Episode 3

DIANA’S POV

“Once again, you have brought shame to my being, Diana. How could you?!”

My father's fury pulsated through his veins. Even the glasses that shielded the throne room weren't exempted; they cracked, producing a light squeak in the process but didn't fall.

At least, not yet.

But I had—I had fallen countless times, body, soul, and spirit as I bent my head to the floor and didn't dare raise them to stare at Father a second time for fear of what I might see.

Shame watered me as I was no longer Princess Diana but now a murderer. A mistake that came straight from the loins of a great alpha.

And now everyone in the pack was staring right at me—the mistake—huddled up against the corners in the castle’s hall and whispering amongst themselves while watching and waiting on Father's judgment.

“I was hurt, Father,” I sobbed, stammering. “H-he got Ella pregnant and said something about…taking me as a concubine or second wife…that was when I snapped...I didn't mean to kill him.”

The tears flowed down my cheeks in torrents and as much as I wanted them not to because they were practically useless, I couldn't keep them locked in.

My heart was shattering into tiny pieces; it was only a matter of time before my fate would be sealed.

But the cracks in my heart didn’t come from Darius’s betrayal alone—there was more at stake now. I wrapped my arms around my abdomen as if the slight pressure could shield the tiny life forming within me. Would this child suffer for my sins? If Father’s punishment was this cruel to me, what would become of the helpless being growing inside me?

“And what's wrong about being a concubine or a second wife, Diana?!” Father thundered. “You are just a woman, need I remind you! You have no say in choosing what position you will become in a man's life! Especially not a man like Darius.”

I blinked.

I'd heard these words before – how less and un-opinionated I should be because I was a woman, so it didn't faze me so much.

What fazed me instead were his last words:‘especially a man like Darius.’ What did he mean by that?

I dared to raise my head and ask, sniffing in tears and snot. “What do you mean by ‘especially a man like Darius,’ Father?” I stuttered.

“Have you forgotten who he is, Diana?! He's my beta, for crying out loud! A position befitting for a stubborn lad like you!”

My jaw dropped almost to the floor.

Darius was my father's beta?

H-how did this come to be?

I sat up straight, my curiosity getting the best of me. "S-since... when, F-father? I-I thought... you never... l-liked Darius.”

Father's eyes swiveled precariously at me. “That was before he passed his upgrade test into a beta. And now you've not only deprived him from fulfilling his duties to the pack, but also murdered him!”

I blinked again, not sure what I was hearing.

Darius had been upgraded a week ago from a chief warrior into a beta, and he hadn't breathed a word about it to me?

We had agreed to get married once he obtained the beta position, knowing Father wouldn't stand in our way anymore. But he'd kept this secret, hidden it from me like a dagger to the heart.

A knot tightened in my stomach, shooting up to my chest like a poisoned arrow. My eyes burned, but I bit into my bottom lip, suppressing the scream building inside.

Bound and helpless, I strained against the chains, my fingers trembling with rage.

How could he do this to me? To us? After everything we shared—the whispers, the laughter, the promises?

But that anger didn’t protect me from the dark shadow looming over my future. My child’s future. If Father stripped me of everything, would this child be nothing more than a curse—a reminder of my disgrace? A child born of sin, destined for a life worse than mine?

I shuddered at the thought. No. I wouldn’t let that happen.

Father’s cruelty knew no bounds, but he couldn’t punish an innocent life...could he?

My gaze snapped back to Father. "Why didn't he tell me?" I demanded, spitting fiercely. “Did you keep him from telling me about his upgrade, Father?”

Father's expression twisted further, his eyes flashing with malice. "Perhaps he realized you weren't worthy of him. And by the heavens, you proved him right!”

Right.

I’d proven Darius right in so many ways he could never imagine. Me rejecting him and leading him to an early grave.

Thinking about it now, I felt ecstatic, knowing it was going to remain that way for a really long time. And before I could realize it, I was chuckling to myself.

Father's gaze lingered on me, his eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure as I stood defiant.

He didn't like my chuckling.

He detested it.

But what do I care? Why should I care?

I’ve lost everything, literally. And in the next five minutes, I could probably be on my way out of the pack, serving a banishment as my punishment—or even worse, death.

The thought of dying no longer scared me. But what about my child? Would it die with me? Was it better that way? Or worse—what if it survived to live under the shadow of this shame?

Just then, Father burst into laughter, the sound sending shivers down my spine.

"I’ve always known you were a handful, Diana," he spat, his voice dripping with venom. "Weak, arrogant, and stupid. You think you're so strong? You're not even worthy of bearing the title 'princess'."

I clenched my jaw, biting back the retort burning on my lips. Let him think he's won.

"And as such, you'll be stripped of your title and reduced to a common slave. You'll serve this pack, and whoever desires you will have you!"

At his words, a roar of approval erupted across the hall. The wolves cheered and whistled, their voices blending into a deafening chorus of hunger and anticipation.

“I want her!” one voice called out.

“No, I’ll take her as my plaything!” another growled.

“She’ll be useful in my chambers. Maybe she’ll learn humility under me,” a third one sneered, sending laughter rippling through the crowd.

The air grew thick with their depravity, and bile rose in my throat. My body trembled as I tried to shrink into myself, to disappear—but there was nowhere to hide.

Their eyes were on me. Hungry and cruel.

I wrapped my arms tighter around myself, shielding my abdomen as if my hands alone could keep the wolves away. What if someone found out? What if they took my child? Would I be forced to carry a life only to have it ripped away the moment it was born?

My body trembled, knees digging into the cold stone floor. Wildly, my eyes darted, starting their search for an escape route.

But there was no escape because at every entrance point into the castle stood five warrior guards with huge, long, pointed claws.

As I pondered on the next thing to do, a hand reached out to grab my arm, and I flinched.

"Back off!" a voice growled before I could.

The hand retreated, but others took its place, reaching for the intimate parts of me until one voice silenced the chaos: a low rumbling growl that jerked my numb spine back to life.

"If it pleases you, my king, I want the former princess."

That deep, sultry voice—I could discern it any time, any day, even if I’d slept through a century.

My head jerked up, and my eyes locked on the speaker.

It was the demon alpha.

The monster from the woods.