Chapter 2

Alpha Moonclaw looked at the dead eyes of his beloved mate and tears fell from his eyes. It was both from the pain of her leaving and her betrayal he learnt of at the end of her life.

Marianne looked at her father who was in tears and didn't know what to say to him at the moment. For all the sixteen years of her life, she knew that Alpha Moonclaw was her father and she, his Princess, the only daughter he had but now, she was thrown off into a dark void.

What is father thinking? Will he not want me anymore? Is...is he going to tell the pack that I'm not his daughter? I'm scared ma...I'm really scared!!! She wanted to say it all out loud but her voice only chocked on her throat and not a word left.

She could only look at her father helplessly hoping to get his understanding.

The alpha didn't enter the room and remained at the door way for a while before he turned to leave. He felt stuffy.

"Father!" Marianne jumped from her mother's side to hold his hand but the Alpha dodged her hand. She fell face first onto the cold floor biting her tongue in the process. She winced but ignored the pain and looked up to her father with tears in her eyes. "Dad..." she pleaded to him.

The Alpha didn't know what to say and his mind was blank as he looked down at the child he had loved for sixteen whole years. He felt betrayed, it hurt much more than his mate's departure!

Martin returned to his parents room and from the end of the corridor where he stood, he saw his sister on the ground with blood dripping from her mouth while his father looked down at her blankly. He heart aches and he rushed over and by passed his father to help Marianne up.

"Your mother is dead. Go inform the pack elders and prepare for her burial." the alpha didn't let Martin hold Marianne up as he instructed halting Martin's actions. It was clear from his tone that he was sending him away. Martin looked at his father.

He then looked into his mother's room and saw how wide her eyes were and the horror in them when she passed on. No one even drew her eyes to close.

Marianne who was hoping to hold onto her brother's hands for support watched as he stopped helping her midway, he stumbled his way to his mother blankly. They had long accepted the fact that their mother wouldn't make it for long but seeing her in that state and knowing she'll never return, the impact was far different from what Martin had expected. "Mother?!!!" he whimpered painful and a sad howl escaped his lips.

Alpha Moonclaw didn't bother with Marianne and went to handle his wife's burial.

The death of the Luna was a huge dent in the Pack's future and everyone was distressed as they looked at their Alpha with great concern in their eyes.

No one noticed Marianne who was pale. She stood in a daze and everything went by like that for her. Her world had come to a stop, all connections she felt she had built all her life begun snapping one after the other.

The first was her mother who left her to the harsh reality of her true identity. Then followed by her father who stopped caring for her the moment he learnt about her.

Then came her second and third brothers who were to broken to remember her.

She felt herself slipping away from the pack she had known as home.

And until the moment her mother was lowered into her grave, no one came to comfort her or ask how she was doing! Not even those who fawned over her before.

It felt like her secret had been aired out and everyone knew it.

But no, Alpha Moonclaw didn't breathe a word about this. He eventually didn't know how to feel, how could he say a word about it.

Beta Laurence stood behind his Alpha as the heavy rain washed down on them. All the others had returned to the pack house and were all still mourning, only the Alpha remained by his late Luna's grave.

"She's gone! Just like that?" Alpha Moonclaw muttered as tears fell from his eyes.

I'm sorryy Alpha! We will get through this matter." Laurence didn't know how to comfort his Alpha.He also didn't feel assured with his own words as this wasn't the first time he said them.

This was the second mate Alpha Moonclaw was losing. The blow wasn't am easy one but receiving two was lethal. He himself wasn't sure he'd be brave enough to make it through the first hit of losing a mate. Even if she was a chosen mate and not a fated one.

I'm so sad about losing her that I immediately want to climb down hell to join her..but I'm so heart broken by her betrayal." Alpha Moonclaw let this bitter secret out. He did plan to keep it to himself but he felt like dying. He had no plans of joining his mate when she had betrayed him and he only learnt of this sixteen years later.

Laurence was confused. He looked at his Alpha and chose to inquire about this matter another time.

Marianne stayed at a distance as she observed her father get drenched in the heavy rains. The heavens roared with thunder and the skies tore with the lightening but she didn't dare to move. Marianne looked on deadly.

She was clad in a black thin dress that reached her knees. At this moment, it stuck to her skin like a second skin as she was drenched from head to toe. In her hands was a white rose, one from her mother's personal garden.

But she didn't go to her mother's grave in fear of meeting her father. She stayed till he left.

Once she was sure no one was present, she dragged her numb legs over shivering from the cold as her teeth clattered loudly. Her whole body trembled like a leaf in a rainstorm, enduring the harsh rains despite its weak hold onto its life line. She shook but refused to let go.

She reached her mother's grave and saw the words engraved on it. Her face scrunched up and she begun to sob. pitifully. But no one heard her! The heavy storm drowned her cries for help and no one knew or came to her rescue.

And on that stormy dark night, Marianne Moonclaw's heart died, broke and shattered.

Marianne only did one thing and that was crying on her mother's grave for the entire night.

The clan's ancestral building not far from the burial ground, Alpha Moonclaw stood by the window and watched his daughter indifferently.

Laurence had wanted to intervene but was stopped ruthlessly. He could only look in confusion as the Pack's princess spent an entire night under the heavy rain.

He'd regret having not gone against heaven and hell to go save the poor girl from crumbling that night.

*

*

*

The episode passed uneventfully in the pack.

Except for the fact that Marianne fell ill for two whole weeks but no one tended to her. She lay in her bed that she hadnt left for the past fortnight, flushed from the fever that refused to go, her cheeks had sunk in and she was literally skin and bones. Her eyes were protruding and the sight looked extremely scary.

If she had been a human, she'd long be dead. She'd be joining her mother in the netherworld. However, no matter what Marianne did to escape her dreadful fate, she just didn't seem to die. She could only hopefully wait for her time.

Her dead eyes scanned the room just like any other day and her haggard breathes filled the room.

*

*

"Should we really be doing this?" Martin asked with thrones in his throat.

No matter how he looked at it, Marianne was not the ones in wrong. She was also a victim! And she was still their sister, even if it was only their half sister! After all, they shared the same mother!

"Isn't it obvious? She's unlucky to have been the victim but that doesn't cut her off from being implicated. If word of this ever goes out to the rest of the pack, what do you think will happen?!" Marcus asked coldly.

"But she's innocent!" Martin was unwilling to let his principles be bent.

"It's only wise to isolate her now so she can grow accustomed to it. Things will only worsen further if the rest of the pack finds out. But if she grows immune to our current behaviour, she won't find it hard to survive in the pack once this matter is out." Marcus said seriously.

Martin clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Marcus was right. Firstly, father didn't intend to hide this from the rest of the pack. Once it got out, it'd be complete hell. If Marianne went through this time successful, she'd surely survive anything! He stilled his heart and didn't go to check on her.

*

Marianne felt hunger gawn at her intestines and a fire built in her stomach. But death wasn't coming!

She weakly looked over to the bowl of food that had just been pushed in. She was hungry!

No one had come to her. She even had no idea how she got into her room after that night but from them on, she kept receiving foods but didn't eat them. Plates had accumulated in her room over time.

I..m..han..gu..rie!" she tried to speak but her voice was like that of an old sickly witch!

She turned in her bed but she had no energy. The whole of her back was sore from not leaving this position for days and blisters covered the area. She she rolled, she fell to the hard ground with a plop. She gritted her teeth as she felt her whole body shatter!

She couldn't move further! She was in so much pain.

The newest dishes were the furthest from her reach. It'd take her three to four days to just get there at this state.

She only had one choice. Eat the nearest dishes which had already gone bad.

Laying on her stomach, she stretched her bony hands and grabbed the nearest bowl. She scooped out the food and stuffed it into her mouth

She ate them weakly ignoring the bad taste and maggots that kept wiggling in the food.

She had made up her mind. Since death didn't want to take her, she'd try to earn her father's love once again! She'd do her best to earn his approval! She'd survive and show her father that she could be the daughter she had always said she would! Even her mother, who died asked her to remain by her father's side no matter what! That was exactly what she was going to do!

One plate .

Two plates.

Three plates!

The list went on. Her stomach was like the black hole. It couldn't fill even if she stuffed the good and bad food in. She had even lost her sens of taste and just ate everything!