“No…”
Aria’s voice broke as she looked into Damon’s eyes.
“There has to be a mistake.”
“There isn’t,” Damon replied coldly.
“You are not fit to stand beside an Alpha.”
His words struck harder than any weapon.
The sacred clearing fell silent.
Then the whispers began.
“She was rejected…”
“I heard she doesn’t even have a wolf.”
“How embarrassing.”
Aria wrapped her arms around herself as though she could stop the pain spreading through her chest.
“Please,” she whispered.
“Tell me why.”
For the briefest second, something flickered across Damon’s face.
Regret.
It vanished so quickly she wondered if she had imagined it.
“I owe you no explanation.”
The High Elder stepped forward, his expression grave.
“By pack law, a rejected mate who has no place beside the Alpha shall leave the Shadow Moon Pack before sunrise.”
Aria’s eyes widened.
“Leave?”
“This is my home.”
No one answered.
Even the people who had watched her grow up refused to meet her gaze.
Her heart shattered all over again.
Selene folded her arms with a smug smile.
“You heard the Elder.”
“Pack your things.”
“You no longer belong here.”
Aria slowly stood.
Her legs trembled beneath her.
She searched the crowd for one familiar face…
Someone who would defend her.
Someone who still cared.
But every wolf lowered their eyes.
Not one stepped forward.
Not one.
Without another word, Aria turned away.
She walked through the silent crowd while whispers followed her like ghosts.
Some pitied her.
Others laughed.
A few looked relieved.
By the time she reached the small cottage where she had lived since her parents died, the moon had climbed high into the sky.
The house felt colder than ever.
She packed only a small leather bag.
A few clothes.
Her mother’s pendant.
A worn journal she had never been able to read because it was written in an ancient language.
And one faded family portrait.
She traced her mother’s smiling face with trembling fingers.
“I don’t know where I’m going,” she whispered.
“But I’ll make you proud.”
A loud knock shook the front door.
Before she could answer, it burst open.
Three warriors stepped inside.
“The Alpha’s orders,” the leader said.
“You must leave now.”
One of them grabbed her bag and threw it outside.
Another snapped the wooden chair her father had carved years ago.
Aria stared in disbelief.
“You don’t have to destroy my home.”
“We’re making sure you don’t come back.”
Tears streamed down her face as she stepped outside.
The door slammed behind her.
A heavy iron lock clicked into place.
Homeless.
Rejected.
Alone.
She took one last look at the only home she had ever known before turning toward the Forbidden Forest.
No wolf entered those woods after dark.
Stories claimed ancient monsters still lived there.
Most never returned.
Aria swallowed her fear.
“If this forest wants my life…”
She tightened her grip on her bag.
“…it will have to fight for it.”
Far beyond the trees…
Two glowing crimson eyes slowly opened.
“They’ve finally sent her to me,” a deep voice murmured.
“The wait is over.”