Chapter 1: Dispose Her Body
Iris’s POV
"You stand accused of treason," one of the pack elders, elder Gideon declared, his voice echoing through the silent hall as I was knelt by the two pack warriors in the center, surrounded by every pack member, still wearing my maid’s uniform in disgrace.
I am in the council room, and Alpha Darius is staring at me, his eyes burning with a deadly intensity that makes my stomach churn. He had just been cured by the pack healer with the sacred water. Blood stains his clothes, dark and wet, coughed up from his lungs earlier from the poison he had eaten on the meal I served him hours ago.
"Your offense is punishable by death." Beta Rowon added as ripples of agreeing murmuring of some pack members filled the room.
My body felt weak, my throat too. Too weak to cry, too weak to prove my innocence. Who would believe me? Absolutely no one. I had gotten used to this maltreatment. On several occasions, the chief maid would accuse me of stealing. If not the chief maid, then it’s Liora, the future Luna to the triplets, Darius’s sons or anyone in the pack. But being accused of poisoning the king? That was too much to bear.
My hair is in a disheveled state, my eyes already red, my face weak and pale from lack of food. I had gotten used to this too. Staying without eating for days had become my favorite thing by force. Not like other maids aren’t fed well, it was just me. I was hated among all. My once perfect life as an alpha’s daughter ended within the blink of an eye. Dear moon goddess, do I curse you when I pray? The pain is becoming too much, going through so much pain in my father’s pack, my very own pack.
"Raise her." Alpha Darius Verek said as he approached further, now standing in front of me.
Immediately, the two pack warriors who had brought me in earlier approached again as they forcefully pulled me up, my weak legs struggling to stand but they didn’t leave my both sides. Their hold is firm and painful.
"Slave..." Darius called as he held my jaw painfully, pressing it and forcing my face to look up to him.
Around me, the pack members and the elders of the pack, Beta Rowan, elder Thalia, and Gideon, sit in their high-backed chairs, their faces filled with unforgiveness.
The triplets, Cade, Kael, and Zane, stand near their father, Alpha Darius. Their slightly identical faces twisted into cold glares that pierced through me. Despite having almost similar looks, I could differentiate them.