I woke to pain.
It seeped into me slowly, cruel and methodical, as if my body wanted to make sure I felt every fragment of what had been done. My chest ached with a hollow, burning throb, deep and relentless, like something vital had been torn out and left bleeding in its absence. Each breath scraped my lungs raw.
The moon was still high.
Its light spilled across the cold stone where I lay, uncaring, indifferent to the ruin it had helped create.
For a moment, I thought the ceremony had been a nightmare. A cruel illusion born of fear and longing. But then the memories surged back—the shock in Kael's eyes, the crowd's gasps, the words that shattered me.
I reject her.
My body curled inward as another wave of pain tore through my chest. I pressed a trembling hand over my heart, fingers digging into skin as if I could somehow hold myself together.
Around me, the pack had not fully dispersed. Wolves lingered at the edges of the clearing, their voices low but sharp, slicing through the night.
"Did you see her?"
"No wolf. I told you the bond was wrong."
"The Alpha did what he had to."
Their words stung worse than the pain. None of them came closer. No one offered help. Omegas weren't worth comfort, and rejected ones were worse than invisible—they were cursed.
The Elder stood a short distance away, her face pale and tight with something that might have been regret. When our eyes met, she looked away.
That hurt most of all.
I pushed myself up, my arms shaking violently as my knees scraped against the stone. The bond—what remained of it—felt like a raw wound inside me. Empty. Torn. Silent in the most devastating way.
Kael was gone.
The Alpha's platform stood abandoned, his presence already erased from the clearing as if he had never stood there at all. The space where he had been felt colder, darker.
I forced myself to stand.
The movement drew attention. Conversations stopped. Eyes turned toward me—not with sympathy, but with judgment and discomfort. As though my pain offended them. As though I should have known better than to exist in the Alpha's orbit.
My aunt approached me then, her lips pressed into a thin, furious line.
"You've done enough," she snapped quietly. "Do you have any idea what you've brought upon us?"
I swallowed, my throat tight. "I didn't—"
"Silence," she hissed. "The Alpha has spoken. You are no longer welcome here."
The words struck harder than the rejection itself.
Exile.
It was rare. Reserved for traitors, criminals, and wolves deemed dangerous to the pack's stability. I was none of those things.
I was just inconvenient.
The Elder stepped forward reluctantly. "Aria Moonfall," she said, voice echoing with ritual formality. "By the Alpha's authority, your bond is broken and your presence deemed harmful to the unity of Moonfall Pack. You are to leave the territory before dawn."
A murmur of approval rippled through the crowd.
I stared at her, numb. "Where am I supposed to go?"
"That is no longer our concern."
Just like that, my life was reduced to nothing.
No supplies were offered. No escort. Not even a cloak to shield me from the night cold. I was expected to disappear quietly—like I always had—only this time, forever.
I turned away before they could see me break again.
The pack boundary loomed ahead, marked by ancient stones etched with symbols of protection and dominance. I had never crossed it before. Few omegas ever did. Beyond it lay the forest—wild, lawless, and crawling with rogues and beasts.
Death, most likely.
As I approached, a familiar ache flared in my chest—sharp, furious, alive.
The bond.
Or what remained of it.
For a heartbeat, I felt him.
Kael.
Distant. Taut. Like a cord stretched too far, vibrating with restrained force. Anger surged through me—not just pain, but something hotter, more volatile.
Good.
Let him feel it.
I stepped over the boundary.
The moment I crossed, the air changed.
It thickened, humming with unfamiliar energy. The forest swallowed me whole—towering trees blotting out the moonlight, shadows twisting between roots and branches. The sounds of the pack faded behind me, replaced by the whisper of leaves and the distant cries of nocturnal creatures.
I walked until my legs gave out.
The ground was damp, the earth soft beneath my palms as I collapsed near the base of an old oak. My body trembled uncontrollably, exhaustion and shock finally catching up with me.
This was it.
This was how omegas died—alone, forgotten, unclaimed.
I laughed weakly, the sound breaking apart as tears streamed down my face. "So that's it," I whispered to the darkness. "That's all I was worth."
Something shifted.
The air around me grew colder—or warmer, I couldn't tell. The ache in my chest intensified, but it was different now. Less hollow. More… aware.
A flicker of silver light sparked beneath my skin.
I froze.
My breath hitched as warmth spread outward from my heart, flowing through my veins like liquid moonlight. The pain twisted, reshaping itself into something sharp but controlled—powerful.
"What…?" I gasped.
The forest answered.
The shadows recoiled slightly, as though wary. The moonlight filtered through the branches above, concentrating into a pale beam that illuminated me where I sat.
The silver glow beneath my skin brightened.
I screamed—not in pain, but in shock—as energy surged through me, flooding places inside me that had always been empty. For the first time in my life, I felt… whole.
Strong.
The ache in my chest flared again, and this time, it wasn't loss I felt.
It was resistance.
Defiance.
I pushed myself to my feet, hands glowing faintly, trembling not with fear but with raw, untested power. The air bent around me, responding to my breath, my pulse, my will.
I had no wolf.
I never had.
But something else had been waiting.
A low growl echoed through the trees.
I spun, heart pounding, as three figures emerged from the shadows—rogues, their eyes feral, movements predatory. Their gazes locked onto me, hunger and curiosity burning bright.
Easy prey.
One lunged.
Instinct took over.
I raised my hand, fear sharpening into focus—and the silver light obeyed.
It exploded outward in a blinding arc, slamming into the rogue with bone-crushing force. He flew backward, crashing into a tree with a sickening crack.
The other two skidded to a halt, snarling in confusion.
So did I.
I stared at my glowing hands, breath coming fast and uneven.
"I did that," I whispered.
The rogues hesitated.
I didn't.
Power surged again, answering something deep and ancient inside me. The forest seemed to lean closer, listening.
For the first time in my life, I didn't run.
I stood my ground.
And far away, beyond the pack boundary, Kael Blackthorn staggered to a halt, his chest burning violently as a surge of unfamiliar power tore through the remnants of the bond.
His rejection had not erased me.
It had awakened me.
And the moon was not finished with either of us.