Page 5

H azel

I had just returned to Nightclaw when the emergency pack meeting was called.

The crowd parts as I walk toward my father, Magnus. Their murmurs buzz like flies around my ears, following me like a cursed shadow. They grow louder with every step, a relentless tide of judgment, but their words are drowned out by the searing agony consuming me. My Mate rejected me.

Kieran rejected me.

The thought slashes through me like a blade, sharp and unyielding. My wolf is pacing restlessly within me, her anguish raw and unrelenting. The bond we had barely begun to understand feels shredded, each thread frayed and snapping under the weight of his rejection.

I had wanted to speak with him, to tell him that we could work even though we're from different packs. That I wanted to be his Luna, that we could work it out. But I was a stupid, silly girl to think that it could ever work.

Mate. He’s our Mate, my wolf growls, her voice trembling with pain .

But he doesn’t want us.

The heat burns hotter in my veins. My muscles are stiff with need, my core tight with an all-consuming ache that makes it hard to breathe, let alone walk.

I grit my teeth, forcing my legs to move.

The warrior in me—the part of me that refuses to show weakness—takes over, carrying me forward with my head held high, even as my heart shatters with every step, even as the world blurs with each second.

I tighten my jaw, forcing one foot in front of the other, my back ramrod straight even as every step feels like a battle. When I reach the head of the crowd, Magnus is waiting. His broad shoulders are stiff, his face set in that stern, disapproving glare I’ve seen too many times.

“You embarrassed us,” he says before I even come to a stop. His voice is low but cutting, meant only for me.

Beside him, my mother, Elara, watches with a softness that feels like a knife to my ribs.

“Explain yourself,” he demands, his voice carrying over the crowd’s murmurs.

“Magnus,” my mother, Elara, murmurs from his side, her voice soft, pleading.

Standing before them now, I notice that my mother stands a step behind him, her hands folded in front of her. Her eyes meet mine, and for a moment, I see nothing but sympathy there. But it only makes the hollow ache in my chest deepen.

My hands curl into fists at my sides.

His eyes narrow, the sharpness of his gaze cutting through me like glass.

“I saw you and Kieran emerge from the forest,” he says, his tone low and biting.

“I hoped—hoped—you had a plan, a strategy against Moonfang. Instead, you shame our pack by lying with a rival male.” I must have been loud.

Someone must have seen us. “And don’t you dare deny it?

There are witnesses that have done their rightful duty to our pack. ”

The words hit me like a physical blow, and I feel my wolf stir, her growl rumbling low and steady in my chest.

I don’t respond. I can’t. The words are lodged in my throat, tangled up with the lingering stab of Kieran’s rejection and my wolf’s need to run back to him, to make him see that he was mistaken .

“Don’t you dare stay silent,” Magnus growls, his tone dripping with disappointment. “You come back reeking of heat and failure. Did you have a plan against Moonfang, or did you just decide to whore yourself to a rival male?”

The crowd stirs, their murmurs swelling into a wave of derision and disgust.

My wolf snarls, but I force her down, clenching my fists so hard my nails dig into my palms.

“Answer me!” Magnus bellows, his voice carrying over the crowd.

“I—” My voice cracks, weak and trembling.

“Magnus,” my mother says, her voice quiet but firm, a thread of steel woven through her softness. “You don’t know that—”

A slap cracks through the air, and a hush descends on the crowd. She is too stunned to react.

“Don’t defend her, Elara,” Magnus snaps, his tone colder than I’ve ever heard. “She needs to answer for this.”

Alpha Jag, standing off to Magnus’ right, steps forward. His presence commands immediate reverence from the crowd. “Speak, Callister.” The rumble of his voice vibrates through the crowd. “Defend yourself if you can.”

I look around, meeting the eyes of warriors and elders alike. Their expressions range from disgust to pity, and the weight of their judgment presses down on me like a boulder.

“She has no answer,” one of the elders, Delta Mark, sneers. His dark eyes gleam with malice. “And why would she? She’s not fit to be a Gamma’s daughter, let alone a warrior of this pack.”

Elara’s hand moves to her chest, her lips parting as if she wants to speak, but she hesitates, her gaze darting between me and Magnus.

I know nothing I say will change this.

The truth? That Kieran is my Mate? It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want me. To him, I’m a spy, a liar. To my pack, I’m worse—a disgrace.

Still, I force the words out, my voice steady despite the tremor in my chest. “Alpha Kieran of Moonfang is my Mate.”

The crowd erupts.

Laughter. Jeers. Disbelief.

“Impossible,” someone sneers .

“She’s wolfless,” another voice cuts through. “How could an Alpha have a Mate like her?”

“She’s lying,” a woman says, her tone dripping with venom. “Trying to excuse her behavior by claiming the bond.”

“She’s brought shame on all of us,” Jag continues, his voice like oil dripping over fire. “If she has nothing to say for herself, then she should be punished accordingly.”

“I’m not lying!” I blurt out, the words ripping from my throat.

The crowd falls silent, their eyes boring into me like daggers. My wolf whimpers, but I steady myself, my voice shaking but clear. “Alpha Kieran…is my Mate.”

The air shifts, the weight of my confession settling over the crowd like a suffocating blanket.

Then the whispers start again, harsher now, cruel and mocking.

I feel my wolf pressing against the edges of my control, her fury bleeding into my thoughts. She wants to shift, to lash out, to tear through the wolves who dare question her claim. But I force her back, clenching my fists so hard my nails bite into my palms.

“How could an Alpha like Kieran want someone like her?”

Tears burn behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. My chest heaves with the effort of keeping my wolf from breaking free, her rage and sorrow a storm threatening to consume us both.

“Enough!” Magnus roars, silencing the crowd. His eyes blaze with fury as he glares at me. “You’re a liar. A disgrace. You’ve paraded yourself like a bitch in heat and humiliated this pack. You’re no daughter of mine.”

“No,” Elara whimpers, her voice trembling. My mother flinches but doesn’t back down. She says to my father, the fear dripping in her tone, “She’s still our daughter.” Her voice is stronger now.

But the red glow of my eyes betrays me. It lets them know that I now have my wolf.

“Her eyes! She has a wolf!” someone in the crowd points out.

Everyone gasps. They all knew that I've been wolfless. The shame of the pack and the disgrace of a Gamma's daughter. But now, they can see that I'm not lying.

“Look at her! The deranged bitch wants to attack. ”

Instead of it being proof that I indeed have found my Mate in Kieran, they oppose me, still. I will never be one of them, whether I have my wolf or not.

“Enough!” Alpha Jag’s voice cuts through the chaos, sharp and commanding. The wolves fall silent, their eyes snapping to their Alpha.

“Demote her,” Alpha Jag says coldly, stepping forward. “Strip her of her rank and seal her runt of a wolf. Let her learn what it means to be subservient to her Alpha.”

My chest tightens, my wolf howling in anguish as his words sink in.

Alpha Jag’s tone hardens, cold and unyielding. “From this day forward, you are no longer a warrior of Nightclaw. You are Omega.”

My stomach lurches, and I feel the blood drain from my face.

Rhyne steps forward, his expression tight with decisiveness as he reaches for my warrior insignia. I want to fight, to protest, but my body feels heavy, my strength drained.

“Don’t,” I whisper, but my voice is barely audible. “Please.” Being a warrior is everything to me. It’s all I have. All I am.

The world tilts as Rhyne removes my rank, the crowd jeering as he does. Magnus steps forward, placing his hand on my shoulder as the seal takes hold, the magic burning into my skin like fire.

“Since you can't keep your green mutt under control, let me do it for you.” Magnus sneers as the seal takes hold. Everything in me panicked. I've heard of seals like this. They make being in heat so much worse and suppress the full power of a wolf.

He’s rendering me defenseless, throwing me into a world of torture, especially now that my wolf has found her Mate.

My vision clouds with white pain, and I feel my consciousness slipping from me.

Elara’s voice reaches into my fading consciousness as the darkness clouds me. “You can’t do this to her! She’s our daughter—”

“She’s no daughter of mine.” The air of finality in his voice reverberates, and the last thing I hear before everything goes black is my mother’s voice, shouting my name.

When I wake, the air is stifling and heavy, the room dimly lit by a single flickering candle. The walls are bare, the furniture sparse—just a narrow bed, a chair, and a table. The blanket is rough against my skin. Everything feels cold and functional, stripped of warmth and comfort.

My body feels like lead, my limbs weak and uncooperative as I try to sit up. My head pounds, and the ache of my heat is still there, simmering beneath the surface, relentless and unforgiving.

“Easy, Hazel.”

My mother’s voice is soft, and when I look up, she’s sitting beside me, her face lined with worry.

“Mom,” I croak, my throat dry and raw.

She reaches for a cup on the table, helping me drink. The water is cool and soothing, but it does little to ease the pain radiating through me.

“I’m here,” she says gently, brushing a strand of hair from my face.

My gaze catches on her arms, on the bruises and scrapes marring her skin. My stomach twists. “Are you okay?”