The unexpected confrontation.

“She’s truly something else, acting as if she doesn’t know the damage that has been done,” a lady mumbled from afar as she eyed Aurora from head to toe.

“Pfft. What did you expect from such a disgusting figure?” another lady chimed in with a sneer.

Aurora arched a brow and glanced at the two women. Their stares were sharp, deliberate and unkind.

And they weren’t the only ones watching.

All around the square, pack members paused in their movements. Conversations quieted as eyes followed her every step while disdain hung heavy in the air.

Aurora's throat tightened, but she refused to lower her head.

This wasn’t new.

Ever since she failed to awaken her inner wolf, the whispers had grown louder. Some called her weak. Others called her useless. A few were bold enough to mutter “wolf-less” under their breath.

If not for her parents…

Aurora's parents were the pack’s most respected physicians. They treated the Alpha himself, his family, and the highest-ranking warriors. Their status had shielded her from the worst of the ridicule. People were careful with their insults. Cautious. Afraid of offending the Alpha’s trusted healers.

Although today, something felt different. The gazes of the pack members felt more intense than usual.

With a loud exhale rolling out of Aurora’s mouth, she hastened her steps and headed straight to her parents’ house, which was downtown.

Just a few blocks away from their house, Aurora noticed a lot of individuals standing by the roadside, their gazes all fixed on her home.

‘What could they be staring at?’ she pondered as she continued walking. But after taking a few steps closer, Aurora noticed something or perhaps someone.

Standing in front of her mother and father was Alpha Maverick of the Silvercrest Pack, his Beta and warriors.

Alpha Maverick stood at 6’2, with a fair complexion as the early morning sun radiated against his body. He had sapphire-blue eyes that seemed as deep as the ocean, while his brown crew-cut hair was neatly combed and styled to the side.

He wore black trousers, a white long-sleeve shirt, and a black suit jacket over it. On his feet were black shoes that complemented his outfit, giving him a sophisticated and alluring presence.

Maverick had always been known as a cruel Alpha, with a possessive aura that tended to get things his way. He had fought in wars and won many battles.

Although it was known throughout the pack that Alpha Maverick doesn’t smile. He only smiled at those he was about to slay with his blade.

He was a man of few words.

But that scared Aurora because lately, he had been trying to engage her in a few conversations whenever she visited the pack house to assist her parents in treating the pack members. Sometimes, she had even caught him staring at her in an unfamiliar manner.

As Aurora got to her parents’ side, she slightly bowed her head in greeting and respect to Alpha Maverick before averting her gaze back to her parents.

“Finally. Since their daughter is already here, take the entire family to the pack battlefield for execution.”

“Wh… what?” Aurora stuttered, her lips trembling as she fluttered her eyelashes, trying to comprehend the words she had just heard.

Alpha Maverick simply ignored her as he turned around, and his guards aggressively grabbed Aurora and her family members.

“Alph… Alpha Maverick, please… we don’t… please, we have no idea what you’re talking about.” Mrs. Donald, Aurora’s mother, pleaded. Her words trailed off one after another as tears rolled down her cheeks. She struggled against the hard ground, trying to free herself from the grip of the men holding her.

“Alpha! We have… we have been the pack’s physicians for years. We would never do anything to hurt you or this pack. Please, spare us and allow us to prove… let us prove our innocence.” The words spilled out of Mr. Donald’s mouth.

Despite the pleas of Mr. and Mrs. Donald, Alpha Maverick paid deaf ears to them as he kept walking, the pack guards still dragging them forward. As all of this was happening, Aurora could not comprehend what was going on.

She frowned, staring at the other pack members who looked back at her in confusion. She lifted her brows slightly, silently demanding answers.

“Alpha Maverick, you have to…”

“Quiet!”

Maverick’s cold voice seethed through clenched teeth. His words sent goosebumps across the skin of those present. A chilling silence fell over the crowd, fear gripping them instantly.

The entire place became quiet as the Donald family was dragged toward the pack battlefield. Soon, many pack members began to gather there as well.

“Mom, what… what is going on? This is all a misunderstanding right?” Aurora inquired, tears streaming down her face as she scanned her surroundings, trying to comprehend everything happening while keeping her voice low so Alpha Maverick would not get offended again. “Dad, why are we being taken to the…”

Aurora’s words were cut short when the Alpha suddenly halted in his tracks. He turned to his men and gave a slight nod.

Without uttering a single word, Aurora and her parents were taken to the middle of the pack battlefield. Their hands and feet were chained with silver that burned their skin, but they ignored the burning pain because all they cared about was leaving the battlefield alive.

They pleaded, tears streaming down their faces nonstop, but the Alpha ignored their pleas as the murmuring in the crowd grew louder.

“I knew this family was no good.”

“Do you think he’s punishing them because their daughter is wolfless?”

“They must have angered Alpha Maverick for him to summon all pack members here.”

“Today,” the Alpha suddenly began, his voice halting the whispers that echoed from every corner, “the Donald family has defied my rules and committed treason against the Silvercrest Pack.”

He paused for a moment as he pulled out his blade and made his way toward where the family had been chained and forced to kneel on the ground.

Then he smiled, his lips curving slightly as he exposed his teeth.

“Lord… my family and I are doomed,” Aurora mumbled upon seeing his smile as she began shaking her head sideways. Her lips quivered as she tried crawling backward.

Alpha Maverick lifted his sword and, with a swift and decisive motion, he struck.

His sharp blade sliced through Mr. Donald’s throat, and in a single brutal instant, his head fell from his body.

“Arrrrrghhhhh!” Aurora and her mother screamed in horror, their eyes wide open as they gasped, tears streaming down their cheeks more than ever. “This… this can’t be happening. This is all a dream,” Aurora stammered as she watched her father’s blood spill from his neck.

The crowd also gasped in shock as some began to react out of fright, some out of amusement, and others out of confusion.

Alpha Maverick once more lifted his hand, and Mrs. Donald began to shake her head uncontrollably. “Please, Alpha Maverick, I… I don’t want to die. Please, this is all some misunderstandin…”

Mrs. Donald’s words were cut short as Alpha Maverick sliced her throat. Soon, her head fell from her body, blood splashing onto Aurora’s face, body, and even her hair.

Aurora became immobile, her eyes wide open. The whole world suddenly seemed to freeze as Aurora stared at her parents’ heads in bafflement, not knowing how to react because she had suddenly lost her voice.

“Your family are traitors, and you need to follow them,” Alpha Maverick declared as he lifted his blade into the air, prompting Aurora to close her eyes and accept her fate.