ARKISHA
"Why do you keep looking at His Majesty?" Damien asked when the banquet had started, drawing my attention back to him as I sipped my wine.
"Because he's attractive," I replied with a casual shrug, not bothering to hide my thoughts. After all, the Alpha King's appearance was undeniably captivating.
I had seen his pictures in the newspapers, but they didn't quite capture his true appeal. Even from a distance, it was clear how incredibly handsome he was. His long, jet-black hair, styled in a bun, perfectly complemented his olive skin and overall physique, creating a stunning image of art.
Despite his stern and intimidating demeanor, it was undeniable that he was more handsome than any other Alpha in the Kingdom.
"How can you be so shameless and say that in front of your husband?" Damien's brows knitted together, his voice low as the lively music shifted into a slow, romantic tune.
Hearing him ask such a ridiculous question made me scoff, and I couldn't help but take another sip while we were seated at the corner table.
"That's rich, coming from someone having an affair." My gaze was sharp enough to make him clench his jaw and finish his drink. He then took mine and placed it on the table before grabbing my hand, pulling me onto the dance floor.
I despised this, the need to wear a facade for him. I loathed pretending everything was fine between us. But knowing it was my choice to walk this path, I could do nothing but endure it.
Sure, I loved him, but I loved myself more, and having been taught that showing weakness was not befitting of an Alpha lineage, I had no option but to conceal my pain. I had to suppress the heartbreak of losing the man I once believed would be by my side forever.
Damien was no longer the same fated mate I knew when I was eighteen, and that fact was something I needed to accept, no matter how much I wished otherwise.
"Do you want to know something?" he asked unexpectedly as we began to dance. My hands rested on his shoulders, and his hands settled on my waist. I'm sure we looked charming to anyone watching, so I maintained a smile.
"What is it?"
"I didn't want you as my mate because your background was a mystery. Sure, you have an undeniable Alpha blood, but I was only nice to you and accepted you because you were the heiress of Silver Howl." His words made my smile fade slowly as he looked directly into my eyes.
Despite the harsh reality he was revealing, I tried not to show my feelings. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me hurt.
"When you succeeded in winning the war and your reputation soared as the new Alpha of the Silver Howl, I felt proud that everyone admired you, knowing I was the one destined to be with you." Damien scoffed, twirling me, causing my blue dress to flare out dramatically.
When he pulled me back, pressing his body against mine, I felt the urge to punch him in the gut. Unfortunately, I was still sane enough not to do it.
"I felt superior to those men who envied me. But after we got married, I began to resent how your reputation always outshone mine, how everyone talked about your beauty, kindness, strength, and intelligence. Everyone praised you as if you were the Alpha of our merged pack, not me."
"And that made me hate your very existence." I clenched my jaw as he leaned close to my ear, uttering those words before stepping back with a smile on his face.
"That's exactly why I couldn't love you during our three years of marriage. It was exhausting, and the war was my breaking point." Damien's smile was far from kind; it was a mocking grin that sent a chill down my spine. "The only part of marriage I liked was the sex but doing it with Vien made me realize how truly dull you were in bed."
I stayed quiet, doing my best to hold back the anger rising inside me. His words stung, but the anger overshadowed any lingering feelings I had for Damien.
He was the fucking worst!
Luckily, the sound of applause snapped me back to the present. We both turned to see people from the other packs cheering for us. Almost instinctively, I forced a smile and flinched when I noticed the Alpha King looking at me again, his expression eerily unreadable.
After the victory celebration, we returned home, and I was no longer surprised that Damien headed straight to the Annex, while I remained in my study, unable to bear being in our bedroom after what happened the previous night.
Since then, each night my husband would stay with his mistress, leaving me tormented physically and emotionally. I was growing weaker, and the pack members began to worry about my well-being. After all, they were all aware of my husband's affair.
Still, I did my best to assure them that everything was fine. However, I reached my breaking point when I nearly faced death, especially after bleeding while Damien and his mistress were having sex in the annex like they always did every single night.
I gasped, the pain in my stomach far worse than anything I had felt in the past two weeks. As I watched the blood trickle down my legs while I was at my study, I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness.
"C-Charlotte!" I cried out, my voice shaky as I clung to the couch. I winced, my lungs burning with each rapid breath. "Help! Someone!"
Tears streamed down my face as the excruciating pain intensified, worsening with every moment until I finally blacked out.
When I woke up, I found myself in one of the guest room beds. My vision was blurry at first, but soon Charlotte's worried face came into focus, and she began to cry like a child.
"What happened?" I asked, slowly trying to sit up.
"Y-you've been asleep for 24 hours, Luna and the pack doctor said that you... You had a miscarriage," she replied with a sniffle, gripping my hands tightly.
For a moment, my ears rang, and the night breeze made the curtain flutter.
Once I finally processed her words, tears welled up in my eyes as I touched my stomach. I hadn't even known I was pregnant, and realizing that I had lost the baby because of Damien's despicable actions enraged me—it was time to reject him.
"Where is he?" I demanded, clenching my teeth as I threw off the blanket and got out of bed, still disoriented. My maid attempted to hold me back, but I was too furious to be stopped. "Where's your Alpha?"
"H-he's in the study, Luna."
The moment Charlotte answered, I was determined to confront that loathsome man. That was the only thing on my mind, so when I reached his study, I barged in without knocking, only to be shocked by the sight before me.
Damien sat lifeless on the couch, blood pooled on the floor, with his head slumped against his shoulder.
I covered my mouth, my heart racing faster, and even before I could call for help, someone entered the room and shoved me, causing my hands to rest against Damien's body. I gasped, trying to steady myself as I pulled away, my hands stained with his blood.
He wasn't breathing, he was dead.
Realizing that, I quickly turned around and saw Vien standing near the door, smirking at me proudly.
"What are you—"
I couldn't finish my sentence when she suddenly screamed, her voice echoing through the pack house and throwing everyone into panic. As a result, Chaos erupted in the night, and Beta Ruiz appeared before us, his eyes wide with shock.
Not only was the Alpha dead, but my hands were now stained with blood, making it look like I was the one who killed Damien.
"A-Arkisha killed the Alpha," Vien cried, her whole body trembling. I looked at her with disbelief, realizing the scheme she was trying to pull off.
"What? I didn't do it! He was dead when I got here!" I insisted, looking at Beta Ruiz, but the sight of my bloodied hands clearly wasn't going to convince him of my innocence. "Come on, I didn't do it! That fucking whore pushed me, that's why I got blood on me!"
"Warriors!" He yelled, loud enough for the warriors nearby to get alarmed and hurried to the room. I frowned, feeling mixed emotions rushing through my body.
"Are you being serious right now, Ruiz? I didn't do it! I just woke up after passing out and having a miscarriage! I went straight to confront Damien, but I found him dead!" I explained, my voice filled with desperation. "You know what your Alpha had been doing, and you know very well that despite all that, I would never kill him."
"Then how do you explain the blood on your hands?"
"Weren't you listening to what I said earlier? That whore pushed me—"
"Stop lying! I was in the nearby bedroom and heard you arguing! I heard you say you would kill him because he killed your unborn child!" Vien interrupted, her tear-streaked face making me want to shift and claw her face, but my body was too weak right now to even attempt it.
Besides, I couldn't feel Fay inside me.
"You said you'd kill me next!" Vien added, hiding behind Ruiz, who now looked at me with clear disappointment. "Please, don't let her go! She might really kill me next!"
"You shameless bitch!" I lunged at her, but before I could reach her, the beta shoved me. Then, a couple of warriors entered the room to grab my arm at his order.
"Our Luna killed our Alpha, take her!"
Despite my weakened state, I struggled and screamed, but it was pointless. Even though there was no proper investigation, they threw me into the dungeon and locked me up for days, weeks, until three months had passed.
I stayed there in the dark, eating one meal a day. Worst of all, I had no idea what was happening in the pack. No one visited me as if I were abandoned.
"Open the gate," A voice I recognized so well made me snap out of my daze. I looked up and saw Rudwig, Damien's brother. For a moment, a hope flared in my heart, thinking he might be here to help me.
"Rudwig, I didn't kill your brother... Please believe me, I was set up!" I pleaded as he entered the cell and knelt in front of me. He then gently held my face, shushing me with a comforting smile as he looked into my eyes.
"I know, I believe you," he assured me, making my weary eyes light up with hope. But that hope was short-lived as he suddenly jabbed a syringe into my arm. The room then began to spin, and I looked at him in shocked betrayal before I slumped to his chest, my vision slowly going dark.