Empress Khione: Her Revenge

Alone

Khione tried to stand up from her position on the ground but her body was feeling too weak so she couldn't support herself. Jassper, who was shocked from the confrontation, finally managed to understand the situation and quickly moved to Khione's side to help her up. 

Khione's mother finally made an appearance, with bright red eyes – it was clear that she had been crying. 

"M-Mom," Khione tried to walk towards her mother but her father stood in between them. "What is going on?"

Before her mother could say anything, her father scoffed at the question before he began to speak, his voice low yet lethal. 

"We received a call from the Red Moon pack's alpha," Alpha Boreas spat out the name of the rival pack as if it was dirt. "Mocking us over the fact that he had marked our daughter and then rejected her."

Khione's heart began to speed up and her body began to feel extremely cold. Had he really boasted about his cruel actions to her parents. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as her pain slowly began to reappear. 

"Do you know the worst part?" he growled into Khione's face, making her shiver in fear. "This whole embarrassment could have been avoided if only you had kept your legs shut!"

Khione body began to convulse in shame and embarrassment. She felt downgraded and dirty. Her father wasn't wrong, if she didn't give herself to him so easily, the situation may have been very different right now. But she was stupid and naive, and she thought that her mate would never hurt her. Even if he was the alpha of her rival pack. 

"You have disgraced your family and your pack," her father added, further adding injury to her wound. 

A dry sob escaped from Khione's throat upon hearing those words. If she thought her heart couldn't break any worse after being rejected, she was wrong. Her father's cruel words only served to break her down even further. 

She tried to speak, to apologise, but her father stopped her before she could say a word. He held up his hand to silence her and as he did that, the skies rumbled before the clouds began to cry along with Khione. 

"Had you been anyone else, you would have had to face the punishment of treason, however, thank your mother for having some pity for you. All charges have been lifted."

Khione almost smiled at that, feeling thankful that her parents were choosing to forgive her. But her father's next words proved that she was getting her hopes up for nothing. 

"However, you are to leave these premises and never return."

"You're kicking me out of the house?" Khione asked, a bewildered look on her face. "I'm your daughter!" 

"I am not kicking you out of our house," her father spat. "I am banishing you from my pack. If I ever see you again, you will receive the death penalty. The border patrol have already been informed. The rest of the pack will be informed tomorrow. It will take effect immediately after."

A gasp escaped Khione's lips and her legs gave way, making her fall to the ground once again. 

"No," she cried. "You can't do this to me." 

Her father didn't even bother to respond to that. He gave her one final disgusted look before he turned around and walked back into his home, leaving Khione out in the drenching rain. 

Khione's mother, Orithyia, had tears in her eyes once again upon hearing her husbands words. There was nothing she could do besides cry though. Her begging earlier had eased her daughters sentence from death to banishment and her husband had threatened her that if she continued to fight with him, her fate would be the same as Khione's. 

Orithyia stepped towards her daughter before she leaned down and pulled her daughter in her embrace. Khione wrapped her arms around her and held on tightly, too scared to let her go. They cried into each other's shoulders before her mother forced Khione's arms off of her. She wiped Khione's tears away before she placed a soft, tender kiss on her forehead.

"Go to Mount Nerei and look for Princess Electra. She will help you."

Orithyia then placed a few more tender kisses on her daughter's cheeks before she slowly stood up and followed her husband. 

The door closed behind her, leaving Khione out in the cold. Not only had she been rejected by her mate that night, but she had now also been rejected by her family. What was she to do? There was nothing left to her life now. The broken mate link was enough to kill her and now without a pack, it seemed she was destined not to make it out alive. 

Jassper took his jacket off and wrapped it around Khione before he helped her stand up again. 

"We need to get you out of here," he told her. "It's too dangerous now."

A banished wolf was like a sole rabbit in a wolf's den. Even if she was their blood relative, once you're banished, you're nothing but a stranger. Blood relations only last if you're accepted by the pack. Otherwise, even your closest relative wouldn't hesitate to take your life. 

Khione may have been the alpha's daughter, but she was exiled by her own dad. Even if the pack members didn't know what her crime was, to be exiled by your own father is enough to tell them that it was unforgivable. As soon as her father sends out the target on her head, everyone will be extra alert and the moment they see her, they won't even hesitate. After all, it was the alpha's order. They would be seen as a hero.

Jassper helped Khione into his car while Macy watched from the alpha's front porch. Jassper and Khione didn't even have to ask her whether she was going to go with them, she wasn't. 

Macy had heard the alpha's orders which meant that she must abide by them from the moment she heard them. Going against the alpha was unforgivable and considered a traitorous crime. Khione may have been her best friend, but her entire livelihood depended on it. 

Jassper on the other hand may have been part of the pack, but he was not a werewolf. So he did not feel obliged to follow the alpha's every order. He also had an intense sense of loyalty and he simply could not leave his friend out in the middle of the territory to be devoured by a bunch of wolves. 

He helped Khione into the car and quickly moved to the driver's seat. He made a quick stop to his home before he drove Khione to the border. He helped her out and made sure she was stood outside the territory before he started to give her a few bags. 

Khione stood there, lifelessly as she watched Jassper place bags at her feet. She was feeling numb and the shock of everything had still not allowed her brain accept the situation she was in. 

"I have some food for you in this bag," Jassper said as he pointed to a red bag. "In this bag, I have some potions for you. I hope you won't ever need to use them because I don't know if they will work," he tried to joke but Khione was only half listening to him to react. 

"All of them have been labelled with their mechanism of action. So read them when you find time so you know what you have and when to use them. I packed all the bottles of the antidote to help you numb out the marking pain, but I also don't know how long they will last you. Also, you can not shift into your wolf when it's in your system so try to only take it when it's absolutely necessary."

Jassper continued to speak to a lifeless Khione, giving her advice on his antidotes and potions. Khione's eyes filled with tears as she watched her friend talk. He was the only person who hadn't rejected her yet she had to leave him behind. 

"Oh no, don't cry, baby girl," Jassper said as he wiped her tears away. "You have to be strong. Once I turn eighteen, I will come out to look for you. If you're not alive, I swear to god I will curse your ghost!" 

That made Khione let out a small laugh through her tears. 

In the werewolf community, all pack members were bound to their packs until they turned eighteen years old. After that, although it was not looked upon favourably, they were allowed to leave the pack to explore the world and settle elsewhere. Since they were not rejecting the pack and they were not banished, they were still considered to be part of the pack and always had a home within.

Jassper was almost eight months younger than Khione and his birthday was at the end of the year. That meant that he was not allowed to leave before then. However, he always said that the pack life wasn't for him and with the current incident involving Khione, he was now certain he did not want to be part of it. 

"I'll wait for you," she told him, feeling somewhat glad that there was at least one thing in the world for her to look forward to. 

Jassper pulled her into his arms and tightly embraced her. 

"Where will you go now?" he asked her, still not letting go. 

Khione gently pulled back and shrugged her shoulders, remembering what her mother had told her. 

"My mother told me to go to Mount Nerei and to find a Princess Electra."

Jassper's brows narrowed upon hearing that. 

"Princess Electra?" he repeated the name, trying to remember where he had heard it. "Wait, as in the notorious, evil alchemist, Princess Electra?"

Khione shrugged her shoulders once again. She had heard stories of a Princess Electra who had poisoned tens of thousands of werewolves and as a result was exiled for life in a torturous mountain, but she did not think that story was true. Not to mention, why would her mother send her to find an evil alchemist? It did not make sense to her at all, so she just assumed it must have been someone else.

"I'm not sure," Khione added. "But she may have just been confused in that situation and said the wrong thing. Her family's pack lives near Mount Nerei so I will go to them. They're an independent pack so there should not be any issues with me trespassing on to their land." 

Jassper nodded in response, unsure of what to say. 

"Alright, take care of yourself, honey. And make sure to call me to keep me updated on your wellbeing," he said as he pointed to the phone in her hand, which she did not even realise she was holding. He must have placed it there while they were talking. 

"Thank you, Ruby," Khione said to her friend, as she pulled him in for another tight embrace.

"No need to thank me," he smiled down at her, his eyes reflecting his sad soul. "I'll see you soon."

Although he promised to see her again, Khione felt as if this would be their last meeting. After all, she did not think that she would make it more than three days alive. Her antidote would ware off soon and she would go back to feeling the excruciating pain once again. How would she even move in such a situation. She would have to depend on the rest of the antidotes he gave her, but that put her at a disadvantage since she wouldn't be able to shift. Not being able to shift only served to make her slower. 

No matter how she looked at it, her chances of survival were very low. She needed to depend on her survival instincts but those were going to be overpowered by pain. She was not feeling very optimistic about her future at all.

"Go," she told him. "I'll leave once you go." 

Jassper looked like he was going to retort but Khione stopped him.

"I won't be able to leave with you standing here. So please, leave," tears fell down her face as she uttered those words. 

Jassper didn't say anything else, he couldn't even imagine what it must have felt like to be in that situation. He simply nodded before he walked back to his car and started it. He sat in there, unmoving, for a few more minutes until Khione forced her arm up to wave at him. 

With a sigh Jassper drove off, leaving Khione out in the middle of the cold, dark forest, alone.