Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Yulia's POV 

Henna had been my sister, and for the ten years I had known her since Father had brought her to the pack as his illegitimate child, I had accepted, loved, and treated her as family.

And now, I stared at her in bewilderment. At Dominic, who stood beside her, gazing at her with a devotion and affection I had never seen directed at me, despite the years I had thought I knew him.

“If Yulia is a traitor, that means Henna is now the only rightful person to the throne!” someone shouted from the crowd, and a sharp ache of disappointment clawed at my chest.

“Yes, she’s the alpha’s daughter too! If her stepsister has humiliated herself by trying to destroy this pack, then she is supposed to become our new leader and whoever gets to be her mate, the alpha!” another voice chimed in, echoing the thought.

I shook my head, my heart sinking. It was becoming painfully clear that this was all an orchestrated plan against me. A plot designed to disinherit me from the throne that was rightfully mine, to strip me of everything I had worked for and everything I had sacrificed for the pack.

“Oh, sister, I warned you not to betray the pack that has been here for you, just because you wanted the treasury,” Henna said, her voice soft and almost sweet. So soft that it sent a chill down my spine, my eyes widening at the possibility that she could betray me like this.

Especially when I had been nothing but kind to her. 

“Yulia has proven what she is to everyone, and I say she be deposed and banished for this crime of hers!” Dominic added, his voice cold and final.

I was at a loss for words, to my horror, two warriors moved toward me, their expressions unreadable but their intentions clear.

“If truly she is guilty of what she’s been accused of, then she must be punished. She has to be thrown beyond the borders of the pack, and there she must be branded a rogue, with no right to return!” Dominic’s father declared and this caused the crowd to begin to murmur in approval. 

“Banish her!" 

“Traitor!" 

“Execute her!" 

There were different clamours for different punishments for me.

“What do you mean? I am innocent! How dare you accuse me of something I did not do?” I blurted out, desperation flooding my voice.

One of the warriors stepped forward and landed a sharp slap across my face. The sting seared through me, and I staggered slightly but refused to kneel.

“What are you doing? I am innocent of all of this!” I cried again, my words choked with pain. Not just from Dominic’s betrayal, but from the injustice of what was happening right now. 

And all the while, the pack watched in silence, their judgmental eyes burning into me.

The people began to hurl objects at me, tomatoes, the food on their tables, anything they could lay their hands on. Every piece of debris that struck me stung, but I forced myself to keep moving forward, ignoring the searing pain.

I reached Dominic and grabbed him by the collars of the cloth he wore, my hands trembling but firm with rage.

“Today was supposed to be our mating ceremony, Dominic! You didn’t just reject me for my stepsister, you’re making sure that I am deposed as alpha. Why? You know I am innocent of all your accusations! You know I have loved this pack with everything in me and would never think of harming it…” I tried to finish, my voice raw with emotion.

But he didn’t let me finish. With a sudden, sharp shove, he sent me crashing to the floor once more.

Two heavy, steel-strong hands gripped me tightly as I struggled to rise, and I watched in disbelief as my own warriors began dragging me out of the hall.

I thrashed and writhed, fighting with every ounce of strength I had, but my resistance was nothing compared to the iron grip of the two hands holding me in place.

From a distance, Henna smiled. Satisfaction dripped from her gaze, her eyes locked on me. Dominic, standing beside her and holding her waist, looked equally satisfied and almost proud.

The truth of what had been happening all these months hit me. Dominic had played me, he must have intentionally approached me since my father died, just so he could cause my downfall. 

Every moment I had thought he loved me, every tender word, every act that had seemed genuine,  had all been a carefully constructed illusion.

He had acted intentionally like the man of my dreams, checking every box I thought mattered, before revealing the real person beneath. A manipulative, cruel and calculating person. 

I had been nothing more than a pawn in his scheme, a means to an end for his ambition.

As the warriors dragged me mercilessly outside, my resolve hardened. This would be the last time anyone would ever demean me. Henna and Dominic had disinherited me from my pack using false allegations, and even Dominic’s father had remained silent. I would make them all pay for this, I was going to reclaim what was rightfully mine no matter what. 

All my sacrifices and endurance, everything I had done for this pack, had been repaid with this humiliation. I swallowed the bile rising in my throat as the warriors that once obeyed, and swore loyalty to me hurled me further from the safety of the pack, my body trembling from fury and pain.

As I struggled to stand, I looked up and my blood ran cold. Henna and Dominic stood before me once again, their bodies blocking my escape, their expressions spiteful.

“What do you want?” I snapped, my voice raw with fury and disbelief. Suddenly, a sharp blow struck me. 

My vision blurred, the world tilting violently, and despite my desperate struggle, the darkness was slowly swallowing me me. I fought to keep my eyes open, but it was no use. The last words I heard was Henna telling Dominic to sell me off to an auction house…