Chapter 9 9

Amelia's POV

I fought so hard not to cry when I returned to my room. The moment the door closed behind me after everything that happened in the dining hall, my legs simply gave out and I sat at the edge of the bed, frozen. I don’t know how long I stayed there, I just kept on replaying everything again and again in my head until it hurt.

I couldn’t believe what had happened.

I couldn’t believe my father still didn’t praise me, not even once, after everything I did for him, for our people. But what can I do? If my father refuses to see me as worthy, then I will prove it to him, no matter how long it takes.

If the Pack members and the elders already adore me, then the only person I need to convince is him.

I exhaled shakily and finally stood when my throat felt unbearably dry. I walked toward my nightstand, reached for the jug, only to realize that it was empty.

“Perfect.” I muttered under my breath.

I picked up the jug and stepped outside to see a maid I barely knew passing by, so I called out, “You, come here.”

She immediately stopped and bowed.

“Take this to Serah.” I said, handing her the jug. “Tell her to fill it. I’m thirsty.”

The maid nodded quickly and hurried away, while I went back inside and sat on the bed again, letting silence settle around me. After a few minutes, the door creaked open and Serah walked in with the jug. She set it down, poured me a cup of water, and handed it to me with both hands.

“Are you okay, my lady?” She asked softly.

“I’m fine.” I said quickly.

When I looked at her again, something about her expression felt strange. “…Serah? Are you alright?”

She hesitated, then answered, “Lady Margaret… she sent me on an errand and that’s where I was supposed to go next, but… I had to bring you your water first.”

There were dozens of maids wandering the estate, why Serah? Probably just another petty attempt to irritate me. And I refused to let anything ruin my emotions any further tonight.

So I told Serah to go. And as soon as she left, I drank the water, and I stood to return the empty cup to my nightstand but when I turned around to take a step back to the bed, the room began to spin so fast the walls wavered like melting wax.

“What… is…” My voice broke.

My chest tightened as if invisible fingers were crushing it, my skin turned cold, my fingers numbed and my legs trembled. I staggered back, trying to catch the wall, but my palm slipped against it and I crashed onto the floor.

“No… no… no…”

I tried crawling, dragging myself, but my limbs

refused to work as tears streamed down my cheeks.

“What is happening…?”

My gaze drifted to the jug and I froze, realizing that I was poisoned.

“But… that means… Serah…” My head shook uncontrollably, tears flooding my vision.

“Moon Goddess, please, please don’t let me die like this ” I sobbed. “Please, not like this… please…”

My voice cracked as pain grew sharper and sharper. “Please keep me alive, just let me survive this and I swear I will ruin them all…”

With that, my vision blurred gradually until I blacked out. When I opened my eyes again, everything was moving. I was lying on the floor of a carriage with my wrists and ankles bound, and my cheek pressed against rough wood.  The carriage wheels clattered violently beneath me, shaking me so hard my head kept slamming repeatedly against the wall.

“Ah…!”

My skull throbbed, but the carriage didn’t stop. It just kept going and going until after what felt like half an hour… it slowed, then halted. And I immediately shut my eyes, then went limp as footsteps approached and carriage doors creaked open. I held my breath and continued pretending to be unconscious. Then a pair of hands grabbed me, lifting me like a sack, and hurled me over their shoulder.

Being carried like that made me catch a familiar scent, but the forest wind mingled with it, confusing my senses. I forced myself to stay limp until the person dropped me on the ground then I gasped, opened my eyes and my heart nearly stopped.

“You!”

I tried to stand but collapsed instantly, my bound legs refusing to hold me. I stayed on my knees instead and glared up at him.

“Untie me.” I demanded.

Hunter crouched in front of me, grabbed my chin, and forced my face upward.

“I told you I’d get back at you.” He muttered, smirking. “I told you I’d put you in your place.”

My chest tightened with fury. “You poisoned me, didn’t you? You made my maid poison me?”

Hunter laughed softly. “Oh my, you’re finally starting to get smart.”

“You’re going to pay for this.”

“Pay?” He leaned closer. “You’re tied up over a cliff, Amelia. I have the advantage, so what exactly do you think you’re going to do to me?”

In anger, I spat in his face causing his expression instantly turned cold the  he slapped me so hard my head snapped to the side.

“You will regret that.” He hissed.

I looked up at him with trembling rage. “When Father realizes I’m missing, he will put everything together and he'll know that you and your mother did this.”

“You really think that father of yours.” Hunter chuckled. “Who has searched for every possible excuse under the moon to get rid of you… would punish me for killing you?”

I froze.

“If anything.” He whispered. “He’ll be thrilled to have an unworthy, useless daughter like you out of his way.”

Tears blurred my vision.

“You… you will never be Alpha.” I snapped. “I swear on my mother’s grave that even if I die today, I will haunt you until your last breath and I will make sure you, Margret and Gerald die a painful death.”

“Really?” He stood, dusting his hands. “Well, let’s see who dies first.”

He untied my hands only to stomp down on my fingers, snapping them one by one. I screamed, and watched as he drew his sword, and pointed it at me.

“Kill me!” Tears dripped from my chin as I glared at him. “I’m not begging for mercy, I would rather die by Wolfsbane than ask you to spare me.

His jaw twitched with irritation and he stabbed me in the shoulder. I screamed again, collapsing sideways as blood poured down my arm.

Then, he kicked me hard and I fell over the cliff. The world spun as I fell, my body tumbling through the air until the back of my head slammed against a rock before I plunged into the freezing water below. And once again, darkness swallowed me whole.

Opening my eyes again, I was in an unfamiliar room and I forced myself to sit up, wincing at the pain in my shoulder and head until my eyes landed on the strange man that was seated directly in front of me. Watching me patiently, as if he’d been waiting for hours.

I recoiled slightly. “W–who are you? “

He chuckled softly. “Have you truly forgotten the face of Denary Williams?”

My eyes widened as I stared at him, desperately searching my fragmented mind, trying to remember who I was or who this so-called Denary Williams was.