“I, Alpha Luke Sanders, will NEVER accept you, Ella Fisher as my mate. You kiled my brother, do you think you can simply get away with your punishment? No, you will stay in this pack and be our toy for the rest of your life.”

Luke grabbed my arm violently, staring at me like I was trash.

My heart felt like it was being ripped out of me as I listened to the murmurs of the crowd.

So I ran away.

One year later, I faced my mate again who regreted what he did before and wanted to chase me back now.

NO WAY.

All I wanted was my innocence and revenge.

Chapter 1

Ella

There was once upon a time when l had it all.

Loving parents, sister, and above all my crush and best friend.

I was born into the beta family of Crimson Moon pack, the second daughter and honestly my life was good.

My sister Jane was everything my parents wanted us to be while I was a bit of a tomboy.

The future Alpha, Lyle Sanders, was Jane’s mate. I was envy their love and I hope one day I could be with Lyle’s brother, my secret crush Luke Sanders. He meant the world to me, and at one point l couldn’t imagine living without him.

But everything changed three years ago, the year I was fifteen.

The day I was accused by Jane of killing Lyle, also Luke’s brother.

From then on, I was nothing of the pack, the unwanted slave, the murderer.

“This pain is not enough for killing my mate.” Jane stepped on my hand, bullying me again for accusing me of killing her mate, I felt completely helpless.

I screamed as Jane stomped on my hand like she was squishing a bug.

Her heels kept on piercing my skin and shattering my bones.

She pulled my hair backward and slaped me. My face felt numb.

It had been three years since our pack found the lifeless body of the Alpha’s firstborn Lyle, lying next to me in our pack’s secluded area.

When I woke up, I was holding a silver dagger covered in blood. Everyone was around me, and Jane was pointing at me, saying she saw me kiled Lyle.

Since then, my life descended to hel. Now, I am nothing but the pack slave, a target for the wolves of the Crimson Moon pack to play with and mistreat for fun.

Jane smirked as she stopped stomping. She gestured to her friends, and they let me go. Together, they all admired my bloody hand as if it were a piece of art they had created. Some even high-fived Jane, while others spat at me in disgust.

I bit my inner cheek at the realization. Ever since my sister spread the lie about me kiling Lyle, I became everyone’s toy and source of entertainment.

“Now, gather stones and throw them at this betch!” Jane instructed and everyone agreed. “She killed our Ryle. She deserves to be punished.”

Before I could walk away, a stone flew towards me, hitting my forehead. More rocks came after, causing me to curl to the ground for protection. Blood streamed down my left eye, blurring my vision with red. All I received was laughter.

Seeing me in pain was the only thing that would make them happy.

Everyone in the Crimson Moon Pack thought I was guilty, so they wanted to punish me for it.

But, I didn’t kil Lyle, and it tore me apart that no one except my mother believed in my innocence.

The rain of rocks stopped. Jane and the others seemed satisfied with it, and they left.

As I tried to wipe the blood from my forehead, I noticed someone approaching.

It was Luke Sanders, my childhood crush, looking in my direction.

His beautiful green eyes met mine, and my heart stopped. I’d secretly liked him for a long time, but I never got to tell him because of what happened.

He stopped talking to me after that. But I never blamed him for it because Lyle was his older brother.

He was looking at me coldly, and then walked away. It felt like something was taken out of my chest.

If only I had listened to my instincts and not believed Jane’s text that night, I could have avoided this. And who would doubt Jane when she accused me? Lyle and she were mates, so everyone naturally sided with her.

Limping to the ground, I made my way to my small hut.

I cleaned my wounds with my medicine kit, I feel sorry for myself for living like this. The moon goddess knew I was innocent but still allowed everyone to treat me worse than a criminal.

Where was justice?

A knock sounded. Hearing the three knocks followed by a whistle, I smiled. I knew it was my mom, who likely snuck away from my Beta father to see me, since my father cut ties with me after the incident. We came up with this special knock to recognize wolves who might mean me harm, especially since I lived alone in a secluded area of our pack.

Excitedly, I opened the door.

“Hi, Ella! How are you–”

Her words stopped when she saw my injured hand. Mom’s cheerful expression turned sad, and tears appeared in her eyes.

I held her arms and whispered, “I’m okay, Mom. This was nothing compared to yesterday,”.

I led Mom inside and asked her to sit on an old chair. Even though I kept telling her I was okay, she couldn’t stop worrying. She kept looking at my wounds, which was still fresh and sore at that moment.

“I guess you have no choice,” my wolf, Flora, echoed inside my head. I took a deep breath, preparing myself. Even though I disliked using my healing power, I knew it was the only way to alleviate her worries.

“Ira es menele wahi noz…” I whispered, repeating the enchantment. Little bits of light came from my palm, moving like they had a mind of their own, gathering around my wounds. As my skin absorbed them, my bruises began to heal.

“It’s okay Mom. These are nothing,” I uttered afterward. Mom smiled, acknowledging how I had developed my powers on my own. She was the only one who knew my power, fearing that our pack mates might take advantage of this gift for their benefit. This was also the reason why despite being the pack’s punching bag, my tiny body was still able to endure all their abuse.

“You’re 18 tomorrow, Ella. Finally, you will be able to feel your mate,” she said as she helped me clean my hut. I glanced at my mother, surprised but trying to hide it. With everything going on, I almost forgot about my birthday.

I knew there was a reason she brought it up. Since the pack abused me, I believed finding my mate was my only way out. I had faith that he would be my savior, and I’d been eagerly awaiting my 18th birthday for this reason.

“Do you still plan to leave the pack if you find him?” Mom asked again. I met her eyes and nodded firmly.

“Good. Because I’d rather be apart from you than see you suffer like this,” she said. I squeezed her hand tightly, both of us fighting back tears.

Little did we know, everything was just the beginning of what was to come.