Chapter 1
Kiandria
"Curse you and your entire generation!"
Kurt Sweeney trembled all over with rage while I stood before him, my mouth hanging open in fear that he was going to do more to hurt me when all I did was tell him he was my mate.
"This should be the first and last time you ever come up to me spitting such nonsense. Try it again and I'll take your life!"
He hissed and stormed off, glaring back at me over his shoulder as he did.
"If I were Kurt, I wouldn't stop hitting her."
"Her last two husbands died within three days of her telling them they were her mates. Even after the third one rejected her, he still died in his sleep."
"Kurt shouldn't sleep for the next three days."
"It's her hair. That's how she sucked the life out of those unfortunate men. Darn omega."
They stood by the pavement as I walked past, doing nothing to lower their voices.
Three years and I thought I would've gotten used to it by now.
Three years of being called countless names. Three years of watching my husbands die like dogs, until people began to speculate that I was a witch.
I stopped once I reached my destination and looked up at the shack.
Its roof sagged halfway down, and the walls already had numerous holes punched through them.
No one would come to repair it since I was a 'witch', and no one would hire me for any job either.
I pressed a finger against my temple, squeezing my eyes shut briefly.
If I truly was the witch they said I was, would I be living in such a rundown shack?
Taking a step forward, I first made a right turn around the shack.
Most children grew up with stories of the purple-haired witch flying around. Over time, they began hiding in wait to scare me.
When it first started, I didn't understand what was happening and would suddenly hear childish cackling in the middle of the night.
When I got back to the front, I smacked my palms together and exhaled in relief.
Then I went inside. I had just taken off my clothes to sleep when I heard voices outside and promptly sat up.
"W-who's there?"
Hearing me, the voices stilled, and I frowned.
Children.
They must've been watching me circle the shack to see if I'd catch anyone. Now that I was inside, they came out to decide who would be my terror for the day.
Sighing, I got to my feet and put on the same piece of clothing before stepping outside to scare them away.
But no sooner had I opened the door than several men appeared in my sight. A black cloth was pulled over my face, and a hand tightened around my neck.
I don't know how long I struggled, but when I opened my eyes again, it wasn't to the usual walk of shame the pack always knocked me out for—it was to the backs of several men.
They were clustered around a table meters away, their backs turned to me.
"They asked for a girl. They didn't specify. I say we give them the one we can spare."
"Yes. None of us wants our daughters eaten or whatever depraved things they do. We lose nothing by giving her to them."
"Alpha, unless we want this pack wiped out, we should deliver the purple-haired witch to the demon triplets before the time elapses."
My eyes widened making out the one word I understand.
Purple-haired witch.
That was me and this was clearly a meeting of the pack elders.
Women weren't allowed in these meetings, nor were they part of the committee. If they had brought me here, then that meant…
I fell to the floor and pressed both palms over my ears, screaming, "No, please! I didn't hear anything. I really didn't hear anything!"
From the corner of my eye, I saw someone walk up to the cage, so I lifted my head, but I immediately shrank back when I saw the burly man looming over me.
"Get out."
"I-I didn't hear anything. Please don't kill me," I stuttered, crawling deeper into the cage.
An agitated smile escaped him as he impatiently reached in and dragged me out by the arm.
Despite my screaming, I was hauled away and shoved into another cage behind a chariot.
"If–if you're going to kill me, please don't leave my body out in the open. Bury me in my shack."
But he eyed me and stepped back, calling for the rider to start moving.
Dejected, I slumped against the cage, sliding down in defeat.
So I was going to die?
I was only twenty-three. I hadn't even had the chance to do anything.
"Out."
I fell forward when the chariot abruptly stopped and the rider's voice boomed.
Holding onto the cage for support, I lifted my head, startled, when I realized I was surrounded by cages—each one holding a girl who seemed to be around my age.
The entire area was filled with riders with girls in cages.
As I glanced around, some soldiers dismounted from their horses and walked toward one cage.
I couldn't see what they were doing, so I stepped back, craning my neck.
One of them shifted at that moment, and I caught a glimpse of what was inside.
A girl… with her fingers buried in her neck.
I clench my jaw.
She had clawed herself to death.
"Well, she had the right idea." A voice muttered.
I snapped my eyes to the side where the voice stemmed from, and saw another girl leaning against her cage.
Her face was blackened with dirt and her hair was filled with so much dirt like she had been bathed with mud.
"Right idea?" I asked back, confused.
She lowered her head slightly to look at me, her fingers digging into her scalp to scratch.
"Mhm. Dying now means you get to choose how and when you die. Letting the demon alpha triplets get their hands on you means you'll be chewed to death. Literally." Her response came out flat, and mundane.
"Wh-what do you mean? What does this have to do with those old men?"
"Where do you think you're being taken to in a cage? A banquet? I mean, it could be but that'd make us the feast."
Then it dawned on me…