"LOLA!" The scream ripped out of Sofia's throat before she knew it. Her whole body trembled violently as she staggered back from the railing, her chest constricting, her breath breaking in rapid gasps. "No… no… no…" she whispered, clutching her head with both trembling hands.
Then she ran.
She rushed out of her room and down the stairs. Her legs felt weak, but she forced them to move. Her heart beat so hard she thought it would burst. Guests turned to stare as she passed, their eyes wide at her pale face.
"She fell!" Sofia screamed. "Lola fell!"
Gasps filled the hall. The music stopped. Glasses slipped from hands and hit the table.
"Help! Please!" Sofia cried, her voice trembling.
She stumbled outside, the cold air hitting her skin, her chest burning as she searched the ground.
And then she saw Lola.
Lying broken on the stone path. Her silver dress torn. Her crown, lying on the ground, cracked.
Sofia's knees gave out. "No…" she whispered, shaking her head. "No, no, no…"
Behind her, the gasps turned into shouts.
"No!" Lady Cara screamed, her voice breaking as she ran forward. She dropped to her knees beside the broken, lifeless body of her daughter. Beta Stephen and Damien were right behind her, their faces pale with shock.
Lady Cara gathered Lola into her arms, rocking her gently as if holding her could bring her back. "Not my baby… please, not my baby," she cried, pressing her face into Lola's hair. Her sobs tore through the night.
"Someone help her!" she screamed, her voice trembling. "Please, somebody help my daughter!"
The crowd froze, horrified. Then a figure pushed through the crowd. The pack healer, an older woman with red hair, rushed forward. She dropped to her knees beside Lady Cara, gently laying her hands on Lola's body.
"Lay her flat," the healer instructed quickly. Beta Stephen pulled his wife back, though she resisted at first, clinging to Lola. Finally, he pried her hands away, and the healer placed Lola carefully on the cold stone.
She pressed both palms over Lola's chest, her eyes shutting as she whispered a fast incantation. Her lips moved without pause. A faint glow lit up her hands, spreading slowly, seeping into Lola's chest.
"Breathe, child… breathe…" the healer urged softly, her voice trembling though she tried to stay steady. The glow pulsed brighter, then dimmed, then brightened again.
The whole pack watched in silence, their breaths held, their hearts pounding. Mothers clutched their children. Some wolves wept quietly. The only sound was the healer's desperate chant and Lady Cara's muffled sobs behind her.
"Come back… please, come back to us," the healer whispered, pushing more power into her palms.
But Lola did not move. Her chest stayed still. Her lips stayed pale. Blood trickled from the side of her head, staining her silver dress and spreading dark over the stone path.
Sofia sat paralyzed, her head pounding as hot tears poured freely, blurring her sight. Her body convulsed with sobs, her chest aching with broken gasps. The guests stood in a wide circle, gasping, some covering their mouths, some already crying. Whispers grew louder, sharper, drifting into Sofia's ears.
"She pushed her…"
"They must have fought upstairs…"
"She was jealous…"
"Jealous little rat, she hated Lola."
"No, I don't believe it—Sofia wouldn't…"
"Then why is she crying like that? Guilty tears."
Sofia's sobs grew louder. "I didn't… I didn't…" she whispered, shaking her head again and again. But no one listened. No one even looked at her with sympathy. Their judgment was already made.
The healer's hands glowed brighter, her lips moving fast in prayer. Everyone held their breath, waiting.
But nothing happened.
Lola's body lay still, her chest unmoving, her lips pale.
Finally, the healer stopped. Her shoulders slumped. She lifted her head slowly, her eyes full of sorrow.
"She's gone," the healer whispered.
The words hit like thunder.
A cry ripped out of Lady Cara's throat. "No! No, not my baby!" She rocked Lola's body in her arms, sobbing into her daughter's hair.
Beta Stephen closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. He said nothing.
Damien sat frozen, staring at Lola's lifeless form. His hand shook where it touched her dress, his lips parting as if he wanted to deny what he was seeing. For a heartbeat, his eyes were glassy with grief, disbelief shadowing his face. Then his face hardened. His grief turned to rage.
He stood, his eyes locking on Sofia.
"She killed her," Lady Cara screamed. "She pushed Lola! She's always hated her! She murdered my daughter!"
Whispers exploded through the crowd.
"She did it."
"She was jealous."
"I saw them together upstairs."
"She wanted Damien for herself."
Sofia shook her head, her tears spilling. "No… no, I didn't… I didn't push her…"
But no one listened.
Damien moved toward her, his steps fast. His eyes blazed with hatred as he reached her. He grabbed her arm hard, dragging her forward into the circle of light where everyone could see her.
Sofia gasped, trying to pull away. "Damien—please—"
"Don't say my name!" he snarled, his voice shaking with rage. "You killed her. You murdered Lola. Sofia, how could you!"
Her sobs shook her body. "No, I swear—I didn't—I didn't!"
But the crowd shouted louder:
"Cursed girl!"
"Jealous murderer!"
"Lock her up!"
Lady Cara screamed from the ground, holding Lola's body. "Tear her apart! She deserves death!"
Sofia's heart broke in her chest. She looked toward her father. "Father… please…"
But Beta Stephen only looked at her with cold, empty eyes. He turned his face away.
Damien's grip on her arm tightened. He pulled her closer to himself, his voice low and full of fury. "You hated her because I chose her," he spat. "Because you wanted me. Don't think I didn't notice the way you looked at me all these years—pathetic, desperate. Did you really think I would ever want you?"
Sofia's breath caught, her whole body trembling.
Damien's voice rose, cruel and sharp. "Even in death, Lola will never be replaced by someone like you. Fat. Weak. Cursed. You disgust me, Sofia."
The crowd gasped at his words, but no one defended her.
Sofia's chest shattered. The boy she had loved all her life, the boy who once defended her, now destroyed her in front of everyone.
While Damien glared into her eyes, he felt his rage twist with something he couldn't name. He didn't know what hurt more—the sight of Lola's lifeless body at his feet or the fact that Sofia had become this. His sweet, innocent Sofia… the purest girl he had ever known was gone. In her place stood a jealous murderer, or so it seemed to him.
He shoved her roughly into the guards' hands. "Take her to the dungeons. She'll stay there until we decide her punishment."
The guards grabbed her by the arms, their grips tight together on her.
The crowd howled their agreement.
Sofia screamed through her tears. "I didn't kill her! Please, you have to believe me!"
Before the guards could drag her away, Lady Cara rose from where she knelt with Lola's body. Her face was red and twisted with grief and hate. She stormed toward Sofia and, unexpectedly, slapped her hard across the face.
The sound echoed through the night.
Sofia stumbled, but Lady Cara didn't stop. She slapped her again. And again. Each strike harder than the last.
"You killed my daughter!" she screamed, slapping her relentlessly. "You will die for this!"
"You cursed child—always jealous, always hateful!" Slap!
Sofia cried out, her face burning from the hits, but the guards held her still. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she begged, "Mother, please—I didn't—"
"Don't call me mother!" Lady Cara spat, her chest heaving. She raised her hand one last time, then let it fall limp at her side. With a broken sob, she turned and stumbled back to Lola's body, cradling her again as if nothing else in the world mattered.
Sofia stood trembling, her face red and wet with tears, her heart ripped apart.
And then Damien's voice resounded coldly through the air.
"Take her away."
The last thing Sofia saw before they dragged her away was Damien kneeling beside Lola again, his face buried in his hands.
The boy she loved, the mother she longed for, the father she trusted—every one of them had turned their back on her. And in that moment, Sofia knew her life was over.