Chapter 1
Aria's pov
“Seize her!”
I hear faintly.
The scent of damp straws and steel filled my nostrils, my cheeks were pressed against the cold stone floor and it wasn't as I remembered it, I stirred and my body hit another warm one.
I tried to make out where I was before the chill grip of the guards made my eyes snap open.
Wondering how I got into the guard quarters when I had tucked in myself to sleep in my room last night.
My eyes darted towards the bed I had laid in horror, there was another man I knew nothing of, he had been laying beside me but how?
Today was supposed to be my coronation. I would be acknowledged as the future Luna after living a life of despair amongst the other peasant wolves and now this?
I gulped, the Alpha's guards had already held me still as I caught the figure of Elias standing at the foot of the door, my heart stopped immediately. Tall and furious, his jaw hard and his eyes colder than the steel strapped around his hip, behind him stood the council members, their faces twisted in disgust.
I tried to reach for him as heat burned my cheeks in embarrassment “Elias, i…”
“Silence” his voice thundered across the room, anger filled his tone as his nostrils flared while staring at me, I knew what was going on in his head.
Image of his supposed mate waking up with another man beside her, hair tangled and dress torn, looking every bit of the weakling they claimed I was.
But none of this was true, I never knew how I got here.
My lips trembled “it's not what it looks like, I don't know how…”
“Enough!!” He growled with a smug expression on his face, like he was eager to punish me rather than to hear whatever I had to say, seizing my wrist immediately as he dragged me forward and away from the guard until my knees hit the ground.
“This is what you are? My mate and a disgrace to all women of the pack, committing the most outrageous act the night to our coronation”
The council murmured in agreement, words like unfit, weak and shameless hissed past my ears, each one felt like a thousand stabs to my chest.
My throat tightened as I tried to meet Elias' gaze but his eyes were stone.
“For the honor of this pack, I reject you!” His words felt heavy
“No, no” I crawled to where he stood, my small hands around his feets “I promise you, Elias..
“Your highness.” He corrected coldly
Tears had started to run down my face “I promise your highness, it's not what it looks like, I would never do this”
“Aria of the fallen house pack, I sever this bond” he declared, unmoved.
I tried to steady my breath but the rejection ripped through my chest, it wasn't just words, it was a hollowing inside my soul that made me weaken, clenching my fist as I could hold myself together.
The bond between us, fragile as it had been, snapped like a brittle glass.
“No,” my whisper was small, barely heard “please, you promised”
“You were a mistake” he said coldly but his tone hinting relief “and this pack has no place for mistakes” he reminded, watching me from beneath his lashes, where I could see his eyes glistening “you will be sold to the Blackstone pack by nightfall, since they can do what they wish with you. I am sure Alpha Thorne will be happy to have you serve them”
I knew Black stone pack, the pack for slaves, the pack criminals chose death, rather than serve there.
“Your highness please!!” I screamed on top of my voice as he turned away from me then turned around slowly after pausing in his tracks to look down at me. I could swear I saw his lips curve upwards and mouthed “serves you right," before he continued.
“You are unworthy to be my Luna… guards!!” yelling at them “take her away, now! The longer she stays the more polluted the land becomes”
“Yes sir!’ the guards growled before gripping me on both hands.
Tears spilled freely from my eyes the minute he turned away from me, his voice, preparing the ceremony without me.
In desperation I turned to the guards.
“Please, I do not know that man, tell his highness to believe me please” my voice cracked
“You better save your strength. I heard Blackstone pack knows how to use their slaves right” he scoffed before laughing out loud.
“oh I heard they made them feel better at night” the guard licked his lips, which made my stomach twist.
I was innocent and it ached my chest that no one believed me
For years, I had lived at the edge of belonging, always yearning and reaching for places I thought would want me and foolishly I had thought being mates with the Alpha would end everything but it was only the beginning.
I was pulled by the arm down to the council ground where decorations had been made for the coronation it was more of an irony
My coronation day had become my execution. The day my real misery began.
I had heard so much about the Blackstone pack and how the Alpha ruled without mercy or compassion, I was going to serve there as a slave and there was nothing I could do about it.
As the shackles closed around my wrist, I lifted my head, meeting the jeers of the council, hoping someone would speak up for me and say that I knew nothing of how I got to the guard's quarters but the more I heard the mockery in their voices the more I came to realize how impossible that was.
Dragged to the ground, one of the elders spoke up
“For the purification of the land and to maintain justice, Alpha Elias has severed the bond between him and this lowly wrench, she will therefore become an ordinary wolf of the pack but will be chosen to be sold off to Alpha Thorne of Blackstone pack”
He recited like he was reading from a scroll.
I looked up to find Ethan's eyes.
“i didn't do anything, I don't know how I got there….
“Silence child! The least you can do is to own up to your crimes” the elder snapped at me.
I watched the other members of the council and Ethan rise above me for my final judgement.
“Send a message to Alpha Thorne, inform him about our sudden request for her sale” Ethan said finally as he left the council room.
Meanwhile I stood there, heartbroken and unsure of what fate had for me.
