Aria's POV
As I carried the tray containing a sandwich and glass of juice towards the table where the alpha and his guest the soon-to-be Luna were sitting, I tripped and the whole content on the tray fell on that alpha's guest; Imelda.
My breath hitched because I could already tell what was about to befall me. Before I could apologize for my mistake, a slap landed on my face, causing me to stagger backward as I held my cheek with tears pricking the back of my eyelids.
Imelda hovered over me menacingly. "Are you blind? How dare you ruin my dress you bitch?" She shrieked.
I tried to speak up to apologize but she landed yet another slap on my face, causing my words to get stuck in my throat.
"Have you no respect for your soon-to-be be Luna? How dare you stare directly into my eyes after committing such a grave crime?" She continued. "Go on your knees you b!tch!"
I stared at her in shock at her request and directed my gaze toward the alpha.
"Do as she has said, it's the least punishment you deserve for your crime," he said in a bored tone.
I nodded and with my head hung low, I was about to go down on my knees when Imelda grabbed my arm and began pulling me.
My brows furrowed in confusion as I trudged behind her, wondering what she was up to.
We got to a halt and in a flash, she pulled me down and placed my hand on the broken pieces of glass.
I yelped in pain as the shredded pieces of glass pierced through my skin, I bit my lower lip in a bid to hold back the tears that were threatening to drop.
She let go of my hand, chuckling menacingly. "This is nothing compared to what you deserve for ruining my expensive dress."
Pain and anger shot through my veins as I wondered why she was doing this. I had committed a crime and I knew I deserved to be punished but not this way. I still couldn't understand the reason why she hated me so much.
Ever since the alpha brought me to his pack from the war where he killed my only surviving family; my aunt, she had always made it her mission to humiliate and make me suffer no matter how hard I tried to avoid her.
I was tired of her constant humiliation and bullying but I had no one to fight for me and I couldn't even fight for myself as I had no wolf.
Taking slow and steady breath to fight back my tears, I held my injured arm close to my chest. The last thing I wanted to do was to give Imelda the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
She crouched down in front of me, my head hung low as I stared at her feet.
Before I knew what was happening, she emptied the contents of the sandwich on my head, causing me to shudder.
"The sooner you stop acting foolish, the better for you," she said, while I sniffled, taking a slow breath.
Sometimes I wondered if the moon goddess hated me, first, she created me without a wolf and made me an orphan, then she placed me in the care of an aunt who did not like me one bit, and now here I was at the mercy of the alpha and his Luna, going through another hard fate.
"Darling," Alpha Sebastian called, his voice bringing me out of my reverie. "Alpha Xander would be here in an hour for his package. We need to get prepared to receive him."
Imelda nodded and turned to me. "Clean up this mess, freshen up, and be back here in five minutes. A minute late and you would be dead," she threatened.
I bobbed my head and with great difficulty, stood up from the floor. They walked out of the room, and I glanced down at my knees to see the gravity of the injury I had sustained. The tears I had been trying so hard to fight ran down my cheeks seamlessly.
"When will all of these end? When do I get to be happy?" I mused as I cleaned up the place.
I couldn't help but wonder why the moon goddess bestowed such a cruel fate upon me. After being abused and resented by my aunt for years, I had always thought I would be happy once I was far away from her but here I was, going through the same fate, if not worst.
With a heavy sigh, I headed towards the bathroom to freshen up as Imelda had requested.
As I took off my clothes, I couldn't help but wonder what use my presence was to the visitor they were expecting.
Remembering I had less than five minutes to get ready, and not wanting to ignite Imelda's anger once more, I shoved my thoughts to the back of my mind and hurriedly washed up. After I was done, I wore fresh clothes and wrapped a small piece of cloth around my injured arm.
I made my way out of my room and towards the Alpha's study. In my haste, I had forgotten to knock and just entered the room without requesting permission first.
As I entered the room, my eyes landed on the figure of the Alpha and Imelda locking lips. My heart raced in my chest in fear as I knew I had committed yet another grave crime.
I watched as they continued, oblivious to my presence. Turning around, I began to slowly tiptoe out of the room. I placed my hand on the doorknob and was about to turn it open when Imelda's voice caused me to pause.
"I can see you are not only stupid but you now lack manners," she said.
I turned around, my heart in my mouth as I watched her walk slowly towards me, her hips swaying from side to side.
"If it weren't for the guest we are expecting, I would have made you pay for your foolishness."
I swallowed hard and mentally thanked whoever this guest was for saving me from her wrath.
"Anyways, you would soon be off my hands soon, so I'll no longer have to deal with your brazen attitude," she continued and I wondered what she meant by I'll be off her hands soon.
I hung my head low, to give her an illusion of me being submissive. "I am....."
Imelda waved her hand, interrupting me. "Enough already, stop polluting the whole place with your bad breath," she hissed.
I rolled my eyes at her words, wondering what the Alpha saw in someone as mean and badly behaved as her.
She began to make her way towards the alpha. "Go stand at..."
As she spoke, a sweet and woody scent suddenly possessed my nostrils, making my heart race in my chest.
I lifted my head and my eyes scanned the room, wondering where such a sweet scent was coming from. My eyes fell on the Alpha and I saw him gazing down at me, his eyes had darkened indicating the presence of his wolf.
The alpha pushed Imelda aside and took long strides towards me. Usually, I would have cowered backward in fear but this time, his presence felt comforting and I stood rooted to the spot, my gaze fixed on him.
He stopped right in front of me, cocked his head to the side as he muttered. "Mine."
Sebastian's POV
Disgust and anger rushed through me at the thought of being mated to the person whose aunt connived with her husband; the alpha of the moon-blood pack to kill my parents and had planned to kill me to take over my pack until I wiped every last one of them.
How could the moon goddess do this to me? For years, I had longed to have my mate in my arms but no matter how hard I searched and hoped, it was all futile.
And now that I had decided to pick a mate myself, she sent this slave as my mate. A weakling who wasn't even worthy to stand by my side.
My wolf howled excitedly in my head, fighting ferociously to claim her immediately. Clenching my fists, I shut my eyes tight, struggling internally to keep my wolf at bay.
"Mate," I heard her say softly.
My eyes fluttered open at her words and as they met with her blue ocean eyes, my heart leaped in my chest. I could see the fear in them and I could also see the expectation in them.
As if I was in a trance, I slowly began to stretch my arm towards her but Imelda's voice brought me back to reality causing my arm to stop mid-way.
"Don't you dare Sebastian! Are you really going to accept being mated to a slave? Not just a slave, someone whose family member caused the death of your parents and plotted your death to take over the pack."
Imelda gripped my arm and slowly turned my head towards her. "Are you going to abandon me and your child for that thing?" She continued.
My eyes widened at the news of me being a father and I turned fully to face her, searching her eyes to see if she was joking but the seriousness in them made my eyes lit up.
"I am going to have a pup?" I whispered.
She nodded slowly, a smile spreading across her face. I could feel my wolf's internal struggle as he was torn between accepting his pup and accepting his mate.
Slowly, I turned to face the slave girl. Tears cascaded down her cheeks, as she stared at me with pleading eyes.
"Alpha, I..." She began.
I cut in, interrupting her. "Shut up."
"I, Sebastian Connor, the alpha of the Blackwood, reject you as my mate."
A sharp pain hit my chest, causing me to stagger backward. I watched as the slave girl fell to the ground, tears rushing down her cheeks as she held her chest in pain.
I turned towards Imelda and took her hands in mine. "I chose you to be my Luna because I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and my pup."
"I love you too baby. Thank you," she replied, pulling me into a hug.
A knock sounded on the door causing us to pull apart.
"Come in," Imelda yelled.
A maid walked hurriedly into the room. She immediately fell to her knees, her head hung low and I wondered if she had committed a crime.
"What crime have you committed?" I asked curiously.
"I haven't committed any crime alpha. I am here to inform you that the lycan king is here and he seeks your presence," the maid explained.
I nodded slightly and Imelda dismissed her.
Imelda directed her gaze towards me, a questioning look in her eyes. "Do you still want to do this?"
I raised a brow in confusion, wondering why she was asking me such a question. "Why won't I? We already agreed on this and there is no reason for me to go back on my words."
"I only asked seeing as she's your mate. You might want to keep her now," she said, her eyes filled with tears.
"She is not my mate. You are my mate!"
She bobbed her head slightly with a smile on her lips. "Then let's go and get this over with."
She took my hand in hers and pulled me towards the door. As we got to the door, she halted and turned to the slave girl with a scowl on her face.
"What are you doing? Come with us you fool," she yelled.
With that, she pulled open the door and we made our way toward the meeting room.
We got to the meeting room and met the Lycan king; Alpha Xander sitting with two guards by his side. We walked to where he was seated and with a faux smile on my face, I stretched out my arm for a handshake.
"Welcome. It's an honor having you here," I said.
He glanced at my outstretched arm briefly and directed his eyes back to my face. "I do not see the girl anywhere."
I squeezed my arm tightly, my lips pursed in anger at his arrogance.
How dare he treat me this way in my own pack?
Xander was the lycan king and he has always been an arrogant fool. I hated him with every fibre in me but he had proved himself useful in helping me conquer the pack that was plotting my downfall. So I made a decision to keep him close to me for future purposes despite my strong dislike for him.
Imelda spoke up, breaking my line of thoughts. "She is outside and would join us when needed."
"I came here for her, I need her in here now," Xander said coldly.
With a clap, Imelda ushered the slave girl in.
"Go on your knees before the Lycan king!" Imelda said through gritted teeth and the slave girl immediately obliged.
I directed my gaze towards Xander and found his eyes lingering on the slave girl. His eyes didn't hold the usual coldness they did when he stared at her and I began to wonder what was happening.
When I asked Xander what he wanted after he helped me conquer those miscreants, he had asked for the slave girl. I had tried dissuading him, wanting him to choose something more worthy but he insisted on having her.
I felt happy about the fact that he didn't pick anything that would cost me a lot but I also couldn't help but wonder why her. His actions were suspicious then and even more suspicious now.
A loud thud on the table startled me out of my reverie.
"This is for the girl," one of Xander's guards said, pointing to a bag containing gold on the table.
My eyes widened in surprise and I turned to Imelda to see that she was already staring at me with excitement in her eyes.
"We... We are giving her to you as a gift alpha," I said, surprise evident in my voice.
"I prefer to know that I bought her and that you no longer have any claim over her," he replied, finally directing his gaze towards me.
I bobbed my head slowly, still baffled at his actions.
"Go get him something to drink," Imelda said, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.
"There's no need for that, I'll be leaving with the girl now," Xander said.
"You can leave after the drink alpha. It won't take your time at all," she replied.
She turned to the slave girl and urged. "Go now and be fast about it."
The slave girl hurriedly scurried out of the room and soon returned with the drink for the Xander.
Xander picked up the drink, stood up, and then handed the drink to one of the guards beside him.
He turned to us, his eyes cold as steel. "Next time, only do what I ask."
Imelda rose to her feet. "I'm sorry, I thought..."
He raised his arm in the air, and Imelda clamped her mouth shut. "You talk too much for someone who is not yet Luna."
Imelda shut her eyes tightly at his words and I could tell she was pissed off and trying to control her anger.
He directed his gaze back to his guards. "Bring the girl along."
With that, they began making their way towards the door but a loud thud made them all stop in their tracks.
We directed our gaze to where the sound emanated from and lying there on the floor limply, was the guard whom Xander had given his drink to.
Aria's pov
I stared in shock at the body on the floor while Imelda ran up to the body and yelled for me to go get the doctor.
As I ran to go get the doctor, tears rolled down my cheeks as different thoughts raced through my mind.
Meeting my mate had always been a long-time dream of mine because I felt all my problems and suffering would end once he came into my life.
Never in my life did I think I would get rejected or that my mate would sell me off to another man or that another woman would be pregnant for him.
It hurt so much but I knew I had to suck it up and just accept the fact that I wasn't created to ever be happy. Now I was not just a wolfless wolf but I was also a mateless wolf.
Thoughts of running away filled my head but I knew I would be found in no time since the lycan king was now involved.
I have heard tales of how the lycan king was a ruthless, and unforgiving man, who dealt mercilessly with those who went against him. He was the most feared wolf and I wondered why the alpha hated me so much to sell me off to him.
Sighing loudly, I increased my pace. In no time, I arrived at the pack clinic and immediately went in search of the doctor.
"You are needed at the Alpha's mansion," I told the doctor immediately after I found him.
He raised his brow with curiosity in his eyes. "Did something happen to the alpha?"
"No, not him," I replied.
With a nod, he hurriedly packed his tools and led me to his car.
We arrived at the mansion and I immediately led him to the meeting room.
Immediately we entered, I was held by the neck and pinned to the wall by Alpha Sebastian.
"How dare you try to poison the lycan king?" he said through gritted teeth.
I stared at him in shock, wondering what he was talking about. I tried to explain to him but my words came out as a mumble as I was being choked.
I desperately tried to release his grip on my neck but couldn't. Tears rolled down my eyes as I wondered if this was how I was going to leave this earth.
"Let her go," the lycan king's voice reverberated through the room.
Alpha Sebastian reluctantly released his grip on my neck and I fell to the floor, gasping for air.
"How could you? If you didn't want to go with him, all you had to do was say something instead of making an attempt on his life!" Imelda yelled. "We could have lost him, and our hospitality would have been questioned. How dare you try to tarnish your alpha's good name despite all he has done for you?"
I shook my head as I slowly rose to my feet. "I... I... didn't poison the lycan king,' I stuttered while coughing violently.
"You liar!" Imelda retorted.
"I swear by the moon goddess, I did not do that. I have a..."
Before I could complete my words, the doctor cut in, interrupting me. "He's dead. The poison used was a very strong one and he wouldn't have survived even if I had attended to him immediately."
A gasp left Imelda's lips as she stared at me in disbelief. I let out a shaky breath and my eyes traveled to the lycan king for the first time since I entered, the rage I saw in his eyes made me stagger backward in fear.
Why does the moon goddess hate me so much? How do I get out of this?
Slowly, the lycan king rose to his feet and began making his way towards me. Without thinking, I fell to my knees, my forehead making a connection with the floor.
"Please, I have a witness. She was there with me in the kitchen. Her name is Matty, she's also a maid here. I beg you, just call her in and ask her," I please frantically.
Even though I hated my life, I didn't want to die this way. It would be too pathetic for me to die for something I had no knowledge of.
The lycan king stopped in front of me. "If I find out you did this. You would beg for death and not get it," he threatened and I swallowed hard, my tears threatening to spill.
"Get the girl she speaks about," he ordered.
Alpha Sebastian immediately summoned a guard and asked him to go get the girl.
Soon, Matty was brought into the meeting room.
Imelda rose from her seat and walked towards us. "Were you in the kitchen with her an hour ago?" She asked Matty while pointing a finger at me.
Matty shook her head. "No ma'am, I wasn't. I was at the stable, tending to the horses."
I whipped my head swiftly towards her in shock. "Ma... Matty, I met you in the kitchen when I went to get the drink. You were leaning against the wall, eating an apple while you complained about how exhausted you were feeling."
"I wasn't," she replied, shaking her head once more. "I was in the stable and the other maids can testify to that."
"Matty, please. I'll be dead if you don't speak the truth," I whispered, tears cascading down my cheeks. I couldn't understand why she was lying when she knew my life was at stake.
"Enough!" Alpha Sebastian thundered. "Take both of them to the cell until we get to the bottom of this."
Me and Matty were picked up from the floor by the guards. I opened my mouth to speak, to fight for my innocence, but no words came out. I was drained, I felt hopeless because I knew that whatever I said wouldn't count anymore.
We got to the dungeon and were placed in the same cell.
I turned to Matty. "Why did you lie? If you had spoken the truth, we wouldn't have been brought here. Now there's no guarantee that we would ever leave this place."
A cynical smile stretched across her lips. "Worry about yourself."
Rage coursed through me at her reply. How could she be so nonchalant when she knew my life was at risk? Her actions were suspicious and I couldn't for the life of me understand why she was doing this.
"Why are you doing this? Do you hate me?" I asked, glaring at her.
She chuckled manically. "Hate you? You overrate yourself my darling. In case you do not know, you are just a peasant who would be used to set an example."
In rage, I charged towards her, and punched her hard in the mouth, with my chest heaving up and down.
"What the f!ck!" She yelled, standing to her feet as she spat out blood.
She was about to hit me when a voice interrupted us.
"Matty," the voice called. I turned my head towards the direction of the voice, to see it was a guard.
He gestured for her to move closer to him and she did. He began whispering to her, and I tried hard to pick up what he was saying but I couldn't.
After a while, a low yelp emanated from Matty. I stepped closer to get a better view, and the guard noticed and left immediately.
I turned to Matty, watching her closely as she sat down.
Even though I didn't care about her, she was beginning to look pale and that worried me.
I scooted closer to her, my eyes fixed on her. "Are you okay? Did he do something to you?"
She snarled at me. "Mind your damn business," she spat out weakly.
With a sigh, I moved further away from her to give her space.
Soon, loud groans filled the air. I immediately rushed to where Matty was to see her writhing in pain.
"Matty, Matty are you okay?" I asked worried but she gave no response.
I began to call out to the guards for help but no one answered. Her groans intensified, and she began to cough out blood.
My heart pounded in my chest in fear. In panic, I ran to the cell door and held onto the bars, yelling frantically for help but like before, no one responded.
Soon, the groans stopped. I directed my gaze toward her, and my breath caught in my throat as my eyes landed on her glazed-over eyes with blood dripping down her mouth.