Chapter 3 Drowning In Wine

AYSU

When she woke up, she was sprawled on the beach's shore.

Waking up in the place she was rejected added more salt to her wound and to avoid more triggers to her soul, she prompted her weak legs to get up and head for home. As she managed to stand, Aysu noted the sharp pain in her soul and she considered walking into the depths of the ocean so that its massiveness could devour her.

But a subtle whisper from her wolf was enough to deter her from heading into the waters.

That voice assured Aysu that she would not be alone for a while, so while her sneakers dragged the sand that wrapped her legs, she prayed that the days of torture waiting for her would not be something she would experience alone.

She hoped that Alora would not leave her no matter how worse the pain gets.

Minutes passed and it soon became quiet in Aysu's mind. She moved at a snail speed and her eyes did nothing but stare at her environment as though there was no life around her. And that was how it was until drops of rain dropped from the sky.

Aysu jolted when a few drops landed on her cheeks and arms. As though she had been holding a long breath underwater, she released a strong exhale and looked up at the pouring sky which held no regard for her presence.

Her eyelids pressed closed and she let the heavens remind her of her existence. Her shitty existence.

A few seconds later, she returned her focus to the lonely road ahead. The reminder that the road would lead her to the main city made her wonder if she should let Alora out to avoid the stares of the people of the Tarmish Pack. But a thought of the pain she and Alora experienced after the strange Alpha Ximun ruined her last resort of survival made her decide to walk the entire journey so that her wolf could rest.

Of course, the journey would be a long one, but she had nothing better to do with her life in the first place. Walking for hours would not be a terrible thing for her.

So, walking for hours she did while the growing sky shower soothed her and made her feel shitty at the same time.

Many hours later, with extremely puffy hair, a growling stomach and dead, tired eyes, Aysu made it to the gates of her father's mansion. And as she pressed the fancy, fish-shaped doorbell that would alert the gatekeeper of her presence, she discovered that her legs were shivering. It was likely that every other part of her body would experience the same seconds later, so she pressed the tiny button with desperation.

Soon, Gideon, the one that would open the gates appeared. He was about to grumble about his interrupted sleep, but when he saw the state of the woman he was trained to work for, he swiftly open the entrance and held her arm while he feared that she would collapse.

"I am fine. Gideon," Aysu whispered.

"Mistress, you don't look fine," his ever-soothing voice pointed out. He pulled her closer to the warmth of his chest and Aysu felt a little relief. "Did it happen again?"

Aysu had no desire to recount the terrible day she had. So she managed a weak smile and allowed him to support her. Gideon locked the pedestrian gate and began to walk toward the grandness of the mansion in silence.

Aysu's father was one of the respectable Beta Wolves in the Pack. His duties to the Pack, as well as his connection to the Alpha King, were enough to earn him wealth and respect. The only pain in that grand life was Aysu.

Due to the fame her father had, almost everyone in the Pack knew about her curse. And while her father managed to protect her from the vicious words of the wolves around, Aysu knew that the respect they had for him was not enough to deter them from viciously whispering about her.

"We are almost there, Aysu," Gideon gently reassured her. Gideon was also someone that tried to make her feel better about her devastating life. He was always there to help soothe the pain that came with each rejection and he was likely to do the same that early morning. But while Aysu would have let him do that, she decided that once she hits the softness of her bed, she would stay cooped in her room for as long as possible.

Soon, the front door of the building was pushed open by Gideon and an unfamiliar voice welcomed them.

'You have to do something, Beta Richard. She is becoming a nuisance.'

'A nuisance?' Aysu recognised her father's voice. She detected anger in his tone and though she could tell that she was the topic of that conversation, she wished to know what the strange man was aiming for with his statement.

'I don't wish to use such a strong term, but everyone that has been mated to her keeps having it hard. Even after they reject her, they remain unfortunate and things only get worse for them and everyone around her.'

'You know that is not her fault. It doesn't give you the right to call her names either.'

'The Alpha King is worried, Beta Richard. He is questioning your hesitance because he knows that she is not your biological daughter.' A squeaky nose from the couch reached Aysu's ears and she took that as a sign to stop listening in on their conversation. 'If we don't isolate her-'

"Let's go," Aysu quietly said to Gideon who held back his words of pity and assisted her to the entrance of her room.

"Let me help you to bed, Mistress," he offered.

Aysu's head danced left to right and her damp hair fell out of its messy ponytail to make her look like a bigger mess. "I want to be alone," she said, her voice full of dread, perhaps she was subtly showing her fear of the terrible fate she was going to face. "Don't disturb me."

The right wing of her door gently opened and she walked into the darkness of her room as though she was a thief. With her quiet wolf's sharp vision, she avoided crashing into any of her hardcore furniture and made for her secret wine stash. She grabbed two bottles, and a wine glass cup and walked to the foot of her bed. She crashed onto the ground and chose to forget her pain by drowning herself in as much wine as she could.

That may not be enough to numb the pain, but she just wanted a distraction from the reminder that within or after a month, she would be dying.