It’s been two years, six months, ten days till this date.

Yvette sat in the middle of a cleared garden, Legs folded on a bed of lush green grass. Her hands on her knees, palms facing upwards to the clear sky.

Her eyes closed in concentration. In front of her was a single bud. Just one. Closed tight, barely a hint of green petal peeking through.

The breeze blew softly, ruffling the collar of her pinafore gown.

Not like I’m counting.

Of course I am. That’s all I do when I’m not performing on stage. Even when I perform, my mind subconsciously counts down the days, the seconds, every single breath I draw in since that dreadful day.

That night.

The night when I was going to be crowned Luna, when I’d be in the bed of my beloved, exchanging promises and sweet passion.

That damned night became my worst nightmare.

Was it the heart wrenching discovery of my mate’s infidelity with my very best friend?or was it the chaos that followed?the screams. The blood. The sudden invasion of the vampires tearing through the pack? The finishing blow?

The moment I was been dragged away. My mate watched. Our eyes locked, I was this close to safety, I reached for his hand, pleading, broken.

I reached out for his help, just fingertips away and he chose her. Lana. My best friend. My betrayal.

He could have saved me too. Held the door open and allowed me passage but he didn’t.

He pulled her to him and let the vampires take me.

Just like that.

The words he spat to my face still rings in my head. “You’re nothing but a disappointment. Useless, you are of no purpose. A waste of time.”

A sudden crease formed on her forehead. Yvette was losing concentration. The soft short stem of the bud begins to wiggle, stretching higher from the soil.

Those savages.

Those bottom feeders! Sold me like a piece of meat.

I spent horrid nights in a cage like some rabid animal with nothing but a piss bucket in my corner. There was no light. It was always dark. At some point, I thought I’d gone blind.

Then the torture came.

Men with no faces, no names, no origins, nothing but the stink rot and the sting of their rough hands.

The stem of the bud grew larger, thicker, taller. It’s rapid growth sprouted pink and white petals, springing open as if breaking free. The breeze blew wildly, rummaging Yvette’s gown roughly.

Yvette’s hands slowly lifted off her knees, they trembled greatly as tears fell from her closed lids like starting rain.

They touched me, tore me from the inside, bit me, ruined me. I screamed, I yelled, I pleaded.

They took from me without rest. From one beast to another. They played twisted games with me. Games that will result to broken limbs, dislocated bones and shattered ribs.

The little bud wasn’t little anymore. The speed of its growth was out of order, blooming in fast motion. Stretching into a full grown tree, it’s branches stretched out wildly, unnaturally. Flowers sprouting too fast, too many.

Without purpose.

If Nyx hadn’t saved me, I would have died.

I should have died.

At least that way, I won’t have to live with this horrible memory. I begged Nyx to wipe my memory, she refused. She said it was essentially for my growth.

She didn’t get it.

I was without purpose.

For me, there was no growth.

Suddenly, the growth of the beautiful fruitful tree went downhill. From the tip of the pink and white flowers, darkness began to creep in, curling the petals inward, rapidly stretching like webs of a spider.

Quickly, the leaves crinkled and shriveled. The bark cracked.

Yvette trembled. Her body wracked with silent sobs. Grief and fury swirled inside her like a tornado.

Her once gorgeous tree was dying.

Suddenly, a petite girl with pink pixie hair cut ran into the garden and halted at the sight of the tree just as it was about to disintegrate.

Her eyes flickered down to Yvette, eyes clouded in worry and barely hidden fear.

Her lips parted to speak but the words seem to get stuck in her throat. She blinked rapidly, finally finding her voice.

“What are you doing?!” She cried, keeping a safe distance from Yvette. “We leave in an hour and you’re not dressed! Nyx will have us punished because of you!”

Although, the girl’s voice was sharp, she wasn’t angry. Her feet twitched forward, then hesitated.

She reached out, hoping to touch Yvette only to drop back to her sides.

“Come on, we’ll be late.” She pleaded softly.

Slowly, Yvette opened her eyes.

I’m met with dark ashes of what should have been a tree. My hands fall back to my knees, palm facing down.

I released a long and heavy breath. I failed again. I let my emotions get the best of me.

“Yvett–”

“I shall join you soonest, Renee.” I spoke softly into her mind.

Thanks to Nyx for teaching me telepathy. Being mute…. was hardly a disability or a wound. Just a different way of speaking.

“Hurry, I have your dress ready.” She chirped.

I turned to look at her and managed a small smile.

“Thanks.”

Her smile in return was very bright. She nodded excitedly and returned to the mansion, skipping like a child.

One of Opulent’s gifts to me was Renee. When Nyx brought me to Opulent, I was like a living dead. A machine looked more alive than I did.

Not only was I mute, I was unresponsive to everything. To me, everything and everyone was dark.

Almost everyone stayed away from me. I looked unpleasant and dissatisfying. There wasn’t much I could do.

There was nothing I could do.

But with Nyx’s magic and Renee’s relentless insistence on making me her friend, I was able to achieve a lot in six month.

In four months, I became Opulent’s most requested performer. Despite my inability to speak, I could lure people out of their misery just by dancing or playing instruments of any kind.

Tonight, a few girls and I will be going to the Alpha King’s palace to perform for the exiled prince’s return.

It has been all the girls talked about, the reason for the girls excitement and jubilation since Nyx announced it.

I wished I could feel the way they felt. The thrill, the spark, the excitement…the emotions that makes one humane but that girl died in that cage.

The only thing keeping me alive is vengeance.

According to Nyx:

“The best vengeance to the one holding a whip over you is to not crack under that whip.”

Whenever my mind plots a suicidal means to end it all, I remember her words.

Marcus might sleep peacefully thinking I was dead. Everyone that brought me pain would be relived, thinking I was dead.

I would not give them that satisfaction.

Yvette got up and dusted the ashes the breeze blew into her gown. She huffed as she adjusted her collar.

She looked down at what was supposed to be a beautiful cherry blossom tree and frowned.

“Again,” she told herself. She would try it again.

The carriage came for the girls at eight o’clock sharp at night. Five of them, dressed modestly and elegantly like they were royalty with Yvette looking the most exceptional amongst them with her lilac colored eyes and shiny cobalt black hair.

On the ride to the palace, the girls chatted excitedly, giggling and squealing as they went on about the “exiled prince”

The Alpha king remarried few years after the death of his first wife and to her elder sister at that. It was rumored that prince was responsible for his mother’s death and that had caused his father to banish him.

“Say, Yvette,” Terra called my name with a mischievous grin playing on her lips. She looked at me with her coy doe eyes and I looked at her with my impassive ones. “Have you any idea how the exiled crown prince looks like?”

I shook my head in a firm no.

She rolled her eyes playfully. “Of course you don’t.”

Tera turned to face the other girls. She brought her head low before she spoke. “I have information from inside the palace. The crown prince is a beast. They say he shifted from his adolescent stage, some say his wolf is too powerful for him to control and some say he’s mad.” She whispered like the crown prince might just cut off her head as she spoke.

Renee gasped. “ How on earth did you know all this?” She accused.

Terra straightened in her seat and lifted her chin proudly.“I have my sources.”

While they entertain themselves with gossip, I wonder what magic Nxy will teach me for performing for the king tonight.

The carriage drove into the open gates of the palace after submitting their pass. The girls marveled at the sight before them.

The road was divided into three. Left, right and center. Each paved with pebble stones. The compound was designed with umbrella trees well trimmed, water fountains and torch lamps that brighten the entire place with orange hue.

“It’s beautiful,” Nisha whispered in awe. I agreed with her.

We were shown our room for the night. Nyx left us to prepare while she attended to the staff in charge of the event.

It became really loud when the girls began chirping and squealing so I slipped away.

I quietly made my way to the garden I noticed when we entered the palace ground. It looked abandoned and the perfect place to hide till it was time to perform.

The closer Yvette got to the garden, the eerier the view was. It was truly abandoned. Overgrown weeds and vines cover the once beautiful garden, hiding the path and choking the flowers . A rusty old gate hung crookedly from its hinges, creaking in the wind.

A few faded flowers still bloom, but most are wilted and dead, their petals scattered on the ground. A broken statue lies in the grass, moss growing on its cracked surface. The air is thick with the scent of damp earth and decay.

The loud rustling of dried leaves made her turn swiftly but she nothing. The wind blew fiercely, blowing all the dried leaves into the garden, some sticking to her black flowy gown.

When Yvette looked down at her leather made watch, she realized it was almost time for her performance.

She turned, intending to leave–

And stopped dead in her tracks.

There, half hidden in the shadows, beyond the dying roses was a man.