15

Fifteen
“For the last time, let me make this clear to you Kelly. I want nothing to do with the Alpha or his choosing. Stay away from me, and leave me in peace”
“The only way I will leave you alone is if you leave him alone. Understood?” Kelly said, her eyes shone with so much hatred at me I wondered if she would kill me if she had the chance. I knew the answer to that deep down. I sighed in defeat. There was no way I could make Kelly leave me alone. I just needed to avoid her for my own safety and hope she wouldn’t cause more trouble for me.
“I’ve had enough. Take care,” I turned to leave her.
“Alright, go be his slut if you must”
I stopped on my tracks. Had she just called me a slut? “What did you call me?” I turned back to her.
“Oh aren’t you his worthless slut? I bet you open your legs for him and even beg him to let suck his–”
That was the last straw. I didn’t let her finish the sentence. The crack of my hand meeting her cheek echoed through the hall.
Kelly screamed, clutching her face. For a moment we just stood there, stunned by my actions, by the vivid red mark blooming on Kelly’s pale skin.
The slap had echoed throughout the court, and the aftermath hung in the air like a thick fog. Kelly’s face was red with anger, her eyes blazing with hatred. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, a dull thudding that seemed to synchronize with the blood rushing through my veins.
In the next moment, everything happened so fast that it felt like time had slowed down. Kelly lunged at me, her hands grabbing onto my shoulders with an iron grip. She pushed me hard, making me stumble backward, tripping over my own feet as I tried to regain my balance.
And then, before I could even process what was happening, I crashed into the portrait of the Alpha’s mother. The glass shattered horribly, pieces flying everywhere as the whole portrait fell to the floor.
The sound of breaking glass was deafening, like a million shards of ice shattering all at once. It was followed by an eerie silence, as if the entire world had stopped to take a breath. In that split second, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if I had been here before, lived this moment already.
But I hadn’t. This was new, raw, and terrifying. Oh my God!
I looked down at the broken portrait in horror, my mind still struggling to catch up with what had just happened. The late queen lay in pieces on the floor, her once-proud expression now unrecognizable.
“Oh no,” I whispered, my voice barely audible above the ringing in my ears. “Oh God, what have we done?”
Kelly stood a few feet away, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. Her face was twisted into a mask of pure hatred, her eyes narrowed to slits as she stared at me.
“You did this,” she hissed, her voice low and venomous. “You destroyed the most important thing in this palace. You are in serious trouble now.”
As I stared at the broken portrait, a wave of regret washed over me. I should have known better. I should have walked away, ignored Kelly’s taunts and let her stew in her own jealousy. But I hadn’t, and now I would have to live with the consequences.
And the consequences were sure to be severe. The guards would be here any minute, and when they saw what had happened here, there would be no explaining it away. No amount of pleading or excuses would save me from the punishment that awaited.
I closed my eyes, trying to block out the sight of the broken portrait and the sound of Kelly’s angry words. I wanted to disappear, to wake up from this nightmare and find myself back in my room, safe and sound.
But this wasn’t a dream. This was reality, and I was about to pay the price for Kelly’s actions yet again. Tears pooled in my eyes. My mind went to Connor. He had promised me that he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. Now I was in trouble all by myself. Could he still possibly help me out? I looked back at the broken portrait. I’m so sorry, Queen.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching, the sound of heavy boots against the marble floor. My heart sank as I realized the guards had arrived. The guards arrived almost immediately, followed by a few members of the court who had heard the commotion. They looked at me with disgust and contempt, as if I were some kind of filthy creature that had crawled out from under a rock. And maybe, to them, I was. I felt slightly relieved that Rafe wasn’t here yet. I couldn’t imagine the embarrassment idfI’d eel if he was watching me like this.
I tried to stand up, to defend myself against the accusations that I knew were coming, but my legs felt weak beneath me. My fingers burned from the pain of being pierced by the pieces of glass I had fallen on. I winced in pain. One of the guards stepped forward and demanded to know what had happened. He towered over me, his eyes narrowed and his hands resting on the hilt of his sword.
“Who broke the King’s mothers’ portrait? Who did this?” He demanded, staring between me and my sister who was standing far away from me.
“I… I didn’t..” I wanted to explain that Kelly had pushed me into the portrait and that I had only been trying to stop her from destroying the portrait. But before I could open my mouth, my sister interrupted.
“She did it,” she said, pointing at me with an accusing finger. “She broke the portrait.”
Her words hung in the air like a curse, and for a moment, no one moved or spoke. Then, slowly, the guard turned to look at me, his expression unreadable.
“Is this true?” he asked, his voice cold and emotionless.
“No! I was–”
“I was just passing by when I saw her touching the portrait,” she continued, her voice dripping with false sincerity. “I’m sure she didn’t mean to do it. It was an accident.”
Even as she spoke, I could see the malice in her eyes. She wanted me to suffer for this, and she didn’t care who she had to lie to or what she had to do to make it happen. I had underestimated my sister yet again. I closed my eyes as the pain and shame washed through my body.
The guard didn’t hesitate. Without another word, he grabbed me by the arm and hauled me to my feet. The pain in my back and shoulders flared up as I was jerked upright, and I couldn’t help but cry out.
“Take her away,” the guard ordered, his voice flat and emotionless. “She is to be held in the dungeon until the Alpha decides what to do with her.”
As they dragged me away, I could hear the whispers of the other court members, their voices full of scorn and contempt. I wanted to scream at them, to tell them that I hadn’t done anything wrong, that my sister was lying. But I knew it wouldn’t matter. To them, I was already guilty. I was the one who had destroyed the most important portrait in the palace.
And as I was led through the halls, past the staring eyes and judgmental glares, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the beginning of the end for me. If my life as I knew it was over, and all because of one stupid argument with my stepsister.
It was a sobering thought, and one that made me want to curl up into a ball and never come out again. But even as I felt tears welling up in my eyes, I forced myself to stay strong. I refused to let Kelly win. I refused to let her destroy me. I frantically glanced around as I was being led out of the castle to the dungeons, hoping to see Connor. He was probably the only that could get me out of this.
“Move forward!” One of the guards shouted at me, making me jump in fright. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. The first and only contestant to be imprisoned. I was truly unfortunate.
We were about to pass the castle gates when a voice stopped us.
“Where are you taking her to?”
We all whirled around to face Alpha Rafe. He looked furious. I just knew that I was certainly in more trouble.
“My lord.. She broke the Queen’s portrait. The punishment for that is imprisonment as you ordered” The guard who had shouted at explained to Rafe, his voice shaking.
King Rafe turned to me then. His stare almost digging holes into my body from it’s intensity. I would not let him intimidate me. I stared back at him, my expression hard.
“Unhand her.” I gasped in shock. Did I just hear right? The guards gaped at him, clearly shocked too.
“My.. lord?”
“I said..” His thick voice rumbled with anger. “Unhand her this minute.”
*****