Chapter 3
Aria's POV
"YOU hurt Mommy! I SAW you! I saw you PUSH her!"
Asher's little finger pointed right at me.
I stared at him in disbelief.
"No, I didn't... Asher, how can you lie..." My voice broke. "I'm your mother..."
"You're NOT my mother!" Asher threw himself into Vivienne's arms, eyes full of fear. "Vivienne's my mom! You're BAD! You always try to take me away!"
My heart stopped.
I'd gotten used to his coldness, his hate. But hearing those words still knocked the air out of my lungs.
"Asher..."
"Enough!" Elias cut me off with a cold laugh. "You think a three-year-old would lie? Or that Vivienne would bash her own head in to frame you?"
Elder Marcus stepped forward, face grim. "Aria Whitmore, by pack law, deliberately harming Damien's widow carries a sentence of sixty lashes with silver chains."
I went rigid.
Three years ago, I'd gotten twenty-three lashes for climbing the wall to see Asher. I'd spent a month in bed, nearly died. The scars still covered my back, aching every time it rained.
Sixty lashes would kill me.
Elias frowned, opened his mouth—
"No..." Vivienne shook her head weakly. "Elder Marcus, she's still Asher's birth mother... I don't want the child to see blood..."
She looked at my chest. "Aria, how about this—give me that necklace around your neck, and I'll forgive you."
My hand instinctively clutched the necklace—the only thing my mother left me.
"No! Not this, I can give you something else—"
But what else did I have? Three years of fines and confiscations had stripped me of everything.
"Then what do you suggest?" Elias snapped impatiently.
Vivienne smiled. "How about this—let her reflect on the ceremonial frame for three days. If she comes to her senses, I'll let it go."
The ceremonial frame—the iron scaffold used for Moon Goddess rituals, over forty feet high. Only wolves who'd committed serious crimes got strung up there.
Something flashed in Elias's eyes, but he looked away quickly. "Do it. Guards."
Two warriors grabbed my arms.
"Elias..." I struggled, shouting. "You can't do this..."
He didn't look at me. Just turned to help Vivienne away.
The moment the silver chains wrapped around my wrists—
SIZZLE.
My flesh burned and blistered.
"AHHH!"
They hoisted me up. The freezing wind slammed into me.
"Reflect on what you've done." The warrior smirked and left.
I looked down—the frame was positioned directly across from Elias's bedroom window.
The curtains were half-open. I could see the bed clearly.
No. He wouldn't be that cruel...
"Aria!" Vivienne appeared at the window, smile bright. "How's the view? Pretty great up there, right?"
She turned back, voice sweet. "Elias, she's all strung up now~"
Elias walked to the window, looking down at me. "Three days. Figure out what you did wrong."
"I didn't do anything wrong..." My voice was hoarse.
"Then keep hanging." He pulled one curtain closed—leaving just enough of a gap to see the bed.
Behind the curtain, Vivienne's laughter rang out. "Oh, Elias, I'll keep you real good company these three days~ Can't let her get too lonely~"
The lights dimmed.
Fabric rustling.
Then a woman's giggle.
Three days and three nights.
Daytime sun scorched my skin until it cracked. Nighttime cold froze me to the bone. No food. No water.
Just that lit window and those sounds that shattered me—creaking bed, woman moaning, man grunting, flesh slapping. Over and over. Three days straight.
Vivienne would lean out sometimes. "Aria, you okay? Want me to bring you some water?" Then she'd turn back with a pout. "She looks so pitiful..."
All I could do was bite my lip until it split and bled.
"Look, that crazy bitch is still hanging there." Pack members would pass by sometimes.
"Heard she killed Damien, then tried to kill his widow. She deserves it. We never should've taken her in."
"Yeah. But if I had to watch my mate screwing someone else every day, I'd..."
Memories flooded back, unstoppable.
I was seven when my parents died in battle. Luna Elena took me in.
Her son Elias held me while I cried. "Aria, don't be scared. I'll always be here."
At fifteen, that bloody rainy night when Damien broke into my room... Elias burst in and smashed a candlestick into his brother's head. Then he pulled me close, voice shaking. "No one will ever hurt you again. I swear it."
At twenty-two, he became Alpha and marked me under the Moon Goddess's witness. He bit down hard on my neck. "You're mine, Aria. Only mine. Anyone touches you, I'll kill them."
But now, the person who swore to protect me had forgotten every promise.
Fourth day, dawn.
The guards unhooked the chains. I collapsed.
I crawled back to my shabby quarters and packed what little I had—a few clothes, my mother's necklace.
From the back of the cabinet, I pulled out a small black vial.
The potion to break a mate bond unilaterally.
Forbidden. The old priest had warned me—drinking it would damage my soul, maybe even make me infertile, unable to ever bond again.
But I was out of options.
I uncapped it and drank.
The liquid slid down my throat. Pain exploded in my chest.
I dropped to my knees, vomiting black blood. The mark on my neck burned, agony spreading through my entire body.
I collapsed on the floor, nails scraping the ground until they broke, biting back screams.
Finally, the pain faded.
I stood shakily, grabbed my bag, and stumbled out the door.
At the pack entrance, Asher was standing there.
He saw me. His eyes flickered. "Hey... you... where are you going..."
His voice was small. Tentative.
I looked at him—blue eyes like Elias's, deep and wary.
I opened my mouth. Closed it.
Then I turned and walked away without looking back.
