Alejandra's POV
Being married at a relatively young age is not taboo in our race. Our animal instincts kick in during adolescence, sometimes. Especially for those who have already met their wolf and mate.
However, that was not the case for me. In high school, everyone talked about heat, mating, and of course, Alexis was their role model. She was very popular among students because of her status, intelligence, and physical appearance.
As her twin sister, I only had one thing in common with her: intelligence.
"You are the best student, why did you make the stupid decision to murder your sister," complained Granny, the only sane human who was on my side, back then. And now she has turned against me, although not directly. "You could have continued your studies in design, become a designer like you dreamed of, if you hadn't done all that."
"Granny, please... I never killed her. How long are you all going to keep accusing me?"
"The court has even decided that you are the suspect and is ready to sentence you to exile. If your father hadn't helped..." she replied, then fell silent and seemed lost in thought. "Now you are enjoying what was your sister's right. Alpha Kyle Thunder ... and the throne as luna of The Blood Moon Pack, something many women dream of. Are you happy?"
I just sighed heavily. I didn't want any of this. Did they think I was happy playing the role that Lex was supposed to play? Not at all.
Kyle didn't love me. He just wanted to torture me in revenge for Lexy, and he cleverly made it seem as if our married life was very harmonious and happy.
The bad rumors in his pack didn't reach mine. In the Night Hunter Pack, the news spread that I was enjoying my life, so almost all the members hated me even more.
"This is what you've always wanted, and now you've got it," said one of our members. A warrior who often spent time with Lex at nightclubs after they trained. And of course, she also had the same habit of sleeping with different men.
She was my bestfriend back then. However, I don't know what made her hate me since she was closely befriended with Lex.
They didn't know... they never knew. That happiness was another form of punishment. Meanwhile, when I was in my husband's pack, what happened was an even more terrifying nightmare.
"Kyle, please... not like this again, I beg you..." I pleaded as he tied me back to the headboard. I tried to break free by pulling my hands hard, adrenaline racing because I couldn't bear to see Kyle having sex with other women again, but he just grinned cynically.
In his eyes, I saw a flash of intense anger, and I was sure that he would never stop doing this to me for the rest of my life.
"Kyle, please... put me in the dungeon, beat me every day, or banish me. You can even kill me with wolfbane torture if you want. But not this..." I whimpered.
He bent down, pinned me underneath him, and grabbed my jaw.
"I told you... none of this is appropriate for someone as inhumane as you," he said, with the gaze growing more vicious every day.
"I-I did what you asked. I smiled in front of them even though they didn't agree with me being your luna. So, what else? Please..."
He laughed cynically. It was so loud that I'm sure I would shudder every time I heard the echo of his laughter.
"Why? Are you aroused by seeing me fuck those women? Or... are you tormented?" he asked, his eyes darkening.
He knew?
"Y-you... you already knew that I—"
"Yeah... one thing I regret is that I only found out that shit after I fell in love with Lex," he replied.
"What would have happened if you hadn't?"
"What did you expect, huh? Being your mate is a curse. My relationship with Lex was almost destroyed because of it."
"What?"
He laughed again. "Are you happy, wolfless?" I shook my head. "You must be happy. And this is the day you've been waiting for—being my wife, isn't it? So enjoy it."
Lex forcibly pulled off my nightgown and left me completely naked, shivering, while he let the whores get into our room and did what he usually did.
It had been a week, and there had never been a break in the night for me to even breathe easily. He tortured me with pain, agony that I could neither defeat nor endure.
My eyes couldn't leave him even if I tried. Every thrust of his hips into each woman, the moans of pleasure from them, and even from him, even when he climaxed, made my chest and whole body feel like it had been hit by thousands of tons of heavy vehicles.
However, of all the tortures, the one thing he asked for this time was the most humiliating. He released the handcuffs on one of my hands and with a cynical grin, he said, "Are you horny, puppy? I'll give you a chance to touch yourself, wolfless."
"What?" I shook my head. "No, Kyle... please. Do whatever you want, it's up to you. Anyone you want to fuck, I'll put up with it, but not this. No..."
He grabbed my hand and placed it on my crotch, then forced me to rub it.
"Touch yourself and get your orgasm at the same time as me."
***
Someone knocked on the door, waking me from a real nightmare. As usual, Kyle wasn't in the room and my hands were still cuffed.
I hoped last night was just a bad dream, but seeing only one hand cuffed broke my heart.
I never did that. Even when I witnessed Lex and Kyle having sex. It would be a lie to say I wasn't aroused, but I never had the desire to touch myself because, since long ago, I wanted my mate to be the one to experience that.
Everything came true, but in a tragic way.
"Come in," I replied weakly. Soon, a woman in her twenties was standing at the door with a sad look on her face. She rushed to the bed, grabbed the keys on the nightstand, and unlocked the handcuff on my wrist.
She grabbed a warm towel and wiped my messy face, my arms covered in scratch marks that I wasn't sure when they had appeared, and she paused when her hand was about to wipe the side of my neck.
"What's wrong?" I asked. She shook her head and wiped gently and carefully. "Ouch!"
"Does it hurt, Miss?" she asked. I nodded. "It looks like ... Alpha Kyle has marked you or..."
I stared at Ramia's innocent face, which seemed to imply regret.
"Or what, Ramia? Tell me."
"Or ... he's sealing you," she answered.
I hurriedly got out of bed and sat in front of the mirror, looking at the side of my neck that felt so sore. There was scars there. Instead of being beautiful and meaningful, the scratch was just a form of blind rage.
An abstract image that I never understood, with a wound that was quite deep and wide.
"I'll treat it," said Ramia, leaving for a moment and returning with a bowl that gave off a strange aroma. "It smells a bit, but it'll heal you quickly. My grandmother always gave me this potion when I was hurt."
I nodded, tidying my hair so Ramia could easily apply the potion to my wound, and before long, it was all done.
For a moment, we were lost in silence. But she kept looking at me. Maybe out of pity or... I don't know.
"Miss, I believe you," she said suddenly, which immediately made me look up. "You must be confused and think that I'm deceiving you. But, no. I really mean this. I don't hate Miss Alexis either, it's just... I believe you're not the killer."
I nodded faintly, casting my gaze outside the window, whose curtains were open, letting in the warm sunlight into my room.
"I ... once heard a story about a way to summon spirits," she said then. I turned to her, who was looking at me seriously. "It is often used to prove and find the perpetrator of a murder because the victim's spirit will appear and testify."
"Are you sure?" I asked. Ramia nodded quickly. "How does it work? Does this pack use that method too?"
"Unfortunately not, because one of the elders forbade it on the grounds that it would disrupt the peace between our world and the spirit world, and also their tranquility," she replied. "But, Miss. If you want, I can take you to someone who can help us do it."
"Ramia, isn't that dangerous?"
Ramia shrugged. "Nothing is without risk, right? But at least we'll try. After all, we have to prove your innocence so that Alpha Kyle will release you."
I was silent and thought about it for a moment, then nodded, and immediately Ramia told me where she would wait and when.
She was right. Everything has risks. However, I had to try it to prove to everyone that I was innocent.