Bride of the Cursed Alpha - Chapter 91: Chapter 91

Auren POV
Darkness began bleeding in my beautiful dream, staining it with its black ink. “No, Lucien, don’t go!” I said in a raspy voice. But his features began fading and soon he disappeared. The oppressive magic again pressed on me and I whimpered, coming back to reality.
The door of my prison opened and a guard walked in. “The trial begins today. You are wanted upstairs,” he said in a stern voice. He had a curious look on his face as he scanned me from top to bottom.
“H—how long have I been here?” I asked as I stood up shakily. He came to me and helped me stand up.
“Two days,” he replied, the curiosity in his gaze intensifying. “How are you feeling?” he asked inquisitively.
I shot him a glare. What was he expecting? That I’d be dancing around? “Great!” I said through gritted teeth.
He pursed his lips as if stopping himself from speaking further. He grabbed my arm and took me upstairs. We walked through a stairwell and then through a corridor. I was hoping that I would go to the main hall to face the trial, but he took me to a private chamber. He knocked on the door lightly and announced us. “I’ve got the prisoner, Elder Peter.”
“Come in,” a rough, weathered voice came.
The guard opened the door and I found myself facing an elderly wolf who was bald with a white beard sitting at a long mahogany desk. His brown eyes fixed on me as he jerked his head to signal the guard to leave.
A man sat opposite to him on a chair, his face away from me. His familiar scent hit me. I clenched my teeth.
Alpha Bram.
My pulse thrummed in my ear and I had this urge to attack him and kill him. That something inside me wanted him dead. Right now.
Bram swiveled his chair and turned to look at me with his lips tilting up. “How are you doing, Auren?” he asked.
I didn’t reply to him, but I wondered what his connection was with Elder Peter. Like what was going on? Elder Peter sized me from top to bottom as if wondering how I was still in one piece. How come the dark magic didn’t affect me?
Instead of bowing to him, I lifted my gaze to Elder Peter and fumed, “You accused me of something I didn’t do!”
He tapped his fingers on the table. “You killed Sable and four other wolves, Auren. You will face the consequences.”
“I didn’t!” I growled.
He ignored me. “There’s a way out of this whole situation though.”
“What way?” I asked with trepidation cruising through me.
Elder Peter took a long breath in. “Alpha Bram can help you with it. He has a plan. If you listen to him, he will save you from your impending death sentence. However—” He tapped his fingers again on the table. “If you won’t, I will personally ensure that you are hanged to death.”
A shudder ran down my body when he said those words so coldly. I knew that he knew I was innocent. It was clear that this was a setup and he was involved. But how was Bram linked to this? The only way for me was to play their game if I wanted to know the depth of the conspiracy. So I stayed quiet and glanced at Alpha Bram who had a smirk on his face. Oh, what I could do to wipe that smirk off his face.
When I didn’t reply, Elder Peter leaned forward. It was then I saw a flicker of worry on his face. Like if I didn’t go with their plan, he could be in jeopardy. Or maybe I was imagining. “Do you want to live or not?” he asked. “It’s better that you listen to Alpha Bram before the trial begins.”
I looked at Bram and found him watching me as if assessing me, waiting for me with tension in his shoulders.
“Okay, I’d like to hear about it!”
Elder Peter and Bram, both let out a sigh of relief. Their gazes met. Elder Peter nodded and got up. He walked out of the room. “I’ll leave you two alone. Don’t try to run or attack him, Auren,” he warned. “Because my guards are stationed outside. They will throw you back in the dungeons.”
As soon as he closed the door behind him, Bram walked to me and stood right in front of me. His eyes softened and he hugged me immediately. “Auren!”
Feeling repulsed, I shoved him away. “Don’t!” I growled. “Don’t you dare to touch me!”
At first, his eyes went wide, but then he started laughing. “I understand that you are mad at me. But that’s okay. You have the right to be angry with me because I rejected you,” he said and sat back in his chair. He tilted his head and measured me from top to bottom. Then he said, “I was hoping that two days in the prison was going to break you, but you look just as strong as you were.”
“Remember, I accepted your rejection. Now what do you want?” I asked, hating every moment alone with him.
He sighed. “Straight to the point. I like that. You are fit to be my Luna.”
“In your dreams!” I retaliated.
He chuckled. “No, not in my dreams. This will soon become a reality.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “I am married to Lucien. We haven't divorced. Nor do I have intentions of divorcing him.”
“Auren. Auren. Auren.” He shook his head. “I knew you would say that. But sweetheart, this is how it will go. Up there when the trial begins, you will definitely be charged with murder of Sable and other four wolves. The High Council is going to sentence you to death. But—” he paused. “—you have a chance to save yourself.”
“How?” I asked, doubting his intentions.
“I have come to help you with this,” he said as if sacrificing himself for my sake. “I will tell them that you are my mate, and there is no law that has the power to separate mates. Mates are revered in our society because they are rare. The High Council will have no other option but to drop their charges against you. Obviously, they will get all the papers signed to stop you from killing others, before you will be released. However, this freedom comes at a price.”
He got up and came to stand in front of me again. Taking a strand of my hair in his hand, he brought it to his nose and inhaled its scent. His eyes flashed golden as if his wolf was trying to surface. A satisfied smile came to his lips. He tucked the strand behind my ear and added, “You have to come back with me to the Crimson Howl pack. There we will marry in order to complete the process of making you my Luna.”
Potent hatred blasted in my chest. I wanted to slap him so hard that his jaw dislocated. “You’re insane!”
He stepped back. “Of course, it’s your choice. You can choose to walk away and embrace death.”