Page 54 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

I look at him, my insides churning, and I feel lost. Where did this version of Darian come from? Where did such hatred come from?

“Just kill her!” some of the shifters shout out. “Get rid of her!”

“I don’t think that’s fair.” A voice speaks up from the crowd, and I look past Mary to see Jason walking over. “She hasn’t harmed anyone. If she truly carries the mark of the dark witches, I would like to see it before she is punished for it.”

I don’t have the opportunity to so much as blink before two of the white witches grab me by the arms. I see Mary’s eyes turn amber, and I know she’s about to shift.

Willow notices the same, and her voice is filled with anticipation. “If you defend her, you are also a traitor. The healer is siding with the dark witch!” There’s a wealth of glee in her voice. “She must be working for the dark witch!”

Panic fills me. “Mary, stop! Let them do what they want to do. Get away from here!” My friend freezes, and I continue, frightened. I don’t want anything to happen to her. “Just go! I don’t need your help!”

She stumbles backward, her eyes changing back to normal. There are tears in them. “But—”

Jason quickly grabs Mary, holding her steady.

The witches lift up my skirt, hiking it all the way to my waist such that the entire bottom half of my body is revealed. I feel the sting of humiliation, but there’s nothing I can do. I am being judged for something I’m not guilty of.

“She carries the mark!” the white witches declare.

“Even so,” Jason intervenes, “she has not hurt anybody. This is the first I’m hearing of the dark witches’ mark. Your Majesty, are you going to let one of your people be executed because these witches say she’s a threat?”

“She doesn’t have to be executed. She doesn’t even have a wolf,” Darian says coolly. “Seal her magic.”

The white witches exchange a look before nodding. “Very well. But after, she will also be branded so that we can keep an eye on her.”

Branded?

My body is shaking in fear. What are they going to do to me?

They release my arms, and I slump to the floor, my legs too weak to hold me. The five witches surround me, point their hands at me, and start to chant. My ankle begins to burn, and as it does, an excruciating pain courses through me.

I try to tolerate it, still not understanding what is happening. But it’s like tiny knives slashing my insides. And with each breath, the agony intensifies. It feels like acid is been thrown on me.

That’s when I begin to scream.

I can’t bear it. They’re flaying my skin. Peeling it off. They’re ripping out my heart.

I grip my head and curl into a ball, trying to hide from the pain, but it doesn’t stop. It just doesn’t stop.

I’m crying, screaming, my face wet, my body writhing in agony.

“Stop!” I beg. “Please! Just kill me! Darian!”

My pride goes out the window as the pain shoots through my legs, up to my pelvis, exploding into a blinding whiteness. Sobbing, I implore him as he stares at me with a stony face.

“Kill me! I beg you! I’m sorry! I should never have looked at you! I shouldn’t have wanted to be with you!” I’m willing to say anything, do anything to make this end. “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”

But he just stares at me as if I’m nothing more than an insignificant insect. I can hear Mary’s shrieks, but I can’t think straight.

Someone end this. Somebody help me. Why isn’t anyone helping me?!

I tear at my own skin, trying to stop the pain, trying to replace it with something else. I feel my claws extend, and I rip into my wrists, trying to end it, but nothing works.

“Darian, please! I’m sorry! I’m begging you!”

But no matter how many times I plead with him, he doesn’t even blink. I try to crawl to him, but Willow kicks me in the face, and I fall back. Blood spurts from my nose, and I curl up again, barely breathing.

My heart is shriveling inside me. I have never felt as alone as I do in this moment. They’ve reduced me to something that doesn’t deserve any sort of dignity, any pity. I am nothing.

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