Their Warrior Queen

Chapter Two

~ Zuri

I stared at myself in the mirror as I put on my earrings. Today was my little brother's naming ceremony, the celebration my parents had spent weeks preparing for, and although everyone else would probably look their best, I already knew that I wouldn't.

I was wearing one of my old white dresses and a pair of worn-out sandals that my mother had passed down to me. The dress had been washed so many times that it no longer looked as beautiful as it once did, while the sandals had started showing their age. I knew I didn't look particularly good, but it wasn't because I didn't want to.

I simply didn't have anything better.

My parents no longer cared whether I had nice clothes or anything new to wear. Ever since my little brother was born, all their attention had been focused on him, and I had slowly become someone they barely noticed.

I tied my hair into a simple ponytail and looked at myself one more time. I wasn't wearing any makeup, and with my old dress and sandals, I looked plain. However, there was nothing I could do about it, so I turned away from the mirror.

A knock sounded at my door.

"Come in," I said.

The door opened, and Daisy, one of the maids, stepped inside.

"Your mother said you should hurry up because everyone is waiting downstairs."

She didn't wait for me to respond before leaving.

The moment she mentioned my parents, my mind immediately returned to what had happened the previous day.

I remembered the white powder covering my face, Luna Circe and Quincy laughing at me, and the way I had turned to my mother, hoping that she would defend me.

Instead, she had done the most embarrassing thing she could have possibly done to me.

She had giggled.

The memory made my chest ache.

Maybe Luna Circe had been right when she said that my parents didn't love me. Perhaps they really didn't care about me anymore, and maybe no one else did either.

Tears filled my eyes, and I quietly wiped them away before they could fall. I wanted to cry, but I remembered that everyone was waiting downstairs, so I quickly composed myself and left my room.

The moment I reached the downstairs hall, I realized that I was the last person they were waiting for.

My father was dressed in expensive clothes, while my mother wore a beautiful gown that made her look elegant and important. Luna Circe and Quincy were dressed just as beautifully, and even my little brother was wearing an expensive outfit specially prepared for his naming ceremony.

As I stood there among them, I couldn't help noticing how different I looked.

"What are you wearing?"

My father's voice made me stop.

I looked at him, and the disgust on his face was impossible to miss.

Before I could answer, Quincy leaned toward her mother and spoke in a low voice.

"She looks pathetic."

Although she tried to whisper, everyone heard her.

Luna Circe smiled, and my stomach tightened with embarrassment.

"You could have worn something better," my mother said as she looked at me.

My lips parted because I wanted to explain myself. I wanted to remind them that I didn't have anything better to wear because they never bothered to buy me new clothes. Most of the dresses I owned were old, worn out, or torn, and no one had cared enough to ask whether I needed something new.

I wanted to tell them all of that.

But before I could speak, my father interrupted me.

"Save your explanations. We're already running late."

I closed my mouth.

There was no point trying to explain anything to people who had already decided not to listen.

We left the house and headed toward the cars.

Just as Luna Circe was about to enter the same vehicle as us, Quincy held her arm and glanced in my direction.

"She stinks," she whispered.

Then she looked at her mother.

"Let's order another ride instead."

Luna Circe chuckled before nodding.

I lowered my gaze and followed my parents into the car while Luna Circe and Quincy waited for another vehicle.

The journey was mostly quiet, except for the sound of the engine and my little brother's cries whenever he became uncomfortable. No one spoke to me, and I didn't bother trying to start a conversation.

Before long, we arrived at the event hall.

The moment I stepped inside, I couldn't stop myself from gasping.

The place was beautiful.

Large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, while the decorations made the entire hall look elegant and expensive. Everything around me reflected the amount of money my parents had spent on the ceremony.

Important guests had already arrived, and the hall was filled with wolves from different ranks and families.

I followed my family toward the high table, where we took our seats and waited for the ceremony to begin.

As usual, I kept to myself.

It wasn't difficult to remain unnoticed when everyone around you had already learned to treat you as though you weren't there.

For a while, everything went smoothly.

Then a loud gunshot suddenly echoed through the hall.

The music stopped immediately.

Everyone froze.

Another gunshot followed, and before anyone could understand what was happening, someone screamed from the crowd.

"Rogues! The rogues are here!"

My heart skipped.

Rogues?

For decades, rogues had never dared to invade the Black Water Pack's territory, so I couldn't believe they had chosen my brother's naming ceremony to attack.

Panic quickly spread through the hall as several rogues entered.

People began screaming and running in different directions. The guests pushed against one another as they desperately tried to escape, and the once beautiful hall quickly became filled with fear and chaos.

I immediately turned toward my parents.

And that was when I felt my heart break.

They were already running.

My father was carrying my little brother as he pushed through the crowd, while Luna Circe held Quincy tightly and tried to get her out of the hall.

My mother was running ahead of them.

But no one was looking for me.

No one had taken my hand.

No one had even bothered to make sure I was safe.

I tried to run after them, but the crowd quickly blocked my view.

"Wait!"

I called out, but my voice disappeared among the screams around me.

I pushed against the people in front of me, desperately trying to make my way through the crowd.

Then someone grabbed me from behind.

I froze.

Before I could turn properly, I was pulled backward, and when I looked over my shoulder, my entire body went cold.

A rogue was holding me.

"It's you," he said.

"Get off me!"

I screamed as I struggled against him, but his grip was too strong.

"Let me go!"

He ignored me and pulled a phone from his pocket.

My fear increased as he placed a call.

"We've attacked the venue," he said.

A feminine voice answered from the other end.

"And the target?"

I stopped struggling.

Target?

Before the rogue could answer, something suddenly pierced through his back.

His body stiffened, and his grip on me loosened.

A moment later, he fell to the floor.

I quickly turned around and saw one of our pack warriors standing behind him.

The rogue was dead.

"Thank you," I said breathlessly.

The warrior nodded, and I immediately ran away.

I didn't stop until I reached the car park because I believed my family would be waiting there.

However, the moment I arrived, my steps slowed.

I looked around.

My father's car was gone.

I searched the car park again, hoping that perhaps I had made a mistake, but there was no sign of the vehicle.

Then reality finally hit me.

They had left.

My family had escaped without me.

They had abandoned me at the ceremony while rogues were attacking.

Tears filled my eyes as I slowly fell to the ground.

They had left me to die.

"No one loves you. You're worthless."

The words echoed painfully in my mind as I covered my face and began to cry.

Maybe they were right.

Maybe I truly was worthless to everyone around me.

I was still crying when a hand suddenly grabbed me from behind.

I screamed and tried to pull away.

When I turned, my heart sank.

Another rogue.

He dragged me away as I struggled against him.

"Let me go, please!"

I begged, but he ignored me.

Instead, he brought out his phone and made a call.

"We've gotten the target," he said.

I immediately stopped struggling.

Target?

The first rogue had referred to me as the target, and now this one was doing the same thing.

What was going on?

"Please let me go!" I cried. "You've got the wrong girl!"

"I've got the right girl."

I froze.

He looked at me.

"You're Zuri Stone, aren't you?"

My eyes widened.

He...knew...my name.

The rogue dragged me toward the nearby woods, and I struggled as he took me deeper into the trees.

My heart pounded as I wondered what he planned to do with me.

Then, without warning, his body suddenly stiffened.

His grip loosened.

A second later, he collapsed to the ground.

I stumbled backward and turned around.

Elder Tryon was standing behind him.

I looked at the dead rogue and then back at the Elder, unable to understand what had happened.

Seeing the confusion on my face, he raised his staff.

"I killed him with my staff," he explained.

I stared at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I saw your family leaving the venue," Elder Tryon said. "I thought you had left with them."

The moment he said those words, I couldn't hold myself together anymore.

"They left me."

His expression immediately changed.

"What?"

I nodded as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"They left me there."

Elder Tryon stared at me in disbelief, and anger slowly appeared on his face.

"Come with me," he said after a moment. "I'll take you home."

Relief washed over me.

For the first time that day, a small smile appeared on my lips.

‎ ★★★

When we finally returned to the pack, I stepped out of Elder Tryon's car and turned toward him.

"Thank you," I said.

He smiled.

"It's nothing."

He gently held my hand as we walked toward the pack hall.

The moment we entered, I saw my father sitting with several council members.

They were having a discussion.

He hadn't been looking for me.

He hadn't sent anyone to search for me.

He was simply sitting there as though nothing had happened.

As though his daughter hadn't been abandoned during a rogue attack.

My heart hurt as I looked at him.

How could he be so heartless?

The moment my father noticed us, he frowned.

"Elder Tryon," he said, forcing a smile.

"Keep your greetings, Albert."

The entire hall fell silent.

Everyone looked at Elder Tryon in surprise.

He had not only dismissed the Alpha's greeting, but he had also called my father by his name.

Although Elder Tryon was much older and deserved respect, I knew that he was deliberately showing my father that he wasn't pleased.

"You call yourself the Alpha," Elder Tryon said.

My father remained silent.

"And what is an Alpha's duty?"

He looked around the room.

"To protect his people, isn't it?"

My father slowly nodded.

"Yet you couldn't even protect your own daughter."

My father's jaw tightened.

Elder Tryon stepped closer to him.

"You know she is helpless and cannot defend herself, yet you brought her to that ceremony. When the rogues attacked, you took your son and ran, leaving your daughter behind to die."

A shocked silence filled the room.

"You're a shame to this pack."

Several people gasped.

My father lowered his head.

"I'm sorry, Elder Tryon."

"Sorry?"

Elder Tryon's voice became harder.

"That apology cannot change the fact that you abandoned her. She could have died today."

Then he turned toward me.

"Besides, she needs the apology, not me."

My father looked at me.

The anger in his eyes immediately made fear grip my heart, but I tried not to show it.

Elder Tryon stared at him.

"You know that we have the power to remove you from your position as Alpha, don't you?"

That was when I finally understood why my father was allowing Elder Tryon to speak to him that way.

Elder Tryon was one of the respected elders who had helped crown him Alpha, and if the elders believed that my father was no longer worthy of the position, they could take it away from him.

My father's expression immediately changed.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "It will never happen again."

"Make sure it doesn't."

Elder Tryon turned toward me.

"And take care of her. She's been through a lot today."

With that, he walked away.

My father remained silent for a few moments before turning toward the council members.

"You can all leave now. I'm sure you've seen enough."

The council members immediately stood up and left.

I watched them walk away, and although I didn't know why, an uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach.

The moment the last person left the hall, my father's expression changed.

Before I could take a step back, he walked toward me and grabbed my neck.

I gasped.

His claws sank into my skin, and I felt blood running down my neck.

"You wolfless i***t!"

I desperately grabbed his wrist as I struggled to breathe.

"You want to ruin my reputation, huh?"

His grip tightened.

"You want the elders to take my position away from me?"

Tears filled my eyes as my breathing became more difficult.

"But I'll make sure I kill you before you get the chance to do that."

I could barely breathe.

"She's going to die."

My mother's voice came from upstairs.

I tried to lift my head, and when I looked up, I saw my mother standing there with Luna Circe and Quincy.

They were watching us.

The moment my father noticed them, he released me.

I fell to the floor, coughing as I held my bleeding neck.

"It would have been better if the rogues had killed her," my father said as he turned away.

Tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably.

I still found it difficult to believe that he had once cared about me. There had been a time when my father had made me feel loved and protected, and I could still remember how safe I used to feel around him.

But people changed.

And the man who had once cared about me had slowly become a ruthless monster.