~︎Alora︎~

"Get up, you swine!"

A bucket of ice-cold water slammed into my face, shocking the breath out of me. My teeth chattered violently as I blinked through the haze.

"How could you even sleep?" One of the guards asked.

I didn't even realize when I slept off.

"Yeah… isn't your conscience bugging you for what you did?" Another mocked.

"I… I'm sorry…" I stuttered, shivering from the cold.

"Whatever." The guard sneered, rolling his eyes. "It's midnight. The Alpha has given his orders. You are to come with us to the Packgrounds now."

"N…now?" I blinked, still shivering. "Can… Can I at least get some fresh clothes? I'm cold."

"It's bold of you to think you're entitled to any favors. Get up!" The guard yelled, forcing me to my feet.

Selene appeared behind him, her smirk sharp as a blade. "Aw… "Don’t worry," she cooed. "You won’t have to wait long for your punishment. I'm sure Alpha Maxwell has prepared a suitable one for you."

As much as I tried to fight it, tears welled up in my eyes.

"Don't cry, honey. Come on, let me tell you a secret…" Selene whispered, dragging my right ear forcefully, and I almost staggered from her grip. "I'm sure your punishment would be worse than death."

She chuckled darkly. "Get her out of here!"

Once again, the guards dragged me away, with Selene trailing behind them.

I was tossed onto the floor at the center of the Packgrounds in the midst of the crowd.

Everyone began to murmur. Some girls that I had once tried to befriend stared at me irritably and gossiped amongst themselves. Sometimes, they'd look at me and burst into laughter.

Even though it hurt, I tried to ignore them as my eyes scanned around in search of my father. I was hoping that he'd have some mercy on me at least if not for anything but for the sake of being his daughter.

I sighed in defeat as I found him nowhere in sight. He really didn't care about me. I guess the Moon Goddess really hates me.

"Silence!" Maxwell ordered, and everyone stopped murmuring in an instant. "I'm sure you all are aware of why we are gathered here." He cleared his throat before continuing. "I have a judgement to pass." He said that staring deep into my eyes and his eyes—those stormy-grey eyes that were always full of light—were now devoid of compassion and warmth.

Selene strutted forward from the crowd, her lips curving into that venomous smirk I hated so much. She tilted her head, her eyes glittering with malice as they swept over my trembling body.

“Alpha,” she purred sweetly. “Why wait until dawn? Why waste the effort of preparing a suitable judgement when we could end this traitor’s miserable life right here and now? Just behead her here in front of everyone. She deserves it for taking the life of another and not just anyone- our very own Luna. Let the people watch justice spill her blood.”

“Yes! Behead her!” someone shouted.

“She deserves it!” another woman sneered, her eyes burning with mockery.

My chest tightened. “No! Please!” I screamed, my voice breaking. “Max, please—I didn’t kill her! You know me! I swear on the Moon Goddess, I would never harm Luna Kamilla!”

I dropped to my knees, clutching at the hem of his trousers, sobbing uncontrollably. “Please! I beg you, don’t let them kill me like this. I am… I mean… I was your mate… your fated one. I didn’t do it, Max, you know I didn’t—”

Maxwell’s jaw clenched, his storm-grey eyes glinting with cold fire. For a moment, the crowd held its breath, waiting for his word. My heart hammered loudly in my chest, terrified he’d actually agree with Selene.

Then his voice cut through the tension like steel.

“No.”

The murmurs rose again, confusion rippling through the crowd. Selene’s smirk faltered just slightly, though her eyes still gleamed with anticipation.

"I hope she's getting banished!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

"Luna Kamilla was such a sweet soul. She'd be greatly missed. It's just a pity that it's her own daughter that murdered her." Another person said from amongst the crowd.

"I said silence!" Maxwell ordered, using his Alpha tone this time, and everyone fell quiet.

“No?” Selene echoed, feigning innocence as she faced him.

Maxwell moved closer to where I knelt. "Look up!" He yelled, and I flinched, raising my head slowly to meet his now-cold and arrogant face.

"Max… I didn’t do it. I—"

"Quiet!" He cut me off sharply, placing a hard slap on my left cheek, and I fell onto the floor, wincing.

He didn't even bother to help me up, and I wondered if the Moon Goddess was drunk when she fated me to him in the first place.

I placed my hand on my cheek, trying to suppress the stinging pain.

Maxwell ignored my pains and continued. "After hours of deliberating, I have the perfect punishment for you. Banishment would've been good, but you might end up surviving that."

My eyes widened at his words. He wanted me to die?

"Look at me!" He barked, and I forced myself to look at his face. "You made one of us die, so that should be a better punishment for you too, shouldn't it?"

"Yes! She deserves to die too!" An elder yelled.

"Isn't that too harsh? Banishment would've been better." Another said.

"Is her father in support of this? Surely, he won't want his only daughter to die."

The murmurs started again, and I watched as everyone began to deliberate on my fate.

"Enough!" Maxwell yelled, and everyone stopped murmuring again. "I have made a decision, and it is final. For this atrocity you have committed, you, Alora Shades, are to be executed by hanging at dawn."

"No.. please…" I pleaded, gripping his leg, but he yanked me off like I was dirty.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" He yelled.

"Please! Don't do this! You're making a mistake!" I cried, and everyone laughed at me.

I finally saw my father standing at a distance, with his arm folded to his chest. He didn’t even bother to intervene. It was like he was watching a show, and he enjoyed every bit of it.

"Take her back to the dungeons and make sure she has no means of escape." Maxwell ordered.

"I didn't kill her! I swear!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping that someone would believe me, but it was pointless.

"Get her out of my sight! Now!" Maxwell barked, and the guards dragged me away once more.

They took me to a darker cell that was equipped with more security.

"Get in!" One of the guards yelled as he pushed me in harshly.

The cell was even colder than the last, and I started to shiver again.

"Don't even bother to escape. You have no means to." Another guard said.

"We'll be back to give you your last meal before your execution." The first guard said, and they both laughed before walking off into the darkness.

'Oh Goddess, why do you hate me so much?' I thought as a hot tear slipped down my cheek. 'If this is how you want me to end up, then so be it.'

I curled into a ball, trying to shield myself from the cold.

Suddenly, I heard some footsteps approach.

"Who's there?!" I asked as my body tensed.

A shadow of another guard appeared outside my cell. He didn’t speak at first, just glanced around as if he was trying to ensure we were alone. Then he knelt by the bars and slipped something into my hand—cold, hard, and unmistakably shaped like a key.

"Use it before dawn," he whispered, his voice trembling.

I stared at the iron key in my palm, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Why are you helping me?" I whispered.

His eyes flicked to the torchlight, then back to me. "Because I know you are innocent. You’re not the real killer. You can't even hurt a fly."

Before I could ask more, he straightened and vanished into the darkness, leaving only the rattle of the key in my shaking hand… and a thousand questions burning in my mind.