This Time I'm Helping The Villain

The 50th Death of Harmony Hemlock

The virgin snow softly crunched beneath my bare feet, an echo of my coming death in the otherwise deafeningly silent forest. The silver chains burning against my skin I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so calm. I had accepted my death already, like I had done so many times.

“Ah, Ibram she looks so scary,” Loralie whimpered, clinging to my husband. Her bright blue eyes filled with fake tears.The bruise on her cheek still present, it was the only time I had actually struck her. He tucked her into his side like she was some fragile bird he needed to take care of. Loralie was the embodiment of victimhood and manipulation.

“Don’t worry this foul woman won’t be able to hurt you or our pack anymore,” he growled, before spitting at me. Charles, his beta, marched me up the wooden steps and strapped me to the pire with iron chains. “You stand accused of treason to the Icarus Moon Pack. Plotted to murder our Luna. Gave secrets to the rogue king that would destroy our pack. How do you plead?” Ibram stared at me down; there wasn’t an ounce of love in his eyes. Seeing Loralie cling to him like some innocent child made me cringe to say the least. Everything I was being accused of; she was the one to do it.

I began to laugh manically; not because what he said was a lie but because I’ve stood here over 50 different times. Each time accused of the same thing, each time Loralie cried at his side. Each time trying to fight for my innocence. Each life I had tried to change this fate, I tried to save this god forsaken pack who had done nothing but betray me. I laughed because it was so ridiculous that it had taken me nearly two and a half centuries to learn that these people no matter what I do will never love me or protect me.

“I am sorry Harmony,” Charles whispered. “There isn’t anything I can do.”

“That is an excuse for those without power,” I answered in my mother tongue. “To make them feel better for their inaction.”

He looked at me shocked, his auburn eyes searching for something. Something he would find. “Har…You’re.”

“Nì mi cinnteach gum bi a h-uile duine san phasgan seo a’ losgadh mar a rinn mise,” I cursed looking towards Ibram and Loralie. “May the bastard you carry lead this pack to ruin.”

Gasp from the crowd of onlookers who had followed my death march. “Evil.” “Cursed.” “I can’t believe I wanted her to be our luna.” Hushed whispers.

“Enough!” Ibram ordered. “Light her.”

“Yes sir,” Charles tossed the flare on to the kerosene soaked pyre bright flames immediately shouting up.

I laughed as the heat began to steer my flesh. I didn’t scream or cry the pain that I refused to do for these people. I must have looked tortured because no one dared to look at me except Loralie. She stared with a wicked grin on her face. I knew from the beginning of course that she was the mastermind behind all of this pack's problems. Ibram looked up at me with a pained expression. Ah, our mate bond is still intact. I stopped laughing and mouthed. “I, Harmony Hemlock, reject you, Ibram Lanik.”

I saw him retch and fall to his knees as the bond broke. “You b***h,” he coughed up blood as he tried to compose himself. I couldn’t help but smile knowing I gave him a small piece of the pain I had felt through these centuries. Next time I refuse to play this god damn victim, next time I will make them all pay.

The fire burned through my body, the heat so high splintering my bones, my muscles losing all moisture causing them to stiffen, breaking my bones further. The smell of burning flesh began to permeate the air, thankfully only lasted a few moments before my sense became overloaded and everything began to fade.

As darkness surrounded me I took in the few moments of peace I got before being shoved back into my past 5 years ago. The first time I was here Selune told me my goal was to save this pack from the evil plaguing it; I had never seen her sense. This is my 51st time being in this altered state. I felt weightless as I drifted through this world.

I could see all of my past lives playing out every mistake I had made obvious with hindsight. “You have decided to change your fate my child?” A disembodied voice asked. Before I could even find who or what voice it was I was plunged back into my past. “Find him,” the voice whispered as I shot up from my desk. My head was in excruciating pain, each life the headache got worse as if my mind was running out of memory storage. I stumbled to the bathroom knowing I was about to puke.

“Harmony, where are you we need to talk?” Ibram called out as he bursted into my office. “This litter tantrum needs to stop already.”

“f**k,” I groaned clutching my head, I could taste blood in my mouth as I collapsed onto the bathroom floor.

“Oh goddess, do you think this is going to make me change my mind?” Ibram scoffed. “You are really lowering yourself to self harm for attention. You know I really wanted to just have a civil conversation with you.”

“Please shut the hell up,” I groaned, the pain slowly subsiding. I spit the blood out of my mouth and stood up looking over to him.

“What did you just say to me?”

“Ibram,” Loralie sang, barging into the room.

I was always brought back to the day that the woman came into my life. I knew she wanted me to act out and be mean. I knew people were waiting in the hall filming this interaction. Okay if she wanted to play; let’s play.