Chapter 1 - Best Wishes
Amaia's POV
"Let go!" I cried out, trying to free my wrist from my stepmother Darna's grip. "You are hurting me!"
The incident was the first time that she had ever been physical toward me. She never even raised her voice toward me.
Darna dug her nails deeper into my soft, flawless, white skin, making me whimper in agony.
"What's wrong, little Amaia?" she sneered. Her green eyes glittered with excitement. "Can't you handle a bit of pain? Is this too much for you to handle?"
I winched at her tone, forcing my gaze to shift toward her. Something has changed. She wasn't the loving and protected stepmother I once knew.
A taunting smile grew on Darna's lips as she forced me to step back. She knew I didn't have the strength to fight her. I didn't inherit a wolf.
Darna pushed me back some more until my heels touched the cold and rough stone edge of the eight-story packhouse roof.
Panic rose inside me, making my eyes grow wide and my heartbeat escalate—one slip-up might mean my end.
What might be Darna's reason for doing this to me?
I came to the roof to clear my mind, like I always did when I felt sad, hurt, or betrayed—it wasn't a secret among the pack members.
Tonight wasn't any different!
I came here to make sense of the turmoil and betrayal inside my heart.
I just witnessed my mate f*cking my stepsister on our bed—their moans still sending a spike through my delicate heart.
How could my mate betray me like this?
Tears welled up in my eyes; the pain was real and still raw in my heart.
"Darna," I whispered uneasily. "What are you doing? I am far too close to the edge. I am going to fall if you push me any further. You know I can't shift and—"
"That is precisely why you are standing on the edge," she said coldly.
"I... I don't understand!" I stuttered nervously, my body betraying my feelings.
I wasn't ready to meet my end. I didn't want to die!
"I am surprised that such a clever girl like you hasn't figured anything out yet," she said.
Her icy words took me by surprise.
What did she mean by that?
Did she want me dead?
My mind became a mess—there is no way Darna would just hurt me.
I pushed those troubling thoughts aside—Darna has treated me well throughout all these years. She was my new and loving mother.
"I—I don't understand," I cried out, adrenaline pumping through my veins. "Please, Darna. Please let me go!"
"Foolish girl," she said, throwing her head back and laughing.
A cold feeling ran down my back, raising every hair on my body and making me shiver. The sound of her laughter sounded so cold, so hollow, so sinister, so evil.
"I need to let you in on a little secret," she said, pulling me closer to her. Her warm breath fanned against my ear, making me unwillingly shiver as if cold.
"I," she said, licking her lips as she said every word slowly. "I am responsible for every horrible thing that has happened to you the last few years..."
The realization struck me with a jolt of worry.
So many unexplained things have happened to me in the past three years. I believed that my misfortunes were simply due to bad luck and that the goddess was punishing me.
How could Darna be behind all my pain and suffering?
"Wh-what are you saying?" I stuttered, tears burning behind my eyes.
"I planned every incident," she said, proudly. "I even ensured your father met a horrific and agonizing end..."
My eyes grew wide as the air left my lungs.
She was behind the rogue attack! She killed my father. It wasn't an accident; she murdered him!
All life drained from me.
"W-why?" I stuttered, in shock. Warm tears spilled over, running down my face. "Why would you do such horrible and inhumane things? Why kill your mate? We haven't done anything to deserve this!"
Darna cocked her head to the side.
"It's nothing personal," she said. "It's just business. Your father knew too much. I didn't have any other choice but to get rid of him. And now it's your turn. With you out of the way, my precious Lillian can become Luna and be with her fated mate, Oregon..."
"Oregon?" I gasped, surprised, hearing my husband's name. "He was in on it?"
Darna nodded with a smile.
Realization hit me: Oregon used me to get his hands on the Alpha title—without me, they couldn't gain control of the pack.
How stupid of me! I should have realized that everything seemed too perfect to be real.
My mind raced to my first encounter with Oregon—Lillian introduced us a week after my seventeenth birthday. I was grappling with the realization that I wasn't blessed with a wolf. Oregon was a savior during my most challenging moments. He gave me hope. He made me feel loved. He protected me. I soon found comfort with Oregon.
My thoughts shifted to my father. He served as the alpha of the Night Sky Pack and was killed in a rogue attack a couple of months after my non-shift. He loved Darna and worshiped her.
Yet again, Oregon was by my side to comfort and support me.
Our relationship grew, and soon I found myself helplessly in love with him.
I trusted him with everything.
I believed everything he said to me.
However, Lillian and Oregon frequently exchanged furtive glances at one another. I confronted him, and he told me I was delusional and jealous.
As the days turned into months after my father's death, the council slowly became impatient.
I was the only heir, and I needed to take my place. However, I couldn't rule the pack without an alpha.
Darna suggested I take Oregon as my mate. I foolishly agreed.
Now look at me!
For a moment, I closed my eyes. I trusted everyone around me so blindly. I brought this experience upon myself.
"This is goodbye, Amaia," Darna said. "Send my best wishes to your father!"
I suddenly felt weightless, the wind whistling in my ears.
Darna had pushed me over the roof edge. With a wide, cold smile, she waved down at me.
I look up at her... I wanted to have the memory of her standing there burned into my memory. I wanted to remember the figure who sent me to my death...
I silently vowed to avenge them in my next life.
A loud, wicked laugh echoed from above moments before my body hit the cold, brutal pavement...