CHAPTER ONE – THE DAY I DIED
Lina's pov
The first thing I felt was the splash of cold water over my face. It crawled down my face and skin like a living thing, seeping into my nostrils and dragging me back into consciousness.
My back throbbed with intense pain. My arms burned. My wrists, which were tied so tightly behind a thick tree trunk, had gone numb long ago. The rope cut into my skin every time I breathed. I knew I was a pathetic mess without anyone having to tell me.
Voices floated in and out of the haze, muffled at first, then sharpening. I could feel the hatred and disgust in their voices, but honestly… I no longer cared.
"Bring another plank." A guard's voice echoed.
"She hasn't confessed. Hit her harder."
"Alpha Kain wants this done before sunset."
Kain.
Even thinking of his name sent something sharp slicing through my chest.
The world gradually steadied. My vision cleared enough to see the courtyard of the royal palace, a place where I played as a child. A place where I once thought I belonged. Now… now it was where I was going to die. I had come to accept that this was obviously the end for me.
People formed a circle around me: guards, servants, elites, every wolf who had once bowed to me back when my family's bloodline meant something. Back when I wasn't… this.
An omega. A disgrace. A stain they wanted erased.
Someone spat at my feet.
"She tried to kill our Alpha by poisoning his cup," a woman hissed.
"No shame," another muttered. "She deserves worse."
My throat tightened. It was useless trying to defend myself. I had screamed until my voice broke. I had sworn to them that I was innocent, including to him, but he didn't even spare me a glance.
I had begged them to search the kitchen, my room, the storage… anywhere the poison could have been planted, but oh well… who cares about proving the innocence of a lowly pathetic omega.
Because after all, lies travel faster than truth. Especially when the new almighty innocent Luna tells them while playing victim. God, I hate her so damn much… honestly, I wish I'd actually poisoned her, at least my death wouldn't be in vain then.
The guards dragged a heavy wooden plank across the ground, the scraping sound stabbing through my skull. One of them, a broad-shouldered wolf with a twisted sneer, lifted it effortlessly.
"On Alpha Kain's orders," he said loudly. "Lina of the fallen royal line will receive full punishment for attempted murder."
Laughter erupted somewhere behind him.
"Attempted murder?"
"She's too weak to kill a fly."
"Pathetic omega."
Omega. A word that used to mean nothing to me until it became everything I was allowed to be.
The guard swung the plank. I bit my bottom lip as the blow slammed into my side, forcing a strangled cry from my throat. Pain exploded through me like fire. My knees buckled, but the ropes held me upright.
Then another hit came, and another, then another.
The crowd murmured, some gasping, some smirking, some cheering. I lifted my head, my vision swimming, searching for one familiar face that would show even a flicker of mercy. How could no one see that I was innocent?
My parents stood in the front. My mother stared at the ground, avoiding eye contact.
My father folded his arms across his chest with an unreadable expression. I couldn't tell what they were thinking.
They had cut ties with me a long time ago, but something in me still believed they would at least feel hurt or pain from seeing me like this. Yet all I got was that cold, emotionless glare from my father.
A tear dropped from my left eye, the other barely holding on to the tear about to fall. What the hell was I thinking, expecting them to treat me any differently now?
The plank struck again, cracking against my ribs. I bit down on a scream until I tasted blood in my mouth.
"Confess, and it ends," the guard said.
"I didn't…" My voice broke, my breath hitching. "I didn't poison anyone."
"Liar," someone shouted.
"She hates Brielle!"
"She wanted her old status back!"
"She's jealous!"
Jealous? Of Brielle? A humorless chuckle escaped my lips. It wasn't jealousy, you pathetic folks, it was pure, unfiltered hatred.
My eyes found her, standing beside Kain at the edge of the courtyard, wrapped in a pale blue gown, her golden hair cascading down her shoulders like sunlight. She was beautiful, but an absolute devil on the inside. If only Kain could see that.
Her eyes were wet from fake tears, her cheeks glistening as she clung dramatically to Kain's arm.
"Oh, Kain… please stop this," she whimpered loud enough for everyone to hear. "She looks so… broken."
Kain pulled her closer into his embrace, holding her affectionately and turning her gaze away from me like I was some ugly sight. "Don't look, she has to suffer the consequences of her actions," he said softly, making my stomach twist in disgust.
And at that moment, Brielle slyly turned her head, and our eyes locked. A slow mocking smirk appeared on her lips while she fake-sobbed in Kain's arms. Damn that witch, I wasn't previously sure if she was the one who had framed me, but now I am one hundred percent sure she was responsible.
Another blow hit me, this one across the back. I cried out, not expecting the pain to be that intense. I tried to shift, tried to call to my wolf, tried to summon even the faintest spark of power to save myself from this situation, but I got nothing, just emptiness.
The same emptiness that had lived in me since the night Kain, my supposed mate, had rejected me.
The moment he had uttered those words that destroyed my life completely, a piece of me had died. My wolf had gone silent for weeks. My strength vanished. My rank dropped to omega in a single heartbeat.
I went from being the widely admired potential Luna to a lowly omega, changing my fate forever.
And now… I had become a criminal for a crime I didn't even commit.
Another blow landed, and the folks' cheer grew louder. They were definitely having the time of their lives watching me suffer.
"Kain, perhaps she's had enough," Brielle whispered, although I knew deep down she wanted this to continue till I was nothing but a shredded lump of flesh.
Kain didn't respond to her. He just stared at my bloody figure with a cold, detached gaze that didn't hold even a hint of sympathy.
He had once been the man I admired from a distance, the man I was crazily obsessed with, the man I was ready to sacrifice anything for, but now… I regret and despise the day I ever set eyes on him.
Now he was just a stranger watching my execution.
Another strike hit me, this one so hard it forced the air from my lungs. The courtyard spun, blurry shapes swirling into streaks of color. This was it, this was the end.
My knees gave out and my vision dimmed. I was slowly starting to lose consciousness. But as my body sagged, my gaze drifted to Kain's face, still hoping… but I knew it was all empty hopes.
I just wish I had a chance to make this right, to have my revenge, and to make them regret what they have done to me.
Slowly, the world faded away as I drifted into oblivion.
---
"Miss Lina, wake up. Your mother is on her way here." A strangely familiar voice echoed from afar, dragging me from the darkness.
That tone sounded like that of my maid Ana, who had served me a long time ago. What was she doing here? And what did she mean by my mother was on her way? Had my parents changed their minds and decided to save me? Hell no way.
I forced my eyes open, expecting to feel the soul-crushing pain from earlier… but surprisingly, it was all gone.
My blurry vision slowly cleared, and I could finally observe my surroundings. I could see curtains… me on a bed, covered in a blue blanket.
Wait, blue? But how? This was the color I always used back then, before I became an outcast. It was my favorite, and I made sure all my property came in blue.
I jolted up in disbelief, looking around. This was my room, my room from eight months ago before my parents burnt all my belongings. And my maid Ana, who had been previously sent away, was right here, looking at me with an equally confused expression as I looked at her.
And then it clicked. I had somehow gone back in time, and today… today was the exact day Kain had rejected me as his mate, the beginning of my nightmare.