~Brielle's POV~
"Brielle, wake up. Something bad has happened."
I heard my mum's voice pierce through my sleep-dazed mind. Her words were muffled, like they were dragging themselves through quicksand, but I knew she was interrupting my one-in-a-million chance to finally catch some damn sleep in this hellhole of a house.
"Fuck... Mum, let me sleep some more, will you?" I grumbled, half-asleep.
Her voice shifted—low, tense and fearful. "If you knew the kind of trouble you were in, you wouldn't be worried about sleeping some more."
That jolted me. The sleep fled from my body instantly. I sat up groggily, eyes struggling to focus. "Huh? What trouble?"
"The Alpha's daughter... Lyra... she's sick," she said grimly.
I frowned. That bitch had made our lives nothing short of a nightmare. Why was my mum sounding concerned?
"Mum, if she's sick, what does that have to do with us...? What does it have to do with me?"
Her face turned pale, lips trembling. "The doctors confirmed she was poisoned."
"Huh? She was poisoned? Suits her well," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "A bitch like her deserves more than poisoning."
"Brielle, this is not something to joke about," Mum snapped, her voice sharper now. "The council… or the Alpha himself might demand your presence. Anytime soon."
My body went stiff. My breath caught. The council or the Alpha himself? Those heartless wolves wouldn't blink twice before sentencing me to death. They'd kill me at any slightest opportunity they had, so I had spent the last year avoiding anything that would put me on their radar.
"Mum, why will they summon me? All this... it's not adding up."
She looked away. "They think... no, they believe—and they're adamant—that you're the one who poisoned her."
My vision blurred. My head spun. "What? I didn't poison her! Sure, I'd love to teach her a lesson or two, but I'm not stupid enough to act recklessly. Why would they even suspect me?!"
Tears welled up in her eyes. That scared me more than anything. My mum hardly cried in front of me. She always tried to be strong—so I wouldn't completely fall apart.
"It's the issue with James and Lyra... They think you held a grudge. They believe you're the only one who could've done it."
And just like that, everything I had tried to suppress came rushing back like a violent flood.
James.
I remembered how it happened in disturbing detail. I was about to deliver the food tray Lyra requested when I heard moaning. Loud. Shameless. Raw.
Her door wasn't locked—which felt intentional. Normally, I wouldn't dare eavesdrop, but my wolf stirred inside me, warning me. I had a gut feeling. So I peeped through the crack of the door.
And there he was—James.
My James.
Fucking the Alpha's daughter like she was the only air left in the room. Their moans echoed, shameless and wild.
I couldn't believe it. I refused to believe it. Maybe it was an illusion—some sick trick Lyra was playing. James wouldn't cheat on me. Not after everything we'd been through. Not after how we helped build him up, supported him. One year ago, he was nothing without our backing.
I held on to that hope, thinking I'd confront him privately, give him a chance to explain. But the very next day, someone sent me a video.
The same scene. The same sounds. The same betrayal.
That was when it hit me—it was all real.
I didn't care that a celebration was going on. I stormed into the hall, found James, shoved the phone in his face.
I waited. Waited to hear something like, "I'm sorry. She forced me. I didn't mean to." Something that would soothe the storm in my chest.
Instead, he looked at me and delivered the most brutal rejection I'd ever heard.
"Since you've seen it, then you should know—it's over between us. I can't be with someone of a lowly rank like you. You don't deserve me. I deserve someone who matches my status. Someone like Lyra. You're not my equal, Brielle. I'm more than ashamed to even say I know you."
"Brielle? Brielle!"
My mum's voice yanked me from the memory. "This is more serious than you think…. This involves the Alpha's daughter. You know the Alpha's family already hate us. I wish there was something I could do. I hate how powerless I am. But please, stay strong. Prove yourself innocent… for mummy."
I heard my mum's words, and the fear in her voice made my stomach twist.
This wasn't just some stupid simple issue — I could tell. Her tone, the way her eyes darted, how shaken and concerned she looked… it was all wrong.
Something bad was happening.
But how the hell could I just wake up one morning and be accused of something I didn't even do?
Wasn't my life already enough of a nightmare?
I fought back the tears pooling in my eyes. I couldn't cry — not now. But gods, I was scared.
Terrified.
I didn't know what they'd do to me. I didn't even want to imagine it.
But I was certain of one thing:
If I couldn't prove my innocence... I'd be as good as dead.
I turned to my mum, voice trembling.
"So… if I don't manage to prove my innocence… will they—"
Before I could even finish the sentence, I heard the sharp, stern voice of a pack warrior from across the door.
"Brielle Ashveil!
The Alpha demands your presence. Immediately."