Juliette’s POV
The Elder Alpha’s silver-tipped staff hit the stone tiles with a loud, bone-shaking crack as he stepped forward.
"Who has committed this crime?" His voice was not weak like his age might suggest. It was as hard as steel and filled with divine rage.
There was only silence.
The six royal pups stood there with their heads down and shoulders stiff. They were pretending to be the innocent little angels they were not.
But I saw the truth.
Cyra’s lips moved into a cruel smile before she lowered her head again.
Alpha Helios’s face had turned pale. "I... I did not know about this. I swear by the moon."
The Elder Alpha turned his angry glare toward him. "Do not make oaths, Helios. Your ignorance is your greatest shame."
I held Mewmew’s tiny body in my arms. His white fur was stained deep red. My tears dripped onto his cold, lifeless face.
"He was only a small puppy," I whispered with a broken heart. "He did not deserve this cruelty."
The Elder Alpha turned back to the pups and slammed his staff on the ground again.
"Do you think this is a game? Do you think it is funny to hurt an innocent soul?"
The pups flinched.
"You will each receive twenty strikes of the whip tonight," he roared. "And for the next full moon cycle, there will be no hunting games, no training weapons, and no magic stones. You will wake at the first light of dawn and scrub every inch of this pack fortress until your hands bleed."
Cyra gasped. "But Grandfather!"
"Silence!"
"It was only a prank!"
"A prank?" the Elder Alpha roared. "You call this a prank on a living creature? Shame on your bloodline!"
Helios tried to speak, but the Elder Alpha cut him off with a sharp look. "This is my fortress. And Juliette is still the mate of an Alpha. If she wants you all banished from this territory, I will throw you out myself."
Helios stepped back, looking as shocked as I felt.
For a very short moment, I almost felt protected.
But it was too late. It was far too late for any of them to save me now.
I walked past them and ignored their whispers. I ignored the hateful looks from the pups.
In the moonlit garden, I dug a small grave with my bare hands. Dirt covered my nails and my tears mixed with the earth as I buried the only creature who had ever loved me without any conditions.
"I am so sorry, Mewmew," I sobbed. My cries were hidden by the sounds of the night forest.
He had been my only comfort. He was my anchor in this hellish pack house. And now he was gone, just like that.
Something deep inside my soul finally snapped.
Later that night, I was walking through the east wing of the fortress when I heard them.
There were whispers and mean giggles.
I heard the soft, cruel footsteps of six demons living in pups's bodies.
I turned around.
There they were. Each pup held a ritual candle. Their faces glowed in the flickering light, and their smiles were twisted and cold.
"You told on us," Circe said with a sweet voice that felt like poison.
Cyra stepped forward and her eyes glowed with hate. "The Elder Alpha punished us because of you."
"I did not tell him anything," I muttered as I tried to walk past them.
But Caius blocked my path. "You cried like a weak human baby. We all saw you."
"Where is your little pet now?" Caden asked with a mean laugh.
Tears burned my eyes, but I forced them back. "Get out of my way."
"Or what?" Cassius smiled. "Will you run and tell more secrets?"
"You have no power here now," Calla added with an evil grin.
They circled me like a hunting pack. Slowly, they tilted their candles until the hot, burning wax poured onto my skin.
Before I could shout for help, a new voice sounded in the hallway. It was smooth and sweet like poisoned honey.
"Pups, that is not the way we treat family members."
I froze in place.
She walked into the hall like she owned the entire kingdom.
It was Belladonna.
She was the woman the pups loved. She was the woman Helios truly wanted. She was the woman who made sure I never forgot I was nothing in this house.
Her green silk robe shined under the lights. Her red hair fell over her shoulders like a waterfall of fire.
"Mommy Bella!" the pups cheered as they rushed into her arms.
"My sweet pups," she said softly while kissing their foreheads. "Did you miss me?"
"Always!" Cyra shouted with joy.
Belladonna finally looked at me. Her smile was fake and cold. "Oh. Juliette. Are you still living here?"
I squeezed my fists tight. "What do you want, Belladonna?"
Belladonna had not been at the party. She was not allowed to be there. Helios’s grandfather hated her. But that did not stop Helios from bringing her around when no one was looking.
I had caught him once before. He was talking to her through a magic mirror while he was in the bath.
He had told me coldly, "Mind your own business, Juliette. I only married you because my dead mate asked me to. You are just a placeholder. I can go out all night with anyone I choose."
That was six months ago. I stayed for the sake of the pups, but even that hope was over now.
"I heard about poor little Mewmew," Belladonna said with a mocking tone. "It is a tragedy. But maybe now you can focus on healing your heart. Alone."
I ground my teeth together. "Get out of my way."
She stepped closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. "You poor thing. You always act like a victim. You have no family, no friends, and no place in this world."
Before I knew what was happening, she grabbed my hair tightly. I tried to scream, but she clamped her hands over my mouth and nose.
I fought against her grip. My screams were quiet and muffled while the pups giggled. They started pouring more hot wax onto my body.
"Is anyone here?" Helios’s voice echoed from down the hallway.
The pups pulled away quickly. Belladonna pushed me aside. I gasped for air while my eyes turned red and bloodshot. My body was covered in hot wax and pain.
Belladonna had almost killed me.
Then, Belladonna smiled at him. "Helios!" She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I was just trying to comfort Juliette. She has been feeling so overwhelmed lately."
Helios looked at me and frowned. "Juliette, what is going on this time?"
"She shouted at us!" Caius said quickly.
"She said she hated us all," Cassius added.
"She scared little Circe," Cyra whispered while pretending to be sad.
I was still gasping for air, and I finally lost my temper. "What? That is a total lie!"
"She is just upset about the dog," Belladonna said with a fake sigh. "Let us be patient with her."
Helios’s eyes turned hard. "Juliette, this behavior is getting out of control."
I turned away from them. My heart was breaking all over again.
They would never see the truth. They would never listen to me.
I went back to my room where my travel bag was waiting. Just like me, it was ready to go.
I checked my enchanted communicator. My travel plans were confirmed. The legal papers I had asked for would arrive by morning.
All I had to do was survive until the sun came up.
The next morning, my communicator buzzed loudly. It was a message.
"Aunty Juliette, please help us! We have been kidnapped by rogues!"
Another message came right after it.
"They took us to the dark forest behind the pack lands. Please do not tell Grandfather or Daddy. The rogues will kill us if you do."
My heart stopped beating.
Even though these six pups do not love me and always bully me, they are still pups. They are six young lives. I cannot just ignore them and let them die.
I grabbed my keys and ran out of the fortress.
The pack woods were very thick and dark. The magic location they sent me led me straight to the edge of the high cliffs.
"Pups?" I called out while breathing hard. "Cyra? Caius? Are you there?"
I heard a rustling sound followed by the sound of cruel laughter.
"You actually fell for the trap," Cyra said with a grin.
Six figures stepped out from behind the ancient trees. They were dressed in black and held heavy hunting bows.
The six pups quickly surrounded me on three sides. Behind me were the sharp rocks and the bottomless cliffs.
"You actually came to save us," Circe giggled.
"You should have left the territory when we warned you," Caius said with a sneer.
"You are ruining our lives!" Cyra screamed.
"You took our father away!" Circe yelled.
"It is time to take our family back," Caius hissed.
"And we will avenge our mother’s death!" Calla roared.
As soon as Calla finished speaking, the six pups stared at me with glowing eyes. They raised their bows at the same time. They aimed their silver arrows at my head, my heart, my eyes, and my legs.
"No... please..." My heart beat like a drum in my chest.
In the next second, six sharp arrows flew toward me from six different directions.
