Amia's POV
"Get up!" A loud scream forced my eyes open.
"You can't be this stupid, can you?" A familiar voice asked as I rubbed my eyes with my hand and then dropped it, looking at her.
How the hell was she here?
"Are you going to let your little sister be a sacrifice to the serpent's nest?" my stepmother asked as I groaned, trying to ignore the headache I felt.
"I'm talking to you!" she yelled as I looked at her coldly.
"So, Cassidy is still alive. Did Father—I mean the Alpha—did he drag me back to the pack and decide to forgive me for losing the heir to the nest?" I asked sadly as she widened her eyes.
"What the hell are you talking about? I came here to open the cell door for you so you could stop your sister from being a sacrifice! We received important guests; I didn't have to let you know, but I did. He is the serpent lord, and he has come to search for an Omega in this pack. As we speak, your father is sacrificing your sister to him!" she exclaimed.
I kept quiet for a few seconds, then laughed while shaking my head. She was driving me insane.
"Is this the best you can do? Are you happy messing with me?" I asked calmly.
"You fucking bitch, is this the thanks I get for opening this cell for you?" she screamed furiously as I widened my eyes.
"Enough!" I screamed back, startling her.
For years, I held my voice back, and I ended up losing the most precious thing to me: my unborn pup.
"Did you just yell at me?" she asked in a low tone.
"Yes, I did, so quit with this nonsense," I warned furiously.
"You little whore, I'm telling you that your sister is about to wed a demon, and you are here acting up. Unbelievable," she whispered in disbelief, and that made me frown because I couldn't detect any lie in her words.
"You are serious," I said in a low, cracked voice.
"Of course I am! That demon came looking for an omega. Even though it's my first time seeing him, I felt terrified. Imagine what he would do to your little sister if she were sacrificed to him," she answered.
"What do you mean 'first time'? You have seen the lord before," I pointed out seriously.
"Are you insane, or did you hurt your head somewhere? I have never seen that monster before! Is this your little way of refusing to help your filthy little sister?" she asked coldly.
"That's impossible," I muttered to myself as I slowly got to my feet.
She was definitely telling the truth. But then again, she knew the lord. It was either she was messing with me or—no! No one had the ability to change the past or make one forget someone.
"What year and day is this?" I asked seriously as she growled furiously at me.
"Just answer me, please!" I growled back, shocking her.
She hesitated but went on to tell me the year and day, shocking me.
It's impossible!
No!
"Hey, fool, go and save your little sister," she whispered as I knelt down on the ground and groaned in pain while I moved my hands to my head.
I remembered everything, from Serai to my mate and Lucian. I could also remember what the members of the nest said and how Lucian tried to save me. Sadly, I couldn't remember anything after Lucian told me how I had lost my pup.
What had happened after that? Did I die? A part of me felt like there was something I couldn't remember and that it was very important.
"We died, didn't we?" I asked my wolf silently as she whimpered.
We obviously died, but then, how did we go back in time?
"Damn it, will you go!" my stepmother yelled, making me look at her.
Back then, I had rushed into the meeting, begging them not to choose my sister. I also came face to face with the lord, and I got so scared that I fell to my knees.
But this time, I wasn't going to do a thing because I knew how I would die after a miscarriage.
I dropped my hands and sat on the floor in silence.
"Aren't you going to save her?" she asked furiously.
"You keep on saying the same things, Stepmother, and I hear you loud and clear. Sadly, I'm sorry; I am not going anywhere," I answered seriously as she furiously growled and then walked away, leaving the cell door wide open.
I sat there, thinking hard about the Serpent Lord. If I were to see him again, would he scare me as before or not? Would he look the same as he did back then?
When I heard footsteps approaching and inhaled my stepmother's scent, I sighed heavily.
"What now?" I asked her before she could reach the cell.
"Will you sit still and let your twelve-year-old sister get raped and tormented in that damn nest?" she asked seriously.
"Yes," my wolf growled in my mind.
I wanted to say the same, but I couldn't.
Although I didn't want to interfere or see the lord in any way, the thought of my sister going through hell, or close to what I did, was unbearable.Ezra wouldn't rape a child, but that didn't mean Rachel wasn't going to make her live in hell.
I stood up and sighed heavily again.
"Lead the way," I answered calmly as she smirked and began to walk to the meeting room, and I followed behind.
My heart was beating loudly and rapidly the closer we got.
"It seems we will get the young daughter," I heard a man's voice say as my stepmother stopped right at the entrance to the meeting room.
"It's up to you," she mind-linked me and then stepped aside.
I took a deep breath and then walked in.
This time I was calm as I looked at the Elder who sat next to the Serpent Lord.
"Excellent," my father whispered and then stood up, approaching me.
When he grabbed me by the hair, I kept quiet, refusing to cry out and beg like I did back then, even when my scalp was burning.
He began dragging me out of the room as I willingly let him. I was tired of him treating me like this, but then again, he was still my Alpha, whom I couldn't easily fight.
"Don't fucking treat her like that; she is my fucking mate and bond," my mate loudly yelled, shocking me and my father, who instantly stopped dragging me.
"What?" my father asked, the exact question that was going through my mind.
"I will take her instead of your other daughter. I believe she will be more obedient and submissive," the lord said coldly.
His tone wasn't one of request but of demand.
I watched in astonishment as he ripped the cloth from his face. The elder gasped loudly and then lowered his gaze to the floor.
I blinked a few times in shock as he used magic and transformed his tail into human legs. A golden robe was perfectly tied around his waist, and a golden chain hung around his neck.
My father instantly let go of me when he approached us.
My heart was beating wildly, and I couldn't understand why what was happening was different from what I remembered.
Surely the lord wasn't supposed to speak or reveal his face to me. If it was back then, the elder would have said.
"It seems the lord has taken an interest in that she-wolf you are dragging, Alpha. Is she your daughter as well?"
Those were the words I had expected!
"Excuse me, but what is your name, mate?" he asked as he extended his hand to me.
My jaw dropped as I looked at his hand and then at him with a deep frown.
"Rip him to pieces!" my wolf growled furiously and tried to take over.
"No! Father will have our heads, as well as Cassidy's. Moreover, if he really is the Ezra we know, he is much stronger than even our father," I warned her, giving her a reason to stop trying to take over.
"Amia," I forced out the words and took his hand, standing up while ignoring the beautiful tingles I felt.
"We need to play nice if we want to survive. We need a plan," I whispered silently to my wolf and then composed myself.
I stood still and ready for my mate to grab my chin roughly.
But after a few seconds, I frowned deeply and looked at the elder, who quickly stood up and rushed to his side, pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket and giving it to him, his eyes still lowered to the floor.
I watched as the Lord brushed the handkerchief against my shoulder.
"I'm sorry that you have to experience such pain in your own pack," he whispered as I raised a brow, feeling speechless.
"I knew there and then you were my bond when I laid my eyes on you. Amia, if it's not too much to ask..." he trailed off and went down on one knee.
"I plead for your hand in marriage. I will give your father a few of my best lands, gold, as well as a diamond mine. I will cherish and love you and be responsible for your sister's safety because she will be coming with us to the nest if you accept my proposal. This I swear on my life," he said as I glared at him.
What the actual hell was going on here!
"Of course, Amia will go with you, but taking her little sister, who is my most precious daughter and my favorite one, is a little too much," my father answered as I looked at him murderously.
Did this old fool have no shame?
I was about to tell him to go to hell when my mate stood up and walked to him, leaning in and whispering something in his ear.
My father's face went pale, and he looked at me with a terrified expression.
"You may take Cassidy with you if you agree to marry the lord," he said in a cracked voice.
"Don't you dare!" my wolf growled at me.
"Think it through! If we stay here, our stepmother and sister will make sure we die by their hands, and our father will do nothing about it," I said silently.
"If we go, we still die!" she growled.
"Fair enough, but what if this time we get to run away right after the wedding? I will make sure we run away with Cassidy. That's the only time and way we can have a chance to survive," I told her softly.
She growled, then huffed, retreating into our subconscious.
"Fine, I will marry you, my lord," I answered simply as he smiled softly.
Something was definitely wrong.