Chapter 2: Rejection

Nina

I thrashed against the guards’ iron grip, my mind spinning with desperation and disbelief. The hall seemed smaller, the air pressing against my chest like a vice. My voice was hoarse from shouting, but I couldn’t stop.

“Liam, please!” I cried, turning to him, my eyes pleading. “This is a mistake. I didn’t do anything! You have to listen to me!”

Liam, standing tall on the dais, looked down at me with something between amusement and disdain. The curve of his lips was cruel, his dark eyes narrowing as he tilted his head.

“How curious,” he said slowly, his voice carrying through the room. “I never said you did anything, Nina.”

The words sank like stones into my gut. My mouth opened, but no sound came out. He stepped closer, his presence as suffocating as it was commanding.

“Tell me, how did you know you’re accused of something?” His tone was deceptively casual, but the weight of his accusation hit me like a slap.

“I—” My voice faltered. “I’m uncertain about what's going on, but someone is setting me up. It’s her!” I pointed toward the girl on the floor, her matted hair and blood-streaked face a mask of fury. Her smirk said it all.

Liam ignored my outburst. “Do you know a woman named Beth?”

Beth? Who's that? Until it hit me.

My chest tightened. “Yes,” I said quietly, desperate to prove my innocence. “Beth was my first maid. She… she died a year ago, saving me during a storm." We were on our way back from the Skyvile Pack when rogues attacked. She sacrificed herself to save me.

The girl’s scream cut through the air, raw and accusing. “Liar!” she shrieked, her voice cracking with rage.

Gasps rippled through the room. The girl rose shakily to her feet, swaying slightly but driven by fury. Her green eyes blazed as she pointed a trembling finger at me.

“You are not Nina!” she spat. “I am!”

A shocked silence fell over the room. My knees buckled slightly, but I held my ground, my head shaking in denial.

“That’s absurd!” I choked out. “You’re lying!”

“Am I?” she shot back, her voice dripping with venom. “You were never Nina Hawthorne. You were Beth, my maid. I saved you from rogues when they ambushed us during the storm. You repaid me by pushing me off the cliff and stealing my place, my face, and my mate!”

My heart raced as her words pierced through me. “That’s a lie! Liam, don’t listen to her!”

“I'm lying?” the girl sneered. “Check her room, Alpha. You’ll find everything you need to prove it. She has potions and vials—evidence of her schemes. I’m not the liar here. She is!”

“Liam, she’s making this up!” I turned to him, desperation lacing my words. “Check my bond! You’ll know I’m telling the truth!”

The girl cut in, her voice trembling with righteous fury. “She tampered with the bond! Search her room, Alpha, and you’ll see I’m right.”

Liam hesitated, his gaze sweeping over me with icy scrutiny before he nodded at Cesar. “Search her room.”

I stood frozen, the world tilting as Cesar left. My thoughts shouted objections, yet my body let down my anxiety. The murmurs of the crowd hummed like furious bees, piercing with each word.

Moments later, Cesar came back, holding the incriminating proof: the violet vial, the crimson aphrodisiac, and a set of tablets.

Liam grabbed the items, his jaw clenching as he passed them to the pack doctor. The elderly man inhaled the scent of the purple vial, his nose crinkling prior to speaking.

“This,” he stated, raising the bottle, “is a potion that suppresses an inner wolf, keeping it from surfacing.”

The imposter inhaled sharply, gripping her chest as though the words had hurt her physically. “She utilized it to control her wolf,” she shouted, “knowing I lack a wolf!”

“No!” I shouted, shaking my head vehemently. “That’s not true! I—”

Liam’s hand shot up, silencing me. His voice was colder now, devoid of warmth. “Did you use this potion, Nina?”

“It’s not what you think,” I said quickly, my words tumbling over each other. “I—”

“Yes or no,” Liam cut me off, his tone sharp.

The room spun, the weight of his question pressing down on me. My throat tightened. “Yes, but—”

“That’s all I needed to know,” he said, turning his back to me as the crowd erupted into murmurs.

The doctor raised the red aphrodisiac next, his expression darkening further. “This contains herbs commonly used by witches to tamper with bonds—to forge or conceal them.”

“No!” I cried, my voice cracking. “It’s just an aphrodisiac! Lisa gave it to me!”

The crowd roared with laughter, the sound cruel and mocking.

Liam’s gaze bore into me, his disappointment cutting deeper than any blade. “So now you’re blaming Mother Luna?”

I shook my head frantically, tears streaming down my face. “No! She gave them to help me. Please, call her. She’ll explain!”

“Enough!” Liam’s voice boomed, silencing the room. His fists clenched at his sides as he turned to me, his expression twisted with anger.

“I almost made the mistake of crowning someone as ungrateful and spiteful as you my Luna,” he said, his voice dripping with contempt.

The crowd murmured their approval, their scorn pressing down on me like a physical weight.

Liam moved closer to the girl, his attitude becoming gentler as he assisted her in standing up. “I apologize for all that you’ve suffered,” he said, his tone soothing. "I promise, I will get revenge for you."

She nodded, tears streaming down her face. “Start by rejecting her,” she said, her voice trembling but resolute.

He turned back to me, his expression hardening once more. “I, Alpha Liam, reject you…”

My breath hitched, my heart cracking under the weight of his words.

He paused, his gaze shifting to the girl, who whispered in his ear. “Use my name. The one she stole.”

His lips pressed into a thin line before he continued.

“I, Alpha Liam, reject you, Nina Hawthorne, as my mate and Luna.”

Agony pierced me, burning and relentless. I fell to my knees, holding my chest as tears shook my body.

Liam didn’t look at me as he placed a crown on the girl Luna, finishing it with a kiss.

The sight burned into me, each second carving a deeper wound in my soul.

As the crowd cheered, I made a vow, silent and cold.

I will make her pay.

Liam turned back to me, his eyes filled with disdain. “As punishment for harming the Luna, you will be jailed until I decide a suitable punishment.”

The guards hauled me to my feet, dragging me toward the dungeons. My once-perfect dress was soaked with wine and grime, my hair tangled and matted.

They threw me into the cell, the cold stone biting into my skin. The door slammed shut, the sound echoing in the darkness.

I curled into myself, my sobs subsiding into quiet gasps. My mind raced, grasping for a way out.

Lisa. She would help me.

A chill crept down my spine, and I turned, sensing eyes on me.

In the shadows, a figure moved—the mute gamma, his expression unreadable.

“Please,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “Tell Lisa. She’s my only hope.”

His gaze held on me briefly, his expression revealing nothing. Then, just as silently as he had come, he disappeared into the darkness.

I reclined against the wall, my heart burdened with despair.

Lisa is going to assist me, I reminded myself, grasping the idea like a rescue rope.

However, the ensuing silence was overwhelming.