Chapter Three: Surely They Would Pay

Aubrey’s POV

I required no soothsayer to tell me I was in trouble as my eyes found Aiden’s distant ones. Worse still, the video was still playing in the background.

All I could see in them was hate and disgust, making it seem like he wasn’t the one I had spent the night with, or maybe this was all a façade to protect his status.

“What is this, Aubrey!” he yelled out, almost like he hadn’t watched it alongside others.

“I don’t know, Aiden…” I whispered and tried reaching out to touch and remind him he wasn’t the only victim there. My nakedness lay bare in front of everyone’s eyes, and the only dignity I had left was gone.

“Bree, what have you done?” he asked in a whisper, this time in a broken voice that made my heart clench in pain.

The people in the congregation soon drowned his questions with their side talks, and all I could do was cry; I could almost hear Lynn in the corner, mocking and laughing at my sorry self.

Amidst the confusion and murmurs, my eyes meet the masked man, only to see the same devious smile I had seen on him this morning. He knew what happened, and he was even the one who played it.

Maybe he could tell them he saw us, and we would deal with the part that he had videoed us without permission later.

I reached out to his cloak to grab him, and I noticed his red hair for a moment before I could do anything. Aiden forced me down while the side talks surrounded me more.

“Who is that with you?” was the more consistent question I was hearing and unable to hold back anymore, I yelled out in frustration, “Do you not remember doing all that?!”

“What does that mean?” he whispered.

“Simple, that person is you, Aiden!” I stated the obvious, causing him to take steps backward.

In the blink of an eye, guards surrounded me, and they dragged me to the council and not alone, seeing that the alpha prince was also involved in this.

The only difference was they bound me in chains while he matched behind me.

There was a commotion thanks to my screams and struggles against their tight grip.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” I heard my wolf, Silver, judge, causing me to wince.

The marriage didn’t take place like I had wished low-key, and although I was supposed to be excited, I wasn’t expecting it to end like this… I didn’t want this and the Aiden I was seeing wasn’t the one I fell in love with but a man hungry for power and power alone… I was a pawn that needed to be removed.

Not only that, but they threw me to the floor like the piece of rag they regarded me as.

“Aiden, what do you have to say about yourself?” 

“I have no explanation for what happened last night, but the last thing or place I would ever think of going to would be her room,” he spat.

“The man in that picture was me for sure, as we all saw, but how she did it remains a marvel. “

“Do you know the gravity of what you have done?” The head Epsilon began facing me and my sobs answered…the more I thought of it, the more tears escaped.

I wonder why I was the only one getting judged when it was I and Aiden on the screen.

“How did you do it, huh? Did you drug him?” I heard another ask, and I listened to hear Aiden defend me, but he said nothing, causing more tears to escape my eyes.

“Aiden, I blame you,” another piped in before adding, “If only you had avoided this riffraff, then thoughts of raping the Alpha and using it to disrupt your wedding wouldn’t have ever popped up in her insane mind.”

“Abuse?!” I exclaimed. Upon seeing how one-sided this was going, they planned to pin it all on me and make Aiden seem innocent so he could still ascend the throne.

“How can I rape someone who had walked into my room himself and professed his love, which I was uncertain about, before returning to sleep with me?”

They began murmuring, but I cared not and continued spilling more about the relationship we had tagged secret, one that was threatening my existence in the pack.

The reactions of the elders gave me hope, but I felt the light being sucked out of me when Aiden slammed into me, glaring at me with so much anger.

“What bedtime story were you summoned to tell?”

Whispering, he inquired with so much pain coated in his eyes, “Why are you doing this to me, Aubrey?”

“How dare you suggest I had promised you anything? Just because of the little kindness I had shown you?”

“Aiden! You are standing before elders; we deserve some respect,” the head Epsilon said, causing him to leave me.

“Seeing the whore spill so many lies is getting to me.”

Slut?

Hearing Aiden state these things was startling and the way he had molded his face to fit this role he was playing amazed me more, but this wasn’t the time to duel on Aiden’s stunning behavior… I had to wiggle my path out of this mess.

Facing the council, he began, “Ever since she lost her parents, the former Beta and his wife in the manner in which they had died, I have tried to be there for her, but my charity was taken for love. “

I let out a gasp in disbelief, but he added to my shock by saying, “If I didn’t make this clear earlier on, I will now… Aubrey was nothing besides an acquaintance.”

‘Besides, a friend’ kept on ringing in my subconscious, and it made me lose my willpower to speak. And watched the court procession with tears flowing as he denied everything we had shared over the years.

My imagination was wild and had me thinking that he had meant his promises… I forgot my place as an omega and hoped he was going to whisk me aside.

He was right though, we remained friends, and as much as he told me often that he loved me and felt for me alongside dreams of a world elsewhere from his responsibilities…never for once did he ask for something more?

He couldn’t when his story had already been planned out, and he was stuck as a coward.

I blanked out of whatever they were saying and surrendered in silence. There was no need to speak. As I concluded within me, it was over. They bundled me rear to my room and placed under watch while the elders decided on my punishment for raping the Alpha and interrupting a royal wedding.

Looking back at Aiden, all I could see in his eyes were pain and anger, confusing me… I was so certain that I had spent the night with Aiden, but the emotions in his eyes proved otherwise, making me wonder if this was because he feared losing the throne, or he was ashamed of what we shared.

I consumed the whole evening in solace and tried my best to avoid thinking of tomorrow. Funny how today ended up like this.

The door opened. Pulling me out of my dream world, I watched Aiden walk in with a wicked grin on his face.

“Hey Bree” he mocked.

“What do you want?” I asked, unsure if at all he was Aiden like he had claimed earlier on or if it were someone posing as Aiden. Regardless of my suspicions, there was no way I was going to act irrationally and let him see me as crazy.

“Just needed to check in on you. How are you faring with everything?” he jeered.

“Why are you doing this?”

“What was my crime?” I sobbed, unable to control myself anymore.

“Why? Why would you ruin your wedding? Lie that I had raped you? Disgrace me in the manner in which you had,” I asked, hoping that maybe he had a proper reason for what he had done.

I wanted to hear him say that it was his plan for a better tomorrow, but I knew I had my head wrapped up in a dream world…his words would be a perfect reality check.

“I must add you exceeded my expectations last night,” he began.

“I never thought you would be such a sweet virgin, and to reflect that you had succumbed to my touch in a blink of an eye makes me certain that I had just granted you your Christmas wish. "

“Aiden! What are you saying?” I exclaimed, feeling disgusted with the way he spoke, as though he had used me and was dumping the rag I was.

“Couldn’t you have let it move along with the flow?” 

“You are behind this mess?” I asked in surprise, wondering why he would sabotage his wedding and, in that manner, too.

“Your part was to cry and not spill shit! You did me a favor by getting rid of Ellie, there was no way I was going to get married to that stuck-up bitch,” he spat.

“Who knew that all those years of wooing you wouldn’t go to waste?” he jeered before tracing his fingers down my teary face.

Without warning, he leaned in and kissed me; I hated my body for betraying me and leaning into his warmth.

“That’s a good girl, I can see you are still that desperate bitch searching for a prince charming to sweep her away” his hands gripped my breasts and I wiggled out of his reach as his touch was repulsing me… it felt like ants were crawling down my body.

“You disgust me!” I spat, causing him to continue palming my boobs and once again my body betrayed me; a guttural moan escaped my lips, and he flashed me a grin.

“Still that thirty bitch I fucked last night,” he mocked her and more tears flowed.

“Today may be your last and if you don’t want that happening, I advise you to play nice tomorrow,” he said before spanking me and leaving me to my thoughts.

“Remember, if you try acting all stubborn and wise then I promise to make sure the council has you killed for your crazy act of blasphemy,” With that, he shut the door once again against my face.

Aiden saw the perfect pawn and used it well; the only problem was that I would not go down without a fight.

Angrily, I wiped my tears and decided not to shed anymore but expose our relationship and the nonsense he had spilled here before going down since he wanted to discard me like I meant nothing.

The next morning, I was called by the council who answered every question being asked Aiden’s surprise, and even spilled what had happened last night.

Judging from their faces, I am certain the council is torn about their decision and, once again, a rage-filled Aiden slams her against the wall.

“Aren’t you tired of this?” he barked.

“Why are you doing this to me?” he whispered pitifully, causing me to burst into laughter.

“You have the nerve to spit out lies. When did I fucking come to your room again?”

Was he being for real right now?

Acting as though he were unaware of his actions and crazy words was stupid!

“I'd kill you if you don’t stop this nonsense,” she spat on his face and asked, “What about those promises of the future, huh?”

“Is this why you are doing this?” he asked, as though he was so innocent.

An elder ordered him to put me down, and once again I was dragged outside to wait while they decided what would be done.

While standing by, realizing what my fate would be in this pack hit me and I began shedding tears, breaking my resolve under the watchful eyes of the gossiping maids who taunted me to my hearing…

After waiting, I was called back in.

“We almost believed your cock-and-bull stories until Aiden provided this,” the head Epsilon said, raising a paper. I recognized…it was the love letter I had written.

I was done for!

“It is obvious you were jealous of the prince's wedding, so you acted in a way punishable by death, tomorrow before the first cock crows, you'd be led to your death.”

I was speechless and all I could do was cry more before my hurt eyes met Aiden’s, and he looked away, making me realize I was all alone, and I was going to die the most shameful death ever.

I was tired of shedding tears and resigned to my fate… I refused both lunch and dinner and ended up sleeping to take my mind off tomorrow.

“Wake up!” I heard Alicia say, causing me to jerk up.

“What’s happening?” I asked confused as my eyes adjusted to the dark room.

“We have little time; you have to go!” she asked, loosening what held me bound.

I opened my mouth to talk, and she hushed me. “Why?” I inquired with tear-stricken eyes, but surprisingly, she said nothing.

The night gave us a Head Start and hope that I might live. Suddenly an alarm was raised, and I could hear the guards giving us a hot chase. While running, Alicia fell and shouted after me, “Run!”

I stood watching in fear and as I moved back to help her, I heard her yell once again, “Run, Bree!”

 My eyes widened in fear and I sprinted away, seeing that the guards had stopped and Aiden was the only one left; he seemed too eager to catch me as he chased me with full vigor.

Tears ran down my eyes without control because I couldn’t imagine what I’d face if, by any chance, Aiden were to lay his hands on me.

“Please…” I yelled, unwillingly, to slow down my pace… There was no way I was going to die for Aiden to be Alpha Prince.

“Please, Aiden, let me go! If not for anything, but for what we have shared!” He halted and shouted after me, “Run, Aubrey, Run!”

He added, causing my heart to ache, “If you ever return, I would kill you, slut!”

Without looking back, I ran with all my might.

I had been the perfect pawn in whatever game of power was being played back there; I had lost everything I ever had and was on the run for my life.

I approached a bushy downward hill path and looked back. There was no going back now. While running, I cast my feet against a stone and felt my legs give way, causing me to roll down towards the rampaging water.

With my eyes shut, I prayed in case it would be my last that the Shadow Moon pack would compensate for every tear I had shed. I saw my world turn black as my back landed with a splash before embracing the roaring water and sinking.

Surely, they would pay!