Katrina screamed out in pain as another whip landed on her back. She bit her lips as she tried to suppress the tears in her eyes. Everyone around her had betrayed her, and no one, not even the new head Daniella, whom she trusted, had come to her aid. When it was confirmed that the king was poisoned, she was grabbed like a thief and slapped across the face by Alisha.
"You pathetic omega!" Alisha had shouted at her and ordered her to be taken away. She was dragged out by the guards and taken to the cell. The other maids were investigated in front of her, and they all denied ever preparing the king's meal.
"It was Katrina who prepared the king's meal! I didn't know that she bears grudges against the king. If I had known, I would have chased her out. "Daniela, whom Katrina trusted the most, lied against her when she was called in first."I thought she was different and her innocent face didn't make me realize that she was a bad person!"
"It's obvious she is a bad person and everyone should have known by now that she isn't to be trusted!" Jennie had said, and then she pointed a finger of accusation at Katrina. "She needs to be killed for treason. Everyone in the werewolf kingdom needs to know the kind of person she is! "
"I didn't do it!" Katrina cried out as everyone else lied against her. I'm saying the truth. Mallorie knows the truth because we were together. Ask her! " Katrina pleaded. When Mallorie was brought to the cell, Katrina had expected her to side with her, but she got a shocking surprise when Mallorie also turned against her.
"Erm....." Mallorie's voice broke as she tried to explain what happened.
"State the truth!" Alisha had shouted at her. "I need you to tell me what happened now!" She urged her "Did Katrina prepare the king's meal or she didn't?" Alisha stood in front of her as she asked.
Mallorie nodded in response. "She... She prepared the king's meal!" Mallorie finally said and quickly stood up and walked out of the cell.
"That's a lie! I didn't do it," Katrina cried out in pain as Alisha rushed towards her and slapped her across the face. Alisha grabbed her chin and pushed her head backwards.
"You are still denying it!" Alisha shouted at her."You are a traitor that needs to be put to death!"
"I am stating the truth. I didn't poison the king because," Katrina spit blood and screamed in agony. "don't you believe me? I didn't do it! " She declared yet again and started weeping. "Have mercy on me and investigate this thoroughly!" she begged.
Alisha laughed and grabbed her throat. "You are still lying after everyone saw you preparing the king's meal?" Alisha scoffed and tutted. "It's all over for you little Omega!" She pushed her head backwards and ordered the guards to continue hitting her with the whip. I'll give you a day to think about it. If you are labeled as a traitor, then your family suffers for it! " Alisha declared and turned to leave, but Katrina called her back.
"I didn't do it!" Katrina shouted. "Please believe me," she begged.
Alisha turned to face her and blew air on her long polished nails. "It's so sad to hear you beg Veronica!"
Katrina's eyes widened at the mention of that name. She had heard the name in her dreams before. A dream she had about herself and Christian She wondered who Veronica was and why Alisha had called her that. "Why are you..." Katrina screamed out yet again as another whip landed on her back. She felt her back tearing and on fire. Katrina knew that her back was going to be scarred forever since she was an Omega, unlike other werewolves. She was going to bleed to death if someone didn't come to her rescue. "I didn't do it," she managed to speak as blood pooled in her mouth. "I..." Katrina sniffled as tears rolled down her face. "I didn't do it!" She declared
"Whether you do it or not, it makes no difference," Alisa said, clicking her tongue and placing her hands on her lips. "What matters is that you've committed treason by trying to kill the king, and your penalty is death!" Alisha smiled and heaved a sigh.
"Why aren't you listening to me? You didn't even give me a chance to speak or defend myself! " Katrina cried out as another whip landed on her back. Her entire body shook terribly, and she felt her body shaking terribly on the verge of collapsing. If she was hit again, Katrina knew she wouldn't survive the attack and she'd only die like a fool. A fool who was accused wrongly and then her sister would be labelled a murderer. Katrina didn't want that for herself or her sister, so she promised to keep her eyes open and endure the pain, but it was hard.
"I just need you to disappear!" Alisha yelled. "Christian's problem would be solved if you die. Since you caused everything, then you should pay for it! " Alisha declared.
"Her death is not yours to decide, Alisha," Stefan said as he walked into the cell. "The king won't be happy if he hears that you punished her!" Stefan stated and placed his hands behind his back. He looked towards Katrina and heaved a sigh. "You've attacked the poor girl and didn't give her a chance to speak!"Stefan walked towards Katrina and closed his eyes when he saw her face was covered in blood and sweat. "Leave!" He ordered the guard that was hitting her. The guard bowed his head and left.
"What are you doing?" Alisha shouted at her. "You are making a mistake here, and you'll regret it!"
"A mistake, Alisha! You think hurting her would help Christian?" Stefan demanded.
Alisha folded her arms together and scoffed. "What do you think it would do to him? Her death is a getaway for him to get away from everything, and that's cool because Christian also wanted it! " Katrina's
Katrina's ears perked up when she heard what Alisha had said. Christian wanted her dead. Those words resounded in her ears as she thought about the time he had put her through difficult times. It was all to kill her, but strangely, she managed to get out of his stupid scheme. Katrina found Christian's method of trying to get her killed childish. They've never met, and it was not her fault that she was born as an Omega.
It would be the only reason why he hated her. That's the only logical explanation. "He wants me dead?" Katrina's voice was low and could barely be heard. "Why?" She asked, and another round of tears rolled down her face. The tears were different from the ones she had shed when she was getting hit. The tears contained her feelings and the pain that hit her when she heard that her mate hated her and wanted her to suffer.
"You fool!" Alisha shouted and rushed to hit her, but Stefan grabbed her hand before she did. "Stop acting like a victim!" She tried to free her hands from Stefan's tight grip, but he wouldn't let her go. "If I'm given the chance, I'll stab you a couple of times until you confess, you backstabber!
Katrina had no idea why Alisha threw accusations at her. She had no idea why she wanted to die. Katrina had never met her, and it was a surprise when she kept accusing her and wishing her dead. "That's enough, Alisha!" Stefan shouted at her and dragged her out of the cell. "You want to reveal Christian's secret?" he asked, scratching his neck. "If you had tried to reveal Christian's secret, then it would only become worse!"
"Why are you siding with her? What about Christian? How is he? "
"He is okay and he will wake up soon. The wolfsbane almost killed him if he had not noticed earlier and consumed a large amount! " Stefan stated and raised his left brow. "I hope you don't know about this, Alisha," he said.
"What?" Alisha shouted. "How dare you say that? I would never hurt Christian because I love him. The stupid Omega is responsible for everything! " She stated
Stefan nodded in response and stared into Alisha's eyes. He heaved a sigh when he realized that she was lying. He had suspected her first when everyone lied against Katrina. He knew who had prepared the food because he had planted a spy in the kitchen. At the time the maids were preparing the meal, Katrina wasn't there. He knew that revealing that would only risk her life and he knew that Alisha would do anything to get rid of Katrina once she found out that he knew the truth.
"Remember, whether you support Veronica or not, she still has to die for Christian to return to heaven and take his place!" Alisha reminded him and turned to leave, but she remembered something and turned back to face him. "Don't you dare free her because you will be questioned by everyone once they find out that you freed the Omega who tried to kill their King!" Alisha tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled. "Killing her myself will be the easier thing to do since she is irrelevant anyway!" She scoffed and walked away.
Stefan walked back into the cell and touched Katrina's hand. He read her pulse and realized that it had become faint. Katrina had fainted when her body couldn't take it again and she could die if someone didn't try to save her. As he tried to remove the chains around her hands, he remembered what Alisha had told him. "What should I do?" He placed his hand on his forehead and inhaled deeply. "I'll do this," he exhaled, and placed Katrina's hand into his. "I promised to protect you ten thousand years ago and I'll do it forever!" He closed his eyes and spread his wings. "Let me share your pain," he whispered, and a bright light appeared from his palm and filled the entire room. "This is the only way."