Adriel's POV
I woke to stone.
Cold seeped into my bones, leeching warmth from my skin until my teeth chattered. My head throbbed, each pulse a reminder of the power that had surged out of me the night before—and the price I'd paid for it.
Chains clinked when I moved.
The sound made my stomach drop.
I forced my eyes open and stared at the low ceiling above me, carved from ancient rock and etched with faded runes meant to suppress magic—the Holding Chamber. Wolves only came here for three reasons: judgment, exile, or death.
I swallowed hard.
The events of the ceremony crashed back into me—the rejection, the laughter, the elders' cold eyes, Alex's voice cutting through me like a blade. My chest tightened painfully where the bond should have been. The ache was constant now, a dull, relentless throb that refused to fade.
I was alone.
Footsteps echoed beyond the iron bars.
I turned my head just as Elder Kael appeared, flanked by two guards. His expression was carved from stone, emotionless and final.
"You're awake," he said.
I pushed myself up slowly, the chains at my wrists scraping against the floor. "You didn't kill me."
"Not yet."
The words settled heavily between us.
"Why am I here?" I asked, though part of me already knew.
"Because you are dangerous," he replied. "And because the pack must decide what to do with you."
"What I did last night...I didn't mean to..."
"You lost control," Kael interrupted. "That alone proves our point."
I clenched my fists. "You pushed me."
His gaze sharpened. "Careful, omega."
The word was no longer a designation. It was an insult.
"I served this pack," I said quietly. "I followed every rule. I kept my head down. I hid what frightened you."
"And yet you still exist," he said. "An omega who shifts without the moon. A wolf who draws power from unknown sources. An abomination of nature."
The word struck harder than any blow.
Abomination.
I looked away, shame burning behind my eyes. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.
"You will remain here until the council convenes," Kael continued. "After that… your fate will be decided."
He turned to leave.
"Wait," I said hoarsely.
He paused, hand on the door.
"You knew," I whispered. "All of you knew what I was. And you still let the Moon Goddess bind me to him."
Kael didn't turn around. "The Goddess reveals. We endure."
Then he was gone.
The door slammed shut, plunging the chamber into silence.
Hours passed—or maybe days. Time blurred in the dark. Sometimes guards came to bring water or food, setting it just beyond my reach before walking away. Sometimes I heard voices beyond the walls.
Whispers.
"She almost destroyed the stones."
"She's unstable."
"That power… It's wrong."
"An omega shouldn't have that kind of strength."
"We should've dealt with her years ago."
Each word burrowed into me, carving deep grooves of doubt and pain.
Weak.
Abomination.
Mistake.
I pressed my palms to my ears, but it didn't help. The voices lived inside my head now.
At some point, the door opened again.
This time, it wasn't the elders.
Lysa stepped inside, her soft footsteps mocking in the silence. She wore no ceremonial gown now—only a simple dress, pale and elegant. Untouched. Unaffected.
She smiled when she saw me.
"I thought you'd be crying," she said lightly. "Guess I overestimated your fragility."
"What do you want?" I asked.
She circled me slowly, eyes glittering with curiosity. "To see you like this. I wondered how long it would take."
Rage flared in my chest. "You enjoyed it."
"I warned you," she said, stopping in front of me. "You never belonged here."
"You lied to me," I said. "You told me the pack would accept me."
She shrugged. "I believed they might. Until you proved them right."
I laughed bitterly. "You always hated me."
"Hate?" She tilted her head. "No. I pitied you. And then I feared you."
She leaned closer. "Do you know what the elders are saying now?"
I stayed silent.
"They're calling you a curse," she continued softly. "A stain on the pack's bloodline. Some are demanding your execution."
My breath hitched.
"Others think exile is safer," she went on. "But all of them agree on one thing."
She smiled wider.
"You can never come back."
I closed my eyes.
"You could have stopped this," I whispered.
She laughed quietly. "Why would I?"
When she left, the darkness felt heavier.
I didn't cry.
Not then.
The council convened at dusk.
They dragged me from the cell and forced me to my knees before the elders' stone seats. The pack gathered behind them, faces hard and unreadable. I felt their eyes on me like a weight pressing down on my spine.
Alex was there.
He stood apart from the others, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. I didn't look at him for long. It hurt too much.
"The council has reached a decision," Elder Kael announced.
My heart pounded.
"Adriel of no house," he said, deliberately stripping me of my name, "you are deemed unfit to remain within this pack."
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
"You are dangerous," another elder said. "Your existence threatens our laws and our balance."
I lifted my chin. "I never asked to be this way."
"That is irrelevant," Kael said. "By pack law, you are hereby shunned."
The word rang like a bell.
"Your bond is severed. Your protections revoked. Your name has been erased from our records."
The crowd parted.
A path opened—leading away from the pack grounds, toward the forest beyond.
"You will leave before sunrise," Kael finished. "If you are seen within our territory again, you will be killed."
Silence followed.
Then Alex stepped forward.
My heart lurched painfully.
"Is that all?" he asked, his voice tight.
Kael studied him. "Do you object?"
For a moment, I dared to hope.
Alex's gaze flicked to me—brief, conflicted—and then away.
"No," he said.
Something inside me finally shattered.
The guards cut my chains and shoved me toward the path. I stumbled but didn't fall. I wouldn't give them that.
As I crossed the boundary line, the pack turned their backs on me in unison.
A symbolic death.
I didn't look back.
The forest swallowed me whole.
Night fell quickly, shadows closing in as I walked deeper into unfamiliar land. The bond ache flared violently with each step, but beneath it… something else stirred.
Anger.
Resolve.
They had called me weak.
They had called me an abomination.
But as the moon rose high above the trees, silver light washing over my skin, I felt my wolf lift her head inside me—unbroken, unbowed.
I wasn't weak.
I was unleashed.
And somewhere behind me, far too late, the pack would begin to understand what they had just cast into the dark.
As a sudden howl echoed through the forest—too close, too predatory—I realized with chilling clarity: They hadn't just shunned me… they had sent hunters after me.