Countless times throughout her life, Della had considered ending it all. All she needed was a rope and a high place to tie it to, and she would have killed herself years ago.
Maybe that would have stopped the whispers.
Maybe kids would stop stoning her whenever she walked by, or adults would stop ridiculing , insulting or pulling their kids away whenever she approached, and maybe the servants would stop spitting after she passed them in the hallway. The words ’Rotblood,’ ’Moonrot’ ’Curse’ and ’Wolfless’ were now stitched into her skin.
And every bad thing got blamed on her.
And when children heard adults speak that way long enough, their cruelty became entertainment.
She still remembered a few years back when she had took lian out a walk in winter. Back then his sickness hadn’t gotten to the point where he became bedridden. Some group of teenagers had shoved her into a freezing river during winter because they wanted to "wash the rot" off her skin. They stood at the riverbank laughing while she struggled beneath the current, too weak to climb back out.
No one helped her. She had watched the adults passing by, mostly ignoring her cries for help. A few of them even praised the teenage boys for what they’d done.
But little Lian didn’t give up on her. He’d cried and screamed until some servants finally dragged her out.
Afterward, while Della shook violently from cold in the servant quarters, Lian had crawled into her blankets beside her and whispered: "You’re not cursed to me,"
That was the first time anyone had ever said something kind to her.
Lian was everything to her.
And she couldn’t leave him. She had promised to return to him, and she was going to do just that. But right now, guards surrounded every corner in the room, mostly watching her carefully.
And Malachi...was still walking away.
She was pretty sure he would soon give the order if she refused to move, and have the guards drag her outside. And that would be the end of it.
She would never let that happen.
She stumbled forward once more, gritting her teeth through the pain in her leg. Her knees slammed against the shattered altar floor hard enough to bruise, and a hand turned into fist, "Please!" Her voice cracked horribly, "Please don’t leave him behind!"
The hall quieted again, but Malachi didn’t stop walking.
Her fist tightened, and a larger, more painful lump grew in her throat. Her body slowly succumbed to the crushing feeling of despair, and then she suddenly cried, "I’ll confess!"
Only then did Malachi stop walking. But he didn’t turn around.
"I did it," She whispered frantically, "I planted the Moonfire, because Claw Fang asked me to do it. I worked with the enemy against my own pack, and against my own family. And I also planted moonrot ash in...Beatrice’s necklace because...i was jealous of her. I swear I won’t deny it anymore, just please—" Her voice broke apart into a sob, "Please let me bring Lian with me..."
Even the guards looked startled now.
Della then lowered herself completely onto the broken marble, with her forehead against the floor. Her face was now a sobbing mess.
"I’m begging you," She continued brokenly, "Please... he’ll die here."
Silence.
"He didn’t do anything wrong. Please don’t punish him for what I did. He’s innocent." Her hands trembled violently against the stone, "He’s sick all the time. Some nights he can’t even breathe properly, and I have to sit awake beside him until morning because he’s scared he’ll die in his sleep," Tears streamed endlessly down her face now, "He gets cold so easily... he hates thunderstorms because they make his chest hurt worse... and he always pretends he’s not hungry whenever there isn’t enough food because he knows I’ll give him my portion instead..."
Della drew in a huge gulp of air, her fingernails dragging across the stone altar so hard they started to bleed, "And he waits for me every day. Right now, he’s waiting for me to return to him," Della pressed her forehead harder against the ruined altar, "Please," Her entire body shook violently now, "He’s all I have." She sounded destroyed.
"I know nobody wants me," She whispered, "I know I’m cursed. I know everyone hates me. But he doesn’t," A broken sob escaped her throat. "Please don’t take him away from me too..., please don’t punish his innocent, pure soul because of a rotblood like me...please...,"
Still nothing.
Not one word from Malachi or from anyone in the room.
It made the pain in her chest so worse that she got the feeling she might collapse anytime from now.
"I’ll do anything you want," She cried again desperately, "Anything!" Her fingers clawed deeper against the marble floor, "I won’t speak unless spoken to. I’ll kneel for as much and as long as you want me to kneel. I’ll gladly accept it if you wish to put a collar around my neck. I’ll spend the rest of my life paying for tonight, just please—" Her voice shattered completely, "Please let me say goodbye to him..."
The silence that followed felt monstrous, and still, not one person in the hall looked moved enough to help her.
Not Augustus. Not Evangeline. Not Jaime. And definitely not Beatrice. Infact, Beatrice had the biggest smirk on her face.
The mating bond pulsed faintly again, and Della felt Malachi’s emotion through it again. It remained the same, but this time, the irritation had worsened significantly.
"He’s only fourteen," Della whispered weakly now, "He still sleeps holding onto my sleeve because he’s scared I’ll disappear while he’s asleep..."
She knew they weren’t listening. They didn’t care.
But Lian was innocent. He was!
And finally, Malachi moved.
And hope flared inside her damaged heart.
But he didn’t turn around to even acknowledge her. Malachi simply tilted his head toward an Eclipse Crown guard, and the order was immediate.
The guard strode forward and seized Della harshly by the arm.
"No— wait!" she gasped.
He yanked her upward forcefully, and her injured ankle paid the pride once again.
"Please!" Della screamed now, struggling desperately as the guard dragged her across the hall, "PLEASE!"
Her cries echoed off the towering walls.
"I’ll do anything! Please let me see him one last time!"
The guard dragged her directly past Malachi, and she caught the coldness in his eyes that had grown wild with something deeper than rage.
"Malachi!" she cried desperately.
That was the first time she had ever said his name.
.
.
.
Della sat in the large carriage with swollen ankle, a black eye and a pain in her ribs. After she had been thrown into the carriage, she had tried several times to get out again but the guards had pounced on her.
The thought of never seeing Lian again, or him realising she was gone had her sobbing uncontrollably. She thought she had experienced the worst of days, since everyday of her life was basically worse than the previous day, but today took the cake.
Thinking about the words Beatrice had said to her, how Evangeline could easily switch from being the kindest woman to an evil witch, and even Jamie’s acting and how she had fallen for it all...
If only she had kept refusing to retrieve the Moonfire!
If only!
But knowing Jaime and Evangeline, they would have still found a way to make her do it. Or punish her in the most horrible way possible. One way or another, some nightmare was bound to happen to her tonight.
Just then, Malachi’s feelings surged into her own and she also felt the air shift around them.
And even though she couldn’t hear his footsteps, she perceived he was there. To confirm her suspicion, the carriage opened and his broad frame filled the door.
He looked at her, and those similar feelings of rage and disgust swirled around his chest before he finally climbed in.
Della subconsciously scooted as far away as possible from him, pressing herself to the walls of the carriage to put as much distance as she could from him.
Then, she heard footsteps this time and could tell more people were stepping out. Evangeline’s voice carried, and she heard her praising and hugging Beatrice. Jaime’s voice followed afterwards, and soon enough, Beatrice was also getting into the carriage behind them along with her husband.
The next minute, the horses were moving and they were on their way to the Eclipse Kingdom.
Without Lian.
Could she ever forgive herself for leaving him behind?! How was she supposed to live like this?!
.
.
.
The ride was the most suffocating fourty eight hours of her life. Breathing literally proved difficult as the carriage was burning hot from whatever kind of Alpha aura Malachi kept oozing out the whole time.
His feelings told her he didn’t want to sit with her, and it got worse with every hour. At some point, she had began praying he would leave the carriage or give the order for her to get dragged out.
He didn’t.
His lips were fixed in a scorn the entire time.
And the moment they arrived and the city bells rang, he instantly jumped out of the carriage while it was still moving.
Della’s mouth had dropped.
By the time they came to a stop and her side of the carriage fling open, she stepped down and saw herself standing in front of the most beautiful, but sophisticated stone castle she’d ever set her eyes on.
No.
Castle wasn’t even the right word for it.
The structure standing before her looked ancient enough to have watched kingdoms rise and fall. Towering black stone walls stretched endlessly upward with enormous silver banners hanging from them, each carrying the Eclipse Crown insignia.
The massive iron gates stood open ahead of her, and beyond them, the entire city expanded like something from a storybook. Long stone roads curved through rows of expensive buildings that were lit by silver lanterns, while gigantic wolf statues stood at almost every corner of the courtyard.
And everywhere she looked, there were guards. And these ones looked nothing like those back at IronRidge Pack. They were terrifying, and wore dark armour molded perfectly to their bodies with silver weapons strapped against their backs, and every single one of them carried themselves like trained killers.
Some had scars running down their faces while others had eyes so cold they barely looked human anymore.
Even the servants moving around the palace grounds walked quickly with lowered heads, terrified of drawing attention to themselves. They reminded her of herself.
A horse neighed behind, instantly reminding her of her predicament. She quickly pulled her gaze away from the castle, and fixed them to the floor instead.
Behind her, another carriage had just arrived and Leopold stepped out of his side and walked around to the other side.
The moment he opened the door, his expression softened completely, "Careful," He murmured gently, holding out his hand.
Beatrice smiled beautifully at him before placing her smaller hand in his. Leopold helped her down slowly like she was made of glass, his hand remaining firmly around her waist even after both of her feet had touched the ground.
Della stared at them quietly.
The difference between both brothers almost felt unreal. Leopold wasn’t soft by any means and was still terrifying in his own right, but beside Malachi, he looked almost human.
Beatrice looked around the palace grounds with wide eyes filled with admiration. Excitement and pride practically radiated off her, "It’s beautiful," She breathed softly.
Leopold smirked faintly, clearly pleased by her reaction. "You haven’t even seen the inside yet."
"I still can’t believe this is all real," She whispered, glancing up at him.
"It’s yours now too," Leopold replied smoothly. "Everything here belongs to Eclipse Crown. Which means it belongs to you."
Beatrice actually blushed, and her eyes finally fell on the limping woman a few feet away from her.
Della quickly looked away.
"Oh, sister!" Beatrice cried sweetly, and made to move toward Della, concern immediately flooding her expression, "You’re still hurt—"
But Leopold caught her arm gently before she could reach her, "That’s a very bad idea," He said carefully, "She already tried to kill you, and even slapped you. I can’t let you go near her again."
Beatrice looked conflicted instantly, "But... she’s injured, and she’s still my sister!"
Leopold sighed softly before pulling her closer against his chest, "You’re my responsibility now," He murmured while brushing his thumb across her cheek, "And as much as you still want to believe good things about your sister... I don’t think she wants to be your sister,"
Della heard them, but pretended she didn’t and kept her expression blank.
"All those terrible things she did..." Leopold continued quietly. "She’s here to pay the price for them. It’s best you stay out of her way,"
"I just don’t understand why she hates me so much." Beatrice murmured, her eyes filled with sadness.
"You’re too kindhearted, that’s your problem." Leopold’s voice softened even further, "You still pity people that would gladly destroy you." Then his eyes lifted toward Malachi whom was now approaching them slowly from across the courtyard.
The atmosphere shifted instantly, and even the guards straightened more.
"I especially don’t want you getting involved with him," Leopold added under his breath, "So stay away from both of them whenever possible. Alright?"
Beatrice sighed heartbreakingly, before nodding obediently, "Okay."
Della felt him approaching, and forced herself to remain standing there even though she couldn’t feel her ankle anymore. She was even afraid to look at it, knowing how badly it would have swollen by now. It had been insanely painful throughout the ride.
Before she could look up at him, something cold wrapped around her neck and she heard a very soft click.
Slowly, she looked up at Malachi’s unreadable eyes and her fingers gently felt the object.
Metal.
Strong.
Round.
Thick.
A collar.
A.... slave collar.
"Welcome to your worst nightmare, Moonfire!"