Chapter 2 Shattered Hope.

The pain was unbearable.

Every breath Sandra took brought with it pain, and the memory of all she had lost.

Daniel's face, pale and still in death, haunted her thoughts, his image burned into her mind like a scar that would never heal.

She tried to force the thought away, to think of anything else but it was hard; the pack's betrayal hovered dark and bitter, a sense of injustice so deep that her whole body pulsed with it.

They had condemned her, thrown her into this cold, damp dungeon, and left her to rot.

But she was innocent.

Sandra had loved Daniel more deeply than words could express. She would never hurt him. But no one believed her.

The pack had made their decision swiftly, their judgement final.

The world she had known- the pack in which she had trusted- was nothing but a broken ashen vision.

This was a nightmare with no escape.

Time had lost meaning in this cold, forsaken place. Grief, rage, confusion and helplessness twisted in her chest... suffocated by the weight of them pressing down on her.

Everything had been drained out of her and there was no one left to trust, nobody to listen to her story. No one cared.

The iron door clanked and creaked on its rusting hinges.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor, then swung wide to clear the passage of two warriors, pulling Sandra back to reality.

All of their faces were stone. No expression. Sandra didn't recognize them, but it didn't matter

They had come for her.

They were here to finish what the council had started.

A spiral of panic snaked its way through her gut, and for the shortest instance, she wondered if this was where it would end.

The warriors grabbed her arms and pulled her up roughly. Her legs buckled beneath her, but they didn't care.

They dragged her down the long, cold corridor, on their way out again, past empty cells full of nothing but despair and silence, no sound but the faint echo of their footsteps.

Every step she took was a reminder of the moment she had found Daniel, his body crumpled in the clearing, with his lips just stained blue from poison.

The memory was a knife twisting in her chest. She had been blamed, condemned without hesitation.

The pack she had given everything to, had betrayed her.

She was innocent. But no one cared.

They reached the council chamber, and Sandra's heart pounded in her chest, a drumbeat of terror and helplessness. Her legs nearly buckled as they shoved her inside.

The room was cold and oppressive, the air thick with judgement.

The council stood waiting, their faces hard and unmoving. Their minds were already made up.

Among them stood Olenna.Sandra's stepmother. The woman who had raised her after her mother's death.

The sight of Olenna made Sandra's blood run cold. Olenna's eyes gleamed with satisfaction, her lips curled into a cruel smile.

This was her doing. Sandra felt it in her bones. Olenna had betrayed her-had led the pack to believe that Sandra had murdered Daniel.

Why? Why would she do this?

But there was no time to ponder. Amid her despair, Sandra could not even recall the name of the council leader, who spoke with a voice as emotionless and unforgiving as the stone floor she stood on.

"Death is the punishment," he declared, his voice resounding in the silence of the room.

A soul for a soul, "But not by blade."

Sandra gasped as she gazed at the council members.

She struggled to comprehend the meaning behind their words, causing her thoughts to race. Death was certain, but how?

Olenna stepped forward, her smile widening. "Poison," she whispered as if savouring the word. "The same poison that took Daniel's life... "It's appropriate, don't you think?"

The words struck Sandra as if she had been punched in the chest. Poison?

They planned to murder her in the same manner as Daniel had been murdered.

There will be no opportunity for a trial, no opportunity to prove her innocence, no last words. Just the cold, bitter finality of poison.

The warriors grabbed her arms once more, dragging her from the chamber. She stumbled, her legs weak and unsteady, but they didn't slow.

Her breath came in short, shallow gasps as they led her out of the pack house and into the night.

The cold breeze nipped at her flesh as she approached the majestic trees of Mystic Forest, their towering presence creating elongated shadows on the ground.

This was the place where she and Daniel had planned to build their future.

They had discussed it nonstop, about starting a family in the quiet safety of the woods.

However, now, the forest was a place of death. The irony tasted bitter on her tongue.

The wet ground in the forest made squelching sounds under her knees when the warriors pushed her down.

Sandra felt the weight of her failure settle on her shoulders, heavy and suffocating. She had failed Daniel.

She had failed to protect him and failed to clear her name. She had failed to reveal the truth. And worst of all, she had failed her sister.

Lucy.

A sob ripped through Sandra's chest as the image of her sister's innocent face flashed through her mind.

Lucy had disappeared the night Daniel was killed. No one had laid eyes on her since then, and now, Sandra would never know what had happened to her.

The feeling of guilt was all-consuming. She had failed her, too.

The executioner stood before her, but this time, there was no blade. Instead, he held a small vial of liquid-clear and deadly.

Sandra's chest tightened as she stared at the vial. This was it. The end. Her tale had come to an end.

Olenna stepped closer, her eyes shining in the moon's light. She held out the vial, with a satisfied smile playing on her lips. "Drink," she said, her voice a cold whisper.

"You will be joining him shortly."

"But why"?

We showed you nothing but love and respect; we accepted you in our family.

I thought you loved us, and father, I thought you swore to protect us from all harm, Sandra replied to Olenna with a trembling voice.

"You'll never get away with this," Sandra spat, but her words felt weak and hollow. She had no power left. Nothing.

Olenna leaned in, her breath hot against Sandra's ear. "I already have."

Pausing briefly, she held her breath, and for a brief moment, she wondered if there was still a way out, a chance at survival.

But the warriors' hands tightened around her arms, and she realised there was no escape.

Sandra's hands trembled as the warriors forced her to take the vial.

She felt a wave of nausea as she raised the vial to her lips. She could feel Olenna's eyes on her, watching, waiting for her to succumb.

With a trembling breath, Sandra shut her eyes and took a sip

The liquid sloshed inside, serving as a bitter reminder of Daniel's fate.

The bitter and acrid taste of the liquid caused a burning sensation as it went down her throat.

The poison was merciless, and soon, Sandra could feel her heart slowing, her breaths becoming shallow. Every beat of her heart was a reminder of her failure-of how she had lost everything.

Olenna watched, her smile never faltering, as Sandra's body began to weaken.

"You'll be forgotten," Olenna whispered, her voice barely audible. "No one will remember you. No one will mourn you."

Her stomach churned, causing her to gag, but the warriors held her fast. The venom swiftly circulated in her bloodstream, icy and merciless. Her limbs grew heavy, her vision blurred, and the whole world seemed to tip off balance.

Sandra's chest tightened as the poison took hold, her thoughts growing hazy. This was it. The end. Her final moments. She had failed Daniel, failed her sister, and now, she would die in this forest, alone and unloved.

Her muscles convulsed as the poison completed its effects on her body.

The final image she saw before the darkness took her was Olenna's satisfied smile and the knowledge that there would be no burial or any formal event to mark her death.

Her body would be abandoned for the animals to feed on, serving as an example for anyone who dared defy the pack.

Olenna stood over her body, her eyes gleaming in the moonlight. She had won.

And in the silence of the forest, only the shadows bore witness to Sandra's final moments

A weak, lonely, betrayed, and an abandoned soul. Lying down hopelessly.

Sandra let out her final breath, taking with it the remaining shreds of hope.