It wasn't a punishment but the very first ritual.

They made a fool of me.

All because I was a mate of some stupid lovesick Lycan.

This pain on my nose, this headache, this jolts of shock in my heart, this shake of my legs in weakness, this lost voice of mine because of their continuous intimidation—I would be avenging this all.

Each tear. Each sob. Each sniffle. Each wail. Each cry. Each throbbing of pain.

I'd avenge this all.

My soul was getting weaker. Shrinking like it was dying. No guardian angel. No God. No family. No life.

Only this revenge would grow my soul.

I might get killed in the process. But my soul would be astonished.

If my grave was meant to be on this land, then let it be. But I'd make sure, they remember me as the most vile creature they'd ever seen.

A human.

Would be written on my tombstone in bold italics.

I would begin the vengeance with this so-called mate of mine.

"Stop staring at the corner, Misty. This is a phase of two days. You'll get tired of pretending to be some assassin ready to avenge some history riot," said Nysa, letting out brief humorless chuckle.

Pete, my brother. The man I looked up to. Brought me forcefully to his world of Werewolves. Threw me to this world of Lycans.

Nirvan, the wolf who was following his Alpha's orders. Could he be blamed? Choosing between doing right or kindness, kindness wins. He chose the other option. He was to be blamed. Only if I knew, watching him shoot an arrow was not a favour to me, but the foreshadowing of him shooting me across the border.

Natalie. The little sister. The little bitch. She knew it all. From the full moon night, I tried to save her. Only if I knew that she was trapping me more into this game more than saving herself. She could have saved me from that night only. And she didn't.

Thomas took those whiplashes for me, not for Natalie. Leo was attacked by Pete, making Eva hate him as much as I hated him now. Keira, because of her I survived the days there. Not even a hug from her was written in my destiny. I wondered if she had came out of the heat or not. How would Ivan react at the news of me being the goat of this year? Would Fred and Jiro remember me? I hoped, Aunt Kate and her new one were fine. Uncle Robert fought for me. I missed them. Truly.

Gilbert. All of a sudden in the whole eighteen years, he managed to get me mixed in his world right when I was entering the breeding age. He helped me in the last moments. Nearly fought a war. But he won't try to bring me back. Would he? Trained she-wolves didn't return. How would I? Or maybe, this whole game of two months was just a facade to lure me on to the territory of Rucussa to let the Lycans know I was here. He wanted me to not exist in the first place. He wanted me out of his life. Maybe, all of that last minute empathy was a facade. An act to melt me and Mom. Killed two birds with one stone. He didn't throw me here, but because of his freaking order, I was here. It all began from his order. From blackmailing me to stay there until the Ceremony. The fucking Mating Ceremony.

"Ah! What? You are getting into some depression? Mourning for what? A piercing?" Nysa spoke, sighing heavily. "Look at yourself in the mirror there. You look more beautiful. Like the new bride. Just what the Goddess will like you to be tonight. Get up from there before Amelia arrives. You do not want her forcing you to bathe too."

Sitting on the floor, resting elbows against my raised bruised knees, I kept staring at the dark corner of the wall.

Mom. The birth-giver. The creator. The very origin of mine. I didn't even know what to feel for her. What she would be feeling for me? Would she still be mourning for my absence? For how I was thrown? Her injuries were real. Her fight was real. She shifted into her beast and fought for me. For her child. My mother.

'God, if you're still there, anyhow interested in my life or listening to me by any chance, let her know that I am alive. That I am pledging to avenge my fate here. That I won't be Giver, a Foxy or some Birdy. That I won't be a loser like Nysa, helpless like other she-wolves who were pushed across the borders, lost like Savina who I hadn't even seen yet. That I would die trying. That I would rebel until the last breathe. I'd fuck these Lycans up. God, you tell her. If you are still there. . .'

"Misty. . ." Nysa sang my name in authority. "Time is passing. The paste would heal the pain in an hour. It will be normal—"

"Where's the bathroom?" I asked, getting up from the corner of the wall, rubbing hands on the bedsheet covering my body, especially the butts that had gotten cold due to the floor.

Nysa's eyebrows raised and mouth closed at seeing me standing straight and ready. She leaned back on the chair beside the bed, her braids neatly done while her nose ring hanging loose around her nose wing.

I didn't even want to imagine the same on my face.

"You know the way. I've lit the lantern. Get into the tub, wash yourself. But before that, I must remove those straps from your injuries. Shouldn't I?" Nysa said tauntingly, observing me from head to toe.

Through gritted teeth, the soul in me smiled obediently at her. "Yes, sister."

______

Emily passed me an apologetic smile when a slight wince escaped my mouth. She had pulled on my hair unknowingly.

Her mother had put her on duty to rub my wet body with a cotton towel after they were done rubbing God-knew-what green-colored paste on my whole body except for the forbidden parts. I bathed again while Nysa washed my hair with a shampoo which smelled like the animal-dung soap.

Amelia sat back on the bed, watching both her daughters wiping the drops off my hair and skin. "Careful, do not touch her face. Let it dry naturally."

Our gazes met and she smiled knowingly. "Well. Well. Nysa, did you show her the mirror?"

"She denied looking at it," told Nysa with a sigh, sitting on the stool near the wall, watching me.

"Why?" Amelia pouted dramatically, looking of her age.

Pain occurred in my jaws as I controlled hard the urge to speak. I failed. "If I see what you all did it to me, I might curse this pack."

"Oh yeah?" Amelia chuckled briefly, raising her eyebrows.

Emily gave me the eye to control my tongue. I looked in her eyes and replied to her mother. "After being cursed to be caged in this territory for forever, any other curse might just make you all loose minds. Who knows if you all go so mad and kill each othe—"

"Curse all you can," Nysa said while Reveka wrapped the little towel around my hair. Emily finally covered my body with the big one. "Let us see if the Goddess listens to you."

"Does she not listen to you?" I taunted, making Amelia's smile tighten. Nysa gave me the stern look but I couldn't stop asking. "Did you get naked too in front of the women in your time? There mustn't be any nieces that time. Did your mate's mother or aunts watch you naked?" I asked calmly, holding the blank face.

Amelia's tongue moved in her mouth, observing me. Nysa's eyes moved on Emily and Reveka who were now taking the dirty bedsheets out of the room, not before gesturing me to sit on the nearest chair. With the blue sky outside the window and yet such bright light in the room, I could guess it was late afternoon.

"King's mother did it," replied the Luna, making me look back at her. Her gaze was resting on the wet floor where they made me stand to wipe me. "She was gentle. So were the aunts. They all are gentle when you obey."

My nostrils flared while Nysa nodded with a smile, her eyes holding a distant memory. "I remember it like yesterday. I rebelled and she just glared at me. Mother asked me to be obedient. I couldn't stay angry anymore. She had been kind to me. Aunt Pola has been strict from the beginning. Aunt Rose was so young and pretty," she said dreamily, in a soft tone.

Amelia smiled to herself. "Well, I didn't get the beating. King has always been handsome like the prince he is. I knew, I would become the queen. The Luna. It went easy."

I blinked while observing their faces blankly. "Where is the mother?" My weak voice echoed in the silent room.

They looked at me and then, at each other. Nysa flared her nostrils in emotion while Amelia sighed heavily.

"Five years ago, she left us for the moon." She grimaced. "It really affected the males here. But as the little pups grew and played with their uncles, they healed."

"She died?" I asked unsurely. "How?"

Nysa nodded while Amelia scratched her scalp from in between her tight braids. "Miggy's death had affected mother deeply. Since then, I could see her health deteriorating. The beast in her was hurt."

My eyes narrowed for a moment. "Miggy?" I let out a whisper absentmindedly.

Nysa's eyes turned glossy while Amelia leaned ahead on the bed, resting her elbows against her knees. Her low cut neck revealed all of her deep cleavage.

"No. It was Tara's pain that affected her the most. When she came to know that Tara had a mate outside the border too. None of her daughters would see their mates, had saddened her deeply, " Amelia muttered, more to herself. She raised her head to look at me. "After Robin, mother was blessed with the twins. Lucine and Miggy. Both waited for their mates and never found them."

A sudden stillness engulfed me.

Nysa gulped shakily while looking at me. "Lucine talks. She realizes the love she receives. Miggy couldn't. She never really talked. Always a quiet pup. Lucine survived through the pain, Miggy couldn't," she said softly. Taking a breathe, she glanced at Amelia. "After Karam, Tara came into our lives. A lively pup. Always jumping around. A happy one. Until she smelled him."

"Who?" I asked hurriedly.

"Her mate," she replied softly. "She learnt the truths and the way to survive this loneliness. It's a relief that mother didn't see her dying and left early."

My heart twisted.

"So, a Lycan can die of this loneliness?" I asked, trying my best innocent expressions.

Amelia stared at me while Nysa answered, "It's not the longing or loneliness that kills. If one has the strong will to live, one can overcome any kind of sorrow or trouble. No matter how extreme it is. Sometimes, a mate's absence does kill the will to live."

"But Karam didn't lose hope," said Amelia, giving me an amused smile, making me roll my tongue inside. "Tara was closest to him of all her brothers. He turned quiet, might be losing the hope. But then, after so many years later, he smelled you again."

I was stunned. Oh my God. Was Karam lying to everyone about me being his mate?

"That can't be possible," I said, chuckling nervously, making them alert. "I grew up in human world, in the city away from these forests, this werewolf fantasy."

Nysa's lips parted while Amelia narrowed her eyes and asked, "Why?"

I nodded slightly. "My Mom and Alpha Gilbert of Southern pack, they had a fight. Mom ran away to the human world and married a human. Then, I was born. Alpha Gilbert hated this and killed my father. But Mom kept coming to visit me and my human Grandmother. They never told me the truth. I thought I had a father living inside these forests with her. Until Gran told me everything two months ago. I insulted my mother and it ended up in Alpha Gilbert bringing me to his pack. Two months ago." I told them, emphasizing the last line.

Nysa blinked in emptiness while Amelia raised her one eyebrow.

"You think I am lying? Check my heartbeats. I am not lying," I said quietly, looking at them.

Amelia flared her nostrils while straightening up. She sucked in her cheeks and blinked in thought. "You have no beast inside you?"

"No. I don't," I told truthfully. "Look at my wounds. Am I healing faster like you? No. I nearly died from being thrown like that. I am human. I am sure, that guy is lying to you all for some perverted fantasies or so?" I guessed unsurely. "But he is lying. That's for sure. I came to that pack two months ago for the first time since I was born. How can he smell me?"

Amelia and Nysa exchanged a blank glance. Both looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "You said that your mother kept visiting you?" The Luna asked authoritatively.

I gulped slowly and nodded. "She did, every year on birthday."

"He might have smelled your scent on her," said Nysa while relaxing slowly. She passed me a smile. "He is very keen with the details. You can never hide from him."

My stomach churned and all hopes died down. How could it be possible to smell my scent on Mom? Bullshit!

Amelia smiled at my sudden expressions. I was sure, my face had fallen in disbelief.

"When mother died, he was the first one who had smelled her. We were all out in the forest," said Amelia while looking at me keenly.

I chewed on my lip in fear that had started to climb on my chest. "How did the mother die? Did she lose the will to live too?" I asked through gritted teeth.

Nysa released a heavy breathe. "She was an outsider before her bond with our father. A common wolf. Suffering the pain of losing Miggy and then Lucine. In between, the males—"

"Enough of the talking about dead." Amelia cut her off immediately. She got up from the bed and smiled widely. The mere show of sharp canines had me shuddering hard. "It's time for celebration. Creation," she said loudly, coming closer to my chair to tower over me.

I gulped when she leaned down and observed my nose ring closely. I observed hers. She had a pretty long sharp nose unlike mine. My nose was slightly curved inwards if one would see closely. It looked straight from the far. Gran would still call it a sharp one, much like mom. I had small tight nose wings and I couldn't heal fast. My pain was bigger than any of the mated females here.

Looking in my eyes, she smiled without showing me those canines.

"What if he is lying about finding my scent?" I whispered shakily.

She blinked calmly and let out a brief chuckle.

"His eyes say it to all of us. His quickened breathing whenever we talk about you, shows it all. His heart beats loudly for the universe to know that you are his mate. You are already written for him for eternity up above in the Moon Goddess' book. With these rituals, we would just be marking a beginning for you both. When the sun goes down, we will dress you up for the rituals, to be with him in front of all. Though, he is not allowed to see you before the drums beat," she whispered softly.

"Why?" I asked absentmindedly.

Nysa laughed from behind. "It's a ritual. We are your sisters'-in-law, on your side, to not let him see his bride before the bond tonight. If he manages to enter this room to see you, right under our noses—then, he will have the upper hand in the forever relationship."

I frowned, feelings my fists tightening on their own.

Amelia gave me an amused smile. "If he doesn't, then you will have the upper hand in the forever relationship. I had lost. Nysa had lost too and so did every bride of this family. Except for Natasha," she chuckled softly. "Salome is innocent. He let it go for her. But Karam is neither innocent, nor a loser. He is quick-witted. He will definitely come for you before the drumbeats."

I blinked, feeling the chill running down my spine.

"But do not worry," she whispered, tipping my chin. "We have got your back. He won't be able to come in."

______

"What do you think?"

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Should I just use this time to write updates in advance and then, publish one chapter once in a week? Or write whenever I can and update immediately?