Prologue
Eleven days.
It’s been eleven days since I was thrown in this dungeon, framed for a crime I didn’t commit, detested by the man I loved.
As I sit on the cold concrete floor, staring out the small barred window that barely fits my head, I think about the life I lived and how much of it wasn’t mine. My decisions, my preferences, down to what I should wear, weren’t of my own volition.
I followed what they wanted me to do, what they wanted me to become, and now they throw me aside just like that. A tear involuntarily streamed down my cheek, I weakly raised my hands to wipe them, only to find new ones flowing uncontrollably from my tired eyes. I didn’t expect that I would still have tears left to cry after being locked there for so long and doing nothing but wallowing in despair.
“Larissa Loveryk!” a clang of metal rang out. I looked up to see that it was a guard who had struck the bars with his sword to gain my attention. “It is time,” he said.
I knew what he meant as he opened the door and another pair of guards walked in to pull me up from the floor. A hand pushed my head down, while another had forcefully chopped my long hair off, till my hair resembled that of a man's. In our kingdom, a woman’s hair is considered their most valuable asset, and for them to cut mine off was a symbol that I had nothing else left to be proud of.
This must be ‘his’ order. He wants me to suffer and be ridiculed ‘til I breathe my last.
“Let’s go,” they said, their voices filled with hate directed at me. This is preposterous. Just a few months ago, everyone treated me with respect and reverence despite the fact of me being a ‘human’. I was their Queen, I was the light shining over the kingdom, no one would even dare look at me with such distaste as they are doing now.
I was forced to walk barefoot, occasionally pushed by the guards to make me walk faster, until I reached the elevated platform in the heart of the city for everyone to see. It wasn’t easy to get here, as the people I walked past kept throwing bricks and stones at me, shouting degrading words, but out of all the things they yelled, one stood out for me.
“You are not our Queen!”
That’s right, I am not. I was replaced, by her. My eyes instinctively landed on the woman sitting on the throne from a balcony, the perfect spot to see my inevitable death. Roisa Mondevelle, an unknown she-wolf who appeared out of nowhere to take my place. My gaze caught her hand holding ‘his’ arm and I looked at him.
Tedros Fernore, the Lycan King, the man I devoted my life to, the same man who tossed me aside when another woman came into our lives and claimed to be his true-fated mate, according to the Moon Goddess. Tedros was staring down at me as if we hadn’t spent our childhood together, then his gaze shifted to Roisa and softened at the sight of her safe and sound next to him, glad that the assassination attempt on Roisa’s life was thwarted.
I felt someone kick my back, forcing me to kneel in front of the raging crowd, throwing their fists up in the air and shouting for my immediate execution. Then a person next to me rolled out a paper and read its contents loud enough for everyone to hear.
“The criminal, Larissa Loveryk, has committed treason by daring to assassinate the Queen, Roisa Mondevelle!"
How did my life become like this? When did things go wrong?
“As such, she will be stripped of her title, her wealth, and her land and will be transferred to the royal family!”
Why is this happening to me? I did everything they wanted, I changed myself to meet their expectations. It was difficult to fit in the palace when everyone else was a wolf, and I was the only human.
“And as punishment for attempting to harm a royal, she will be executed!”
Hearing those words, I felt like my heart was being squeezed to the point of exploding. I looked at Tedros one last time, this time, with eyes filled with hate and regret.
“My only sin was loving you, Tedros...” I whispered, although I doubted he would hear my last words before dying.
A rough hand pulled me by the little hair I have, my neck was wrapped with a thick rope, and as I was being pulled up to walk towards the edge, I caught a glimpse of Tedros’ face.
He was smiling, and it finally woke me up from my delusion. Even in the end, he will never love me. He was the only purpose in my life, yet I was just a tool for him to unite the humans and the wolves in this kingdom.
If I could begin my life again, if I could go back, I wouldn’t love you, Lycan King Tedros Fernore…
