Chapter Three

Jasmine’s POV

The darkness of the hole gave way to another darkness that soon engulfed me.

Howling sounds pulled me from the darkness this time and when I came to, I looked around and realised that I was in the same room my mate had all but rejected me in.

I was still sprawled out on the cold floor and from the tight muscle pains that radiated all over my body and the cold I could feel in my bones, I knew I had been passed out for a while.

It had been a dream.

A dream I hadn’t had in a very long time.

One that felt more like a memory than a dream but I could never be too sure.

The only thing that made me think it was not just a dream was the fact that my guardian was a man with a scar under his left eye. Other than that, I had no clue on anything else.

I shifted from my position, a groan escaping my cold, chapped lips as I brought myself to sit on the cold floor.

I could still hear the several howls that had pulled me out of my unconsciousness. The clear difference between these howls and the ones from my dream was that it was one of celebration.

I managed to pull myself to my feet and stumble across the room to one of the windows and looked out.

There was a huge bonfire a small distance from the pack house where I was, and many werewolves celebrated there. Some were in their wolf forms howling while others were in their human forms with cups, dancing and celebrating.

From where I stood inside the pack house, I could see Tyler and Bianca in each other’s arms, and from the several people that came to congratulate them, I knew Tyler had announced the news of her pregnancy.

My life in Tyler’s pack changed the very next morning.

With Tyler’s consent, I was made Bianca’s slave more or less. She did everything to humiliate me in front of my mate and his pack while constantly trying to convince him to formally reject me. Each time Tyler refused, her treatment of me would get worse.

I could tell that his pack members were not really comfortable treating me badly like Bianca insisted. After all, I was still their Alpha’s mate. Though not all all of them joined in my maltreatment, no one stood up for me or showed me any kindness either.

After an argument concerning me one night, Bianca shut herself in her room until the next day. It was strange that she hadn’t requested me to do some humiliating and tedious chore all day and rather than feel relaxed, I began to feel anxious.

She was definitely up to something.

That something became clear when just before night fall, she found me cleaning the pigs’ dung.

“Jasmine”, she spoke in a sickly sweet tone. “I need you to run a quick errand for me”, she said.

I stood to my feet, suspicious. “What is it?” I asked softly.

The last time I had spoken to her in a tone she didn’t like, she had accused me of insulting her and had me flogged. It had taken weeks for me to heal since I didn’t have a wolf.

She gave an evil smile.

“Go and get me some moon shade herbs from the woods”, she instructed.

My immediate thought was that it was a trap, so I replied, “I don’t know what a moon shade herb looks like”.

My answer seemed to please her for some reason.

“Very well”, she said. “Go to the healer and get it from her then. And if she refuses to give you, tell her to show you what it looks like and go and find it for me”, she said.

“But where would I find it?” I asked.

The smile on her face only widened.

“The woods, dear Jasmine”, she said then turned and walked away.

I could not shake the feeling that Bianca was up to something. And unlike the other times, this one could possibly end me.

Still, I quickly cleaned up and made my way to the healer’s cabin.

When I entered and asked her for the herb, she gave me a look I could not place.

It looked almost like suspicion but I ignored it.

“I do not have such herbs”, she said, and if I was a very wise person, I would have picked up on the manner she had said the last two words.

Alas, I was not.

“Can you show me what it looks like?” I requested.

After a moment where she clearly hesitated, she finally moved to produce a scroll that she unrolled and turned to show me what looked like a flower.

“May I borrow it?” I asked softly.

“No, you may not”, she all but snapped and took the scroll from my hands. “Now leave”, she ordered.

I did so immediately, not understanding her aggression but pushing away such thoughts as almost everyone in the pack treated me in a similar manner.

I entered the closest woods to me and quietly searched for the herb, praying to the Moon Goddess that Bianca did not send someone to kill me and that I would not meet my end then.

It was already dark when I finally found the herb and brought it to Bianca.

“What took you so long?” she asked, snatching the herb from me. “Fetch me some brewed herbs to calm me”, she instructed almost immediately. “Now!”

Swallowing the question I had been about to ask her, I quickly left her room and found my way to the kitchen to do as instructed.

“You may go to bed early”, she said a moment later when I handed her the hot cup of liquid. “I don’t need you anymore”.

I did as I was told and made my way to my room in the servants’ cabin, still unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Bianca had not insulted or tried to humiliate me as she normally would. That in itself was suspicious. Especially since I knew she was furious that Tyler still refused to formally reject me.

Her actions gave me no rest as I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

It was probably because I was awake that I heard the small commotion heading my way.

I got off my bed and made my way to my window but remembered that it was facing the woods, so I could see nothing. As the noise drew nearer, I quickly grabbed my worn cloak and put it around me to cover the simple, thin nightdress I was wearing. I had just secured it around me when my door was roughly kicked down.

Tyler’s Beta who was also Bianca’s cousin walked in looking scary as always.

He eyed me as I clutched onto my cloak in fear.

“Take her”, he said before stepping out to allow two huge guards in.

“What have I done?” I questioned fearfully as they grabbed me harshly and began to drag me away.

My repeated questions and pleas were unanswered as I was dragged to the pack house and into the hall where several werewolves waited.

I was thrown to the hard ground and felt my skin bruise in several places from the fall.

I looked up from where I laid to see my mate a few feet from me. Not too far from where he stood was Bianca in a woman’s arms…sobbing?

I must have hit my head when I was thrown to the ground. That had to be the only explanation for the sight before me.

Bianca was crying?

But why?

My question was not answered immediately.

Instead, my arms were grabbed roughly by my mate who pulled me to my feet.

“Why did you do it?” he snarled at me.

My eyes finally found his and I couldn’t understand what I had been accused of that caused such anger in him.

“What did I do?” I asked softly since I had no idea.

His grip on my arms tightened painfully and I winced, biting my lip to endure the pain.

“You dare ask me that?” he snapped. “How could you do that? Did you not care that it would hurt me? Did it not matter to you that it was mine?!”

His grip grew tighter with each question and I whimpered in pain.

“What do you believe I have done?” I asked instead.

At this, he threw me to the ground just like the guards had earlier and I groaned in paid when my ankle twisted.

“You killed my child!” He roared. “You gave Bianca moon shade and caused her to have a miscarriage!”

At this, Bianca’s sobs grew louder even as I looked up in shock.

“Bianca asked me to get them for her”, I tried to explain but was cut off.

“Liar!” He roared again, his eyes shooting daggers at me. “You went to my healer to ask for it and when she would not give it to you, you asked to see what it looked like and went to the woods to get it yourself!” He accused as he paced, his eyes almost black. “And you came back with it and gave it to Bianca!”

“Because she asked for it!” I did not know what made me raise my voice at him. Never in a million years would I have ever done that. But as he spoke, I began to realise everything.

What the looks the healer gave me meant, and why Bianca had been acting strange.

It had been a trap.

And I was caught in it.

The silence that accompanied my raised tone made me lower it the next time I spoke.

“Bianca asked me to get it for her and I did as I was asked”, I said. “She told me the herb would help her relax”, I tried to explain.

Silence greeted my explanation.

My chin was grabbed roughly and I was made to look up into the hate-filled eyes of my mate.

“Bianca could never have asked you to bring her moon shade or have taken it knowing what it was”, he said and drew closer to me. “Because moon shade is a poison used to make wolfs bane”, he hissed the last part with so much anger that I felt my shoulders hunch.

I looked to Bianca to see the victory in her eyes before she turned away to continue her fake crying.

Tyler forced my gaze back to him with his hand on my chin.

“My men found the rest of the moon shade hidden under your bed”, he said and I knew his men had told him that through the pack’s mind link. “I dare you to look me in the eye and lie to me again”, he hissed.

I stared into his eyes knowing that he already believed I was guilty. Even though I knew Bianca never drank it and that she had done this so Tyler would reject me, I knew nothing I said would make him believe me.

Still, I tried one last time.

“Tyler”, I whispered, bringing my hand to cup the side of his face gently. “I would never do that”, I swore.

As I watched him, I could feel his wolf responding as he leaned into my hand. It only lasted a for a second before he tore himself away from me like I had a plague.

He turned away from me as he passed his judgement.

“Take her to the border cabin and lock her there”, he ordered. “Prepare for the rejection ceremony in two days”, he said and I felt dread like no other.

“Tyler, please!” I called out desperately, reaching for him even as he moved away and his guards came to roughly hold me back.

“Afterwards”, he continued, ignoring my pleas. “She will be executed for the murder of the future Alpha of Blackmoon pack”, he declared and motioned for them to take me away.

Even as I screamed and cried for him, he didn’t look back as I was dragged away. The last sight I had was of Bianca with a satisfied smirk before the doors to the hall were shut.