"I found you..."
Rosaline's eyes snapped open at the sudden voice in her head. Frowning, she realized she was surrounded by darkness that stretched as far as her eyes could see.
She couldn't feel anything—not the pain from the fatal wounds caused by incessant flogging after she'd been accused of murdering the Alpha, and most certainly not the hunger and thirst that plagued her.
Where was she?
All she could see was darkness, not a hint of light. A sinister voice seeped through the wind, crawling to her. She could hear it deep into her soul.
"I found you, little mate!" The voice was clearer now, eerie and impossible to ignore. The shock of the word mate made a gasp escape her throat, but she was suddenly sucked away from the darkness until she found herself plunged back into herself.
Her eyes opened, and she could see a glimpse of the sun from the tiny window inside the cell.
It was just a dream. The voice wasn't real, she realized, trying to move but causing a shocking pain in her waist that made her tremble.
She couldn't begin to imagine what her body looked like. She had been beaten with a silver whip that left burning marks all over her skin. She didn't have a wolf who could heal, and silver was extremely fatal for a werewolf's body.
'...let me heal you.' Memories of Lucan whizzed into her mind like a distant dream that had never happened, making her throat burn and her eyes well with tears. A drop of his blood could heal every physical pain, and a single smile of his could soothe any agony in her heart.
But the thought of him now was incredibly bitter. Her tears fell, making a cut on her cheek sting painfully.
It had been almost three years now—almost three years since the very first time they met. It was funny how one would think of something as the best thing that ever happened to them, but in reality, it was their very doom.
'You killed my father... how could you.' She could still remember the hatred in his eyes, how it had shattered her heart, the panic that had soared through her entire being at the sight of her white dress stained with blood and a poisoned dagger in her hand.
She had shaken her head at him. 'I didn't... trust me, Lucan... it wasn't me!' Her blue eyes gleaming with hopeful tears.
He loved her... There were a lot of uncertainties in her life, but this she was very certain of. Lucan loved her more than anything—he would believe her, he would trust in her.
But the eyes that always showed her care seemed to no longer exist. The warm-hearted Lucan had transformed into someone she could only describe as a merciless beast. The man she loved... was gone.
"Click, click, click..."
She could hear the smooth, confident clanking of heels against the stone floors of the dungeon coming in her direction. After that, a familiar voice—one that made her try to move despite the pain she was feeling—sounded.
"I want to see my sister." The female voice was soft, like the flutters of butterfly wings.
She wore a long red dress with a slit at the side of her thigh. Her skin was smooth and fair, her eyes bright and confident. The dainty aura she seemed to carry would awaken anyone's protective instincts—it was an attribute she'd had from a very young age.
The guards didn't argue or refute her words, not with the black mark around her neck that indicated who she was mated to.
The guard opened the door and stepped aside, but Serena seemed dissatisfied with his presence.
"Leave us."
The guard hesitated, glancing from the wounded, chained-up criminal to the dainty woman before him, then nodded obediently.
"Please be careful, Luna. She is still dangerous. If she acts out, I won't be too far away. Please call for me."
Serena nodded with an appreciative smile, one that further highlighted her immaculate beauty.
She strode into the cell, light brown eyes reflecting sympathy and concern.
"Rose... are you alright?" she called, reaching out for the figure on the floor.
"Look what they've done to you. I can't believe they would hurt you this much. Seeing you like this... my heart feels so pained." She sobbed as tears slowly slid down her face.
Rosaline's eyes suddenly raised up sharply.
Her sister's tears fell on her skin.
Once, her heart would ache seeing this kind of pain on Serena's face—once upon a time, before she knew what betrayal tasted like.
---
Days ago. The Annual Mating Soiree, Redthorn Pack.
Rosaline woke up to the sun shining on her face. She rolled around the bed, her sheets wrapped around her as a memory replayed in her mind, making her heart flutter.
"Tomorrow night, you'll be mine completely. I can't wait to touch you in every corner until you and I become one."
She giggled, biting her lips as anticipation thrilled through her heart.
"Why are you still in bed? Today is the big day!" Serena exclaimed as she dashed into the room, hugging a large box to her chest. "Get up quickly."
Rosaline groaned and slid off the bed she shared with her sister.
"Why are you up so early?" Rosaline teased.
"Are you kidding? Have you forgotten tonight is the mating soiree? Everyone is excited to meet their fated mate. You don't know if it's going to be your next-door neighbor or your worst enemy. Either way, you have to accept it because that's the person fate chose for you," Serena chattered on excitedly.
Rosaline sighed and gazed out the window. The woods around the old house had cracked in several places, and each step she took left a creaking sound.
"I don't need a fated mate. I have a chosen," she said, her face warming up at the thought of Lucan.
Back then, had she been paying attention, she would have realized that the prickling feeling at the back of her neck had been a result of the sharp, hateful gaze coming from behind her. But there was no one else in the room except for herself and her sister. Between them both, there was never any hatred.
"Do you know what everyone says about you?" Serena asked, putting a smile on her face as she came to stand next to Rosaline in front of the window.
Rosaline chuckled, "That I'm a loser who doesn't deserve the alpha's son?"
"No." Serena smacked her arm playfully. "No one ever says that about you anymore unless they want to spend a night in those rotten dungeons."
The past hate seemed to be far behind Rosaline now. Her heart was filled with gratitude and love. One chance encounter had led her to Lucan—she believed it was fate. How couldn't it be, when he had saved not just her life but her heart and soul?
Tonight, everyone would find their fated mates, and she believed deep inside that Lucan was hers. They were fated mates.
Though he'd assured her that even if fate never gave her to him, he would choose her no matter what. Chosen mates could bond equally as deep as fated mates could. They would be able to feel each other's emotions, love each other instinctively, unconditionally. But her gut told her that fate brought them together—it was irrevocable destiny.
"Everyone says that you're the luckiest girl in the pack. Every girl either wants to be you or wishes they could get half as lucky as you."
Rosaline merely blushed. She couldn't deny that she was indeed lucky to have Lucan by her side. He was everything she'd ever dreamed of—everything she ever wanted in a man.
"Look, your beloved alpha heir already sent your dress over this morning." Serena hurriedly picked up the box she'd brought in earlier, placing it on the bed and opening it to reveal a beautiful white dress carefully folded inside the box.
When she pulled it out, it flared open like attire befitting a princess. The skirt was adorned with thousands of beautiful pearls that glowed as the sun hit them. It was an off-shoulder style dress that looked absolutely stunning.
Rosaline gasped, awe reflecting in her cobalt-blue eyes.
"I didn't know it would be this beautiful."
Serena suddenly noticed something. "Why are there two dresses in the box? Are you going to change twice for the evening?"
"I told the designer to make two dresses—one for me and one for you," Rosaline said, stunning Serena.
"You... you did?"
"Of course. You didn't think I'd let you wear one of your old dresses to the soiree, did you? You'll be meeting your mate tonight as well. I want you to be the most beautiful girl at that party." Rosaline said warmly, holding her sister's shoulders.
Serena's beauty was hard to ignore. If one looked once, they wouldn't be able to take their eyes away—she was that dazzling.
Just like she had hopes and dreams for herself, she had the same for her sister as well. She wanted her sister's mate to be the best man that would show up at that party tonight. Someone who would see her worth and cherish her more than anything.
Serena was priceless to Rosaline, and she hoped her mate, whoever he would be, would see her like that too—precious and priceless.
When the soiree began at the Redthorn alpha's mansion, Lucan walked hand in hand with Rosaline. It was the perfect image of Cinderella walking into the ball with her prince.
"I feel like the luckiest man alive tonight," Lucan whispered, a husky, adoring voice next to her ear that made her smile.
"I'm the lucky one. Do you realize every girl in this pack wants you?" she teased.
He stopped in his tracks, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles softly.
"You single-handedly stopped a rogue attack that could have destroyed our pack during the pack wars last year. I would have failed the troops if it hadn't been for the strategies you came up with.
If I'd never met you, this pack would have been destroyed to the ground during last year's war and every member sold off as slaves or escaped as rogues. Now tell me, how could I not consider myself lucky to have you? You're my ace, wise and strategic beyond those beautiful eyes of yours."
She smiled up at him, warm and sweet, the music interrupting their moment.
"It's time," he whispered into her ear—words that brought anticipation, never realizing those words were her damnation.
The memories of how it all occurred still felt hazy to her. All she remembered was wishing fervently as she watched the blue moon rise, indicating the start of mating season. Mates had smelled themselves in the air, and she'd waited.
Waited for a miracle that would make her hear her non existent wolf's voice in her mind call Lucan her mate. Waited for the man she believed was her destiny to walk up to her and claim her as his.
But when Lucan's wolf took over, the person he'd called his mate hadn't been her.
All the sounds in the hall had faded away. Her heart had slowed to a stop. The dancing couples seemed to disappear from her view, and only those two people remained—
The two who had just acknowledged each other as fated mates right before her eyes.
She wasn't Lucan's mate... it was Serena.