Chapter 3

"That can't be true, Scarlett can't hurt a fly."Her mother defended her.

"Then you drink it."Her father snapped.

Scarlett turned to her mother with hope, but she received a pity look in return.

"I am sorry, let me make you another."Her mother offered.

"She has to be punished," her father insisted.

"Father, I swear I didn't do it."Scarlett pleaded.

Her father ignored her pleas, his eyes glazing over as he mind-linked his guards. Her heart leaped to her chest as she envisioned the kind of punishment she was bound to receive for trying to kill the Alpha.

She swallowed, squeezing her eyes shut as the tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks. At that moment, she hated her father, her mother, and her whole life. Her heart was heavy from the pain and accusation they threw at her.

Her mother stood at the side as she watched her daughter take the fall for her doings. She did nothing to appease her husband and instead let her daughter suffer.

"Alpha, is there a problem?"The guards asked as soon as they arrived at the scene.

"Take her, lock her up in the dungeon while I decide what to do with her."He ordered them.

They turned to her in surprise, "but Alpha, she turns eighteen in three days."They reminded him.

"I don't care, keep her there till I decide what to do."He insisted.

The guards were reluctant but they had to follow their Alpha's orders, but Scarlett couldn't go without pleading her case.

"Mother! I didn't do anything, you know I didn't do anything!"She screamed.

Her mother simply stared at her, unmoved by the tears that seem to pour out of Scarlett's eyes. Her eyes were blank and cold just like that day in her study.

"Father, please don't lock me up. I didn't do it."She cried.

They both ignored her as the guards grabbed her roughly by the arm, the noise attracted some of the pack members as they stood watching the drama unfold.

Some stared at her with pity while others looked with wide smiles at the manhandling.

"Father! Mother!"She kept yelling out for them.

"Shut up, mutt."One of the guards slapped her. The slap shut her up, disorienting her as the spots danced around her eyes.

Scarlett swam in and out of consciousness as they dragged her almost lifeless body to the dungeons. The same place they tortured and killed rogues.

"Please, let me go."She whined.

Her strength left her as they laughed harder at her situation.

"I knew you were weak, but who would be stupid enough to poison the Alpha?"One of the guards asked her.

With those parting words, they threw her into the dungeon. The last thing she heard was the sound of their laughter and jests as they walked out, leaving her cold and vulnerable in the cell.

She hugged herself as the tears came.

"Let me out!!!"She cried into the night with a frail voice pleading for help. her grip on the railings tightened and the sound of chains chiming as she kept crawling from left to right, searching for a helper.

Her hair was a mess and her face was covered in bruises. Around her neck, ankles and wrists was a chain locked with a key, her clothes dirty brown from the sewage water that was used to bathe her every morning. 

"Let me out!!!"She cried, her tone lower than before as she stared at the chains in her wrist. Tears were falling from her eyes like a cascade, as memories of time past flickered before her eyes. The pain was as fresh as it was just yesterday, yet it's been days since she'd been locked up.

It was past midnight, and she had spent her eighteenth year in a cold cell, courtesy of her parents. Her mind was still in disbelief at her mother's actions.

Her mother sold her out and didn't bat an eyelid when she cried and begged for mercy in her father's hands.

Scarlett was laying in a puddle of her tears as she thought about her life since she turned fourteen and her father's change of attitude towards her.

"Let me out!!!"She yelled to anyone willing to help. Everywhere was silent.

She waited, and listened to any sign of life but none came rushing to her aid. She laid back on the floor as she waited.

She perked up when she heard light footsteps, she strained her ears just as the person reached her cell.

"I warned you," the voice whispered.

"Mother?"Scarlett asked in disbelief. Her mother stood at the entrance of her cell as she hugged herself.

"Did you do it?"She asked her mother, 

"I had no choice," Luna Silver sniffed. She felt nothing toward the poor child in the cell.

"You set me up," Scarlett said.

Her mother nodded, and she scoffed at that.

"I can't believe you. You..."

"I warned you but you wouldn't listen."Her mother kept repeating. Her voice is forlorn as she said the same words over and over again.

"I can't do this."Her mother whispered to her.

Scarlett watched as her mother disappeared into the shadows as she came.

"Mother, don't do this!"She yelled at her retreating back.

"Ahhh!!!"She screamed into her hands as she retreated into the shadows, the only safe place for her to stay.

She had no idea what her mother was up to, but she was sure of one thing. Her life was not safe here. She knelt and prayed to the moon goddess to spare her as she is innocent.

"Help me," she whispered into the thin air and she passed out after that.

...

The sun glared harshly at her as she opened her eyes. Scarlett looked around with the hope that everything was a dream, but her hopes faded when she found herself staring at the familiar walls of the cell.

She sighed, "it wasn't a dream."

She hugged her knees as she muttered encouraging words to keep her spirit alive. She heard the distinctive sound of her father's voice as he made his presence known. She whimpered, she knew why he was there.

To punish her,

To kill her, perhaps. She wouldn't put it past him.

"Get up!"He spat as soon as he got to her cell.

She obeyed quickly so as not to offend him the more. He stared at her with disgust in his eyes and his lips pulled in a snarl.

"Your mother pleaded your case and I have decided not to charge you for treason."He started,

Scarlett breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the words left his lips. She stared at him, hoping he would unlock her cell and get her out but he didn't move.

"Father?"She asked, unsure why she was still in the cell.

"I made a deal one exchange for allies."He stated. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

She steeled her voice, "what kind of deal?"She asked,

No amount of resolve could stop her from stumbling back when he spoke the words. "I traded you."He said.

Her chest tightened as she held it, afraid if she let go it would fall apart just like the rest of her. The tears flowed uncontrollably, she didn't care if her father perceived her as weak for her tears.

"Why father? I didn't do anything wrong."She begged.

"It doesn't matter, I won't let you ruin this."

"You sold your child for power?"She asked,

He didn't have the decency to look ashamed at least. He met her gaze straight on.

"On my birthday? Father please!"She knelt in submission.

"The maids will be here to help you clean up. Your master will be here soon."He told her. Scarlett sobbed, the sound echoing around the room. Her heart constricted with so much pain untold.

Her sight blurred with tears, she could see the outline of her father's build staring at her with contempt.

She hugged herself tighter, pulling her knees to her chest to protect herself from him. Her body trembled when she heard the words.

"Is that her?"The man growled.

She looked up into the face that housed the coldest eyes she has ever come across. A scar marred his face from one side. His lips pulled into a sneer as he eyed her up like a piece of meat.

Bile curled up her throat at that. She was doomed. This is what her life has come to. The last thing she saw was her father's confused face as the world faded from her eyes.

"I am going to have so much fun with you, mate." he sent her a malicious grin.

She succumbed to darkness with only one thought in her mind, 

Her mate was a monster.