Gideon Shaw and I were childhood friends. For ten long years, I harbored feelings for him, only to be discarded in the end. He was aware of my emotions, yet he still handed me over to a rogue gang. All because he heeded the manipulative words of Salem Carter, the Delta of his pack, who wanted to discipline me, make me compliant. What followed was unimaginable torment. Against all odds, I managed to escape, and any affection I had for Gideon vanished. Yet now, he pleads for another chance.
My stride faltered as I walked onto the tranquil college campus. I was a mess, covered in dirt with an overwhelming stench. My clothes were in shreds, stained with blood, barely providing any cover. The campus erupted into whispers. Pack members stopped and gathered along the path, watching. Their eyes were filled with varying degrees of curiosity, disdain, and disgust. Yet inside, I felt numb.
After suffering through such horrific torment for half a month, who cared about dignity? The once outgoing, lively Elliana Harvey, daughter of the Alpha and Luna of the Silvermoon Pack, was gone, leaving behind an empty shell. Those ruthless rogues broke my spirit, and so did the suave Gideon Shaw, the Beta of his pack.
I continued forward. Everyone around pinched their noses and stared at me like I was homeless, the air filled with contempt. Suddenly, a figure approached from ahead. It was Gideon Shaw, my childhood friend and the one I’d loved for a decade. As the Beta of his pack and the head of the campus council, he was a familiar face on campus. Pack members instinctively stepped aside as he passed, highlighting his impeccable appearance and commanding presence.
I bit my lip, desperate to avoid him. But I had no strength left, continuing to trudge onward like a machine. Inevitably, Gideon and I faced each other head-on. His piercing gaze locked onto mine, and for a fleeting moment, I thought I saw a flicker of guilt. But it was quickly replaced by his usual composed expression, the one that always made me feel small.
“Elliana,” he said, his voice firm, carrying the weight of his authority. “You shouldn’t be here.”
I wanted to scream at him, to demand how he could stand there so calmly after what he’d done. But the words caught in my throat, swallowed by the suffocating silence around us. My wolf stirred weakly in the back of my mind, a faint growl of anger and pain, but even she was too broken to rise against him.
Gideon stepped closer, his towering figure casting a shadow over me. “You need to leave,” he said, his tone sharp, almost commanding. “You’re causing a scene.”
A scene? I wanted to laugh, but the sound came out as a choked sob. How could he stand there and act like I was the one out of line? The whispers around us grew louder, a cacophony of judgment and scorn.
I turned away, unable to bear the weight of his gaze any longer. The crowd parted as I stumbled forward, their eyes burning into my back. I didn’t care anymore. The girl who had once dreamed of standing beside Gideon as his Luna was gone, shattered beyond repair. All that remained was a hollow shell, stumbling through a world that no longer felt like home.
