It was thundering.
The rain was pouring like needle dribbles, ready to pierce one skin.
The weather was one of a kind, and even the most formidable warriors would choose to stay inside the premises.
But Amelia didn't have that kind of choice.
Blood gushed out of her wounds as she stumbled on another stick and fell on her hands.
Her clothes reeked of mud and rain, and the swampy soil made it difficult for her to run. However, she couldn't stop.
The loud gush of winds slapped across her body, teasing her wounds.
Amelia knew if she wanted to live, she would need to run for her life. There were just too many things that she needed the world to know.
Everything has been a lie all her life. All the ties and relationships she protected keenly stabbed her in the worst way possible.
Tears ran down her cheeks, getting lost in the raindrops, and she ran for a few more meters only when a sharp blade shone at some distance, hitting the ground in front of her.
Amelia's body shook violently.
They found her.
"You really thought you could run away, didn't you? How could I let a traitor like you leave in one piece?"
The haunting voice of Dominic Bentley, the alpha King's uncle, echoed behind Amelia, and she closed her eyes.
"How dare you shame the royal family?" Dominic asked.
Amelia turned and faced Dominic, ready to explain that it was all a trap for her and that she didn't mean to betray the alpha king.
But before she could utter a word, she saw the two people she loved the most her entire life, the same people who became the bane of her existence.
Her elder sister, Hannah Cooper, and her love, Alpha Killian Banner.
"Sister, we didn't have any choice but to tell them where you were," Hannah said, looking resentful.
Amelia would've believed her a year ago, but not when she knew the truth.
"Cyrus will come here to get this woman who betrayed him. This is the perfect opportunity," Dominic said.
Amelia realized this was a trap for herself and the king, and her insides shuddered.
She took a deep, helpless breath.
That was the least she could do for the king after she betrayed him and made him a laughingstock for the community.
"I accept the punishment,"
The punishment for betraying the royals was being shot with 100 arrows.
Amelia stood straight, holding onto the little pride left of her.
Rather than turning around and taking the arrows on her back, she faced them.
"Very well," Dominic said.
"Shoot!" He ordered his men, and soon, around 50 arrows came flying towards her.
Amelia closed her eyes.
However, the pain she expected never came.
She heard a thud and opened her eyes, her pupils dilating when she saw the arrows piercing the alpha King's body.
Disbelief was evident in her eyes.
She had only one question for the man she betrayed and ran from on their wedding night.
"Why?" She asked.
Cyrus Valentino, the alpha king, scoffed at her.
"You already made a fool out of me. Despite how much I hate you as your husband, I must protect you with my life," Dominic said before he took his last breath.
Amelia stood frozen in her place.
She looked at her sister, lover, and the alpha King's uncle, who was happy about her demise and clenched her fists.
This was all a result of her foolishness.
"Shoo!" Another order came, and Amelia was shot straight into her chest.
Her body fell to the ground with a thud.
Blood pooled around her body as the rain made it hard for her to open her eyes.
"You deserve it all," Her sister said as she walked to her.
"Let's go. There is nothing worthy of seeing here," Alpha Killian said, and everyone left.
Amelia gulped, still breathing, before turning to her left, where the dead body of the Lycan King was lying. Blood flowed out of his body, making a pool at a little distance due to heavy rain.
She took a shaky breath before closing her eyes.
"Hannah, I hate you with all I have left. If given a chance, I will avenge all the scars and wounds you gave me. I promise this to myself. Your life, I will repay it all in the next life, Alpha King Cyrus," Amelia said as she pulled her hand close to her chest.
The bangle in her hand, which had been with her since her accident when she turned ten, suddenly glowed.
Amelia closed her eyes, and a weird silhouette of a lady dressed in white disappearing into nothingness appeared in her vision. The thunderclap was the last thing she heard before darkness overtook her.
It was bright.
She didn't know what kind of light it was, and her soul felt like it was drifting between hell and heaven.
"If given another chance, I will avenge all the scars and wounds," her words echoed around her.
"I will give you that chance,"
Amelia suddenly heard an angelic voice. She wanted to turn around, but something stopped her.
"I will give that chance to you to fulfill your fate's wish. But for that, you will have to do something for me,"
The angelic voice was like a ray of hope on the darkest nights, and Amelia immediately nodded.
"I will do everything. No matter what it is. Just, please give me this chance," Determination filled Amelia's voice, determination to make everything right and not become a fool, not cause the misery of thousands of people by causing the alpha King's death.
"The fate has been written. You can't change the destiny, but you can change how you wish to live that destiny," the angelic voice said.
"You will have to unlock the mage from the maze that appears like a labyrinth of your life, a seed yet to sprout. We have a deal." the voice said mysteriously.
Amelia wanted to know what the lady meant by that, but the bright light shone again, almost blinding her.
Thunderclap!!
Amelia felt like her body was in great pain as she groaned, almost tasting the familiar metallic liquid in her mouth.
She opened her eyes, the familiar night catching her off-guard.
She looked at her hands, that has some scratches but were not calloused or had blisters as she had grown after being tortured endlessly.
Amelia looked around, only to realize she was in a familiar ditch.
She looked at her hand, and there it was—the scorpion tattoo she had drawn on it on Alpha Killian's birthday.
She remembered this night clearly.
She had come on a trek with her sister, Alpha Killian, and schoolmates.
The school was over, and they were waiting for their results. That was when her sister suggested this.
However, she lost her way at some point when she was going to collect wood, and it started to rain heavily.
She lost her footing in the dark near a ditch and fell into it.
If her memory serves her right, she was discovered the following afternoon. By then, she had received several scratches and wounds, preventing her from attending the healers' meeting in the afternoon.
Amelia closed her eyes for a second before taking a deep breath.
She has been reborn.
Her lips trembled at the possibility, and all the events and memories from the past crashed into her, tearing her eyes.
'Hannah Cooper, you played your cards quite well last time. I still don't know why you hate me, but I will find out eventually.
This time, I won't let you have your way,'
Amelia promised herself.