Chapter 4 4

4

~ISABELLA'S POV~

~~~

I ran through the pack with my swollen belly and blood dripping from every wound on my body. Exhaustion weighed heavily on my shoulders and white–hot pain ran through my form.

The pack was in disarray. The houses around me were set ablaze and the bodies of dead pack members littered the floor.

Mother! Father! Please be okay.

I stopped in front of the center of the pack and tears fell from my face as I stared at the beheaded bodies of my parents. Their blood stained the ground and voices filled my head.

They were killed because of you.

I moved away from them and turned to the direction I came byt the scene before me caused me to sink to my knees.

Standing before me was the broken form of Adrian. His shoulders were slouched and injuries ridden his body. He stretched out his hand, trying to touch me, to save me when a blade went through his chest and another blade cut his head from his body.

A scream left my lips and more voices crept into my head.

It's all your fault.

You caused this.

You're nothing.

Another scream left my lips and a wave of pain ran through my form as a blade passed through my body and the world went dark.

~~~

I shot off my slumber and ragged pants fell from my lips as horrific memories flooded my mind.

I can't let that happen again. I wouldn't let that happen again.

I spent hours staring at the ceiling of my chambers, still thinking of the events that transpired in my head till I closed my eyes and fell into a restless slumber.

~~~

The melody of chirping birds. The sound of dew falling against the soil. The sounds of carriages moving through the streets. The sounds of men and women screaming at each other.

My mind is stirred out of my slumber by these sounds no matter how mundane they may be to most people. Sunlight slips into my eyes through my lids and a groan falls from my lips as I stretch in my bed.

The screams between man and woman grew louder with each second that passed and just when I was about to fall back into my slumber. The words become more audible to me.

"You can't keep hiding your daughter forever, Gina! She has to explain herself to me one way or another."

"I am not hiding my daughter from you, Jack. I only said that you should wait till she..."

"I'm tired of waiting! I need an explanation now! And I will get that explanation with or without your help."

My eyes shot open and I jumped out of my bed as I heard the sound of Jack's boots stomping grow louder with each second that passed.

He's coming to my room.

But before I could phantom my next thought, the door to my bedroom was kicked open and Jack walked into the room as though it was his and not mine.

"We need to talk, Isabella."

Memories of the things he did to me in my past life flashed before my eyes and heavy pants fell from my lips as I struggled to stay in the present.

Standing behind him was none other than Brenda, Jack's cohort and lover. Her ginger hair was styled into a bun and her brown eyes stared at me with a hatred so deep, I couldn't help but scold myself for being oblivious to her true feelings for me.

How could I have been so blind?!

"The both of you shouldn't have barged into her room without her permission. What if she wasn't decent?!"

Mother looked at them with a scowl on her lips before turning to me with an apologetic look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart. I tried to stop them. They just..."

"It's fine, mother. You don't have to apologize. Can you leave the three of us alone, please?"

Mother reluctantly nodded her head and gave me a gentle smile before turning to Jack and Brenda with a hard expression on her aging face before she walked out of the room.

The door shut behind her and I turned to the two snakes standing before me.

"What are you doing here? How dare you barge into my room."

"How dare I? The real question is how dare you! How dare you leave me on the altar after everything we have been through! How dare you humiliate me and my family in front of my people!"

A subtle smirk was planted on Brenda's lips and anger sizzled within me like meat on a pan. I clenched my fist at my side as I struggled to contain my rage.

"What in the name of the moon goddess possessed you to abandon your betrothed on the Altar, Dear cousin? Did something happen that we do not know about? Were you having second thoughts?"

"You betrayed me, Isabella."

The frail thread of self control that kept my anger at bay snapped under Jack's accusing words and then the unthinkable happened. Something so impossible that I didn't think I was capable of until my knuckles stung from the blow I landed to Jack's jaw.

A pregnant pause moved between us, stopping so she could deliver a child of silence between the three of us. My hands shook with rage as Brenda covered her mouth with her palms and Jack held his face in shock.

"Betrayal? Betrayal! How dare you utter those words from your lips! How dare you say that I betrayed you when all I have done is love you with the strength of the moon! How dare you doubt my love for you when all I have done is worship the ground you walk on!"

I turned to my cousin and a single tear fell from her eyes as she watched with shocked eyes.

"Just because things didn't turn out the way we wanted them to, it doesn't mean I betrayed you."

It just means that you betrayed me.

A hand fell to my shoulders while the other lifted my chin till I'm staring into a pair of icy blue eyes. Once upon a time, staring into Jack's eyes used to cause shivers of pleasure to course through my body, but now... all I feel when I stare into his orbs is a mercilessly blizzard created to trap me in her world without warmth or happiness.

"I'm sorry, Isa. I didn't mean to lash out. I was just heartbroken that you left me after all the plans we had together."

I remained in front of him, unfazed by his mediocre attempt at trying to calm me down. But I can't let him know that I know what he's up to. I can't let him know that I'm one step ahead of him.

So I smiled at his stupid words and let him plant a kiss onto my knuckles and he tried to kiss me on my lips but I turned away before his lips could touch mine.

He looked displeased by my reaction but still managed to give a smile that didn't reach his eyes and just as he and Brenda were walking to the door, Jack stopped and turned to me with the same smug look he had when I died in my past life.

"Tha Alpha has organized a meeting about what happened yesterday. He wants us to be in attendance."

To say I was shocked that the Alpha had called a meeting about this would be an understatement but then again, I did leave his son on the altar so I know it would have to be important. But if Jack expects me to cower in fear at the thought of standing before his father then he is yet to realize the kind of woman I have become.

"I would be there," I give him a smug look of my own and his expression morphs from nonchalant to bothered in a matter of seconds before he leaves my room with Brenda hot on his tail.

~~~

It is safe to say that this has been the most silent carriage ride I have ridden since I was a child.

I am seated between my parents and neither one of them wishes to speak to me. Although the silence is somewhat welcome as it allows me time to think about what I endured in my past, the devilish plans Jack and Brenda have for the throne and the kiss I shared with Adrian last night.

I fought the heat that threatened to crawl onto my cheeks at the thought of how perfect our bodies molded against one another. And I can't also help but think how far I was willing to go if Adrian hadn't stopped...

"Are you alright, Isabella?" My mother asked in a tender voice and I turned to her before nodding my head.

"Yes, I'm fine."

Another round of silence fell upon us and the carriage stopped in front of the court house. We all came down from the carriage and I adjusted the black hat on my head and straightened my white dress and pushed the doors open ready to fight the battle I ran from.