Chapter 6: Chapter 6

[Nivera’s POV]

I was slapped hard across the face, and I looked up slowly, trembling in fear.

“Where were you last night?” Delilah demanded.

“At the temple, I swear on my life,” I responded.

“That would mean something if your life was valuable enough to swear on,” she retorted; a response that got the other girls cheering and laughing so hard.

Alice stepped forward with her hands folded underneath her breasts. “Tell me, what did you do? How did you do it?” she asked.

“I… I don’t understand,” I stuttered.

“Well, that makes two of us. I don’t understand either. How was I left mateless, and a wench like you didn’t just find a mate, but the Alpha King himself? Tell me something, Nivera. Are you practicing witchcraft?” Alice asked, with a fixated look as though trying to read me.

“Shush. That’s a very serious allegation you’re making,” Lexa, the oldest one in the group said.

“What? Am I not even allowed to say that? Isn’t that what we all are thinking?” she retorted.

“You can’t say such without proof. The punishment for practicing witchcraft is death and it’s also the same for anyone who falsely accuses someone,” Lexa said.

“Oh, spare us the lecture. What further proof do we need? This silly thing here has dreams of a spiritual husband every night, neither of us knows where she came from except that she was abandoned in our Pack, and suddenly, she is mated to Alpha Tyler? We have every reason to believe that not only is she a possessed Omega, but she is also an ancient old witch,” Delilah said, coming to her friend’s rescue.

Tears fell from my eyes, blurring my vision. “I am not a witch, I swear. It just happened. It’s beyond my power. Please, understand that I couldn’t possibly have the ability to influence the Moon Goddess’s decisions. We are all her vessels, and there’s nothing I can do to change what has happened.”

I had barely finished speaking when all of a sudden, I heard a voice behind me. “Oh, but there is. You can accept the Alpha’s rejection and change what has happened,” the voice said in a sing-song tone.

I had been forced to kneel as I had slept out by the river following last night’s embarrassment and hadn’t returned until this morning, and when I craned my neck to look, I saw who had spoken. It was her, the lady most people referred to as ”Her Royal Highness” because of how she carried herself with so much pride, elegance and undeniable charm like a Queen. It was her: Malia Stone.

“Greetings, my lady,” the girls said, bowing their heads.

“We were just joking around. Nivera, why are you crying like this is all real? Stand up,” Delilah said, wearing a forced smile.

“I should stand up?” I was befuddled.

“Yes, of course. Stop acting like we’re being mean to you when we were all just playing here,” Alice said, with a nervous chuckle.

I made to stand up, when Malia’s words stopped me.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing? Get back on your knees,” she commanded, eyeing me all over with obvious distaste.

I quickly did as she said.

The girls looked shocked. Everyone spoke of how well-mannered, cheerful and nice Malia was. It was surprising to see her act that way.

“It’s okay, girls. As a matter of fact, I came here to commend you all for all you’ve been doing to this church rat here,” she said, with a cunning smile plastered on her face.

My jaw dropped open, as well as with the other girls. We were all confused as to what was going on.

The smile dried off from her lips and she heaved a displeased sigh. “Sadly, your efforts haven’t been enough. That’s why she has the effrontery to still speak while she is being punished. However, I understand that you’re not being paid enough to make her life a living hell to the point where she decides to leave this Pack and do us all a favour. Therefore, I am making an offer to anyone who inflicts the most pain on Nivera Hayes this week. If you’re that lucky person, you’ll get to ask me for anything, whatsoever it is, and I will make sure your wish is granted,” she stated.

The girls started cheering wildly and clapping with so much energy. I was shocked. I had never seen Malia as that kind of person. As a matter of fact, I envied her. She was the most beautiful person I knew, with her cute 5’4 height, tanned skin, hazel eyes and long shiny auburn hair. She was also from a wealthy home, she had good grades in school and she was the best in the Pack when it came to knitting and embroidery. I had admired a lot and she never really gave me any attention, so now that I found out who she really was, I just didn’t know what to think.

“But… but why? Why would you make such an offer? You’re… you’re better than this. What would you gain by doing this to me?” I asked, not knowing what else to say.

“You see, this bitch hasn’t learnt her lesson yet. She has the audacity to question my words,” Malia said.

Immediately, the group of fifteen girls pounced on me and began to hit me everywhere… my face, my stomach, my hands, my legs. Even Tami joined in, probably just to not get on anyone’s bad side.

Malia lit up a cigarette and began to puff out smoke as she sat on the wooden chair in the barn where we were and crossed her legs, just watching the whole thing, with a satisfied smirk playing around her lips, without looking like she cared a bit.

I kept on staring at her even as I was beaten to a pulp. My insides were tearing apart and I had developed a severe migraine from all the pulling my hair received. I was coughing out blood and I seemed to be bleeding from every part of my body. If the beating went on, I might just die, and I tried weakly to beg them to set me free, but I had lost even the ability to open my mouth to speak. All I could do was lie on the floor and whimper like the wounded wolf I was.

I could feel the world turning dark around me, and I struggled to keep my eyes open even though all I could see now were hazy flashes and all I could hear were mere echoes. I was slipping away and as much as I wanted to hold on and be strong for the sake of living, I didn’t have the strength to fight anymore.

Amidst the chaos and everything wrong that was happening, I saw him rush in like scattered dust which the girls who were too busy dealing with me failed to notice. He rushed in and grabbed Malia by the chin and as he looked into her eyes, I heard him speak. As faint as it sounded, his words were very clear.

“You’ll stop this now, and order these girls to leave,” he said.

The next minute, he wasn’t there anymore.

“Stop!” I faintly heard Malia say. “That’s enough for today. You can all leave now,” she commanded.

They stopped as soon as they heard her speak and began to leave one by one. It still felt as though their blows, slaps and kicks were ongoing and the pain I felt kept on increasing.

“Accept the Alpha’s rejection or I will end you,” Malia threatened, then kicked me in the stomach and left as well.

I tried to stand up, but I just couldn’t. My head was spinning and I felt nauseous. My eyes kept on closing the more I tried to keep it open, and now, I couldn’t even see anything anymore.

“Eloise, stay with me,” was the last thing I heard before I collapsed in his arms and gave in to unconsciousness.