Ember’s words were received well by the onlookers as they all nodded their heads agreeing with her. My heart pounded, the humiliation and frustration boiling inside me. I knew I had to do something, anything to stop this madness. But what could I do when Ember held all the cards? When Ember was the new Luna and everyone seemed to be hanging onto her every word?
When we reached the ceremonial stage, Ember shoved me forward. I stumbled, catching myself just before I fell. The big screen set up behind the stage came on, showing a close-up of my distressed, tear-stricken face. The camera zoomed in to capture every pain and tear I was struggling to hold back.
Ember snatched a microphone from one of the people onstage, her voice boomed through the speakers. A massive crowd had gathered now and everyone was staring at her in anticipation. I couldn’t believe things had gone sour in less than a few hours.
“Listen everyone!” she shouted “This girl claims to be Alpha Cohen’s daughter, but we all know the truth, don’t we? Alpha Cohen’s daughter is a sweet little girl, who’s not very active on social media, who doesn’t write about the love of her father being snatched, Am I right?”
The crowd chorused a loud Yes.
“This impostor here, is nothing but a conniving little snake trying to slither her way into power, into my place and into my mate’s heart and she deserves to be punished".
My stomach churned as I looked over at the crowd. Faces I had known, including all the ones that looked faintly familiar stared back at me. Some of them were shocked, others uncertain. From behind, I spotted some of the pack elders whose faces I recognized moving through the thick crowd with concern etched on their faces. But they were still too far away to intervene.
I had to find a way to make Ember stop before things spiralled even further out of control. “Ember!” I shouted, above the dining. “If you keep this up, if you keep doing this to me. You’re going to ruin your wedding! Is that what you want? You still have a chance to let me go right now and I promise you, that I’ll put all of this behind me and we’ll never have to talk about it anymore, I promise".
For a moment, there was silence and I felt a flicker of hope. Perhaps, my words had reached Ember and had made her realize the consequence of this madness. But then Ember laughed – a high, shrill sound that echoed through the clearing.