Lysara's POV
The forest swallowed me whole.
Cold air bit into my skin as the guards dragged me through the gates-my home behind me, exile ahead of me. The moon that once felt warm now looked cruel, watching silently as I stumbled over fallen branches, wrists burning beneath the suppressing shackles.
Every step away from the packlands felt like a step toward death.
"Keep moving," one guard snapped, shoving me forward.
My feet tangled. I fell hard, knees scraping rock. Pain flashed through my legs. My breath hitched, but I refused to cry. I wouldn't give Kaelan, the council, or the entire damn pack the satisfaction.
The guard yanked me upright.
"Orders are orders. You're out. Rogue territory begins in less than a mile."
My pulse thundered. Rogues didn't negotiate. They hunted. They tore exiles apart for sport. Without a pack's aura or Alpha protection, I was little more than prey.
"Just... leave me somewhere safer," I whispered. "At least give me a chance."
The guard hesitated, something like pity flickering across his face. But it vanished quickly.
"We can't. You know that." He lowered his voice. "Whatever power you unleashed-no wolf wants to be near you. The council is terrified."
My stomach twisted. Terrified... of me?
But I didn't feel powerful.
I felt hollow.
Unloved.
Unwanted.
Rejected so brutally the echoes still rang in my bones.
They pushed me again, deeper into the shadowed woods. The night was filled with strange sounds-rustling leaves, distant howls, snapping twigs. My wolf curled in my chest, trembling.
We're alone, she whimpered.
No pack. No protection. No mate...
Her pain mirrored mine.
We reached the boundary stone-the marker where pack territory ended and death began. The guards stopped.
"This is as far as we go."
I stared at the rough stone, worn by centuries of warning claws. Beyond it lay darkness. A void of lawlessness.
My voice cracked. "Please... I grew up here. My mother's grave is here. Don't throw me out like trash."
The older guard looked away, jaw tight.
"It's not personal, Lysara. But what happened at the ceremony... no one can risk you repeating that."
"I didn't do anything."
"Then what was that explosion?" the younger guard snapped. "I saw an Alpha thrown back ten feet. I saw runes glow. You think that's normal?"
"I was hurt," I whispered. "I was rejected in front of everyone. Any wolf would-"
"Not like that."
His words sliced deeper than claws.
The guards stepped back.
My heart began to race. "Wait-please don't leave me here. At least remove the shackles!"
"No can do."
"But I can't shift with them on!"
"That's the point."
A cold wave of terror washed over me.
They didn't just cast me out.
They cast me out powerless.
The older guard softened his voice. "Run east. There's a human town past the ridge. You might survive there."
"And if I don't?" I whispered.
He didn't answer.
They turned and walked away without looking back. Their footsteps faded. Then silence settled-thick, deadly, final.
I was alone.
Truly, completely alone.
The forest stared back at me like a predator deciding where to bite first.
A distant howl answered the silence-long, hungry, close enough to twist my stomach.
I forced myself to breathe.
"Okay, Lysara," I whispered. "Move. Now."
I picked a direction-east-and stumbled forward. My feet were bleeding already, but stopping meant dying. Branches snagged my dress. The shackles hummed faintly, draining strength from my bones. Every step felt heavier.
My wolf urged me on.
We must hide. We must survive. Don't stop.
But the forest didn't care about survival. It watched me stumble like a wounded deer.
Another howl.
Closer.
I began to panic. My breathing hitched. My heart pounded so hard I felt dizzy. Every shadow looked like fangs. Every sound felt like claws reaching for me.
I kept moving.
Minutes blurred into hours.
Eventually I reached a steep ridge. My legs almost gave out, but I forced myself to climb. By the time I reached the top, sweat and blood soaked my dress.
From the ridge, I saw lights-small, warm, flickering.
A human town.
Relief washed over me.
"Almost... there..."
My steps quickened-until the world suddenly tilted. A sharp pain shot up my side. My vision blurred. The shackles pulsed, draining the last of my strength.
I collapsed at the ridge's edge.
Dirt and broken leaves pressed against my face. My lungs burned. Tears finally spilled-silent, hot, humiliating.
"This isn't fair," I whispered into the ground. "I wasn't supposed to live like this. I wasn't supposed to be... nobody."
Rejection still echoed in my skull.
I don't want her.
She is weak.
The Moon Goddess made a mistake.
Kaelan's voice burned itself into me.
I curled into myself, shivering, exhausted. The wind carried the scent of rain and distant smoke from the town. For a moment, I let myself drift, too tired to think, too broken to fight.
Then-
Leaves rustled.
Footsteps.
Soft, deliberate, not animal.
Human.
My wolf tensed. Someone is here.
I pushed up on my elbows, chest heaving. My vision swam, but I saw a silhouette moving toward me through the trees.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Moving with a predator's grace.
No.
Not human.
Too silent.
Too controlled.
A wolf.
Or worse-a rogue.
Fear surged through me.
"Stay back," I rasped. "I-I'm armed..."
A lie.
A pathetic one.
The man stopped a few feet away.
Moonlight broke through the branches just enough to reveal a sharp jawline, broad shoulders beneath a dark cloak, and eyes-impossible eyes.
Storm-gray.
Cold.
Intense.
Familiar? No... impossible.
My heart lurched.
"Who... who are you?" I whispered.
He didn't answer.
He stepped closer, and I scrambled back until my spine hit a tree. My breath hitched. His scent-dark cedar with something electric-wrapped around me.
He crouched to my level, gaze sweeping over my bruises, the shackles, the torn dress.
"Cast out," he said quietly. His voice was deep, rough, almost dangerous. "And recently."
I flinched. "Don't come near me."
But he did. Slowly. Like approaching a frightened animal.
"Why did they exile you?" he asked.
I swallowed hard. "Because my mate rejected me... and because something inside me broke."
His eyes narrowed. "Show me."
"I-I can't. They shackled my power."
A muscle in his jaw ticked.
His gaze sharpened, cold and burning at once.
"They cast out a fated mate bond? And shackled your magic?" His voice lowered into a growl. "What fools."
I stiffened. Why did he sound angry... for me?
"Who are you?" I whispered again.
He reached out-not touching me, but close enough that I felt his heat.
"No one you should trust," he said softly.
My breath caught.
But his eyes-those storm-gray eyes-held something I didn't expect.
Recognition.
As if he knew me.
As if he'd been searching for me.
As if I mattered.
He looked down at my shackles again, fury flashing across his features.
"They shouldn't have put those on you," he said. "Not with the power in your blood."
My head spun. "You... you can sense it?"
"I can feel it." His gaze locked onto mine. "Even suppressed, it calls."
Fear crept down my spine.
"What are you?" I whispered.
He rose slowly to his feet.
"Someone who knows what happens when a wolf is thrown away." His voice softened. "Someone who won't let the rogues touch you tonight."
My heart stuttered.
He extended his hand-not forceful, not demanding, just... offered.
"You can come with me," he said. "Or stay here and bleed."
Thunder rumbled distantly.
I stared at his hand.
At the shadows around him.
At the impossible safety he seemed to carry.
My wolf whispered, trembling-
He smells like fate.
