Aria's world falls apart when her pack is destroyed by Alpha Sebastian. Forced to serve him, she faces pain and rejection. Accused of a crime she didn't commit, she tries to run away-only to end up with Xander, the powerful Lycan King. Xander seeks revenge and is hell-bent on ending her life. As danger grows and secrets are revealed, Aria must fight for her freedom. Can they trust each other, or will betrayal tear them apart?
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."
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