Chapter 40: Chapter 40

[Nivera’s POV]

I grovelled before him, wailing in immense sorrow. I couldn’t die just like that. I needed him to change his mind.

“Please, Alpha Tyler. Please, spare my life,” I pleaded.

He looked at me, with plain disgust written visibly on his face. “Spare your life? For what reason? You lied to me, you deserve nothing but death,” he said in a firm tone, and the people hailed him for that statement.

“I didn’t lie to you. Okay, maybe I did, but trust me, I didn’t do it with a bad intention,” I said, as tears dropped from my eyes. “It is true that I did see Lucien, but that was just me bidding him farewell…”

“It doesn’t matter if it was the last time you were seeing him. I was worried sick about you and went against my people to ensure you were searched for and brought back here. I thought you had been kidnapped according to that lying guard, Ryle, but you were perfectly safe in the arms of that lowlife called a vampire,” Tyler stated.

I shook my head repeatedly, denying his allegations. “No, Alpha Tyler. I swear on my life, I wasn’t in his arms, and yes, I wasn’t kidnapped. Something much more worse happened to me. I was attacked and I almost died, but Lucien… the vampire, saved my life. I passed out and he tended to my wounds; that’s the only reason I saw him,” I explained.

“But if truly you were attacked, you’d have the injuries left on your skin. You’re the weakest of our kind and your injury doesn’t disappear for days,” it was Tami who had spoken in her soft voice.

I turned slowly to look at her, and cried even more, seeing the confused look on her face. Tami was the closest thing I had to a friend in the Pack, and if she also didn’t believe me, who could I expect to believe me?

“Explain yourself. How have your injuries disappeared so quickly?” an elder asked.

I swallowed hard. “I… um… I don’t know, but the vampire is much more powerful than you think. He helped me in his own way, and I think Celeste… she probably assisted and that’s why you can’t see any visible scar on my body,” I explained.

“Celeste? You mean, the witch?” Alpha Tyler asked.

I could see how I had implicated myself, but there was no use trying to get out of this situation as they all seemed determined to bring an end to my life. I simply nodded in the affirmative, not knowing what else to say or do.

“Oho! She has just admitted to being in alliance with a witch, do we still need to hear what she has to say?” the Beta asked, to which the people responded a solid “No!”

“What about the guard, Ryle? Where is he? Just like she has an alliance with a witch and a vampire, the guard also seems to be in league with them. Why else would he collaborate with her lie that she was kidnapped?” the Gamma asked.

“He sought permission to go outside of town to get herbs for his sick mother,” the Chief guard, Larry, answered.

The Alpha had a determined look on his face as he lifted his chin and gave orders. “Arrest all his family members, and lock them in a prison cell. When he returns, he shall be burnt in a fiery furnace along with them. Let this be a message to anyone who dares to go against me in the future,” he said.

“Yes, Alpha Tyler,” Larry responded.

Even if I were to die, I couldn’t let him take the lives of other poor innocent souls. “No, your highness, please, don’t. He was compelled by Lucien. It’s um… it’s this ability vampires possess to influence someone into doing their own will. He honestly believes I was kidnapped and he rescued me. Please, don’t kill him or his family members. No innocent person should have to suffer for something they know nothing about,” I pleaded.

“Wow. How touching,” Malia said. “I can’t believe that when your life is in danger, you are pleading for another person’s life to be saved. This just proves that you are truly in league with Ryle. Who knows? There might be other people in this Pack who are on the side of the witch and vampire, or what do you think, Alpha Tyler?” Malia asked.

“I think you’re right, Malia. They have taken me for a fool, but I know I have more loyal people on my side than the vampire could ever possess. I will give details for the Royal painters to make a sketch of Lucien O’Hara and his witch friend, Celeste. Their whereabouts must be reported to me if they are seen by any of the Pack members. Any friend of theirs is an enemy of mine. Guards, drag the witch outside where she shall be executed immediately,” he said.

“Please, Alpha Tyler, please. Don’t let them take me away,” I cried as two guards lifted me up from the ground and began to drag me away while the Alpha looked on, ignoring me amidst my pleas.

It didn’t take long before all the members of the Pack had also left the hall and gathered around, eager to see the long anticipated death of the cursed and possessed Omega they had spent all their lives hating for no good reason.

“Please, I don’t want to die. I’m scared, please, please,” I pleaded as the tears kept springing from my eyes in torrents and my heart ached terribly as they all seemed pleased by my pending demise.

“When you disappeared, it should have remained that way. You shouldn’t have come back. Now, look at what you’ve brought upon yourself,” the Gamma said.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I have been framed. No one caught me practicing witchcraft, but you all accepted that I did so without even conducting a fair trial or looking deeply into the matter. Deep down, you all know that I am innocent, but you’ve just been waiting for an excuse to get rid of me. What did I ever do wrong? Why do you hate me so much?” I demanded, still crying.

“Like I said before, you shouldn’t have been born. You are a mistake, Nivera, and today, you shall be erased,” Malia responded, and the people cheered.

“No one wants you here. We have never wanted you here. It is a pity that the late Alpha chose to spare the life of what he claimed to be an innocent baby, but now, you must die,” the Delta said.

“You must die!” the people chorused with a loud shout.

“To think that a nobody like you who came from nowhere even thought about becoming the Luna. Such audacity! Death is better than what you would have faced if you had become the Luna, so shut up and accept your fate,” the Beta said.

“Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!” the people chanted, and they kept chanting it out loud.

All of a sudden, the tears in my eyes dried and in my heart, there was just a mere feeling of emptiness. I burst into a hysterical laughter which was loud enough to stop the people from chanting. They were mute as they watched me, wondering what was wrong with me.

“I just realised why you’re all so eager to see me dead. It is because you don’t want me to be the Luna. Why? Are you afraid that I’ll get back at you all for how you made my life miserable?” I asked rhetorically as the laughter stopped, and they just murmured inaudibly. “The truth is I could decide not to beg you to spare my life. I could choose to call on the vampire and he’ll end all your lives in a matter of seconds,” I said.

“How dare you threaten my people?!” the Alpha asked, enraged as he stood in front of me who was on my knees.

I laughed for a short while then stopped. “Don’t worry about it, Alpha Tyler. I’m not going to call on the vampire. You know why? Like you, I also believe that death is an easy way out. For how cruelly you and your evil people have treated me, I wish you nothing but sorrows,” I said, firmly.

He wanted to say something, but I was quicker as I continued, “Because you all have condemned me to death for an offence I know nothing about, happiness will be far away from you. This Pack shall know no peace. Your enemies will join hands and defeat you. You all will turn against each other. Your men shall be executed, your wives shall grace the beds of your enemies and your children shall become slaves!” I said with determination in my eyes.

As I spoke, an unusual wind began to blow everything in sight and lightning flashed while thunder struck hard.

“Cover your ears!” the Alpha yelled at the people who were now trembling in fear.

I stood up to my feet and looked him directly in the eyes as tears began to slowly trickle down my eyes. “For those of you who manage to remain alive during these terrible times, you shall pray for death but death won’t even be gracious to grant you that request. You shall be alive, but in misery, pain and suffering. The name, Crescent Pack, shall become a name no one remembers and your territory shall cease to exist. As long as I am innocent of your accusations, none of you shall escape the wrath of my words!” I screamed at the top of my voice.

“Take back your words!” the Alpha said, looking at me like he wanted to kill me.

“Oh, Alpha Tyler, what a drastic end you shall have!” I said, while looking into his eyes.

Filled with fury, he grabbed a sword from the nearby guard and wasted no time in using it to slash my throat.

The sky had darkened and I looked up at it with a small smile on my lips as I fell to the ground. I felt the mate pull disentangle and my heart solely yearn for one person. It was why I hadn’t called on Lucien to save my life. If I had, I would be alive but even if I’m with him, a part of me would still be attached to Tyler, but now, I was his alone and I’d be over there in the afterlife waiting for him.

The only memories I remembered as my life came to an end were the happy ones I had had with Lucien and the smile on my face broadened, before I finally gave in to the call of death and closed my eyes.