. I could imagine my father’s face, seething in anger when he realised his precious plan had failed. That was one step toward gaining my freedom toward leaving my past behind.

The house was spacious inside, with four rooms in total. My room was upstairs, while Nana’s was nearby. It was already decorated, making me wonder if someone had been living here before.

“It was your mother’s room before she left for the capital,” Aunt Jenny said, coming up behind me.

“It’s been twenty-five years since your mother left, and I’ve been hoping that one day this room would be used again,” she said sadly. “But fate has brought you here, and where better for you than your mother’s room?, and i see you took after your mother, she loved dresses, especially pink” she said in reminiscent.

I was shocked. My mother had left her hometown and never returned, bound by duty and responsibilities as the lady of the strongest clan in Pine City. She might never return, but Aunt Jenny had kept the room as if she never left, still in the hope that one day she might come home.

“I miss your mother. We were very close until she left for her love. How is she?” she asked emotionally before wiping her tears. 

“Sorry, my dear, I got a bit emotional. I’ll be downstairs preparing dinner,” she said, leaving the room.

The room was brightly coloured in pink. I smiled, realising my mother still retained her favorite color even after so many years. I began unpacking my things. I hadn’t brought anything fancy, just the necessities. I wanted to leave everything behind my past life and focus on building a better future. I had a lot to prove. Despite what everyone said, I still believed I had a wolf. I just couldn’t understand what had happened to me and the stupid slab of rock that just would light up.

Leaving Pine City was the worst day of my life. A place I had grown to love, but I had no choice. That was the decision of the royal cabinet, declaring me an abomination and a curse. 

Through my father’s pleading and his past merits, I was mandated to leave Pine City, never to return. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes, but I forced them back. 

Even though I had been shunned, humiliated, and rejected, I would prove them wrong. 

I would take great joy in dancing on their graves, watching the helpless face of lucent and his jezebel as I bring Pine City to the brink of destruction.