Chapter 1 The Betrayal

Zaria's POV

"Beta Blackthorne and Lady Evelyn are considered traitors who betrayed this pack. They would be sentenced to death and their bloodline will forever be marked as traitors-reduced to the lowest of the lowest rank. Omega."

The words of Alpha Kael of the Nightbane replayed in my ears on a loop like a bad music as I knelt in the center of the Nightbane's Pack's great hall. My wrists were bound behind my back, my eyes blurring from the tears I had shed all day long. The scent of burning wood and my parents blood lingered in the air-thick and suffocating.

Treason.

My ever loyal parents have just been framed. I knew it. My parents' knew. In fact, everyone in the Pack knew this, but it doesn't matter anyways. It never did. The verdict has been passed and no one is going to save us.

My gaze shifted towards my father, the strongest warrior in the Pack and even across the kingdom. He stood before them, his face bloodied, battered and broken but his spirit wasn't-he was still as defiant as ever. My mother knelt beside him, silent, exhausted and her face- tear-streaked.

My gaze shifted to the one person that could at least try to stop this. The man I had trusted with my life, my heart, my future.

Callum Nightbane. My love. My mate. My Alpha-to-be.

He sat at the head of the council beside his father, Alpha Kael, dressed in a ceremonial black outfit, his silver eyes cold as he stared straight ahead. His jaw clenched, his expression unreadable like he wasn't aware of all that was happening around him.

Four months ago on my eighteenth birthday and coming of age ceremony, I had discovered that Callum was my mate. The revelation had left me stunned as I couldn't believe that Moon Goddess had paired me with such a perfect mate. But I couldn't deny the pull, his scent whenever he was close by and the undeniable feelings I had for him even before I discovered he was my mate. We were friends, but he was also the man, I dare not claim.

Callum was perfect. Too perfect. He was in his twenty-one years old but doesn't look like it. Tall, broad-shouldered with piercing silver eyes, and chiesled features that made it seems like an art in a gallery. And importantly, he was wise and kind, a man every powerful she-wolves in the pack and across desired for themselves.

We accepted the bond between us and since then, with the blessings of our parents, we've been seeing eachother.

"Please," I mind linked him. "Callum, say something. Do something. You know my family would never betray this pack. They are innocent."

But he didn't bulge.

My heart thundering in my chest, desperate, pleading. He'd sworn to protect me. He loved me-he told me that several times. He wasn't like his father, the unkind and ruthless Alpha who ruled this pack with an iron fist.

And yet, as the guards moved to drag my parents away, my mate remained silent.

I struggled against the rope that bound me. "No! Alpha please don't do this. Callum-"

My father turned to me, his expression still as calm as ever as they dragged him roughly to his feet. "Survive, Zaria."

My mother swallowed her sob, trying to stay calm. "Close your eyes, my love. Assume this is all a bad dream."

Close my eyes? Bad dream? How could I do that? How could I pretend this is a bad dream -when I would wake up the next morning, and my parents would be long gone?

"Alpha, please," I sobbed, desperation clawing at me as I crawl towards him. But his expression remained as cold as ever, looking at me like I was some insignificant animal. "My father would never-" Before I could say more words, a warrior struck me with something on my head.

My world tilted. My body grew weak from the forceful impact and I collapsed to the ground.

And the last thing I saw before darkness consumed me was Callum -sitting there, watching, doing nothing.

******

My eyes flustered open to the familiar coziness of my room, but that did nothing to ease the pain in my chest. The bed felt harder than I remembered.

I had lost my parents forever.

The scent of blood clung to me like a second skin. The memories of my parents still echoed in my head, hollow and distant, like a ghost I couldn't outrun.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I remembered their last words: Survive, Zaria. Assume this is all a bad dream.

I should go look for my parents. I thought . Maybe, just maybe all these-is a bad dream like mother had said.

I wiped off my tears with the back of my hand. My body was still weak, but I tried to force myself up, and it was then that I noticed the strong arms around my waist, holding me in place.

I turned and saw him, lieing beside me, his once sharp silver eyes now dimmed. Callum. The same man who had stood by and watched.

"What....the hell are you doing here?" I asked, my voice trembling with barely restrained rage. "Get out." I snapped, attempting to broke free from him, but he didn't bulge.

Instead, his fingers grazed my cheeks, gentle in a way that shattered me.

"I know you hate me." His voice was rough with something. Guilt? Pain?

Desperation.

"I do." A lie. My voice broke as I tried to push him away. "Don't touch me!' I thrashed against him, hating him, hating myself for still craving his warmth. I punched his chest, slapped his face -anything to make him feel what I was feeling.

He let me hit him. Didn't flinch.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, holding my head to his chest. And this time, I didn't fight him.

The room fell silent, only my cracked sobs echoed through. I didn't know for how long I cried but Callum touch was comforting. He didn't say anything, he just held me close while I bawled my eyes out in his arms.

After what seemed like a long while, I stopped crying and pulled away gently from him. I glanced up at him.

"I'm sorry, Zaria," he muttered. "I couldn't.... just go against father like that."

I nodded, believing him. Alpha Kael was powerful and ruthless, and no one dared stand against him-not even his own son. I hadn't expected him to go against his father, but I at least, wanted him to say something -anything-instead of just standing by.

"It's okay, Callum. You can leave now. I'd like to be alo-" before I could finish his lips brushed over mine, slow, lingering. Not a demand-an invitation.

I pushed him away. "Callum....what are you doing?"

His grip on my waist tightened. "Let me have you, Zaria. Let me help you forget your pain."

Forget?

Air left my throat as I glanced at him, stunned into silence. Was he stupid? His father killed my parents and he thought fucking me would make it better?

In our four months of dating, we've done literally everything-blow jobs, hand jobs, kissed and he has even given me a head, but we've never had sex.

We were saving that for our mating ceremony, which was to happen in the next two weeks but I doubted if that would happen again.

Now, he wanted to claim me like nothing had happened?

"I am all you have left now." His voice was raw, his grip possessive. "If you let me mark you, we can still be together. And I promise to protect you from my father."