Chapter 2

~Nora

"Traitor! You are a traitor, Nora!" I heard a familiar voice growl from behind.

When I turned, my eyes, tired from spent tears, met with those of Beta Ken. He was my father's best friend and right-hand man. He also was my best friend's dad. I saw Grace standing just behind him, her eyes filled with animosity towards me.

"Traitor! How could you, Nora? How could you do this to us!? Your parents and siblings are dead all because of you!" he snapped angrily. His eyes were red, evidence that he had been grieving. I could see blood dripping from his side, onto the floor. He was bleeding; whoever killed my family must have done that to him.

I was confused at his words. I managed to rise to my feet as I stuttered in a trembling voice, "W..what are you talking about, Beta?"

"You killed your family, Nora! You gave the map to the location of the hidden treasures to that boy! His father did this using one of our ancient relics! He came here with your boyfriend and a powerful witch who wielded the relic and destroyed your family! We stood no chance!" 

He gritted his teeth in pain, "You should have seen him gloating about how gullible you were to have given that map to his son! His son stood right beside him smiling, priding in your foolishness!"

Glaring at me with frosty eyes, he continued, "Your father always kicked against your relationship with that boy! Why did you betray us all like this? Why, Nora, why?" he growled.

My heart sank.

No, it is not possible. There was no way Klaus would do this to me. There was no way he would allow his pack to murder my parents in cold blood!

"T..there must be a misunderstanding, this is not true," I stuttered, trying to gather my thoughts as my eyes roamed frantically.

"Get out! Leave this pack now! I never want to see you again; you are no longer a part of us!" Beta Ken growled.

I stared at him in shock. I wanted to speak, but my words caught in my throat. I was too choked up to speak. Everything was happening so fast. It all still felt like a dream, one I desperately wanted to wake up from.

I watched as Beta Ken pulled out a gun from his holster and pointed it at me. My mouth gaped open. Was he trying to kill me? Was he threatening to kill me even after what just happened to my family?

"Get out now! Leave this pack and never come back!"

I shook my head frantically and screamed, "What are you trying to do, Beta Ken? I am the victim here! My parents and siblings are the ones who got killed!" I wailed, clutching onto my aching heart. Nothing compared to the pain I was feeling on the inside.

"It was all because of you! You are a traitor! You are responsible for their deaths!" he groaned.

"Believe me, Nora, if you do not leave this instant, I will not hesitate to shoot you!" he was not mincing words. I could see the hatred in his bloodshot eyes as he glared at me.

I could see how his hand holding the gun trembled. He was an angry man right now who was capable of anything, including murdering his daughter's best friend in cold blood.

Bang!

My heart sank.

That was the sound of a gunshot. Beta Ken had fired the gun just a few inches from my feet. My steps faltered backward as my eyes widened in horror. Every hair on my body stood on end.

"The next bullet will be in your skull. Now leave and never return!" he growled.

"Leave!"

"Traitor!"

"Leave the pack!"

Came the echoing voices of our pack members. The weight of their gazes felt like chains around my neck. I glanced at Grace, my best friend; she couldn't even meet my eyes. She couldn't bear to look at me. She hated me too!

It dawned on me. No one in my pack wants me; I am not needed here again. They blamed me for everything. I took one last look at my parents and siblings whose bodies were lying on the floor and muttered, "I am sorry I let you all down."

With that, I turned around and left, tears flowing uncontrollably from my eyes, my heart so heavy with pain that I knew would be the death of me soon. I didn't know how much longer I was going to last, but one thing I knew was that I needed to see one last person before the inevitable happened.

I needed to see Klaus and hear from him. There was no way he had a hand in this; there was no way he caused my parents' death.

I got into my car and drove off, my hands on the steering trembling. A couple of hours later, I was close to Klaus's father's house. I remembered it; the second time we met, he had almost brought me to his home. He had shown me where he lived before we escaped into the woods to one of our favorite spots. The more I thought about it, the more my heart ached.

I got to their gate and was about to get in when I was stopped by one of the men standing guard.

"Who are you, and what brings you here?" he said, his voice cold.

"I am here to see Alpha Klaus," I said amidst tears. He exchanged glances with his colleague before bringing out a phone and dialing someone.

"Hello, Alpha Klaus, there is a girl who claims she is here to see you," the man's eyes roamed all over me; he took in my disheveled appearance. I didn't care how I looked; I didn't care about anything right now. All I wanted was to see Klaus and get an explanation. I wanted to know why it all happened.

"A girl is here to see me?" I heard his voice ring out from the phone.

"K..Klaus, it is me, Nora, come out now!" I wailed through a stutter.

The line went dead.

A few seconds later, I spotted Klaus running out. As soon as he was out of the gate, he said something to the men, held my hand roughly, and dragged me away to a secluded place.

Turning to make sure no one had followed us, he asked, "What the hell are you doing here, Nora?" The first thing I noticed was how frosty his tone was; he had never spoken to me in that manner all the time I have known him.

Ignoring the tone of his voice, I explained, my voice a bit shaky, "Something happened, Klaus. My parents, my siblings, they are all dead. Everyone blames you for it; everyone says it was your fault. They said you came with your father and a powerful witch who wielded the relic and destroyed my family."

He was silent.

"I…i..Is it true?" I stuttered, fearing the worst.

"Yes! Yes, Nora, it's true! I helped in killing them, okay? It was for the best!" He snapped.

My mouth gaped open in shock, "How could you? Klaus, how could you do this to me? You said you loved me!..You said…"

"Look here, Nora, I am sorry, but I deliberately approached you from the onset because of this," he ran his hand through his head, "it was all part of the plan. Now that I have accomplished my mission, everything is over; you and I are also done. I have a fiancée whom I am getting married to soon, so move on like we never happened," he heaved a sigh of relief as if a heavy load had been lifted off his chest.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I staggered and felt my feet turn to jelly, wobbling beneath me as I hit the floor.

"Move on like we never happened, my parents, my siblings are all gone, and I am to move on like we never happened?" I pondered on his words, trying to make sense of it. It suddenly dawned on me. I had only been a pawn in his twisted chess game. I was warned by everyone who loved me. My father, my mother, my siblings, even my best friend, but I didn't listen.

Ignoring the pain I felt within that was threatening to consume me, I laughed bitterly. "In the end, you were the fool, Nora," I said out loud.

"You need to leave now, Nora, leave before you end up like your family," he said, his tone relaxed, it held no remorse whatsoever for what he had done.

I looked at the boy who I had thought I would share my happily ever after with, the boy who I had made the center of my world, the boy who once mattered most to me in this world. How my day had turned to night. How I had gone from feeling like the most blessed girl in the world to being the most hated and rejected.

He stared at me one last time before turning around and heading back the way he had come. I sat there on the floor. My mind blank; I was waiting for it to come, the impending death I knew wasn't far-fetched anymore.

Just then I saw him whisper something to the two men at the gate. Next thing, they started approaching me. I smiled; that was all I could do.

They lifted me up and carried me down into the bush; I was too numb to do or say anything.

Soon enough, they dumped me outside their territory and left.

I looked over to my right and saw a cliff. It wasn't far from where I was. A thought came to mind. I needed to die; this life was not worth living anymore. I needed to join my parents and siblings. I needed to meet them in the afterlife and apologize to them for all I did. I crawled on my hands and feet as I was too weak to stand until I got to the edge of the cliff.

Looking down at the depth, I smiled painfully as I fell off the cliff. This is it. I guess it is finally over, I thought.