Chapter 7

• Setting: Starfall Pack
• Melody Reese
• As the stage for my beheading was being set, I remained handcuffed in the middle of the square. Insults were being hurled at me, especially by my competitors, who wanted to take my place and be with Nathan. My mother sobbed hysterically, while my father just stood there, staring into space. I should have been crying or saying goodbye to my friends, but I welcomed it. The feeling of nothingness that came with death consumed me and pulled me in. I craved it—the freedom from Nathan and his monstrosities. An escape from the pain of wanting a mate who refused to hear me out.
• "It will be okay, Mother," I whispered to her, making her kneel before me.
• I was tempted to give her a piece of my mind for pushing me into Nathan's arms, but I refrained. She held me tightly, weeping into my shirt. Her gut-wrenching cries invoked my own tears, even though I blamed her for everything.
• "How can it be okay, and you... you—God, my baby!" She couldn't make a complete sentence without blubbering and sniffing. She pulled away from the embrace and put her hands on my face.
• "I know we never had a close relationship as mother and daughter," she began, shutting her eyes briefly as if she were remembering something.
• Tears cascaded past her eyelids, down her cheeks, and onto her chin. My heart broke for her—for what we could have had.
• "Mom," I whispered, wishing my hands were free so I could hold her too.
• "I concentrated so much on what I wanted you to become since you were a child, only to end up ignoring my responsibility as a mother. Success, greatness, a strong woman, and a Luna—those were all I wanted you to become. G-God, I failed you. I failed to give you a sense of belonging, honey."
• She sniffed again, blinking away another set of tears. It didn't matter that the entire pack was watching because my mother was finally being the person I always wanted her to be. She had been so strict and hard on me that our relationship became that of a trainer and a trainee.
• "It's okay, Mom. It's in the past." I tried to assure her, but who was I kidding?
• "Dad,” I called in a weak, quavering voice.
• "Don't say anything, Melody. You know I love you." I smiled through tears, nodding at him as he looked at me.
• "You can't let him kill her!" My mother let go of me and wrapped her arms around my father's legs, tugging at his trousers.
• "Gwen," my father called, looking at my mother dejectedly.
• "No! You are the former Beta of this pack. You, of all people, know all the laws of this land. Isn't there a law that could save our daughter?" At that point, my mother's hypernasal voice had caught everyone's attention. The desperation in it, mixed with hope, warmed my broken, aching heart.
• My father seemed to be in thought while my mind drifted to Lilith. I had watched as her hands were cut off, the sight of the blood gushing out almost making me vomit. She had been dragged away after that, leaving me to await my own death.
• "There is one that could help her, but unfortunately, at this point, I don't think it is possible." I didn't understand why hearing my father say that gave me ephemeral hope when I was ready to die.
• "Just say it!" There was newfound hope in my mother's tone.
• "A mate," my father muttered, hanging his head, while my mother let out a powerful cry.
• They didn't know that I had already met him. But even if I told them, how would they find him? Would he believe them if they told him that I was minutes away from being beheaded? And even if he believed them, would he want a barren mate? I doubted it, so I kept quiet and decided to let nature decide my fate.
• "It's time," Alpha Nathan interrupted, making me snap my eyes to the wooden stage where he stood.A wooden structure with two vertical posts, joined by a cross beam, was placed beside him. Its base had a block and a space where I would fit my head.
• "Mate," my wolf chose that moment to speak.
• "Not now," I responded, my whole body becoming numb.
• "Mate," she repeated, pushing herself to the surface.
• "Bring her up here,” Nathan ordered.
• My mother's screams followed me as I was dragged to the stage. With one last look, I could see my father holding her, restraining her from running after me. The rest were silent, watching as the scene unfolded.
• "Uncuff her," Nathan ordered again, the hatred in his eyes burning through me.
• "Starfall Pack, you are here to witness the punishment of Melody Reese—my chosen Luna." He ground out the last part, his teeth rattling as he glared at me.
• "Alpha! Alpha!" A patrol warrior interrupted, rushing to where Nathan stood. He looked shaken, his eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost.
• "How dare you interrupt me, Raymond?" The Alpha turned to him, the rage in his voice detectable. Then I felt it—the same foreign feeling I experienced when I entered the auditorium. I could feel it; he was near. The pull I felt the other day bombarded my senses.
• "But Alp—"
• "What you have to say can wait!" He dismissed him, then turned his attention to me. If looks could kill, I would have died under that hateful gaze at that moment.
• "Please, spare her!" my mother screamed, still struggling to free herself from my father.
• "She sealed her fate. It has to be this way." Nathan shrugged before ordering me to kneel and place my head on the block.
• "Mason, hand me the sword." His name alone reminded me of his betrayal.
• "You pretend to be this big, bad Alpha when you're nothing but a coward." I raised my head, looking him dead in the eyes. I didn't have anything to lose, so I decided to speak up and call a spade a spade.
• "You treat women like trash because you are unsure of your masculinity," I added, drawing fearful gasps from the pack members.
• "Give me the sword!" he shouted, stretching his hand at Mason, who instead shook his head and took a step back.
• "Don't try me, Mason. I will not take disrespect from you too."
• "I won't allow you to kill her," he talked back at the Alpha, making my brows furrow. Had he realized his mistake and was trying to make up for it?
• I shook my head at him.
• "And how will you stop me?" Nathan laughed out loud in mockery, walking slowly toward Mason, who kept moving back. The guards were on standby, waiting for their Alpha to give them orders.
• "I will." That voice—deep and familiar—lit up a spark inside me that turned into a flame.
• "Draven?" Nathan's eyes widened, as did mine.
• "How did you...?" As Nathan trailed off, I realized the patrol warrior had come to warn him about my mate, but he had refused to listen.
• If he had, I knew Nathan would have separated my head from my body before Draven arrived.
• "We have a treaty. Your guards at the gate let us in. We come in peace." My mate raised his hands, his eyes directed at me.
• "If you attack us, you will break the treaty, which is yet to expire. And I sure hope you remember what you put on the line as collateral." I had never been so proud of someone as I was at that moment, admiring the bravery my mate possessed. He had come for me, and that alone invoked tears that I couldn't even dream of controlling.
• "What do you want?" Nathan gritted his teeth, knowing he was bound and cornered against a wall by the treaty.
• "My mate. I have come here to take Melody Reese."