Moonfire Bride: The One they all betrayed...till she awakened

Beatrice had no choice but to return to her room the very next day. As per tradition, the bride isn’t allowed to leave her room a day before her wedding so that she can be found and monitored easily.

Her mother had found her that morning sleeping in her brother’s room and had pulled her back to her chambers with a warning and reminder of the tradition. Beatrice had tried to tell her mother about the doll, but she had gotten almost the same reaction as Jaime.

Laughter. Disbelief.

She’d made them search the whole room and make sure there was no wooden doll before they’d left. She stood by the door as the maids left with her mother.

Her mother looked grim, with thoughts, ”Nothing could possibly haunt you, Beatrice. You’re a she-Wolf. Just get some sleep,”

Evangeline clearly needed the sleep more. Things haven’t been going great for her and Jaime.

Once Bea was alone in the room, she sighed and scanned the room thoroughly again. The windows were closed, and there was no creepy doll anywhere.

A sigh of relief escaped her, and then she walked up to her bed.

Then, she froze again.

There was a huge lump on her bed, particularly inside her sheets and it carried the form of a person. Like someone was lying there.

”What the hell?” She burst out angrily. Did one of the maids fall asleep on her bed?!

She reached out and yanked the sheets off aggressively, ready to tear the whole place down at whoever it was that had the audacity to lie on her bed...when instead, her face twisted into ten shades of horror and a scream ripped out of her lungs.

Lying there was a life-sized form of the freaking horse doll! It was still wooden, still staring at her with those lifeless eyes and this time, there was something different written on the belly:

Where were you last night?

I missed you so much!

Go on, lie with me.

This time, the words looked like they’d been written with blood.

Beatrice ran straight for the door. She threw the damn thing open and sprinted down the corridor like a mad woman on a chase.

Before she could turn another, she ran into Jaime and Evangeline, who had heard her scream and were already coming to her.

”What the hell happened? Are you okay?!”

”The doll!” She yelped, her face tight with freak and one eye twitching again, ”It’s the doll. It’s on my bed!”

”What?!” Evangeline shook her head, ”We just searched—”

”Come and see it!!” Beatrice grabbed both of them and started to pull. Seeing was believing, right? Once they saw that gigantic thing with the creepy ass message, then they would understand that she wasn’t making this all up, ”Its the same doll I used to play with Della while we were young. It says it misses me!!”

They both rolled their eyes.

Once they got to her room, she started to rant again, ”I’m telling you, it’s right there on my bed. It’s right—”

And then, she froze again.

Because there was nothing there.

Her bed...was empty. And well-made.

”What?!” She cried out, confusion and madness crashing in her head, ”I swear to God it was right here!!” She looked back at the bed and pointed at the spot, ”It was right there!!”

Jaime and Evangeline exchanged looks, and then her mother let out a tired sigh again while Jaime simply looked away from her sister like she’d already embarrassed herself enough.

”You don’t believe me?!” She yelled again, her eyes big, ”You have to! It was right there! I knew what I saw! Whoever put it there must have taken it away the second I left the room!!”

”Yeah,” Jaime replied, ”And they left no scent, no trails. The windows are still closed, and my wolf’s instinct isn’t going off that anything is wrong,”

”I know what I’m saying!!” Beatrice tried again, ”I mean you two have been having the same issues, right?! The changed numbers and all,”

”Ours is different, sweetheart,” Evangeline groaned, ”It affects the Pack. Yours is just...jitters because of the wedding, or because of what we plan to do,” She whispered the last part.

”It’s not,” Beatrice dragged a hand through her hair and down her face, ”It’s so not, Mother. I’m having a real crisis!”

”So are we!!” Evangeline suddenly snapped at her, catching her children off guard, ”I keep having to explain why everything I have thoroughly inspected, signed, sealed, declared, personally investigated, talked about, keeps changing! For no reason!” She looked really angry.

She’d never been this angry before. This... frustrating.

”The villages don’t seem to trust me anymore, and your father is simply tolerating my existence now. I’m sure if it was Della’s mother, he would have her in his arms right now, whispering to her that everything will be alright, but all he does is snap at me, and I’m really trying here, and I cannot condone your nonsense!!”

Beatrice’s face was red.

Jaime stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulders, trying to calm her down, ”Mother—”

”No!!” Evangeline raised a hand and stopped him, ”It’s a day to her wedding! There is NO moving doll. It’s all in her head!! She would stay in her room as she should, and once I’m leaving now, I will have her door locked tightly so she cannot leave. If she wants to scream like a deranged person, she can do it from inside!”

And with that, Evangeline turned around and stomped out of the room.

Beatrice turned to her brother expectantly, and Jaime rubbed his temples, ”Sister...,”

”I know what I saw!” She said and glanced back at the bed again.

”There’s nothing there,” Jaime said softly, forcing a smile on his face.

He placed both hands on her shoulders and pressed back, forcing her to move. She tried to fight him, tried to make him leave her alone, but eventually he made her sit on the bed.

She squirmed.

”There’s nothing here,” He repeated, and started to pat around the sheets

She glanced at it again and shook her head defiantly.

”Look, okay?” He gently cupped her face and made her look at him. Her face was still strongly objective with that expression that made her look like a psychopath, ”You’re probably just being paranoid. It’s normal. It happens. There’s nothing wrong with you. And what if a doll keeps appearing? Why should you be scared of a doll? You killed Della with those hands. You’re not scared of anything that is her!”

Beatrice took in a deep breath, and her eyes cleared up a bit. Jaime was right. She wasn’t scared of anything. Who cares if the doll was moving, or appearing and disappearing?!

Next time she sees it, she would walk right up to it and shove her claws deep inside those stupid eyes of it.

”Thanks, Jaime,” Beatrice smiled.

”Good,” He stood up, ”I’m leaving now. The maids should be with you soon to start your preparations,”

She nodded.

Then, he left. She watched him leave.

The moment he closed the door, she knew she wasn’t alone anymore.