Chapter 4

AURORA'S POV.

I'm scared for my life.

I look at my father, who's frowning and then at Crew.

Traitor.

If I ever get out of this alive, I swear I'll kill him!

"Take her to the dungeon and lock her up." My verdict finally comes. I want to protest, but there's no energy left in me. My mate turns on his heels and storms out of the living room.

This is probably the last time I will be here.

I won't be surprised if this is the last day of my life.

The punishment for murder is execution in this pack. All evidence points to me at this moment and my words alone will not set me free.

This is the end for me.

"You are going to be punished for your crimes, murderer!" My father keeps raining insults on me as the guards drag me out of the house. I don’t say anything to him.

Once in the premises, I see Alpha Lucien getting into his hummer and without warning, I break free from the hold of the guards holding me.

"Alpha Lucien!" I call at the top of my voice as I run over to him. I drop to my knees before him, caring less about the gravel pellets that are piercing my knees and making them hurt. This pain is nothing compared to the pain I feel now that I'm  being accused of murder.

I can't take it.

"Please Alpha Lucien." I wrap my arms around his right leg, looking up at him with tears spilling down my eyes like a waterfall. "You have to believe me. I didn't do it. I would never kill anyone." His eyes lock with mine and I almost drown in them. He looks at me for a solid ten seconds and  lets out a heavy sigh.

I wish I knew what was running through his mind.

"Take her away!" He orders and immediately, the same gurdas who were holding me a while ago, grab both my arms and start dragging me away. I don't protest. I don't even scream because  there's no energy left in me to do so.

From my peripheral vision, I see him get into his car and his driver kicks off while the guards shove me into another car and kick off once everyone is settled. I don't dare to look at their faces because they all look scary.

I've cried to the point where I can't feel anything anymore. My entire body is numb and my head is spinning. 

My mouth tastes like death.

When we arrive at the castle, the guards once again pull me out of the car and over to the dungeon. That's when I realize I better save my energy because I know I'll go days in here without food or father before the day comes for me to be executed. 

"Please, I need to speak with the Alpha." I beg with all my heart as the guard standing in front of me opens the door to the cell I will be occupying. When the door opens, his colleague pushes me into the cell and he locks the door. "Please… please tell the Alpha I need to speak with him. I'm innocent of this crime. I would never kill anyone!" The guard isn't even listening to my pleas.

"Turn around and lean your back against the bars." He instructs and I obey. Relief washes through me when he unlocks the cuffs and my hands spring free. I instantly turn around and hold the iron railings of the prison door. 

"Please, you have to listen to me." My voice is a shaky mess. 

"You killed the Alpha's son. You are a vicious woman who killed her husband on the day of her wedding. You do not deserve any mercy, so you won't be getting any." The guard bitterly spills out and my heart shatters into pieces.

"No! I didn't not kill anyone. You have to believe me, please!" I know all my tears and pleas are in vain because none of them look like they are going to help me. 

They all keep raining insults on me and I can't help, but think about what he just said.

I killed my husband on my wedding day.

Does that mean the man I was supposed to marry was the brother who had been killed? I had no idea he was royalty and most importantly, I did not kill him.

"Ronald!" An authoritative voice calls from the corner. I can't see who the voice belongs to, but it sounds oddly familiar. Like that one that had made me tremble back at my father's house.

It is the voice of my mate, the Alpha.

The one who ordered the guards to have me locked up in the dungeon. He is here and I need to speak to him, but before I can talk to the guard, he goes over to meet who just called.

"Is she in there?" The voice asks quietly.

"Yes, Alpha."

"Have her punished severely. You and your men can torture her till your heart's content and after that, you can kill her and dispose of her body. We do not need people like her in this pack." The voice orders and the next thing I hear is retreating footsteps.

My legs get wobbly and before I know it, I'm sitting on the cold floor of the dungeon. My entire body is numb. I can't feel a single thing.

My mate just ordered for me to be tortured, killed and disposed of.

How cruel can he be?

The guard appears in front of my cell with a grin on his face. He's excited to get on with the torture.

To my greatest horror, other guards join him. About ten of them.

"I'm sure you heard the Alpha's command. You have met your end, murderer. My colleagues and I will have so much fun ending your miserable life!" He inserts one of the keys in the bundle in his hand and turns the lock to the cell door. I clench my fists by my side, ready to fight them off.

I'm not going to let them finish me off without a fight.

Two guards step in to grab my arms, but I easily push them away from me. My powerful push sends them flying to both ends of the cell.

"You dare to fight back?" One of the men sneers and to my greatest shock, more men swarm in.

I try to fight them, but they are too many and they are using sticks coated in silver to hit me. The more they hit me with the silver, the weaker I become and I finally slumb to the ground weakly.

I have no energy left in me to fight.

They can go ahead and kill me for all I care.

"What is going on here?" A thunderous voice demands, but the guards ignore the voice and keep pounding on me.

As I lay on the ground, I can see a figure approaching and I train my eyes on the image. I'm not surprised to see that it's the Alpha who had ordered for me to be killed.

My own mate.

He ordered for me to be tortured.

Is he here to end my life with his own hands?

I don't get the chance to find out the answer to that question because pain explodes in my forehead and the last thing I see is stars hovering overhead before darkness swallows me whole.