My breath was coming in short spasms now as I was dragged out of my room, my arms held tightly by two security men who had come on Ember’s command.

The sting of the earlier humiliation still burned in my chest but the taunts and sneers from Ember made it feel like my skin was already on fire. All around me, pack members had gathered, every one of them had their phones out and pointed at me recording every second of my disgrace. I could hear the buzz of notifications, messages and live-stream comments beeping from Ember’s phone.

As we went down the dorm, I saw that the college compound was already filling with people, everyone must have seen the live stream and hence they rushed here to witness it themselves.  Ember walked behind me as they dragged me out, a smug smile on her face, her phone and tripod standing still recording my distress, proud of the chaos she had created.

“Look at this pathetic excuse for a girl,” Ember’s voice rang out, cutting through the murmurs of the crowd. “Trying to claim my place, my title, my mate. And for what? For attention? For sympathy? Her words were amplified by a small speaker clipped to her jacket, ensuring everyone could hear her loud and clear.

As we walked through the Pack land, she kept hurling insults at me, taunting me, calling me every unprintable name you can think of.

I struggled against the security men, trying to free myself but their grip was too strong. The Pack’s central clearing came into view, the place where I should have been celebrating my graduation with pride. Instead, I was being paraded like a rogue. My reputation would forever be soiled in front of everyone I had ever known. I could feel the eyes of the pack members boring into me, some were filled with doubt, others scorn.

“Please, Ember, just stop this,” I pleaded but my voice was barely more than a whisper, drowning out my Ember’s loud voice that was still taunting me.

“Stop? Oh, no, sweetie,” she laughed “This is only the beginning,” she said and turned to her audience again with a wicked grin. “You all need to see this for what it is – a desperate attempt to seduce my Alpha, to tear apart our bond on the very day of our union!”

Ember’s words were received well by the onlookers as they all nodded their heads agreeing with her. My heart pounded, the humiliation and frustration boiling inside me. I knew I had to do something, anything to stop this madness. But what could I do when Ember held all the cards? When Ember was the new Luna and everyone seemed to be hanging onto her every word?

When we reached the ceremonial stage, Ember shoved me forward. I stumbled, catching myself just before I fell. The big screen set up behind the stage came on, showing a close-up of my distressed, tear-stricken face. The camera zoomed in to capture every pain and tear I was struggling to hold back.

Ember snatched a microphone from one of the people onstage, her voice boomed through the speakers. A massive crowd had gathered now and everyone was staring at her in anticipation. I couldn’t believe things had gone sour in less than a few hours.

“Listen everyone!” she shouted “This girl claims to be Alpha Cohen’s daughter, but we all know the truth, don’t we? Alpha Cohen’s daughter is a sweet little girl, who’s not very active on social media, who doesn’t write about the love of her father being snatched, Am I right?”

The crowd chorused a loud Yes.

“This impostor here, is nothing but a conniving little snake trying to slither her way into power, into my place and into my mate’s heart and she deserves to be punished".

My stomach churned as I looked over at the crowd. Faces I had known, including all the ones that looked faintly familiar stared back at me. Some of them were shocked, others uncertain. From behind, I spotted some of the pack elders whose faces I recognized moving through the thick crowd with concern etched on their faces. But they were still too far away to intervene.

I had to find a way to make Ember stop before things spiralled even further out of control. “Ember!” I shouted, above the dining. “If you keep this up, if you keep doing this to me. You’re going to ruin your wedding! Is that what you want? You still have a chance to let me go right now and I promise you, that I’ll put all of this behind me and we’ll never have to talk about it anymore, I promise".

For a moment, there was silence and I felt a flicker of hope. Perhaps, my words had reached Ember and had made her realize the consequence of this madness. But then Ember laughed – a high, shrill sound that echoed through the clearing.

“Ruin my wedding?” she sneered, her eyes narrowing with disdain. “Who do you think you are? What makes you think you have that kind of power? Do you think this is only about the wedding? This is about you, trying to ruin everything I’ve worked for, everything I deserve and now, everyone will see you for what you are".

My heart sank. I had just succeeded in provoking her more. I glanced towards the pack elders. They were closer now but were still struggling to push through the crowd because everyone was trying to see first so, they weren’t allowing them to pass through easily. I had to buy more time until then.

“Fine!” I tried again “If not for me but for my father. He will not be happy if he walks in here and sees me being treated like this. Please, for his sake, let me go and I promise I’ll not hold this against you".

“Your wretched bitch!” Ember matched to me and slapped me hard across my face “I see I have been too lenient with you right. That’s why you think you can still talk. Don’t worry, I know just the perfect thing to shut you up".

She turned and signaled to a security guard to come upstage as she produced a familiar-looking vial from her pocket again.

I froze when I saw it was another Wolfsbane. When will this nightmare end?

When the security guard came close to me, Ember indicated to him that he should hold me to the ground. I struggled weakly against him but he succeeded and pinned me to the ground with force.

I felt the dirt scraped against my skin. My body trembled with a mixture of fear and frustration. Ember’s laughter; sharp and cruel, filled the air. I could feel the heat of the pack’s eyes on me, their judgmental gazes making my cheeks burn with humiliation. I struggled to free myself, but the security guard’s grip pressed me deeper into the cold earth.

Ember loomed over me, holding another small vial of Wolfsbane in her hand. My eyes widened in panic as the liquid gleamed under the midday sun. The scent alone stung my nose, the acrid fumes were already making my eyes water. If she pours that thing on me. I was done for.

“Are you going to finally tell us who you are? Are you ready to confess now?” she sneered.

“Ember, please,” I cried out, feeling my salty tears sip into my mouth. “You’ve got it all wrong. I swear. Fine, go through my phone and my messages with him. It’ll convince you that I’m truly his daughter. Please".

Ember cut me off, her lips cutting into a bitter smile. “I can see you’re not willing to confess yet. You don’t want to admit your crimes girl? You don’t want to admit to trying to seduce my mate?” She stepped closer, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “Maybe I should help you loosen your stiff tongue".

Without warning, she tipped the vial, letting the Wolfsbane spill over my torn ceremonial cloak. The liquid seeped into the torn fabric and almost instantly, I began to feel its burning pain. I bit back on my lips to stifle a scream but the agony was too much. A pained cry escaped my lips, echoing through the clearing.

“Stop!” I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. “Please, just stop!”

But Ember’s face twisted in a gleeful rage. “Oh, no sweetheart,” she taunted. “This is what happens when you try to come between a Luna and her Alpha".

She tipped the vial again and the Wolfsbane spilled onto my skin directly causing me to cry out. “Fine!” I shouted, my voice already hoarse from all the crying and shouting. “I confess! I will confess! I tried to seduce – I tried to seduce the Alpha because I wanted his attention, okay? Just… please stop!”

For a heartbeat, the crowd seemed to hold their breath. Ember blinked, taken aback by my sudden admission. But then, instead of stopping, her smile grew even wider, and her eyes glinted with a dark, twisted satisfaction.

“I knew it!” she hissed; her voice filled with triumph. I knew you were nothing but a dirty, little seductress. How long has this been going on?” she questioned.

“A while now!” I continued lying – saying anything so she would let me go. “But he loves you. He told me that himself. He said he wanted to be with you and I grew jealous. I just made that post out of spite and jealousy. I’m sorry. Please let me go".

Ember laughed, showing all of her teeth. Spent, she faced me again, an amused smile on her face. “You think admitting it will save you?” she asked and tossed the nearly empty vial aide. “Oh no, darling, you’ve just sealed your fate".

“But that isn’t what we agreed,” I cried – my skin was burning… every part of my body felt like I was being roasted. “Please just let me go, I didn’t want to do this but if I involve the pack’s warrior, you know what will happen to you right? Things will only get messier".

“Really?” she laughed “Should I help you call them?”

She grabbed another vial, this one larger than the others she had been using and tipped it over my head, drenching me in the burning liquid. I screamed and writhed as the wolfsbane burned into my skin, opening fresh wounds and still burning the already existing wounds from the previous vials of wolfsbane. The pain was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. It was worse than any physical wound. My vision blurred; my breaths were coming in short, panicked gasps.

“Somebody help!’ I tried to call out with my already hoarse voice. “Pack warriors, please!”

Ember scoffed and reached for another bottle of Wolfsbane again. This time the security guard had let go of me and I was trying to crawl away from her but she followed behind me, laughing.

“No one’s coming to save you dear,” she sneered. “Not when they know who you truly are. A threat, A seductress and an all-round disgrace".

My cries grew weaker, as the burning sensation intensified, every drop of wolfsbane seeped deeper into my skin, tormenting my senses. Ember was loving every moment. She grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me to my feet. My head spun, my vision swimming with dark spots as Ember dragged me through the crowd, parading my already disfigured form.

“Look at her!” she screamed prancing and dragging me around like a mad woman  “Look at this worthless thing that thinks she can take my place".

Just when I thought I was really going to drop dead, I heard the sounds of clashing metals and cries of anger. Managing to look up, I saw that it was the pack warriors rushing towards the stage but Ember’s minions had stopped them and were fighting them. Both sides fought – and soon the air was filled with grunts and shouts.

The live stream had gained a lot of viewers. Ember’s phone was buzzing every single second… the world was going to watch me die. My body was growing weaker every second. I was surprised to have lasted this long. Ember dragged me closer to the stage, her nails digging painfully into my scalp.

“I’m not done with you yet,” she hissed.

She prepared to press my face into a puddle of Wolfsbane that had pooled on the ground. I struggled… my voice was nothing more than a whisper now, there was not much I could do. So, I resigned myself to my fate.

Just as Ember’s hands began to push my head downward, a powerful, commanding voice boomed from the distance.

“Jessica!”

My eyes flew open as I turned in the direction of the voice and with all the strength I had left in me yelled…

“Dad!”