The Ruthless Alpha’s Mute Wife (The Last Guardian)

Marisol “Where is that wench, Mari!” My mother-in-law's piercing scream echoed down my ears, my stomach tying a knot as confusion swirled inside of me. ‘What have I done again?’ I thought to myself, removing the apron while tossing it to one of the maids who stood behind me. I took tiny steps to the hall where the welcome banquet will be held, and as soon as I got there, my heart stopped. Horror replaced the expression on my face as I stared at the ruined cake and the cream frosting that was now splattered over the tiled floor. What was this? What could be going on? How could she do this to the cake that I was just done with decorating barely twenty minutes ago? My eyes shifted from the mess on the floor to my mother-in-law, whose chest heaved up and down. As soon as our eyes clashed, the air in the hall stilled, and before I could wrap my head around things, she rushed me with a slap. A slap that whipped my head to the side, knocking the air out of my lungs, and that sharp sting across my cheeks caused moisture to gather in my eyes. I stared into space in shock, holding my cheeks while turning to look at her with anger blazing in my eyes. I wanted to scream at her. Tell her that I've had enough already. But I had a problem. I couldn’t speak. Mute. She barked a caustic, scoffing laughter, her eyes reddening with every passing second. “What is that rage that I see in your eyes. Marisol, do you think that you have the right to speak?” “Do you want to kill my one and only son, knowing that he doesn’t eat strawberry cakes?” She screamed at the top of her lungs, causing me to shudder. “You are such a useless wife. How can you not know what your husband likes?” Despite the anger that simmered beneath the surface of my skin, my fingers squeezed into folds as I stared at her in disbelief. I went along with the instructions that she had given to me. Bake a Strawberry Cake for My Son— that was what the maids had said or… My eyes darted to the maids and my sister-in-law, Elora, who snickered in the corner. My heart sank into the pit of my stomach when it dawned on me that they had given me the wrong instruction. And intentionally. My chest heaved slowly, and in a fit of rage, I signed. “I only followed the message that the maids had passed across to me. Even if I made a mistake, how can you ruin something that I have made? Why do you keep treating me this way?” Tears streamed down my face. My mother-in-law stared at me with fury blazing in her eyes, and it seemed like my words had intensified her anger as she screamed at me. “Did you just insult me in sign language? You skanky b***h” She screamed, raising her hand in a bid to hit me again when Elora stopped her. She had a smug smile on her face. A pretentious witch to the end. “Mum, you can’t conclude that she insulted you when her interpreter isn’t here.” My mother-in-law bobbed her head. “Yes, where is that interpreter of hers and…” Elora cut in. “Mum, it is just cake, and any minute from now, Julian will be home after three years. You don’t want to give him and the guests the wrong impression. How would they react when they find out that their Luna is being maltreated as a slave?” I stared at Elora in disbelief, wiping off the tears from my face, while my mother-in-law scoffed. “As if he didn’t always hit her before he went to the war. However, you are right! I should focus on the preparation and not this curse.” The word ‘curse’ made my heart twist painfully in my chest as another set of tears gathered in my eyes again. “As for you, Mari, go and get dressed. Be ready to welcome your husband back home.” As Elora and her mum turned away, a faint thud filled my ears as I fell to the ground, tears cascading down my cheeks as sobs wracked through me. I couldn’t do this anymore. I couldn’t live like this anymore. My name is Marisol Hayes, the daughter of the Node Moon pack, and while everyone thought that my life was perfect on the inside— A Luna, married to the ladies' heartthrob, Julian, and surrounded by wonderful in-laws and servants at my beck and call. The case was otherwise. My life was a nightmare— a nightmare I never woke up from, no matter how much I tried. It all started with a prophecy. A prophecy that should have never been spoken about in the first place. Before my existence, my parents had difficulties in conceiving a child, but after consulting the moon goddess through the help of the priestess, it was said that the moon goddess granted them a child. Me. However, according to what I had heard, I was a special child attached to a prophecy. A prophecy to restore the sacred lineage of the white wolves and save their last guardian from death. Years ago, they were hunted down by the Rogues, and all the guardians were wiped out except for one. It was said that if I married the last guardian, the world would experience peace for a long time. Barren she-wolves would bear pups, the blind would see the moon again, and every disability would be healed. The priestess also said that when the time was right, recognizing the last guardian wouldn’t be a heinous task for me. He would appear with the white moon necklace, which had been missing for centuries, and that was precisely what Julian presented before me when he asked for my hand in marriage. Tears blurred my vision, and a faint smile appeared on my face when memories of how excited I was that the man I was starting to have a crush on turned out to be the last guardian. However, my happiness was short-lived on my wedding day. There was an earthquake that killed thousands of people, the she-wolves in labor died, and worse, I became mute, lost my wolf, and all. A total contrast to what was spoken about in the prophecy. Since that time, the blooming love between Julian and me became sour. He had accused me and my family of lying and how I wasn’t the one spoken about in the prophecy. He had beaten me up that night, humiliated me by stripping me naked before the maids, and that was the reason everyone disrespected me despite the position I held as the Luna. It has been three years since Julian went to war, and it was safe to say that I had never thought about him once. I wish he could be found dead so that I would be free from this bondage, and the thought of him coming home made my stomach tie knots. My train of thought was soon broken when my interpreter tapped me on the shoulder. “Alpha Julian is around the territory and will be here anytime from now. He is back.” I turned to Claudia, my fingers curling around my clothes as my breath came in ragged gasps. “Alive?” I signed. “Yes,” She responded, and my heart sank. Why did the moon goddess hate me so much? I had prayed earnestly for his corpse to be brought back home, and now he came back alive? The man that I loathed so much that the sight of him made my skin crawl was back. Why me? What was this horrible fate?