There is no light coming in from the windows of the 2x3 room, which is why it is so damp, cold, and stuffy. The place is dirty and smells bad. I never expected Aaron to treat me this badly.

“I never did that.”

My hands clenched, remembering what Aaron had accused me of earlier, which felt very strange and awkward to me.

I know that Aaron never once treated me well after we got married, even long before that. But to the point of putting me in jail, while he doesn't even give me evidence about what kind of mistake I made, is crazy! He acted beyond the limits.

It's unbelievable. The truth, he said?

What kind of truth is he talking about? Did he even dig up the truth from Emma's words? Did he truly not show any bias towards her and just put the blame on me?

My body slumped. Images of Emma and Aaron's earlier closeness flashed through my mind like an attack that left me in agony. Even after all this time, I still witnessed the strength of their love.

When I was 16, that was when they were together. For the first time in my life, I spent time pursuing him with my love for him. I was so heartbroken to find out that Aaron was officially in a relationship with Emma, so I wanted to see it. I wanted to make sure he was truly in love with her, or just playing around like any other boy.

But it felt like a knife piercing my heart when I saw how he looked at her with a warm and loving gaze, how the corners of his lips moved when she spoke, curving into a gentle smile, how his hands cared for her with so much affection. He was so in love with her. And I stood there, watching them, wishing that Emma were me.

Tears welled up in my eyes at that moment as I ran as fast as I could back home before the pain in my chest made me unable to move.

I never moved on from that moment. Even when Aaron was with her, I was still in love with him. But I kept it silent. I didn’t want to ruin his happiness.

And when I turned 18, it felt like the Moon Goddess was giving me a gift for my patience, like she felt sorry for me. She made me Aaron’s mate through the recognition of our elders, who said that I was the right candidate to become his Luna.

I had been so happy at that time.

I thought that all my silent love for him had paid off.

But now, I know it's not true. Nothing has changed in the way Aaron sees her. He is still madly in love with her, not me.

Once again, I was broken and hurt. The feelings I had at 16 crept back into me, the agony from that time returning with even stronger feelings.

“Here's your water, Luna,” said a flat voice from the door, followed by the sound of a tin cup scraping the floor, diverting my attention.

There were several guards standing there, lazily averting their gaze from me.

Seeing someone of lower status than you not maintaining their composure was bad enough to hurt my ego. I looked away, not wanting to feel worse and pathetic by getting angry at his attitude because it was pointless. There was no clear light there, but the dim light in the room was enough to show that the water in the cup was murky.

My brows furrowed at the sight of dirt mixed in the water they had given me. They’re getting on my nerves.

“You’re giving me dirty water to drink?” I asked calmly.

This was an insult.

And he did it on purpose, confirmed by his rolling eyes, looking at me slackly, as if he was sick of looking at me.

“Change the water.” Since he didn't seem to want to talk, I gave him an order.

“There's no more water.” He replied in a bold tone.

There were no shouts, no curses, or even a raised voice. I faced him calmly, but he pushed my patience further.

I got up from my seat, stood with the cup in my hand, and showed it to him. “Drinking this dirty water is an insult to me—”

He grinned; my eyes weren't trying to deceive me. "So what? What can you do?“

My eyes widened at his reaction, which showed me no respect whatsoever. ”You should remember me, I'm Luna of this place.”

“The disregarded Luna.” He interrupted with disdain. His eyes looked at me without hesitation, without fear, and without the slightest attempt at politeness. “Soon, you will be replaced.”

Their laughter echoed in front of me, his eyes glancing at me from top to bottom, mocking me without a break.

As I stood there silently processing their attitude and words, one of them approached, leaning against the iron bars. “I'll give you a little update since you're here and don't know anything about what's going on there.”

I'm not curious, that's what I thought, but I found myself paying attention to him while I felt uneasy things growing in my chest.

“They're in the Alpha chamber right now, they must be sleeping together since they've been missing each other so much.”

Ah. I can't feel anything right now but my tears falling from my eyes. So, Aaron kept me in this dark, dirty place while he was having sex with her in his chamber in this camp? The one that even I, his Luna, never got permission to enter?

So much pain is creeping into me right now that I can't see anything and can hardly hear.

“They will soon have the offspring that the alpha has been waiting for for so long, and you...” That mocking smile reappeared. “You will soon disappear and be forgotten. Poor Luna.”

I stepped back. My legs were unsteady, and I fell back onto the cold floor.

My hands pressed against my chest, slowly creeping up and squeezing it. “No wonder I feel so much pain.”

It turned out that the pain I had been feeling in my chest wasn't just heartache. It wasn't enough to keep me locked up in this place and feel empty; he was torturing me with the pain of his betrayal.

No wonder my wolf had been howling and suffering. I thought he was just disappointed because we both felt the same way about Aaron.

I bent over, the pain in my chest making my ears ring. The last thing I heard was their laughter mocking me, then the sound disappeared along with them.

My body convulsed, the pain suffocating me. The oxygen in the room seemed to be running out, and I struggled to breathe.

“Aaron, you're so cruel.” Tears fell without me being able to hold them back.

Our marriage was never blessed with a child; no matter how hard I begged him, Aaron never touched me.

Except for that night. When his consciousness was clouded by alcohol, Aaron did it to me.

But I don't even want to remember that night. The first night that should have been beautiful and memorable for the rest of my life, I want to bury and forget.

I remember crying afterwards. I couldn't enjoy it; every touch was so rough. He was violent, even though I begged him, because I felt torn and burned.

Aaron lost his mind; he forced me like I was a wild animal he could use to satisfy his lust. I hurt every time I remember it, but I justified it by thinking that he wasn't himself at the time. I still give him excuses so I can forgive him.

But now, if what they say is true, then I have no reason to forgive him.

All my life, I only knew how to love him and give him excuses to accept him. So what if I have to stop?

I'm not sure I can do it.

I still want to be with him, but I don't want to drown in this stupidity forever if everything they say is true.

As I questioned all of that to myself, the sound of the door opening again reached my ears.

It might be Aaron. He must have come to see me.

I wiped my tears and quickly lifted my face to look at him. “Aaron...” My voice stopped when I saw Emma standing there.

My eyes stared blankly at the innocent smile she showed me.

“How are you, Maddie?” The woman's voice asked softly, but it felt like a knife stabbed me even deeper. “Have you gone crazy?”

She looked left and right, pretending to be looking for something there. “Aaron isn't here, he's busy making preparations and choosing a wedding dress.”

Wedding? My forehead wrinkled, and I pressed my eyebrows together as my eyelids opened wide.

“What are you talking about? Who's getting married?”

Her smug face shows up in front of me while she laughs. “Why are you asking? Of course it's us.” She is so proud. “We're getting married soon, Maddie, as soon as possible. Aaron is so excited to see me again, so he doesn't want to waste any time.”

“No!” What is she talking about? Aaron is marrying me. “You can't do that. He's my mate, Emma.”

Emma's lips curled upward, looking at me standing inside the bars as if I had said something ridiculous to her. “Why not? Aaron loves me while you're no longer needed.”

I bit my lip tightly. The word “needed” made me feel so worthless.

The woman clapped her hands loudly, and behind her appeared a group of werewolves I didn't recognize, staring at me.

I looked back at Emma. “Who are they? What are you going to do?” I took a step back.

I didn't need to try to face them directly to know that I couldn't handle them. Their aura weighed heavily on me, and I knew instinctively that I would be overwhelmed by the werewolves.

Emma smiled. “Since you're no longer needed, I need to take care of things, and they'll do it for me.”

She gave them directions, and they began to move. The iron door opened, and the werewolves rushed in and immediately attacked me.

At first, I tried to fight back, but as soon as both my hands were grabbed, and the others appeared pressing down on the back of my neck and forcing me into a kneeling position, I couldn't move anymore.

“Emma, let me go! What are you doing?” I groaned, moving to try to break free, but it was useless.

My eyes could only glance at him. “You're lying! I never hurt you, but you're hurting me right now.”

Emma came in and approached me, lifting my chin so that our eyes met. “You hurt me by taking Aaron away from me! I'm just repaying you for how you treated me.”

“Let me go. Please! Someone, please help me!” I tried to break free from her.

This time, the innocence was gone from her face. “It's useless to scream, Maddie. No one will come to help you.”

I see her eyes looking at me sharply and full of hatred. Emma, the innocent woman that everyone thinks of as a pure angel, is the real evil in disguise.

“No, I’m begging you to let me go.” I try harder to resist them, fighting the two of them to let me go.

I get panicked as all I can see is a dark, scary, and damp forest. If I die there by them, there is no way anyone would notice me. It feels like that wood is the perfect place to commit a crime, the perfect grave to bury my body without a trace.

I don’t know where I am right now.

I gasp at the vision of my future in their hand. I just had a broken heart a moment ago, even right now, I still can’t process it, and now they are about to kill me.

So this is the way they end my pain? By letting another pain end my heartache. By killing me? Like, seriously! I look at Emma.

I got a lot of feelings in my chest towards her; I feel the pain of being blamed after her lies that I cannot accept. “Why did you do this to me?” I snapped at her.

My body gets a bit trembling as I shout at her. For the first time in my life, I speak in a high and fierce tone to someone. My parents never once let my inner self outburst. They always tell me to behave, to control myself, to be elegant and graceful, because someday I might find myself a better person to marry.

I never used to be violent, but she is an exception. “Don’t you feel enough by taking my mate from me?”

She giggled as I stared at her, while my hands were held by her peers. The look in her eyes really changed in front of me. “Jangan memutar balikan fakta, Maddie! Aaron is mine.”

I see how her eyes are burning while she stares at me; she looks like she’s about to hit me, and it makes me shiver from that stare in her eyes.

"From the first, he is mine, and you snatched him from me!” He grabbed my hair and pulled it hard.

I grimace in pain when I feel my scalp being pulled. I feel a burning sensation and stings in my scalp, and it hurts a lot.

I look into her eyes, straight and sharp. “I don’t.” In fact, I never do that. “You might be his lover, but I'm the one to be recognised as his mate by the elders. Aaron is my destined that Moon Goddess choose to me–”

“Shut up you liar!” She screamed in front of my face, while her hand pulled my head even harder and made my head have to tilt down.

At that moment, I knew that the woman was crazy. She is having a big duality that nobody knows about. But who would believe it, if I said about her true nature this way? None of them will.

“You think that I would trust you?!” She pulled my hair closer to her face, and it gave me another pain in my head. “You’re such a liar, manipulated and vicious woman.”

No, I swear! I never do that. I just accepted my fate as his mate, just it is. I’m not happy when they're a couple. But I never do that kind of thing to gain something.

She is speaking nonsense.

How her eyes are burning with anger, how her hand keeps trying to pull my hair, tells me that she is not sane.

I should make her let me go; I might make her change her mind.

I tried to look at her calmly. “Emma, you know that you can’t do this to me.” I tried to make her regain her sanity.

Hoping that it would make her let me go.

“You will regret what you do to me right now, so let me go.” I emphasized that to her.

I wish she would change her mind, but her fierce eyes tell me another thing.

She calmed instantly and brought her face to my face. “I’m not joking by saying I’m gonna make you disappear. But, I’ll give you a chance.”

Something tells me it's gonna get worse. She is calm in this situation. I gulped as my heart beat was getting fast. I could hardly breathe, and watching them give signals to each other gave me tension.

I look at Emma, who is averting her eyes to the guy who guards me. “I wish for both of your help, my dear brother.”

“Sure my dear sister, anything you say and we’ll do it right away.” They smiled at her.

Brother? I'm stunned.

So they are her brother?

Emma smiled, looking at me with her innocent face. “Now, I will give you a chance, Maddie.”

I fix my eyes on her, and hear what she's gonna talk about. “What is it?” I wait for her answer.

She smiled even harder, looking at her brother like she show them that they heard what I said. “Look at you getting so motivated.” She mocked me. “I'm being generous to you. You can run from this place. I’ll give you 30 seconds to run.”

I got my hope up, but not for that long, till I heard her talk again, “But after that they will run after you. If you succeed, you will be safe, but if you are caught, today will be the last day you can breathe Maddie. How about that?”

I stare at her. That's not an option at all.

They seem much stronger than I, and I can sense it. I can’t see myself getting lost by their grip, but maybe by miracle it might happen.

Rather than giving my life to them just like that without even trying to fight back. I should take it as my last hope.

I give no answer, but of course, I will do anything for my life. For my safety.

She gave me a bitter smile. “Just you know, you will never escape Maddie.” She started to count.

I panicked and ran as fast as I could. But my legs are way slower than theirs. 30 seconds were just wasted as I saw them chasing behind me at high speed.

They move really fast, keep getting closer and closer to me.

“Don’t waste your energy, there is no use!” They shouted behind me and laughed like maniacs.

“When I catch you, I will twist both your legs first so you can move.” His warning crept on me like a bad dream.

I got chilled, I bit my lips, and tried to move faster than before.

One of them was exactly beside me, his face grinning like a horror movie. “I will take a turn to pull your hand off, my dear.”

I got frightened and stumbled into something. My body crashed into the trees. I feel pain in my shoulder and my ribs, yet I try to wake and run again.

But my hand got pulled; they are really about to break my hand. I scream like crazy and try hard to get away. I got my sleeve torn by them, and looking at it made me even more scared.

The fact that I’m gonna be killed there that instant feels so real.

Beberapa kali aku kembali tertangkap oleh mereka, I get my ribs, my stomach, and my face being hit by them whenever they are close enough. Still, I get away again.

I saw a cliff with a fountain over there. I looked back, saw them being near. I clench my teeth. That cliff looks terrifying, but it's better than being torn apart by them, so I jump.

I’m sure that I will jump from that cliff, but I don’t feel my body fall. I turned my head and found a man holding me tight.

The one that I’m certain of is that man is not one of them.

I feel kinda relieved, knowing that I’m not gonna die today by their hands. A strong smell lingers in my nose as my body leans towards him. I could tell that this person is not one of them, and I’ll be safe now.

As he put me down on the other cliff, he stood facing the direction where I was about to jump, where Emma and her brother were chasing me.

My eyes got fixed on his broad shoulder, his figure giving me security that I long for. At that time, I’m sure that this day will bring me back alive.

Maddie dies at the moment she knows she is being betrayed by her mate. And now she has another chance to start all over again.