EMMA
"Thief! Where did you keep it?" They forced me to my knees as they dragged me to the courtyard where a crowd had begun to gather. Panic zinged through me. This was clearly a setup, but whoever had done it was so clever; this was a perfect time to disgrace me and ruin my already sullied name.
"No, I—I didn't—" The courtyard spun around me
"Really?!" Vera's voice pierced the air like a dagger.
I shook my head violently. "I would never—"
"After all I have done for you, Emma, why do you always cause me pain? Why would you want to ruin my mating ceremony?" Fake tears trickled down her face, and I stared in shock at how fast this was playing out. Why was she so quick to think that I wanted to cause her pain? Why couldn't she defend me?
Then it dawned on me that the gift had been part of her setup to make her look like a good sister on her day.
"Please, Ve-Vera, you have to believe me."My lips trembled in fear; if I had any other choice, I would never grovel before Vera. My body had so many scars from being punished for crimes I never committed, and I had no choice but to beg her, as I didn't want my eighteenth birthday to be ruined.
Fear thrummed through me, and I shivered at the thought of what they would do to me. The Luna Crest was a sacred symbol of unity and fertility, worn only during the mating ceremony. The punishment for stealing the Luna Crest was banishment. Where would I go? I had no one who cared for me except my aunt. My father had never spared me a glance since I said my first word. He acted as if he didn't play a part in bringing me to this cruel world.
"No!" Just then, my aunt ran forward. "You can't just—"
I wasn't a thief, but would you tell that to an angry mob who had hated me since the very day I took my first breath? The odds were stacked against me, and I could only pray to the moon goddess for mercy.
"She's cursed!" someone shouted from the crowd. "A bad omen on the mating day!"
The guards squeezed my hands, and I groaned in pain. It didn't help that the cold granite dug into my knees.
"Stop! You're hurting her." Aunt Layla cried. "Check again. Emma would never—"
"Silence," Xavier's voice boomed, his standing behind him, a show of support for whatever verdict he had for me. His face was cold, as if he believed I had done it. What was worse? It looked like I did it. Xander's eyes flicked over me with disgust. Xerxes looked like he wanted to shred me apart for causing their mate pain. He reached for Vera and pulled her into his arms, her wails filling the air.
"I have just two questions to ask you, and I swear to the moon goddess, if you say nothing but the truth, you would pray for death today." Xavier threatened, and the look in his eyes communicated that he meant every word. I had only one question for him. Why did he hate me so much? What happened after our first kiss?
"Who cleaned up the room?"
"I-I did." I stuttered.
"Who was assigned to the Luna Crest symbol two weeks ago?"
"The-"
"You will answer the question and nothing else," Xander growled at me, his wolf threatening to emerge.
"I was assigned to it." The answers rolled off my lips immediately. "But I didn't steal anything!" I added. "You have to believe me!"
"No one should believe a whore's daughter. Your kind pays good with evil, and you should be banished." Vera spat at me.
"Please—" I looked to my father, the Beta. He had joined the crowd, although he watched in silence, which was the case whenever I was involved in any situation. He never defended me, unlike how he protected Vera.
"Father," I called out to him, but he looked away. His silence at such a time was deafening. I didn't know which hurt more — his silence or the betrayal in his eyes.
Tears blurred my vision as Xerxes added, "This is treason. Punishable by banishment."
"No—please—"
"Strip her and take her to the whipping post. Give her twenty lashes of the whip," Xavier ordered, and a gasp escaped me. Everything was happening so fast. Where did it all go wrong?
"No! No, I beg you. She won't survive it." Aunt Layla screamed at the top of her voice, but two guards dragged her and took her in.
"She's lucky she's not being executed," someone murmured in the crowd.
"Good riddance to bad rubbish!" Another commented.
The guards dragged me forward. I screamed, but no one listened. They tore my birthday dress off and shoved me to my knees.
My skin scraped against the hard stone, and almost immediately, someone dumped a bucket of stinging liquid over me. It smelled of vinegar, and a putrid stench filled the air. My skin burned immediately, and the tears I had tried so hard to keep at bay came rushing down.
"This is for stealing what belongs to our future Luna," the tall guard sneered.
My body shook as the stinging intensified, and my back felt like it was on fire. Then came the first whip.
Each lash tore at my flesh. I screamed, clawing at the ground, but no one came to help. When the last lash came thundering on my skin, it landed on my collar, biting into my skin, and I yelled out in agony. This was too much pain for an eighteen-year-old to bear.
Somewhere in the haze of pain, a voice yelled. "I found it!" a voice yelled. "The Luna crest! It was hidden in the wolf statue!"
Gasps erupted in the crowd, but no one bothered to apologise to me. I had never been more humiliated. Who ĥad hidden it there?
"I told you all she didn't do it." Aunt Layla shouted and rushed to my side, wrapping her strong arms around me.
"You're alright. Oh dear, you're alright…"
But I wasn't. I wasn't alright, my back ached like hell, my birthday was ruined, I felt like dying and still, the triplets said nothing. They didn't even apologise; they just stared.
And worse, my gaze connected with my father's. He didn't seem too happy that I was exonerated. He looked disappointed. Why did he hate me so much? Did he have anything to do with the setup? Why did it seem like he would have wanted me to be banished? As if the truth ruined his plan. Did it have anything to do with the dream I had two weeks ago?
Why do you hate me so much? I wanted to scream. What did I ever do to deserve this?
As I welcomed the darkness that threatened to consume me, the collar around my neck broke off, and I felt something flutter inside me.