Matilda

"Don't you wanna know why they decided not to kill you?" Esme continued.

I hissed and pulled myself into a sitting position. My muscles ached, and I hardly had the strength to hold myself up.

Esme repeated what the council's member said in the trial. "Plan has changed though we don't want to."

"What are you talking about?" My eyebrows creased.

"You are lucky," she smirked, sticking her tongue out at me, "The council had decided to bring you death, but just before the trial -"

"The Alpha received a secret order from the Lycan King."

My eyes widened slightly.

The secret order.

Even among all the packs the old Lycan King ruled, the Moonery Pack (our pack) was one of the most trusted. The King would give secret orders to his loyal followers at a pinch, but meanwhile, once he gave out that order, it meant that the situation was truly serious.

As I remembered, the last time we received the secret order could be traced back to ten years ago - when I was eight, and also when I became an orphan and was adopted by the Moonery Pack. Especially after the old Lycan King passed away last year and his son took the throne, the pack's situation turned worse. Matilda used to say that it seemed that the mysterious new Lycan King didn't trust our pack at all. Or we could say, it seemed that he didn't trust anyone at all. What would be the first secret order the new King gave?

"You are lucky, Matilda, really lucky, as lucky as your last eighteen years," Esme shook her head, sighing, "The order is simple - the King is looking for a girl."

An uneasy sense of foreboding rose in my heart.

"A girl who is named Matilda, no surname," she paused, staring at me with a malicious smile, "and who just turned eighteen."

I stared into Esme's eyes, trying to detect a waver in them that would prove what she was saying was just to terrify me. But I failed.

"I'm so jealous of you, my dear." Esme crouched down, caressing my hair, "You were abandoned by an Alpha, but now you are claimed by the Lycan King! Why always you?"

"Glad to hear. So what's waiting for me?" I was too weak to slap her hand away, the instant I just raised my elbow Esme grabbed my wrist spitefully.

"I don't know." Esme's innocent big eyes widened, "Every Matilda they found had all been killed. Maybe you can ask them in hell."

"Don't make me laugh, Esme," I weakly coughed, pointing out the loophole in her words, "if I'm deemed to be killed, I should have already been killed or on the way to be offered to the King."

However, Esme's perfect smile wasn't affected at all, which was apparently not like her.

"Does it matter?" Esme didn't answer the question; she smiled and stood up, "Enjoy your trip, Matilda. Next time, don't drink what someone gives you so easily. Even if it's from your 'best' friend."

I watched her back disappear at the exit of the dungeon and shut my eyes.

She was right. The truth didn't matter anymore now. She'd already taken everything. I still couldn't feel my wolf or the mate bond between me and Clark. It had all just disappeared, like the rest of my life.

Guards were sent to take me to the Rogue Zone the next day.

It was a lawless, wild area between pack territories. There was no jurisdiction, no authority. Rogues ran around causing mayhem and carnage.

I'd be completely alone out there. Defenseless, fending for myself. They threw me in the mud river like a piece of trash and then vanished back into pack territory. If I ever set foot in pack territory again, I'd be executed on site.

From this moment on, I was on my own—or I thought so.

As I continued walking, a sense of unease settled in as I observed peculiar movements within the bushes. The disconcerting realization that the bushes appeared to be tracking my steps compelled me to break into a run, fueled by an instinctive need to distance myself from the uncanny occurrence.

"Who are you?" I gasped, looking warily at the warriors approaching me.

The instant the guards who sent me here disappeared at the border of the pack territory, this strange gang of werewolves suddenly appeared and surrounded me, which was obvious that they had been ambushed early. If I could, I would run away now without wasting my time asking, but my broken body didn't allow me to do that.

Every step they took was so heavy, shaking the ground near me, aching my broken legs even more. They didn't answer and seemed to have no intention to answer. And I didn't need the answer now either.

The way they walked. The way they held their weapons. All these things were so familiar to me, and it could only lead to one destination.

When I had been completely surrounded by them, their colleague drew his weapon. And the Alpha emblem of Moonery Pack could be clearly seen.

Under their somewhat surprised gaze, I closed my eyes, recalling the last conversation with Esme. No wonder she didn't care about whatever I said at the time, as my death was already the dish on her plate. No matter if the Lycan King would find me or kill me or claim me or not, the Moonery Pack was determined to take my death now.

I used to think my only enemy was Esme. Jeremy, Alpha, Luna had been deceived by her, falling right into her trap, and they would trust me again when the truth would be revealed one day. But

"Esme." In the darkness, I heard a familiar voice whispering my name. Maybe one of the warriors used to be my friend. "We will try to end your life as painlessly as possible." I opened my eyes.

I kicked right between the legs. The warrior in front of me wailed and clutched his groin, dropping to his knees.

"Get away from me!" I shouted, taking up a defensive position.

Due to that kick, something broke inside of me, and rage boiled in my veins. I jumped up and pushed the closest warriors to me, shoving them to the ground.

But I didn't feel the pain, just like I didn't notice tears rolling down my face, mixing with my blood on my neck. All I could feel was rage and sorrow, with a fire in my heart, urging me to reclaim what belonged to me.

The others hesitated, seemingly unsure whether to keep attacking. "There's only one of her, take her. For Luna Esme!" the first one from earlier yelled, pointing at me. The others growled at me, their teeth elongated and eyes flashing as they prepared to shift.

I backed away, trying to catch one and threaten the rest. Beating them all was impossible, especially without my wolf to shift into. They pounced, shifting midair. Three wolves landed on me, and one bit my wrist. I struggled not to scream, clawing at the ground to escape.

Suddenly, one of the wolves whimpered and was torn off me. The others let me go, attacking someone else. I rolled over and scrambled backward. Another figure had shown up – a massive shadow, fighting off the others with strength and ferocity.

He shifted back into a human, exhausted and bruised. I could hardly hold my head up as he approached. Panting, I tried to move away, but my eyes couldn't help but rake over his form. Muscular and glistening with sweat, he looked like a god under the moon.

Our eyes met, and for a moment, I thought I saw the Lycan King. The golden eyes, unmistakably powerful. Werewolves were strong, but none could compare to a Lycan. Fear overshadowed my escape joy, recalling Esme's words: "The King is looking for a girl."

In an instant, the golden eyes disappeared, replaced by deep black eyes. He kept approaching, his dark eyes gleaming as he asked, "Are you Matilda?" in a cold, demanding voice.