Sage
By the time I reach the packhouse, a crowd has gathered. The Alpha stands outside on the stone steps, the imposing stone façade of his home adding to his aura of power. The dead bodies of three rogues lay on the ground at his feet, an offering from his loyal guards.
The pack waits with bated breath to hear him speak, to explain these frequent invasions and his plan to stop them, to keep our people safe. I press up on my tiptoes, trying to see over the throng of people. Cassius stands next to his father. And by his side, a self-important smirk on her face, is Daphne.
As far as chosen mates go, Cassius could do so much better. Everyone knows she only wants him for his money and power. I don’t know how he can’t see it.
He should be with someone who loves him for who he is on the inside. Someone who would make sure he knew everyday how wonderful he is, not use him for what he can give them. Not that Daphne would ever let anyone get close enough to show him the appreciation he deserves.
Daphne scans the crowd as if she’s looking for someone. Her eyes lock with mine and I see the evil lurking just under the surface. Her smirk spreads into a wicked grin before her expression turns grim, full of contempt and feigned horror.
“It was her!” She accuses, pointing one manicured nail straight at me. “She let them in!”
She can’t mean me, can she? I’m terrified of rogues. I almost let my handsome stranger die because of that fear. I would never conspire with them.
But the crowd parts like the Red Sea around me, everyone staring at me suspiciously. I don’t understand what’s happening. I’ve done nothing wrong. Surely they can’t believe her.
“Wh-, what?” I stutter, cowering under their scowls and glares.
“Daphne, that’s a serious accusation! We cannot convict her on that statement alone. Please tell us exactly what you saw.” Cassius’ voice carries above the crowd.
Hope flares that he’ll come to my rescue. Surely he sees through her ridiculous claims. She doesn’t have any proof because there is none. Maybe he’ll even punish her for lying.
The crowd is roaring, demanding answers, but Alpha quiets them with one raised hand. A hush falls over the yard as everyone hangs on Daphne’s every word. I want to scream at them to open their eyes, to see her for the evil witch she is, but they’re all under her spell.
“I noticed her acting strange lately.” Daphne preens under the pack’s attention, dramatizing every word. “She’s been stealing food from the packhouse kitchen and rushing off like she was meeting someone. So I followed her and discovered she’s been harboring one of them in that little shanty of hers!” The entire pack audibly gasps at that.
“What? No! That’s not-” I yell but the Alpha’s command forces me to stop.
“Quiet!” He barks. “Bring her to me!”
I stand my ground as the guards rush toward me, knowing I have nothing to hide. The pack closes in around me, eager to witness the spectacle. I beg and plead for them to listen to me, but no one does. No one would dare defy their Alpha, not for a wolfless omega like me.
I go willingly as the guards drag me forward, helpless to do anything else. They throw me at the Alpha’s feet and not even Cassius bothers to help me up. I’m completely at their mercy.
Now that even Cassius has abandoned me, I can see my situation for what it is, hopeless. I’m a wolfless omega, worth less than nothing to the pack. Of course they’ll believe Daphne’s lies over me.
“Stand!” Alpha orders and my body complies.
He leans in, drawing in deep breaths to scent me then recoils as if he’d been pushed. His face turns crimson and his fists ball in anger. But I don’t understand why? Do I smell that bad?
He bends low and speaks in my ear, so low only I can hear him. “You’ve been in the presence of a powerful wolf. I can sense his aura on you and he is no rogue. Who was it?” He demands. “Who is conspiring to take over my pack?”
“N-, no, Alpha! I swear. I’ve conspired with no one. I’ve never met anyone powerful.” I plead with him to believe me.
“Fine, you ungrateful whore! If you refuse to answer me, maybe a night in the dungeon will loosen your tongue.”
“Please! I’m telling the truth!” I sob, but he ignores me, stepping back to address the crowd.
“The aura of another wolf surrounds this girl.” He announces. “She smells of him still and he does not carry the Blackthorn scent. She’s guilty of treason! Take her to the cells to await her punishment!”
“No!” I scream. “I did nothing wrong! Cassius, please help me!”
But when he looks at me, his eyes are cold and he turns away, leaving me to my fate. Daphne loops her arm through his, leaning into him and smiling victoriously as she leads him away.
“He wasn’t a rogue! He was my friend!” I continue screaming but no one listens.They all just cheer as I’m dragged away.
I finally give up, my voice raspy and my throat raw from screaming. I’m tossed in a tiny cell, nothing but concrete walls and a cold hard floor. Left to wonder how many hours I have left to live.
Sage
“C-, C-, Cassius. Th-, Thank G-, G-, Goddess!” My teeth chatter so hard my jaw aches, making speech difficult. But despite the bone-chilling cold, my heart warms at the sight of him. “P-, p-, please, h-, help me!”
“Oh, little bird. What have you done?” He tsks as he closes the cell door behind him.
His tone is almost giddy and there’s an excited glint in his eye that makes my stomach swoop nervously. The friendly, caring Cassius, the one who always has an easy smile for me, is nowhere to be found. My eyes dart around the small space but there is no place to hide. Just a concrete room, bitterly cold and empty.
“N-, nothing.” I stammer as I shrink away, scooting into the farthest corner. “I s-, swear!”
“That’s just not true, now is it?” His calm words belie the violence I see simmering just under the surface, waiting to be unleashed. “I don’t want to hurt you, little bird. But I’ll have to if you won’t tell me the truth.”
I don’t believe him. He wants to hurt me, is going to hurt me, no matter what I say. But I beg anyway. “Please, Cassius!” I break out into sobs, red-hot terror instantly heating my frozen form. “I don’t know any rogues!
“I saved a man who’d been injured by rogues. He stumbled into the pack to hide from his attackers. He was just an omega, so weak his aura was undetectable. I wasn’t involved in any conspiracy, I swear!”
“Lies!” Pain explodes across my cheek, so intense I’m sure my eyeball will burst from the socket. He shakes out his hand, knuckles stinging from the brutal strike. Then he snatches my arm in a bruising grasp and yanks me to my feet. “Get up!
“If you refuse to cooperate, I’ll just have to make you!” He shoves me face first into the wall, pinning me there with one hand as he rips the back of my dress down with the other. “Don’t fucking move!” He barks and I’m forced to obey.
“Wh-, what are you doing?” My voice trembles as I listen to the sound of him removing his belt.
“I’m going to show you what happens when you lie to me. I’m going to beat the truth out of you!” He answers, a gleeful edge to his tone.
How could I have been so blind to this side of him, never seeing the heartless, cruel demon lurking underneath? It’s the last thought I have before the unforgiving leather of his belt cracks across my back, my knees buckling from the sting.
He whips me again and again, unrelenting lashes that rip and tear at my flesh. I scream and sob until my lungs seize from the agony, but still he flogs me. Even though I’m still bound by his command, I’m so weak my body gives out and I collapse on the hard concrete. But he doesn’t relent, kicking me between lashes.
Someone pounding at the metal door to my cell grants me a reprieve. He pants from the exertion expended on my punishment as he crosses the room and drags open the door.
“Alpha, it’s time. Your father says to bring the prisoner to the square for execution.” I hear a voice say. I know I should be terrified, begging to be spared. But I welcome death if it will end this torture.
“Look at her! She can’t walk! You don’t expect me to carry the traitorous bitch do you? Pick her up and take her yourself.” Cassius snarls. “I need to clean up. Don’t kill her until I arrive. I have a special farewell planned for her.”
Footsteps echo in the room and then I’m lifted from the floor and flung over a man’s shoulder. Pain flares but I only manage a whimper before I pass out completely. When I wake, it’s to the jeers of the pack, calling for my death. I’ve been placed on my knees, my hands tied behind my back, and my head lolling on my chest, unable to face my accusers.
“Let this traitor’s death be a warning to you all. ConspiratorsIf you conspire with rogues, you will be caught and you will pay with your life!” The Alpha bellows out over the crowd.
“Father, wait!” Cassius interrupts and a foolish hope surges in my chest. But after the way he just beat me to a bloody pulp, I should have known better. Of course he’d want to gut me one more time before I die. “I have something I’d like to say to the wolfless bitch before you end her pathetic life.
“I, Cassius Blackthorn, future alpha of the Blackthorn pack, reject you, Sage Starling, as my mate and future Luna.”
I thought the sting of his belt left me in agony. But the pain of his rejection is soul-crushing. The scream that tears from my lips pierces the shocked roar of the crowd, a gut-wrenching, desolate sound. But Cassius just laughs.
He knew! All this time he watched the hatred and abuse I suffered every single day. He knew I was his mate and he did nothing!
Cassius never wanted me, never believed in me the way he pretended to. He was always waiting for this moment, this chance to reject me when it would hurt the most.
I’m glad I’m about to die. This heartache, this emptiness is more than I can bear. There was never much happiness in my world to begin with, but what there was is crumbling around me, in ruins.
I want to scream, to rage against the unfairness of it all, but all I can manage is a hollow laugh. A brittle sound, ready to shatter just like I am.
As the Alpha extends his claws, ready to rip out my throat, ending my life, I close my eyes and think back to my happiest memory, something to hold onto so I don’t fall apart. I remember my handsome stranger, my only true friend. He was gruff and moody, but also kind, and so gentle with me.
I hope he made it home safely, wherever home is. I wish I could have seen him one more time. I wish his beautiful face could be the last thing I see before I die.
I expect the blow to come any moment, but instead a deafening roar thunders “Stop!” The force of the command takes my breath away. I crack an eye open to see the Alpha frozen with his claw in the air, about to strike, and the entire pack knocked to their knees with the weight of it.
“Who dares kill this woman?” My savior bellows.
