The pain that came from hearing those words felt like a hot knife going straight through my throat. The pain of rejection shot through my body, making me wince, and hot tears rushed to my eyes.
"Logan..." I whispered, staring at my mate, my love. In his place was a cold-hearted man I didn't recognize. "What is all this about?"
What had I done to deserve a rejection out of nowhere? I tried to think hard, trying to understand what exactly it was. Nothing came to my mind.
Logan, my husband of three years, was glaring at me with hatred I hadn't ever seen in him before. "You're a traitor. And you will be punished as such." He said this, his eyes flashing in anger. He motioned for the guards on standby.
"No, no, wait! Please wait!" I screamed. The guards advanced on me. I ran up to Logan, reaching out to grab his hand, but he moved out of the way. I fell to the ground, my knee hitting the ground. The pain was nothing compared to what is in my heart right now. I stared up at Logan, tears in my eyes.
Why was he doing this to me?!
"You don't know what you did?" I heard a feminine voice say:.I turned to see my sister, Darcy. Thank the goddess! I knew Darcy was on my side. She would help me talk to Logan!
"Darcy! Thank goodness you're here! I..."
Darcy sneered darkly. "Don't talk to me so casually." She hissed.
My eyes went wide. "What...Darcy? What's going on?"
Darcy walked up to Logan with a smirk on her face. She took his hand, and he actually smiled at her, his gaze softening! I felt my heart break and shatter.
"You're a liar; that's what's going on." Darcy hissed. Her eyes shot daggers at me. In all my life, Darcy has been my sweet little sister.
Who is this person in front of me now?"What did I lie about?!" I screamed at them. "And what is going on here?! Logan, why would you reject me?!"
"Because you are infertile." Darcy said it coldly.
Now, I feel the hot knife in my stomach. My heart dropped to my stomach. Infertile? How did she know about that? I hadn't told her anything about that!"Is she lying?" Logan asked with cold and stony eyes.
"I... I'm not infertile."
"Liar! You didn't tell him about the curse, did you?!" Darcy screamed.
The feeling of betrayal got worse, and I gasped. How did Darcy know about the curse? I hadn't told her about it.
"You're weak. You're an excuse for a Luna. "This pack needs someone strong who can lead us well." Darcy continued. "With you, we will all die out."
I couldn't believe what was happening now. My own sister betrayed me? And my mate... he's siding with her?
"Aria, is it true that you're under a curse?" Logan asked.
I stared at him, and I knew there was no way to try and convince him otherwise. "I was working on it!" I cried. "Logan, please, you have to believe me. I can...."
"Guards!" Logan called for his men. "Take this traitor out of my sight."
"Logan please!" I cried. "You can't just do this to me! After all the time we've had, you can't just throw it away?!"
"You're not going to kill her, are you?" Darcy inquired, then turned to Logan. It disgusted me to see the look she was giving him, her eyes wide and big as she stared at him. She had always used that look to get things from our parents. She was now using it on my husband.
"She's a traitor. She deserved to die." Logan replied, his voice unfeeling. He glared at me. "Take her to the dungeon." The guards grabbed my hand and pulled me up, already dragging me away.
"She'll be executed at sunrise tomorrow."
"Don't kill her!" Darcy cried out. "Please, baby, don't kill her. Just....send her away or something."
Logan motioned for the guards to let me go. He turned to Darcy. "Are you sure about that?"I stared at Darcy, confusion on my face. What was she playing at here?
"Yes." She said. "Please? Can you do this for me?"
Logan turned to me. He approached me, his steps intimidating. I resisted the urge to run away. I reminded myself that I was the former alpha of this pack, and I held my ground against him."I would have had you executed without a doubt." He hissed darkly. "Consider yourself lucky; you'll get away with an exile." If you ever show yourself here, I will not be as merciful."
I spat in his face. "You bastard!" I screamed at him. "How could you do this to me?! And because of..."
He drew his hand back and backhanded me across the face. "You damned bitch!" he hissed.
The force of his slap nearly knocked me off my feet. I grabbed my throbbing cheek and turned toward him, glaring at him. He wiped his face, his eyes shooting daggers at me. "Oh my goodness! Are you okay?" Darcy gasped, running up to his side and inspecting his face. She glared at me. "What is wrong with you?!" I felt like I wanted to hurl. Seeing my sister and my husband being chummy was the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen."You two are disgusting and shameless!" I shouted. "Darcy, how could you?! You're my sister!"
"I can't be the sister of a traitor!" she yelled back."You should be grateful; she told me to spare your worthless life," Logan said to me. "I would have had your head hanging on the ash tree right away. You're a selfish and disgusting traitor."
"Traitor?" I cried. "You're fucking my sister! "How am I a traitor?!"
"Please, you're weak. You're not even qualified to be an omega." Darcy said it with an eye roll. "You're just jealous; I'm a much better candidate for Luna than you. I'm stronger, faster, and fertile. And I even have a wolf. Can you do any of those things?"
I would be lying if I said her words didn't hurt me, right where they hurt the most. Was it my fault I was born weak? Was it my fault I couldn't wolf out?! Was it my fault for the curse that plagued me?!
Did I do anything wrong?! Did I ask to be born with such a cruel fate?!
Darcy had always been the golden child. Loved by my parents, loved by all. Compared to her, I was plain and uninteresting. And now she's also being loved by my husband, shamelessly rubbing it into my face.
"I can't believe you two..." My lips trembled, and the tears threatened to fall. The pain wrapped around my throat, threatening to choke me to death. "I loved you....Logan...I gave you everything."
"Take her away!" Logan commanded the guards. His eyes held no sympathy at all.I turned and glared at them through tears, I felt my eyes flashing in anger. "Don't you dare touch me with filthy hands." I hissed at them. "I can walk."
The guards backed up. Logan may be all that and more, but I ran this pack before him.
I glared at Logan and Darcy. I vowed there and then to never forgive them. I loved these two people more than anything else in the world. Both of them turned against me.
I turned and walked out of the throne room, keeping my head high.
After all I had done for him, Logan was a rogue when we were mated. I made him the alpha of the Nightfang pack, and he stabbed me in the back.I walked out of the pack house and was instantly assaulted with screams and jests from the pack members.
What lies had they been fed? What had Logan told them in order to make them hate me outright?
"Keep moving." Logan hissed into my ear. "We aren't at the border yet."
I kept my head up and continued walking. Tears rushed to my eyes, and my heart broke. I was being escorted out of my own pack. My pack! My own mate had turned me into an enemy!We got to the border. I turned to get a last look at the people who had betrayed me. They sure looked happy right now, Darcy was hooked on his arm, his hand around her slim waist.
Darcy distended from Logan and walked up to me, a cruel smile on her face. "Don't die out there, sister, dear."
I slapped her across the face. She cried out in pain, and instantly Logan moved to her rescue, pushing me aside roughly.
"What the fuck?!" He yelled, pulling Darcy into his arms and comforting her. I used to be the one he held like that.
"I will never forgive you two." I said, my voice dark. "I promise you that."
"If she ever returns," Logan said, his eyes staring coldly into mine. "Kill her on sight."
Darcy's POV: That had gone easier than I had expected. Finally, that damned bitch was gone for good. It was always Aria. Ever since we were girls, it was always her. She was the smart one. She was the pretty one. She was the one who had the bright future. While I was destined to remain in her shadow forever, "Let's go back," Logan said as soon as Aria's form disappeared from sight. I hooked my arm with his and flashed him a brilliant smile. I had spent years perfecting this smile. "Sure!" I said it in a happy tone. He turned, his eyes hardening as he saw the red mark on my cheek. "That damned bitch." He hissed in anger, his fingertips touching my face. "It's just a love mark." I said it in a nonchalant tone. A love mark it was. Just as I had Aria walking around with my own love mark, it was a little something between us, and I doubt she was aware of it. But it had been years already—a little drop of it every morning—and she was as weak and pliant as a newborn. Oh poor Aria, s
Aria's POV: My eyes went wide with horror. "No, you can't be serious!" He leaned back. "Enjoy your time here, former Alpha Aria."He turned and walked away. I banged the bars hard, screaming for him to get back and unlock this damned door!The Crescent Pack was a menace. A true one. Their alphas collected rogues like a little girl collects dolls. The stories I had heard of Dane Seymour were not good.I screamed out in frustration and kicked the bars hard. How did I end up here?! Was this some kind of cruel fate in store for only me?!The cell was small and dimly lit with candles. My entire body was starting to ache from lying on the concrete floors for so damn long.I heard the sound of footsteps and turned, hoping for Dane. But instead, it was a guard. He unlocked the door and stood to the side. "Get out," he snapped. He can't possibly be talking to me. So I remained where I stood, glaring at him. He sighed and stormed inside the cell, stalking his way up to me."Don't you even
Aria's POV "Fine!" I shouted. "I'll get in!"Maria nodded, with not even a hint of a smile on her face to show that she was joking. "Get in the tub." She said. "You weren't going to call them, were you?" I asked for good measure.She didn't reply. Her eyes told me all I needed to know. She was serious, she was actually going to call the guards to bathe me!"The last girl misbehaved." Maria said, At last." You can guess how it ended. And trust me, they will do more than bathe you." She said it with a crazy smile on her face.That was disgusting. There's no way I'd let such hands touch my body. The only one who had touched me was....My head filled with thoughts of Logan again. I hissed in annoyance. That traitor. I shouldn't be thinking of him again!But alas, my thoughts always flitted toward him. It wasn't an easy task to forget him. At random, my mind will be filled with memories of when he was my love. And the pain would start all over again.I undressed and got into the tub. The
Aria's POV:A cold wind blew by, lifting my skirt. I grabbed it and held it down. Anthony's intense eyes were focused on me. It was like he was searching for something. Goosebumps erupted over my skin; this dress barely even covered anything."You're cold," Anthony stated."No sh*t," I said, straightening my back. If the skirt wanted to go up in my face, that's fine.Anthony raised a brow at my curse word.If he has a problem with it, that's on him, not me. I was trembling in my boots from the cold. From his presence. And the last thing I wanted to do was watch my tongue."We should get going." He turned and walked to the carriage. He moved like he was gliding, his feet barely touching the ground and his hair flowing behind him. He had this grace and fluidity that he moved with.I guess that's why he was called Blessed of the Moon Goddess."Alpha Aria, are you coming?"I exhaled, my breath forming wisps of steam in front of me. I made my way over to the carriage, another cold wind rais
Aria's POV:This situation is very uncomfortable."Why did you --"Anthony made a move. He crossed the space between us and took my right hand. Before I could ask what he was about to do, he brought my wrist up to his face, inhaling deeply.I turned bright red and pulled my hand back. "What are you doing?!" The words tumbled out of my mouth.I tried not to think about the fact that his hand was so warm, much larger than mine. He raised his eyes to mine."Your scent is strange,""S-strange?" I sniffed my wrist, trying to figure out if there was a strange smell. I smelled of the bath oils Claire put in the bath water. Roses and vanilla. "It seems okay to me."Anthony didn't look convinced. But he didn't press either."Alpha Aria, I'll ask you again. What were you doing with Dane?" He inquired, his brows furrowed.I chuckled bitterly. "I can't understand why you're more upset at this than I am. It's not like I was with him....things just happened.""Things like what?" He pressed on. His
Chapter seven:Aria's POV:The next day came too fast. I hadn't gotten much sleep after my conversation with Anthony. My mind wouldn't let me sleep at all. After getting ready, Claire informed me that I was to have breakfast with Anthony.The dining hall was in another wing—I guess Anthony's private wing. It was a very impressive hall, with high ceilings and golden chandeliers. Everything screamed pure wealth. I mean, what else did I expect from the Lycan King himself?The dining table would comfortably fit a hundred people. At the far end of it, I spotted Anthony. The nervousness settled in my belly again; all I could hear were the sounds of my heels clicking on the marble floors. The closer I got, the more nervous I became. Anthony rose his head from his breakfast, his eyes meeting mine."Good morning, Alpha Aria." He said, tipping his head in acknowledgement."Alpha Anthony, good morning too." I replied, my voice sounding breathless."Join me," he said, pointing to the seat closest
Aria's POV:The pack healer was not at all like I expected them to be. Back at Nightfang, the pack healer was an ancient woman. I wasn't sure of her age, but she seemed generations old.The pack healer in front of me was a man, and a young one at that. He looked no older than me."Yes, you are poisoned." He announced, after a few minutes of checking my body."You seem really young," I stated."I recently took over." He said it with a soft smile. "But I can assure you, that doesn't make me any less qualified." He finished off, turning to Anthony."What can be done about it?" Anthony asked.The healer shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure. This poison is very ancient. I haven't seen anything like it before."An ancient poison? Wow. My life just got even better. This was the first time I'd heard of ancient poisons."What does that mean?" I asked."It's a hundred, maybe even more, years old. "And I'm afraid I have no cure for this poison.""You mean you can't help her?" Anthony questioned
Aria's POV:The rest of the day went by without much hitch. According to Anthony, the healers should start arriving tomorrow or so. As Anthony had instructed, I spent the day resting with Claire by my side, answering the questions I had about this place.She didn't have many answers.And now we were in the throne room, as healer after healer came in and examined me."I'm afraid, Alpha Anthony. But this is beyond me." Yet another healer said with a disappointed sigh. The tenth so far.I had come in here with high hopes. That maybe someone has something that could help out. My hopes were starting to dissolve. One after the other, they all said the same thing. The poison was too ancient. They hadn't heard of it. They didn't know how to remove it. If it came to the worst, I would have to kiss my wolf goodbye, or worse, my life.I can't die like this. I refuse to die like this, succumbing to a poison that has no name. If I die, whoever poisoned me will win. And I'm sure that person would al