The ground was cold and rough against my knees. Dirt smeared my hands where I had fallen, and for a moment, I couldn't tell if the shaking in my body came from the night air or the wound that burned in my chest.
The rejection hadn't been just words. It was claws raking across my soul, a bond snapping like brittle bone. My lungs refused to draw breath properly; each inhale was shallow, ragged, as though the air itself no longer wanted me.
The drums had fallen silent. Only whispers remained.
"She's ruined."
"The Alpha cast her aside."
"No Luna. No pack. Just a hollow shell."
I wanted to cover my ears, but I couldn't. Their voices pressed into me harder than the cold ground, harder than the ache tearing through my chest.
The Betas yanked me up by the arms. Their grips were iron, bruising. My head lolled as my body swayed between them. One of them sneered down at me as though I were a stain on his boots.
"Out with you, Hollowfang," he spat. "The Alpha has no need for weaklings."
I stumbled as they dragged me toward the treeline. My bare feet scraped across stones, sharp edges cutting into skin until I left a faint trail of blood behind me. Laughter followed.
"Rejected right in front of us all…"
"She's nothing now."
"Let the rogues finish her. That's all she's good for."
My throat clenched. I wanted to scream, to fight back, to beg—but pride anchored my tongue. Tears blurred my vision, hot against the cold night air, but I refused to sob before them. I refused to give them more to laugh at.
We reached the border.
The line of ash and bone stretched like a scar through the earth, a marker every wolf in the Silverfang Pack knew. Beyond it, the wards ended. Beyond it, there was no law, no protection. Just the forest—wild, endless, filled with shadows that moved and teeth that hunted.
The Betas shoved me. I hit the ground hard, stones biting into my palms, dirt grinding into my knees. I tried to rise, but one pressed his boot against my shoulder and forced me back down.
"Stay out there," he growled. "If you come back, the Alpha will finish what the rogues start."
Laughter rippled again, cruel and sharp. And then they were gone, footsteps retreating, leaving me kneeling alone in the dirt.
I turned my head back toward the clearing. The glow of the ritual circle still burned faintly, silver light pulsing with the last traces of the ceremony. The pack was dispersing, wolves returning to their dens, some still casting me sidelong glances—mocking, pitying, indifferent.
At the center, Alpha Darius remained, tall and unshakable. He did not look at me again. He had already turned away.
Something inside me cracked.
I staggered to my feet, swaying, clutching my chest. The crescent mark at my throat throbbed painfully, glowing faintly with silver cracks that spread across my skin before fading.
And then a new voice rang through my mind.
> [Quest Notification]
Quest 1: Survive the night beyond the pack's borders.
Reward: Hidden Stat Unlock.
Penalty: Permanent death.
I froze. My breath hitched, white fog curling before me.
A quest? The words weren't the Goddess's. They weren't prayer, or fate, or bond. They were colder. Sharper. Implacable.
Survive the night.
My gaze shifted to the treeline beyond the border. The forest loomed, black and endless, its branches skeletal fingers scratching at the moonlit sky. I had heard the stories all my life—rogues lurking in those shadows, wolves stripped of pack bonds until madness hollowed them out. Feral. Hungry. Merciless.
And the System demanded that I walk into their jaws.
My body shook. But behind me, there was nothing—no welcome, no mercy. Only laughter, rejection, and an Alpha who had declared me worthless.
I stepped across the line.
Cold slammed into me like a wall. The hum of the wards vanished, and the faint bond I had once held to the pack snapped like a brittle string. My wolf whimpered in my mind, mourning the severing, but there was no going back.
For the first time in my life, I was truly alone.
The forest pressed close. Shadows swallowed the light, the moon's glow barely touching the ground. My breath came loud in the silence. My ritual dress, thin and torn, clung damp against my skin, useless against the bite of night air.
Every stone and root tore at my bare feet until blood slicked the earth behind me. But still, I walked.
The System's words pulsed steady and merciless:
Survive.
I staggered deeper into the woods. My body screamed for rest. My heart still bled from the rejection. Every instinct begged me to collapse. To let the forest take me.
But then faint silver letters burned across my vision:
> [Willpower +1]
And I forced my legs forward again.
The trees creaked. A breeze stirred, carrying with it a smell that froze me in place—rot and blood, sharp and foul.
A twig snapped behind me.
I spun.
Two yellow eyes gleamed in the dark.
Not golden like the Alpha's. Not silver like mine. Yellow. Dull. Fer feral.
A rogue wolf stepped into the clearing. Its body was a patchwork of scars and mangy fur, its ribs jutting sharply through its skin. Its lips curled back, exposing fangs stained with old blood. Drool dripped from its jaws, steaming in the cold.
Its growl rumbled low, shaking the earth beneath my feet.
My wolf whimpered, terror flooding me. I had no weapon. No claws sharp enough. No pack. No Alpha.
The rogue lunged.
I screamed, throwing my arms up to shield myself.
Light burst across my skin.
The wolf crashed into me, but instead of claws tearing into flesh, the air hissed. A shimmering veil of silver wrapped around me, sparks flying where its talons struck. The rogue yelped, staggering back, confusion flashing in its feral eyes.
I stared at my glowing arms in shock, silver threads pulsing faintly before fading. My chest heaved with disbelief.
> [Passive Skill Unlocked: Moonlight Veil]
Effect: When in danger, your body instinctively manifests a protective layer of moonlight. Strength scales with Willpower.
The rogue snarled, shaking its head, then circled me, saliva dripping thick and foul from its jaws.
Fear clawed at me, but faint text flickered again:
> [Quest Progress: 5%]
My pulse thundered. The System was real. It had saved me.
Not the Goddess.
Not the Alpha.
The System.
The rogue crouched low, muscles bunching. It lunged again.
I twisted aside, the Moonlight Veil flaring as its claws grazed my arm. Pain shot through me, but the strike did not cut deep. Sparks hissed as it rebounded.
Snarling, the beast paced, hunger and frustration twisting its movements.
I stumbled back, breath ragged, until my heel struck a root. My balance faltered, and I crashed hard to the earth. The rogue's eyes gleamed as it saw weakness.
It lunged a third time.
I didn't scream.
I moved.
Rolling aside, I snatched up a jagged branch from the ground. Splinters tore my palm, but I raised it like a weapon. The rogue's fangs snapped inches from my face as I drove the branch upward, jamming it between its jaws. The beast thrashed, snarling, foam spraying as it bit down.
The Moonlight Veil flared again, silver sparks searing its muzzle. The rogue yelped, twisting violently, and the branch snapped in my hands.
I scrambled back, panting, staring at the shards clutched in my bleeding fingers. The rogue crouched low again, yellow eyes blazing. It would come again.
And if I faltered, if I gave in to the fear pressing against my ribs, it would kill me.
My wolf whimpered. My heart screamed.
But the System's words remained steady.
Survive.
My grip tightened around the broken wood. My legs trembled, but I forced myself to stand. The rogue growled, preparing its next charge.
For the first time since the Alpha had cast me aside, I lifted my chin.
Darius hadn't saved me. The pack hadn't saved me. The Goddess hadn't saved me.
The System had.
And if I wanted to live—if I wanted to rise—I had to fight.
The rogue lunged.
This time, I met it head-on.
---