THE CURSE OF THE FIFTH MATE

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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Something bad was going to happen. Or at least that's what I felt when I stepped into the large field that was being used to host the blood moon festival.

"I didn't think she would show up to this."

"Isn't this a sacred ceremony? Should she be here?"

I heard whispers from my pack members as I walked through the crowd. Even though they whispered the words, they knew I could hear them. They didn't care.

I had been isolated my whole life. Well, since I was five and both of my parents died at least.

Everyone believed I killed my parents because I was found in the pool of their blood. I was five and had just woken up to find my parents murdered in their own cold blood. I only tried to wake them up when someone walked in and accused me of doing it. Everyone else followed suit.

But from how mangled their bodies were, they definitely knew deep down that a five year old couldn't have done that. Especially one who wasn't born with a wolf.

I soon figured that they hated me more because I didn't have a wolf than because of the suspicions of me killing my parents.

"What are you doing here?" Alpha Damon, the alpha of my pack, asked as he pulled me aside. "You know this is a special night for this pack since we're hosting for the first time in a long time."

"I thought everyone was supposed to be in attendance..." My voice turned into a whisper when I saw the glare he sent my way.

"You should know that was just a formality in the announcement. You've isolated yourself already. Why come out now?"

"I can go back home, Alpha Damon," I offered, looking down at my feet. I could feel people from my pack and other packs looking our way and wondering what the problem was.

"You don't have to. You made it all the way here anyway. But if one thing happens and you're in the middle of it, you'll be banished. Consider it punishment for what you did to your parents."

His words sounded like a slap to my face. Nobody would believe me, not even the alpha of my pack. Everyone thought I killed your parents fifteen years ago, and I've had to live with it since.

Nobody sold anything to me or talked to me if they didn't have to. I taught myself how to hunt so you wouldn't starve.

I stood in the corner of the field as I hoped nobody would pay attention to me, but that sinking feeling still remained.

The feeling only accelerated when the members of Nightfang pack finally made it into the field.

"Alpha Ryle and the subjects of his pack, Nightfang!" The announcer called out as they walked in, everyone of them with their heads held high.

My eyes scanned them all, stopping when I set eyes on one of them. He walked behind everyone else with a smug look on his face. His hair was dark and his eyes held the same darkness.

"Who...is he?" I whispered as my legs moved forward. I didn't even know I was walking in his direction until I found myself standing behind a group of people who wouldn't move and I had to stand on my toes to get a good look at him.

As if he could sense my eyes on him, his eyes travelled in my direction so fast that it affected how my heart beat.

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