Chapter 5: The Sweetest Revenge 2
HAZEL
Of course he chose . I was the elder daughter, the Luna, the obvious choice. Fia already had a mate, so she was out of consideration. That, to many-including my father, was my mont. My chance to finally have everything I deserved. To beco the Luna of a powerful pack and leave this place.
But it still wasn’t fair, was it? I had to settle for an arranged marriage while Fia got to keep her fated mate bond. She’d always have that over . That cosmic connection I could never claim. Then with
as Luna of Skollrend, she would take over Silver Creek as honorary Luna.
Over my dead body.
So I took Milo away from her completely. Convinced him to reject the bond. Convinced him to run away with , or so she thought. The plan was perfect. She’d lose her mate, I’d escape the wedding, and Cian would bla the pack for the insult. Our father would be ruined. Maybe even killed. And when the ti was right, I would bla it on the obsessed Sentinel.
But then Mother ca up with sothing even better.
She was the one who suggested using Fia as a replacent bride. At first I thought she was joking. But the more she explained, the more brilliant it beca. We could set Fia up to take the fall for everything. Make it look like she’d attacked
out of jealousy and tried to steal my place. Cian would be furious. The pack would turn on her. And I’d swoop in at the last mont, injured and heroic, to save the day.
I’d still have to marry Cian, but it would be different now. He’d be grateful to . Protective. And Fia would be destroyed in a way she could never recover from. Ever.
So I beat myself up. Split my own lip against the sink. Punched my face into the wall until the bruises blood dark and ugly. Tore my dress. Locked myself in a closet and waited for the right mont to make my entrance.
Watching Fia standing at that altar in my dress, her face exposed, the crowd turning on her, it was everything I’d dread of and more.
And now ca the best part.
Father pushed his way through the crowd toward Fia. I saw the horror on his face, the sha, the desperate need to defend his precious daughter. Of course he would try to save her. He always protected her. Always chose her mother over mine.
"Wait," Father said, his voice shaking. "There has to be so explanation. Fia wouldn’t..."
"Wouldn’t what?" Mother cut him off sharply. She moved to stand beside , her hand on my shoulder in a show of maternal protection. "Wouldn’t attack her own sister? Look at Hazel’s face. Look at what she did."
Father’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. He looked between
and Fia, clearly torn. Good. Let him suffer. Let him feel what it was like to have his world ripped apart by choices that weren’t his.
"Hazel," he tried again. "Are you absolutely certain..."
"Are you seriously questioning your daughter right now?" Mother’s voice rose with indignation. "Your legitimate daughter, who has been beaten and locked away? You’re going to side with the girl... the oga who did this?"
The crowd murmured agreent. I saw several wolves nodding. Father’s face went gray.
I knew I had him. He might want to defend Fia, but he couldn’t. Not in front of the whole pack. Not when I was standing here with visible injuries and a clear story. His spine had always been weak when it ca to Mother. She’d spent years making sure of that. Couppance for his sin of betrayal.
This was my mont. Ti to seal Fia’s fate completely.
I walked forward slowly, letting my limp be visible. Every step looked painful. I’d practiced this in the closet, figuring out exactly how to move to sell the story of soone who’d been violently attacked.
Cian watched
approach. His face was unreadable, but I could feel the tension radiating off him. The mate bond between him and Fia must have pulsed in the air. I had to be careful here. Had to make sure he blad her completely.
I stopped right in front of Fia. She stared at
with these wide, confused eyes. Like she still couldn’t process what was happening. Like she still believed there had been so mistake, so misunderstanding that could be cleared up.
"What did I do to deserve this, little sister?" I asked softly.
My voice broke on the last words. Tears welled up in my eyes, real tears because I was thinking about everything she’d taken from
just by being born. The legitimacy. The attention. The stable position in my own ho. The mate bond I never got to experience.
"I never..." Fia started, but her voice was barely a whisper.
"I loved you," I continued, letting the tears fall. "I tried so hard to be a good sister to you. Even though you were... even though your mother..." I trailed off, like I was too kind to finish the sentence. "But I accepted you. I welcod you. And this is how you repay ?"
The crowd was eating it up. I could hear sympathetic murmurs. Several won were crying now.
"I wanted you at my wedding," I said, my voice growing stronger. "I wanted you by my side. I chose you as my bridesmaid because you were my sister. And you... you..."
My knees buckled. I’d practiced this too, the exact way to collapse that would look natural. My vision swam, and for a mont I wasn’t entirely faking it. The adrenaline and satisfaction flooding through
was making
genuinely lightheaded.
Mother caught
before I hit the ground. "Hazel! Help! Sobody help ! Hazel!"
I let my eyes flutter closed. Let my body go limp. The perfect victim. The innocent sister betrayed by jealousy and malice.
The last thing I saw before I committed fully to the act was Fia’s face. She looked broken. Shattered. Like everything she’d ever believed about herself had just been proven wrong.
Perfect. Rot in hell bitch.
Reviews
All reviews (0)