Chapter 6

Winona shook her head resolutely, her tears escaping once more and her eyes pleading with him not to proceed. She didn't want to experience the agony of being rejected, she just couldn't bear it.

"...reject you..." She blinked fiercely, attempting to restrain her tears. "Winona McKellen, as my mate."

His final words penetrated the protective walls around her heart, causing it to shatter into unrecognizable fragments. She wondered if it would ever be possible to mend it.

The effect was immediate. She heard the sound of a blaring siren and the buzzing of bees. She thought she heard the sound of glass shattering, but it was the sound of her broken heart fracturing into a million tiny pieces that couldn't be pieced back together.

"Now, get out of my sight."

She hesitated. She looked at the couple before her. That was supposed to be her and Brent. She was supposed to be by his side! Why was it her sister? Why did it have to be Hayley?

"Out!" He barked again.

Hayley hissed and rolled her eyes. Winona could see she was growing impatient, but her emotions wouldn't let her move. As she was wrestling with herself, she received another stinging slap.

She looked up to see her sister's malicious expression, daring her to react. She really wished she could but sadly she couldn't. Brent was still looking at her, his eyes filled with fury.

Having accomplished her task, Hayley turned her back to Winona and faced Brent. This time, they seemed less concerned about her presence.

"Since you are so interested in how I love and cherish your sister, we will surely give you a good show," Brent said, grabbing Hayley's backside. He started kissing her passionately.

Winona watched as they resumed their intimate display and she was jolted back to reality. This was her reality.

She turned on her heels and ran, past the courtyard, to the back of the palace building where she knew she would be alone. She wanted to cry out everything she had witnessed earlier, but was it even possible?

Winona found herself sitting on the sand, weeping. It was the only solace she could find to alleviate her overwhelming pain. She remembered the day she lost her father. She remembered her mother's harsh curses. She remembered the humiliating experience of being dragged by her hair all the way to their house.

She was confined in the basement without any food from that night until the next. She was famished, yet she couldn't bring herself to eat anything. She yearned for the release of death yet she was terrified of it. She felt like such a coward!

Her wolf remained silent, offering no reassurances that they would overcome this. But what was she expecting from a terminally ill dog? It wasn't even a baby wolf! Of course, it couldn't do anything or say anything.

"Hey Wolfie, are you scared like me too or are you heartbroken? You had better get used to it. Get used to always being rejected. That's the price we have to pay for being different."

"According to them, we are both Bearer of the darkness cursed creatures and don't deserve happiness. Can you imagine? They feel they are superior over us! And they are right! That's because we really can't do anything to them."

Even though she continued talking non-stop to her wolf, she didn't receive an answer. She was met with her cold silence. She knew she wouldn't answer her, but she kept talking. She wanted to vent out all the anger, frustration, and pains she had been enduring all these years.

"Every one of you are the cursed ones! I fucking hate you all! Who the hell do you think you are! Fuck you to my mate! I don't want any of you!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs, but no one even paid attention. She was left alone to ramble like an insane person. She wailed uncontrollably.

She could hardly control her pain from being rejected. She was cruelly rejected by the one she thought would always stand up for her.

There were so many people around her, yet she was alone. And she knew she was going to be alone for a long time.

How naive she was to think a person like her mate, Brent, would care about her.

After crying for more than two hours, she finally wiped the tears from her eyes and mustered the courage to face the future.

She would definitely not forget any of the humiliation she received.

But for now, she decided to remain silent. She wanted to be invisible to everyone. She didn't care anymore because she believed this world wasn't made for her.

Following the incident that day, Winona consciously distanced herself from everyone. She carried out her duties in silence, much like a mouse that had lost its tail.

She worked relentlessly, drowning herself in her own sorrows and miseries. She had no one to offer her comfort. It was just her and her wolf.

Even though her wolf didn't communicate with her, she felt her presence occasionally. But just as her wolf had chosen to ignore her, she reciprocated the silence.

It wasn't that she was blaming her wolf or anything, but she was too emotionally shattered to offer comfort to anyone or accept any consolation. She just wanted to be left alone.

The servants continued to force her to sleep on the cold balcony, but she didn't mind as long as she could fill her stomach. She disregarded their curses and insults. She bore their beatings whenever they deemed it appropriate to hit her.

She never retaliated. She refused to fight back. Perhaps she was exhausted from fighting back when all she would receive in return would be worse.

Every day she observed as love flourished between her sister and her mate, no, the mate who had rejected her. Although she felt a piercing sting every now and then, she had decided to let go.

The painful part was that Hayley chose the exact spot and time Winona usually went out to do the laundry. She would have no choice but to listen to her sister's giggles and moans with her supposed mate.

It took every bit of her strength to hold back her tears every time or act as if she was oblivious. She was sinking deeper into depression as the days went by. Whenever she felt like breaking down, she thought about her father and that alone gave her hope.

Her sister always portrayed herself as the fragile being that she was. The entire Royal family adored her. She was accepted and pampered by them. No one talked about Winona, the rightful mate to the prince.

And she didn't want to endure another humiliation too, so she just kept quiet. But trust her sister, she wasn't going to let this opportunity pass her by.

One day as she was drying the bedspreads, she overheard a group of maids whispering loudly enough for her to hear.

"That's her. I heard she wanted to claim the prince as her mate."

"Are you sure? I don't believe it!"