I bit back the pain, keeping my eyes down, voice soft. "I wouldn't dare dream above my place."

"You'd better not!" Diana snapped, shoving me away. "If I catch even a hint of you scheming, I'll make you wish you were dead!"

The rest of the day was pure torment.

First, I cooked for her, dish after dish, but nothing was right-too salty, too bland. Finally, she flung a scalding plate of food at me, the heat searing my skin.

Then came the laundry. In the dead of winter, I plunged my hands into icy water, scrubbing a mountain of clothes. My fingers swelled, red and numb, barely able to feel anything.

When I finished, Diana barely glanced at the pile. "This is how you wash? You ruined them! Useless!" She waved a hand. "Take her away. Teach her some manners."

Her version of "manners" was a torture device-wooden sticks clamped around my frostbitten fingers, yanked tight. The pain was blinding, a scream tearing from my throat as I nearly blacked out.

By evening, when Benedict came to fetch me on Alpha Edgar's orders, I was a battered mess, barely clinging to consciousness.

Diana leaned close, her smile cold as she hissed, "You know what to say and what to keep quiet about when you're back with Alpha Edgar. One wrong word, and I'll make sure you regret it."

I nodded weakly, voice faint. "I. understand."

Back outside Alpha Edgar's den, he sat at his desk, reviewing pack reports without looking up. "Back already?" he asked, his tone flat. "How was it with Diana?"

Before I could answer, Lily, a young she-wolf I'd befriended, couldn't hold back. She threw herself to her knees, tears streaming. "Alpha Edgar, please, you have to stand up for Aurora! Diana-she tortured her! Used brutal methods! Aurora's hands are nearly destroyed!"

Alpha Edgar's pen froze mid-stroke.

He lifted his head, his gaze icy as it swept over Lily. His brows furrowed. "Drag her out. Twenty lashes."

My heart sank. I dropped to my knees, pleading, "Alpha Edgar, this has nothing to do with her! It's-"

His eyes turned to me, sharp with impatience. "Nothing to do with her? She slandered my future Luna. That's a crime."

My chest went cold.

He couldn't bear Diana facing even a whisper of criticism.

I took a deep breath, pressing my forehead to the floor. "If you must punish someone, let it be me in her place."

His gaze hardened. "You're defying me now, Aurora?"

"Please, Alpha Edgar, let me take it," I said, my back straight despite my trembling voice.

"Fine!" His voice crackled with anger. "If you insist on taking her place, you'll get the twenty lashes. Guards, take her out and make it heavy!"

The cold staff cracked against my back, each blow a ripping agony.

I clenched my teeth, silent, sweat beading on my forehead.

When it was over, they dragged me back to my room like a broken rag.

That night, Benedict slipped in with healing salve, sighing. "Aurora, why do this to yourself? Alpha Edgar. he cares about you, deep down. He's just caught up in Diana's spell right now. He'll come around."

I took the salve, my face pale, and said nothing.

Who he cared about never mattered to me.

The next day, Alpha Edgar took Diana to the pack's hunting grounds.

He wore a sleek black riding outfit, his sharp features even more striking in the sunlight. He personally helped Diana onto a gentle white horse, even lowering himself to let her step on his arm to mount.

The pack servants whispered, their eyes wide with awe.

"Gods, Alpha Edgar's going that far? They say he's ruthless, killed his own kin for the Alpha title, but with Diana, he's so. tender."

"Yeah, Aurora followed him through hell for years, risked her life, and he never treated her like this."

"Some wolves just get a better deal."

I kept my eyes down, trailing the group quietly, pretending not to hear.

During the hunt, Alpha Edgar's devotion to Diana was relentless. He caught the fruit pits she spat out, even ate her half-finished snacks without a second thought, his expression softer than I'd ever seen.

When Diana got bored, she pouted, saying she wanted to try archery.

Alpha Edgar grinned, offering to teach her, but she waved him off with a playful laugh. "No need, I know how to shoot. But today, I want something. exciting."

"Oh?" Alpha Edgar leaned in, patient. "What's that?"

Her eyes glinted as she scanned the trembling servants. "I want a living target."

The words sent a chill through the group. Every servant ducked their head, praying not to be chosen.

Alpha Edgar raised a brow, his tone calm. "Whatever you like."

Diana's smile widened. Her finger drifted over the cowering crowd, then locked on me.

"Her," she said, pointing, her voice sharp and bright.

Alpha Edgar followed her gaze to my pale, steady face. His brow twitched, almost imperceptibly.

"Alpha Edgar?" Diana's voice turned coy, with an edge of challenge. "You're not refusing, are you? You said whatever I liked."

He looked away, his tone flat. "Of course not. Do it."

My heart plummeted, like I'd been tossed into an icy pit.

Back in the enemy pack's lands, their Alpha heirs used to toy with Alpha Edgar, forcing him to be a target for their amusement. Every time, I threw myself in front of him, taking the arrows meant for his flesh.

I still remember the sting of an arrow grazing my ear, the burn of one piercing my shoulder. The worst time, an arrow lodged in my shoulder blade, leaving me feverish for days. Alpha Edgar stayed by my side that night, changing my bandages himself, his face tight with worry. "Don't do something that stupid again," he'd growled.

Half-delirious with pain, I'd mumbled, "But. protecting you is my duty."

After that, he softened toward me. He'd ask if I was tired, gift me a simple but thoughtful treat on my naming day.

Those small moments of warmth-how fragile they were against Diana's pull.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, the sting in my eyes.

No fighting back. No running.

I walked silently to the marked spot, the sun blinding as I stood still. Through the glare, I saw Diana nock an arrow, her face alight with cruel excitement.

Her first two shots zipped past my sleeves, piercing the apple I held above my head.

Gasps rippled through the servants.

For the third shot, Diana's eyes narrowed. She pulled the bowstring taut, but the arrow's tip shifted-away from the apple, aiming straight for my heart.

My pupils shrank. Cold dread surged from my feet to my core.

No-

Whoosh!

The arrow flew, slicing through the air, and buried itself in my left chest.