Erased by Blood: The Alpha’s Lost Daughter on Trial Chapter 03

Erased by Blood: The Alpha’s Lost Daughter on Trial Chapter 03

The memory of my first return to the Blackberry Pack at sixteen, once I learned I was the Alpha’s daughter, was sharp and full of contrast.

I sat awkwardly in the pack house’s wide, luxurious living room in the kind of worn clothes that shouted my past.

Helena, dressed in a fancy gown, perched playfully at my side and chattered nonstop.

“Hazel, your blue eyes are gorgeous. You definitely got Mom’s eyes, not like mine. Mine are green.”

She stuck her tongue out, full of mischief, then patted my hand with sudden softness.

“God, you’re so thin. The Omega Shelter must’ve been rough on you. You’re home now. I’ll fatten you up and make sure you’re taken care of.”

Mom and Dad watched from across the room with pleased smiles.

Declan sat next to me and handed me a glass of orange juice.

Helena’s easy warmth seemed to peel away my shame and awkwardness like sunlight.

I gave her a grateful, bashful smile; she beamed right back.

Then, as if she’d remembered something urgent, Helena darted into the kitchen and came back with a small chocolate cake.

“This is my favorite,” she said, breathless. “I woke up early to make it for you to welcome you home. You have to try it.”

Mom’s smile deepened. “Helena made that herself, nearly burned her hand doing it.” Dad mussed Helena’s hair. “Good girl. Knowing you two get along puts me at ease.”

Helena waved him off, playful as ever. “Dad, Mom, what are you talking about? Of course I’ll get along with Hazel, she’s your daughter.”

At that, Mom, Dad, and even Declan’s eyes grew wet. “Helena’s our daughter too,” Dad said softly. “We’re a family, and we’ll never be apart.”

The pack house felt full of love. My chest tightened in a way that was both painful and warm. So this was what family could feel like.

I took the cake from Helena and ate it slowly under her eager gaze. It tasted incredible, a richness I’d never known in my sixteen years.

When I finished, Declan seized my hand, practically shaking with excitement. “Come on, Hazel. Let me show you your new room.”

The best bedrooms in the pack house were already taken by Helena and Declan.

To make sure I’d be comfortable, Declan had given up his own room. “You’re both my sisters,” he said with a grin. “Helena’s room is hers, no question. But Hazel, you’re back, so you can’t have a shabby room. I’ll take one for the team.”

He’d redecorated the room for me; I stood there, eyes burning, and thanked him.

It was real. I had a brother. He was kind. He would protect me, wouldn’t he?

Then my stomach clenched like a giant hand had twisted it. Pain shot through me so fast I could hardly breathe. My face went white. I looked toward the bathroom. “I need to—”

Before I could finish, Helena, standing beside me, suddenly lost her balance and fell into me. I caught her on instinct, but her arm drove into my stomach.

Everything unraveled in the next second.

I shook uncontrollably. A hot, humiliating wetness spread down my legs and soaked the carpet Declan had chosen for me.

A smell rose up, sharp and awful.

Helena made a sound and covered her mouth. “Hazel, you—”

All eyes turned to me. Mom and Dad’s faces closed. Declan glanced at the ruined carpet, then at me; his expression tightened into something unreadable.

I pressed my hands to my face and wanted to vanish.

Shame flooded me. I felt worthless. I couldn’t do anything right.

Were they going to send me away again, back to that hell?

Just then Helena was sunlight again. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me like a shield. “Dad, Mom, Declan, don’t blame her. She’s just terrified.”

She shepherded them out of the living room. “You go. I’ll take care of Hazel. She just needs to rest.”

She called for the housekeeper to remove the soiled rug and led me to the bathroom to clean up. At that moment everything between us felt perfect: she had protected my fragile pride, and I was endlessly grateful.

But soon the bedroom door swung open and Helena came running out, eyes red and tear-streaked. Mom, Dad, and Declan hurried after her. “Helena, what’s wrong?” Dad asked, alarmed.

Helena sobbed, clutching a darkening bruise on her arm.

“Dad, Mom, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have made that cake. If I hadn’t, Hazel wouldn’t have… been humiliated like that.” She sobbed harder. “She hit me and yelled at me. She was right to be angry. Please, don’t blame her.”

The sight of Helena’s bruised arm froze the room.

Declan’s jaw worked with fury.

“Alpha, judge her guilty! Helena treated her kindly and Hazel repaid her with cruelty!”

The pack members who had gathered began to shout in agreement.

“Hazel’s heart is rotten. We should never have brought her back,” someone said.

“If I had a sister like Helena, I’d spoil her rotten. How could anyone hurt her? Hazel’s wicked — she should be put to death!” another growled.

“Alpha, declare her guilty!” they demanded.

Those words and the coldness in my family’s eyes dropped me into an icy well.

Maybe I really would be executed. No one wanted to hear me. No one cared about the truth. They only believed what their eyes had seen.

Perhaps dying like that would be a mercy.

Then the Moon Mirror’s voice cut through the noise.