RIVER 'S REDEMPTION

CHAPTER THREE

Morina

“Tsk, tsk. It has only been a few hours since we last met and you’re already in such a miserable condition.” Graham said, shaking his head.

I bared my teeth at him and yelled, “How dare you, you traitor!? After selling out the Empire, you still have the audacity to speak to me? You’re disgusting!”

My words didn’t faze Graham one bit.

“Selling out the Empire? I was only saving the Empire. From you. After cutting you off, look how smoothly things are running. None of the council members are dead. We’ve all been given adequate positions after submitting to Alpha River. Everything is perfectly on track without a hitch.

“The only problem has been you all along.” Graham’s words cut deep, but I refused to be hurt by them.

“You think it’d last? Just wait till one of you crosses him, he’ll—”

“Nothing like that is going to happen. No one is as foolish as you. Gosh, I still can’t believe you handed yourself on a golden platter to Alpha River. Even though Ciara told me you were going to do so, I’m still baffled.

“How could someone like you be so dumb? After all the things you went through all these years to keep your lack of a wolf a secret. You’ve finally outdone yourself in stupidity, Morina.”

I ground my teeth in spite. All of my hard work, all the effort I put in, it was all for nothing. At the end of the day, this was what I was left with—a scumbag of a mate, a traitorous sister, and a fair-weather council.

“You and Ciara… what you guys have done is unforgivable. Have I not treated the two of you well all these years? Was I not a good sister to Ciara? Was I not a good mate to you? Just why did you guys do this to me?”

I truly wanted to know. How could years of trust and unity be upturned so easily?

“Heh. I don’t remember asking for your forgiveness. And a good mate you say you are? How laughable. You’ve never treated me like an equal. From the moment you found out that I was your mate, you have always been looking down on me.” Graham’s expression turned ugly as his tone dripped with hatred and bitterness.

“That’s only because you have never been my equal. A commoner like yourself… I gave you a place in my court, turned your life around for the better. How could you still be so ungrateful? You could’ve become Empress Consort. What more in the world could you want that you wouldn’t have gotten!?” I screamed out loud.

“Respect!” Graham shouted. “All I wanted was your respect and you couldn’t just give me that. Was it so hard to treat me like your other half as true mates do?”

The two of us went silent after that. I began regretting mating with Graham. I should’ve rejected him right away when I discovered he was my mate years ago. If I had done so, maybe I wouldn’t have seen a day like this one.

“But it’s all good now. The tables have turned. You are now nothing. And I don’t need your respect anymore,” Graham said.

Judging from his tone, I could already predict his next words.

“I, Graham Norton, reject you, Morina Benoit, as my mate.” Graham said with an icy tone.

Our mate bond snapped. As the receiver, I was the one who was affected the most. My knees gave out as my entire body felt as if it was set on fire.

I clutched my chest through my dress as my insides twisted with pain. I bit down on my bottom lip to prevent any sound from coming out of my mouth.

“How pitiful,” Graham tsk-ed. “To think I wasted so many years with you without getting anything tangible. It’s all well, at least I can move on to better prospects in your absence.”

Alarm bells began ringing inside my head after Graham said those words.

“What do you mean by better prospects?” I forced out from my mouth.

“Exactly what you think I mean,” Graham crouched down to my level. “Now that Ciara and I are partners-in-crime, surely, our relationship can only move forward in the future. We might even become partners in life and death.”

“You despicable piece of sh—”

“Silence!” Graham snapped as he reached inside my cell and grabbed a fistful of my hair. “Soon after you’re executed by Alpha River, I’ll be the only one around to comfort Ciara, both body and soul. What do you think about that?”

How did I never notice that this man was so disgusting all these years? Why did I never discover his dark side until now?

Graham let go of my hair after that and stood upright, wiping dust off his outfit.

“Farewell, Morina Benoit. It has not been nice knowing you.” With that, Graham left the dungeon, and I was once again alone in the darkness.

I gathered my thoughts very quickly in solitude. I couldn’t stay here. Alpha River was sure to execute me after things settled down. I had to find a way to escape.

***

Escaping the dungeon was a complicated task. There were no guards stationed within and outside, but there was also no guarantee that I wouldn’t get caught the second I left the castle’s grounds.

But even with those odds, I still took the risk of escaping from the dungeon. It was relatively easy since I knew the place very well and had all sorts of tricks at my disposal.

Once I was out, I began plotting as I hid within the shadows, moving with precision and logical sense. It was sad to admit to myself that there was nothing left for me in this Empire. I was only one person, and I had no one on my side.

Realistically speaking, it would be impossible to take down Alpha River and his monstrous army, all by myself. What I could do was run far away and start a new life for myself, leaving behind my name and right.

I planned on using a hidden, human-sized hole within the back wall of the castle to escape. Outside of it was a dense forest, followed by a sea, then at the middle of the sea was a magical barrier separating human beings and magical creatures.

I would cross it and live the rest of my life as a human being. I would fit right in since I didn’t have a wolf.

As I reached the hole, I pushed away the bushes covering it and crawled through it. There was a smile on my face after I made it out. As I rose from the ground to dust off the dirt on my dress, I heard a deep voice say:

“I’ve been expecting you.”

Alpha River was seated on a chair on the other side of the wall with half a dozen soldiers standing by.