Chapter three
1662 Words
Ariel
The moment I stepped into our bedroom and shut the door, I crumbled into the chair beside the dresser, my hands trembling as sobs tore from my chest. This room had once been our sanctuary, a place where we made promises, now it felt like a tomb.
I should’ve left the moment he spat those words. “You are no longer my Luna.” But I couldn’t leave just yet, not without taking back the pieces of myself still scattered in this place.
Every corner of this place held a memory, some bitter, some tender, but all of them were now tainted. I was leaving behind more than just a title. I was leaving behind pieces of myself.
The sting of Klaus’s rejection before the pack still pulsed like an open wound. His words haunted me. He called me crippled, barren and a burden in front of the whole Pack. The crowd hadn’t even flinched. No one had spoken in my defense.
I opened the bottom drawer and reached for my bag. I stuffed in what little I could, a few clothes, and other little valuables that I had.
Wiping my tears off, I tried to steady my shaking fingers as I tucked the last of my things into the bag. I hadn’t even told anyone I was leaving yet. What was the point? They’d already erased me from their lives.
My gaze drifted to the corner of the room, to the sword rack but it was empty.
Of course it was. Klaus had taken them all, he said a cripple didn’t need weapons.
I wheeled myself over to the mirror, staring at the woman reflecting back at me.
Dark circles gathered around my red-rimmed eyes, the Luna robe still clinging to my shoulders.
I ripped it off and just as I struggled to lift the bag onto the wheelchair, the door pushed open.
I froze.
Klaus stepped in, tall, imposing, and infuriatingly calm, with no remorse in his eyes or hesitation.
“What do you want?” I croaked, trying to hide the tremble in my voice.
He said nothing for a few minutes and just stood there, his eyes inspecting me. “Packing already?”
“I don’t belong here anymore, remember?” I said bitterly, straightening up in my seat. “You made that very clear in front of the entire pack.”
“Okay.” He replied, giving a casual shrug. “I figured I owed you one last goodbye.”
I clenched my fists in my lap, my nails digging into my palm. “I don’t need it. You can shove it down your throat.”
He strode in and shut the door behind him, locking it.
“What are you doing?” I asked with a hoarse voice, fear creeping into me.
“You didn’t think the Pack would stand by me, right?” he asked, stepping closer. “Even after your pathetic little breakdown. You pretentious little fool.”
“Pretentious? You should call yourself that!” I spat, rage bubbling through the tears. “You brought your mistress to my bedside, made her care for me like I was a burden. Then you humiliated and rejected me. You—”
“You should be glad I freed you,” he interrupted. “You were holding me back.”
My breath hitched.
“You were supposed to love me.”
He gave a humorless chuckle. “Love? I have never loved you, Ariel.”
My eyes widened in shock, the words hitting harder than I expected.
“I needed you for one thing which was your lineage and your name. The council respected you. The warriors adored you. I needed that unity after the war.”
I blinked. “What… what are you saying?”
He stepped closer, crouching beside my chair, and leaned in. “You want the truth?” he whispered, with a low and calm voice. “You were never supposed to become my Luna, but you were too strong and too respected. You had the bloodline of the First Alphas, the kind of power even I couldn’t control, so I had to make you my mate.”
“You’re lying.”
He tilted his head. “Am I?”
I felt for the little bag beside me and quietly opened the flap. My fingers found the small crystal pendant I had tucked in, a gift from my late father, enchanted to record sound.
I tapped the center, activating the hidden rune.
He went on, oblivious of what I was doing.
“I arranged for the mission. The one you begged to join during the Eastern raid.”
I froze, my heart thudding aloud.
“You think it was fate that a Luna was sent to the battlefield?” he said, curling his lips. “I made the council approve it. I made sure the patrol routes were leaked. The rogues knew exactly where you'd be.”
I stared at him, my mouth dry. “I do not understand what you are trying to say. Did you plan my accident, Klaus?”
“No. I planned your downfall and your death but you wouldn’t just die. Well? The accident was a perfect bonus.”
“Hold on,” I cried out with a cracked voice. “You did all this to stop me from surpassing you?”
“I did it to protect what was mine. My title, power and future,” he said smoothly. “Which you were never going to be part of.”
My lips parted in disbelief, but no sound came out.
“I never loved you, Ariel. Not even from the start. The Moon Goddess may have fated us, but I never accepted that fate.”
Tears blurred my vision. “Why… Did you marry me then?”
“Are you dumb? Don’t you get it? The people loved you and I needed that support to stay Alpha. You were convenient.”
He kept talking while I continued to record. His pride made him reckless.
“You were too naïve to see it. Always begging for affection like a pup. You didn’t even notice when I brought Madea in just to keep you busy while I screwed her.”
I flinched.
“I enjoyed watching your pathetic self struggle in that chair, still trying to smile for the pack.”
“You’re a monster,” I whispered, my voice trembling with rage. “How can you be so evil? You crippled me for ordinary power!”
“Ordinary power?” he echoed, scoffing. “You were born with a destiny too powerful for your own good. You would've become stronger than me. I couldn’t allow that.”
“You bastard.” My hand trembled as I clenched the armrest.
Klaus stood, running a hand through his hair like he was bored of the conversation. “I really expected you to die on the battlefield but you survived. Barely. So I brought Madea in. Let her feed you, clean you, bathe you… while I kept the pack running. It didn’t take long for people to start seeing you as weak, pitiful and useless.”
My heart shattered piece by piece.
All those nights I sat by his side during war council meetings. The times I covered for him, lied to the council, kept the warriors motivated while I bled inside, they were never enough.
He had always seen me as a threat and now I had proof.
I carefully tapped the pendant again, ending the recording.
“I’ll tell the council,” I whispered, slipping the charm back into my bag. “I’ll expose everything. They’ll see what you really are!”
He paused, his eyes narrowing. Something in his expression changed, gone was the smug calmness and its place was raw fury.
“What did you just do?”
I didn’t answer. I wheeled back slowly, heading toward the door.
“What did you do, Ariel?”
I reached for the lock but before I could twist it, he lunged.
His fist slammed into my shoulder, knocking me sideways causing pain shoot down my arm.
“You recorded me?” he roared, grabbing the bag and tossing it aside. He tore through it, found the pendant, and crushed it beneath his boot.
“You little b***h—” He lunged.
“No!” I cried.
I tried to crawl away, but he kicked me in the ribs twice.
The taste of blood filled my mouth.
“Klaus—please—” I sobbed, shielding my head but it was too late. I hit it on the wooden edge of the dresser, making stars explode in my vision.
“You think you’re smart?” he hissed, crouching over me. “You were always too ambitious for your own good.”
He grabbed me by the hair and slammed my face into the floor.
“Maybe I should’ve finished the job two years ago.”
My body screamed in pain. My wolf whimpered faintly inside me, still too weak to protect me.
“Please,” I gasped. “Klaus… don’t…”
His fist came down again and again, until blood began to pour out of my mouth.
“You should have died in that explosion,” he barked. “I gave you a chance to leave quietly but you just had to ruin it.”
He roughly slammed my head hard against the floor. I gasped, my vision going black for a second.
“I’ll make sure you never open your mouth again,” he growled.
My body refused to move. My breaths came out shallow. The pain was unbearable and darkness crept in from the edges of my vision.
No… I can’t die… not like this.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I whispered into the void, “Moon Goddess… please…”
My voice cracked.
“Please give me a second chance…”
Then, everything went black.
- Writer
