Slowly, it hit me.
I was a monster.
I had heard the stories before about crippled wolves.
Mrs. Gordon, our history teacher, once said it was better to be cursed than crippled.
Cursed wolves still had strength. Crippled wolves were nothing.
Abominations.
Never, in my worst nightmares, had I imagined I would become one.
And yet, as I stared into the horrified faces of my pack and everyone who had come as a guest, I saw the truth written there.
Fear, shame, and disgust.
"She's no savior," Lydia's sharp voice rang out. "She's a disgrace."
Her words cut deeper than claws.
I hobbled forward, dragging my twisted leg, my gaze fixed on Devan. My mate. My wolf whimpered inside me, weak and desperate, crying out for him.
"Devan…" My voice trembled. "I need you."
But instead of comfort, his face twisted. His lip curled in disgust.
"Get away from me!" he snapped.
I froze. My wolf whimpered louder.
"Devan, please…"
"Fucking goddess," he spat, turning his face away. Then his eyes snapped back to me, cold and sharp. "Is this a joke?" He waved a hand at me like I was filth. "Some kind of sick joke, Alpha Darius?"
"Don't you dare…." My father's voice thundered as he stepped forward from the crowd.
But the damage was already done.
Devan's father, Alpha Raphael, who happened to also be my father's best friend, held him back. "Careful, son."
"No!" Devan jerked free. His voice was raw with fury. "You told me she would save us! That she was the one who would break the curse, who would change everything. But look at her!"
I flinched, every word a dagger.
He had never loved me. He had only loved the idea of me. My bloodline. My promise.
And now that was gone.
Devan's voice cracked like a whip.
"Who would ever want something as despicable as that? It's hideous!"
It?
Gasps rippled through the crowd. My heart shattered.
"ENOUGH!" My father roared, his Alpha command shaking the air.
But Devan's eyes locked on mine, merciless and in it, I saw someone I had never known.
"Gabrielle Moonshadow," he said, his voice cold as death, "I reject you as my mate."
The bond snapped.
Agony tore through me. It was as if claws ripped my heart from my chest, tearing my wolf apart. A scream wrenched from my throat as my body convulsed, shifting back to human. I
collapsed on the ground, my dress now ripped an soiled as I was sobbing, broken in every way.
"Devan, please…" I begged, choking on tears.
But he turned his back. And walked away.
My father rushed to me, wrapping his jacket around my trembling body.
His arms were strong, steady, the only thing keeping me from crumbling into dust.
"Daddy…" I wept into his chest.
"It's all right, Gabrielle. I've got you-
But then his words never completed. His breath caught.
"Dad?"
He staggered.
And before my horrified eyes, Alpha Darius, my father, my shield, my world, collapsed to the ground.