Chapter 1In the three years since I drew my last breath, it had snowed every June and brought devastating droughts every October.
The entire pack was barely holding on, and rumors spread like wildfire. Everyone believed the Moon Goddess was punishing them for my sins.
So Alpha Raymond Barrington–my ex–mate–brought in a pack Shaman to crush my soul once and for all.
When they reached the cabin where they had once kept me imprisoned, they found the word "WRONGED" smeared across the walls in blood.
Raymond immediately pulled Emilee Garza–my sister–behind him to shield her, disgust written all over his face.
"Brittany is so vicious," he muttered. "Even in death, she's still trying to scare Emmy. If I knew she was still playing games from the grave, I would've fed her carcass to the rogues and let them scatter her bones."
My parents hated me just as much as he did. They both agreed I didn't deserve to be their daughter, constantly complaining that I'd never been as obedient or gentle as Emilee.
But they didn't know that the one who killed me was none other than their sweet, kind–hearted Emilee. Three years ago, she'd personally torn me apart, gouged out my eyes, and left me there to bleed for seven days and nights until I finally died.
Now, my mutilated remains lay buried beneath the hawthorn tree that Raymond and I had planted together.
---
The air around the cabin felt heavy and grim. Even in broad daylight, it gave everyone the creeps.
Jacquelyn Clayton, the witch, frowned as she surveyed the scene.
"Luna Brittany is holding onto way too much resentment," she said. "Ordinary charms aren't going to suppress this. We have to exhume her and hammer one hundred and eight silver spikes through her remains. It will shred her soul forever. It's the only way to destroy her soul for good."
The method was so cruel that even Jacquelyn, usually all business, hesitated.
Raymond, however, agreed without a trace of doubt. "Do it. I don't care if we have to dig her up. As long as it helps Emmy sleep at night, I'll do anything, even if it means cutting Brittany's remains to pieces."
He ordered two Omegas to head up the hill and dig up my coffin.
But before the men could step out of the cabin, Emilee emerged from behind Raymond and blocked the doorway. Tears pooled in her eyes as she gently shook her head.
"Alpha, Brittany was my sister," she said softly. "Whatever mistakes she made, they're in the past. Now that she's gone, we should let her rest in peace."
Raymond's face softened. He smiled and patted the back of her hand.
"You're always so kind," he murmured. "But I am never giving Brittany another chance to hurt you. I stripped her of her Luna title and locked her up years ago, and today, I'm destroying her soul once and for all."
Emilee nodded and buried her face in his chest, careful to hide the flicker of unease in her eyes.
Over in the corner, Jacquelyn lit a bundle of sage to prep for the ritual.
Up on the hill, the Omegas complained nonstop as they dug for my body. It had been three years. Thick weeds had overgrown the small, neglected mound that marked my grave. The crude tombstone bore words carved in Raymond's own hand.
"In Memory of Brittany Garza, My Sinful Ex–Mate."
One of the Omegas spat on the grave and kicked the stone aside. "A cheating bitch like her doesn't even deserve a name."
Another stomped on it hard. "She's the reason the Moon Goddess cursed us with years of drought. If it weren't for this bitch, my wolf and I wouldn't be so weak, and I wouldn't be stuck as a low–ranking Omega."
"You joined late, so you missed it. Alpha Raymond used to dote on her. And how did she repay him? By framing her own sister for sleeping around. What a monster."
They kept hurling insults as they worked, venting their frustration on the patch of earth. Before long, the soil was cleared, revealing a warped, rotting coffin.
The lead Omega hawked and spat on it. Then they dragged it down the hill–kicking and hauling it the entire way–before dumping it at Raymond's feet.
For a split second, a conflicted look crossed Raymond's face–maybe three years really had dulled the edge of his hatred. But the second he noticed the carved hawthorn blossoms on the lid, his eyes went ice–cold.
"A cheating whore like her doesn't deserve to be associated with something so pure," he snapped. "Break it open!"
With a loud crack, the coffin splintered apart, dust billowing into the air.
But inside, there was no decaying body like they'd imagined. Instead, it contained only a pair of severed arms, pinned beneath jagged stones.
Chapter 2
"What the hell is this? Where is Brittany's body?"
A few of the Omegas dropped to their knees, begging for forgiveness. "We swear we don't know what happened," one of them stammered. "This is the only grave on the mountain. There's no way we made a mistake…"
Jacquelyn studied the severed arms for a moment. "The carvings on this coffin are strange," she said. "It looks like a hex–a magical trap meant to do harm."
Raymond let out a sneer. "I thought three years of rotting would have tamed her. Instead, she's still claws–out. She's using these dark hexes to target Emmy's mind. She's a cancer that refuses to die. Emmy's headaches and insomnia lately have to be linked to this garbage. Jacquelyn, check everything. I want to know exactly what that vicious woman was plotting."
Jacquelyn nodded and pulled out a crystal ball. She didn't even get halfway through her incantation before she slumped hard to her knees.
"The dark energy here… It's too strong."
Drops of blood began to slowly trickle from her eyes. Jacquelyn covered her face, groaning in pain.
"It's a Soul–Binding Curse," she gasped. "What kind of deep–seated hatred makes someone put a curse this nasty?"
She slapped a blood–soaked seal onto her forehead. Moving quickly, she snapped the red threads tangled through the branches of a nearby hawthorn. As the very last thread broke, a small wooden box tumbled down from the roof.
"It's Luna Brittany's handwriting," someone noted.
"Read it," Raymond ordered. "I want to hear exactly what kind of dark magic she was using to torture Emmy."
Jacquelyn cracked open the first page.
"Today is the Blood Moon Festival. The whole pack is out celebrating again. I'm sitting on the wall of the cabin where I was locked up before I died. From up here, I've got a perfect view of the marigold petals Raymond made drift across the whole territory, all just to give Emilee what she wanted. There are so many people in this pack, and not a single one remembers that today is my birthday.
"When I was a kid, the elders used to say your fate is sealed the day you're born. Looking back, they were absolutely right.
"Emilee was born on Christmas, a day for family, so it makes perfect sense that everybody loves her. If she weren't so sick all the time, all because she needed my 'Heart–Blood' to survive, our parents probably would have left me for the crows to die a long time ago. I was nothing but a living blood–bag for their precious golden child.
"Lately, I can't stop living in the past. If Raymond hadn't been there for me back then, I probably wouldn't have lasted as long as I did.
"Growing up, he was the only one who ever remembered my birthday. He used to sneak over the wall just to bring me a slice of honey cake. He always said the exact same thing, 'Brittany, I hope you have a hundred years of happiness.'
"It's a shame I'll never get to hear that again. If I'd known how all this would end, I never would've teased him about it. I really just want one last bite of Raymond's cake.
"It's been a long time since anyone brought food to the cabin where I was kept before my death. I've already eaten most of the tree bark and dead mice I could find. I guess living to a hundred is impossible now."
Jacquelyn read the words in a flat, completely deadpan voice. But hearing them tied a heavy, tangled knot in my chest.
Before Emilee came along, Raymond actually treated me well. Whenever he was around, my parents wouldn't dare lock me in the dark room. They wouldn't dare plunge a knife into my chest over and over, just to harvest my flesh and blood for Emilee's medicine.
I watched Raymond, desperately hoping for some kind of reaction.
Instead, he just kicked the wooden box away. His fists clenched, and he ground his teeth together.
"She betrayed us first. How dare she fake this kind of affection?" he spat. "I never starved her! Does she think writing these pathetic lies will make me crawl back to her? She was a traitor, and now she's a liar. What a calculating, disgusting woman."
Beside him, Emilee visibly relaxed, letting out a quiet breath.
But no one noticed the two eyeballs that had tumbled out of the wooden box.
Chapter 3
A breeze swept past, scattering the hawthorn blossoms.
Emilee adjusted her silver circlet and walked slowly over to Raymond.
"Don't be too hard on Brittany. She just made a mistake," Emilee said. "Honestly, I wish I'd never joined the pack. If I had never returned to the pack, our pup might still be here. Brittany wouldn't have thrown herself at an Omega just to hurt us."
Raymond's earlier hesitation vanished. At her words, his expression hardened into absolute disgust.
"To get back at us?" he asked coldly. "Emmy, stop making excuses for her. She's always been worthless."
My parents nodded in agreement. They'd been telling everyone I was always different from the other kids—calculating and cruel. They even claimed that, when I was a little girl, I manipulated the doctor just to get out of being cut and having my blood drawn.
While the rest of them seethed with anger, Jacquelyn was the only one who sensed something was off. Without waiting for Raymond's permission, she kept reading aloud from the journal.
"October 20th. I'm starving. I realize now that people lose every last shred of dignity when they're dying. Ever since Emilee got engaged to Raymond, the lower–ranking Omegas in the pack have felt like they have a free pass to torment me. They stomped on my bread and told me to lick the crumbs off the floor. They said I could have meat if I got on my knees and barked like a dog. I refused. But their punches hurt. I have zero body fat left. My body is nothing but skin and bone. A single blow snaps my ribs like dry twigs. I don't think I'm going to make it through the winter.
"October 21st. They found a new way to torture me. They hung a sign on my cage today. It said: 'One coin for a turn.' They're selling me, Raymond. Selling your mate like a piece of meat. An older, withered Omega pinned me to the floor and tore at my shredded clothes. He said Raymond gave the order–that this was to teach me a lesson I'd never forget. With my broken ribs and absolutely no strength left, I couldn't fight him off. I was terrified. The assaults brought all of it back–everything that happened that night. Raymond, why didn't you believe me? Why did you let them do this to me?
"October 22nd. It hurts so much. I never knew Omegas could come up with so many ways to inflict pain. Raymond, you lied to me. When we got mated, you promised to treat me well for the rest of my life. You promised you'd never abandon or betray me. Raymond, my days in this prison cabin are unbearable. I tried to fight, so they chained my legs to the tree. When I tried to bite back, they ripped my teeth out one by one. I begged them to just kill me, but they only laughed. Sometimes I wish they'd just beat me to death. At least then the pain would stop.
"December 17th. It started snowing. The snow is so white and clean. It covers my battered body, and it covers a heap of copper left by the door. If the melting snow can't wash me clean, I hope the cold just kills me instead.
"December 24th, Moon God Day's Eve. The stars are beautiful tonight. They look better than fireworks. Yesterday, I scratched one of the Omegas. In return, they ripped out all my fingernails. That's why my handwriting is such a mess now. But today is Emilee's birthday, and everyone in the pack got a bonus. Since they're in a good mood, maybe they'll leave me alone tonight. Raymond, I'm in so much pain. Please, just come and kill me…"
The wind sent leaves and hawthorn blossoms fluttering to the ground. Inside the large cabin where I'd spent my final days, a dead silence fell over the room. The only sound was Raymond taking a sharp breath.
He looked over at Emilee, his voice trembling just a little. "Is everything written in here true?"
