Chapter 3 of THE CURSED ONE

The pack members were excited and happy that Melody was going to be their luna and that they would finally get rid of me. They prepared everything for the occasion, which was going to be huge.

Even in my cell, I could tell how busy everyone was with the preparations. That didn't stop Melody from coming to pay her daily visits.

"Hello, sister. Aren't you going to congratulate me? I'm finally becoming luna something you couldn't become, but don't worry, I'll do better than you could ever do. Today I'm not going to flog you. Let's say that I'm giving you a gift today since your going on a long trip, why not let you breathe for a few hours."

She blabbed about how she was going to mate with Ryan and how she would birth him the strongest pup and be loved by everyone, that I'll be forever known as a traitor to the pack and BeyLuna, even in my grave.

"Melody. Leave here at once, I don't want to smell this trash on you. Please, my love."

Ryan coaxed her.

"Fine, only because I want to smell good for you, you know it's our big day. Be quick, Ryan, I'm waiting outside." She left me alone with Ryan.

 Ryan approached me and gripped my chin. His nails, extended to claws, as they pierced through my flesh.

"You used to be the most beautiful woman, Laura, those clear brown eyes that excited me so much I wanted to drown in their beauty. As voluptuous as you were, you turned heads wherever you went. But it wasn't enough, for you lacked the most important thing-a wolf. You could have been my mistress. But now you're haggard, dry, hungry, dirty, and sour. Absolutely disgusting."

He spat tears that formed in my eyes. I still couldn't believe it after all I'd suffered; I'm still in love with this dog. Shame. I felt nothing but disgust at my own thoughts and feelings.

"Now, for all you have done to me. To this pack. You will watch your twin sister, Melody, become my Luna."

   I saw a flicker of sadness pass over his eyes, but only for a second. At first I thought something wasn't right, but when he backhanded me.I came back to my senses. I was so weak that I lost consciousness.

---

I woke up in the pack halls. It was looking beautiful, I must confess, decorated nicely with the pack's colors, silver and blue. Blue and silver banners draped around the hall.

The pack gathered with expectant faces, and beneath their breaths, they murmured.Tonight wasn't just a ceremony but the dawn of a new era.

Melody descended from the stairs. Shoulders draped with a Luna's cloak, skillfully woven with intricate silver threads. She had a radiant smile on her face, eyes sharp with hunger, a true queen could hold.

At the end of the stairs. Ryan stood dressed in white, a long blue coat threaded with silver.

The ceremony was in full swing as the pack members pledged their l oyalty to the new Alpha and Luna.

In the shadows of the room, I sat broken and chained. Everyone who passed me would occasionally call me "thief" or "traitor," even "witch." It all felt suffocating. I prayed to the Moon Goddess for it to end.

  Laura's heart pounded with helplessness and rage as she watched Melody claim the title meant for her. She swore she would get revenge.

The voice of her tormentor rang out, laced with venom but sweet to the pack's ears as she said:

   "Let tonight mark the dawn of a strong pack united under the reign of a Luna and Alpha who will bring nothing but honor and power to Silvermoon. No longer shall weaknesses be among us."

Everyone applauded as they laughed at Laura, who was being called weak. Weakness? She had no weakness. One day, they would know the truth and regret their actions.

---

Later that night...

---

Blackmoon pack

 The dim light flickered through the cracked window panes of the manor. Seated in the seat

With a cigarette in his mouth and a gun in the other, he listened to his Beta tell him about Silvermoon's new Luna and Alpha. Even the sale of the Current Alpha's first mate to the slave auction house.

 He banged his fist hard on the desk; the Beta wasn't even afraid of the sudden slam.

  "Ryan has always been a fool, a spineless idiot, but I never knew he would be this stupid."

"What do you mean, Alpha?"

The Alpha laughed sinisterly and said to the eagerly waiting Beta.

"Laura would want revenge, wouldn't she?"

"Yes, Alpha, but I don't quite understand what your playing at."

He said:

   "I will give it to her, not just revenge but also their destruction. Silvermoon will fall in flames...and shame. And she will be the blade I wield."

"You want to use her as a weapon?" The Beta probed

"Yes," The Alpha didn't hesitate to say.

    " I will give her power. She knows them. Their weaknesses.Their secrets. She lived, bled for them... and was betrayed by them. No one knows Silveryou're moonase she does."

The Alpha explained slowly, his voice lowering.

 The Beta noticed the look in the Alpha's eyes, cold and patient, something darker stirred...vengeance.

  "She was called useless. A runt. A traitor. Betrayed by her family, even her twin sister. Her Mate. What they saw is not what I see. I see something different. I see power that's unclaimed, buried beneath pains. I will be the one to dig it out with my claws. I will shape her into something they never imagined."

 The Beta finally understood the Alpha's concept and asked: "What if she says no? What if she decides not to do it? What then?"

" Then she will go back in chains or worse. But if she says Yes... Then she will become a queen. A weapon. A storm they never saw coming."

Silence hung heavy between the two men.

"Then we can finally take revenge on Silvermoon for all they did to us, oh, I can't wait."

The Beta said and laughed maniacally.

With a cold smile, the Alpha said:

"We will remind them who they left to rot."

He said as he growled. His wolf has been impatient and thirsty for blood since that day.

---

 The cart rattled as they passed an uneven, bumpy path, jarring Laura's already battered and bruised body. The stench of rogues was very prominent. The smell of blood. Sweat. And Damp clothing hung in the air, even breathing was a hard task.

  In the wooden cart, there are two girls, no younger than eighteen, the same age as Laura, one with raven-black hair and one with red-ginger hair, each with tear-streaked skin and hollowed cheeks.

No one spoke. The silence was louder than their cries.

Rain began to drizzle. Cold drops splashing on their skin through the holes of the canvas stretched above. One of the guards kicked the bars.

"Lower your heads. Mutt."

The cart hit a bump, and the jolt sent Laura's head slamming against the panel, biting down a cry with her blood filled mouth.

Slowing, losing consciousness, and faith in the Moon Goddess. Laura kept silent and endured the grueling travel.

After hours of travel they finally reached the slave house.

The driver shouted: "Unload 'em!"

Clanking of chains was heard as the back of the cart opened. The guards yanked the girls out. Laura stumbled and scraped her feet against a stone. She was pulled toward a cage huddled with the blood-filled woman in her late twenties, who looked at Laura and asked.

"Silvermoon?"

Laura's breath caught. She nodded.

The woman smirked at her.

"You look like someone they discarded after chewing up."

"Who are you?" Laura managed to say with her croaky voice.

"Kiera. From Bloodvale. Alpha's favorite toy till I aged out. Now I'm here with the rest of you broken dolls."

Laura's heart sank as she looked around and saw some girls no less than thirteen. Each with scars on their bodies and stories to tell.

  A man's loud voice sounded after a horn was blown.

"Let the bidding begin!"