Fated To The Alpha Who Hates Me

The Trial

The Silver chains ate at my wrists and I can smell my own flesh burning, a stench that combines with the stale air in the council chamber. Pain shoot up my arms but I didn't dare make a sound. Crying and begging would only give them satisfaction, and I learned a long time ago that showing weakness in front of wolves like these is a death sentence.

Alpha Magnus glares down at me from his throne, his cold eyes revealing nothing. Seated around him are the other members of the council, each one a formidable Alpha in his own right, each one already believing I'm guilty even before a single evidence had been presented to them. I can see it in the way they glance at me, the way they glace over me, as though I was already dead and ready to be thrown away.

"Murderer."

"Traitor."

"Corvane filth."

I've heard most of these words my entire life, but today they carried a tone of finality.

I didn't kill her.

The truth sits heavy on my heart, useless and ignored. No one wants to hear it. No one ever wanted to hear anything that I have to say.

Alpha Valek rose to his feet and the room fell silent. He stood tall in the middle of the room, his face devoid of any emotion. He is playing the grieving husband so well that my stomach churns.

"Members of the Council," he begins, his tone weighed down with fake grief. "My dear mate was taken from me in the most brutal way possible. She was killed in our own quarters by this omega who has lived among us like a leech, surviving all due to our mercy."

I bit my tongue so hard I can taste blood. Mercy. The same mercy that scarred my back with bruises and scars that never fully healed. The same mercy that gave me the smallest food and the worst tasks. The same mercy that reminded me each day that I live to atone for the sins that were never mine.

He brought out a piece of fabric from his pocket and my heart sank. It's from my dress, the only decent one I own. I have no clue how it ended up at the crime scene, but the evidence against me is just too much. There's no way I'm getting out of this.

"This was found beside my mate's corpse," Valek continues, his voice rising with each word. "And her scent was everywhere. Thalia was there and she had no business being there."

"I wasn't there," I choked out, the words tearing through my throat like broken glass. "I was in my quarters. I didn't....."

"Quiet!" Magnus's voice snaps through the air. "You will only respond when you're told to, omega."

I clench my mouth tightly, my teeth snapping shut. My wolf, usually so quiet, stirs restlessly inside me. She's itching to fight, itching to bare her teeth and show them we're not as helpless as they think we are. But I forced her into submission. Fighting would only make it worse.

A witness is called forward from the crowd. A male wolf whom I recognize as one of the pack warriors and from the way, he avoid my gaze, I already knew what to expect.

"I saw her last night near the Alpha's chambers. She was acting odd, looking around as though she did not wish to be seen."

The lie hangs acrid in the air, but no one seem to notice or even if they do, they don't care.

The trial continue in this way, the evidence piling up like rocks against my chest. Each one carefully placed and designed to kill me. I zone out after a while, letting the words crash over me like waves. Guilty. Murderer. Death. They all blur into nothing until they are completely meaningless.

When Magnus finally leaned forward, his angry face wrinkled and immovable, I know it is over.

"Thalia Corvane, you have been found guilty of the murder of Luna Celeste of the Silvercrest Pack. The punishment for such a crime is death."

The room erupts in cheers and applause. Someone spits on me. The saliva landed on my cheek, and I didn't even flinch or wipe it off. Death. At least it will be quick.

But then Valek stand up again, and the smirk on his lips sends shivers running down my back.

"If I may, Alpha Magnus," he says smoothly. "I would like to request for a different sentence for the murderer."

"Speak on." Magnus's brow rises even further. He was clearly excited.

"Death is too quick and too merciful for what she has done. I think we should send her to Bloodmoon Pack, to serve under Alpha Silas Thorn."

The room fell silent like a graveyard. Even the members of the council shift uncomfortably in their chairs.

My blood runs cold. Silas Thorn. The mere mention of his name is enough to strike fear into the hearts of most wolves. And he has every reason to hate me, to hate anyone with Corvane's blood running through their veins. My uncle killed his father, destroyed his family and Silas has built his whole life around that hatred. If I get sent to him...... let me just say I won't make it.

"A brilliant idea," Magnus muttered, glaring at me like an insect he's about to crush. "Alpha Thorn has expressed his desire for justice for the Corvane betrayal. This could settle that debt."

"No," I whisper, my voice so quiet they can barely hear it. I started thrashing against the chains. "Just kill me. Please don't take me to him."

Magnus's mouth contorts into something that might have been a smile if it were warm. "The Council accepts Alpha Valek's proposal. Thalia Corvane, you are hereby sentenced to serve under Alpha Silas Thorn in the Bloodmoon pack until he decides your debt is paid which I doubt will ever happen."

The guards yank me forward and the chains burrowed deeper into my flesh. I caught a glimpse of Lina among the crowd, her face streaked with tears and her hand over her mouth to muffle a scream. For a brief moment, our eyes meet, and I could sense all that she needs to say but cannot. Someone's clutching her shoulder, holding her back in a silent warning that screaming would only make things worse.

I try to smile at her, try to let her know it's not her fault, but my face won't oblige. The guards pulled me towards the door and my legs stumbled over each other.

The final word I hear as they throw me into the transport vehicle is Valek's cold and satisfied voice.

"Give Alpha Thorn my regards."

The door slams shut, trapping me in the darkness. As the car drove me to a fate worse than death, I let myself give in to the fear that I've been suppressing inside me.

Silas Thorn will kill me. And there is nothing that I can do to stop him.