Selene kept her chin high, despite the bruises painting her skin and the metallic taste of dried blood in her mouth. They wanted to break her. That would be their final satisfaction. But she wouldn't give them the pleasure.
Then she saw him-Alpha Kael Blackthorn, standing tall on the High Stone, his expression as cold and sharp as winter steel. His jet-black hair rippled in the wind, his onyx eyes locked on her. No emotion. No guilt. Just judgment.
Her heart twisted. Just days ago, that same gaze had caressed her like a warm blanket. Now it cut her open.
"You stand accused of conspiracy with rogues," Beta Darius announced, his voice booming across the assembly. "For betraying your pack and violating the Alpha's trust, you are hereby exiled. Stripped of your title. Stripped of your bond."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Selene's stomach dropped. Stripped of her bond?
"No..." she whispered, voice raw. "You wouldn't."
Kael finally spoke. "I would."
He stepped forward, each word ice. "You betrayed us. You brought them into our borders. My warriors died because of your actions."
"That's a lie!" she screamed. "I never-Kael, you know I would never do that. You know me!"
Kael's jaw clenched. For a moment, something flickered in his eyes-doubt? Regret? She couldn't tell.
Then, nothing.
He raised his hand.
A flash of blue light burned through her chest like lightning striking a tree. Selene dropped to her knees, gasping, clutching her heart as pain radiated through her ribcage. The mate bond was being severed.
A cruel, ancient magic shattered the silver thread between them, unraveling her soul in pieces. She screamed-not from the physical agony, but from the breaking of something sacred.
She could feel Kael ripping away the bond, tearing it from her like she was nothing.
"I reject you, Selene Carter," he said, his voice like a blade.
The world dimmed. The mate bond was gone.
Everything went quiet.
Even the crowd, so hungry for blood moments ago, hushed at the finality of the Alpha's words.
Selene gasped for air, her fingers clawing at the ground like she could root herself to something-anything-but there was nothing left.
"Take her past the border," Darius commanded.
Two warriors hauled her to her feet.
As they dragged her away, her gaze locked on Kael's once more. "You'll regret this," she whispered, voice barely audible. "You threw me to the wolves."
Kael didn't flinch.
She was dragged through the gate, across the sacred border. The moment her foot crossed into rogue land, a searing pain burned across her skin like fire. The pack's protection magic rejected her. A branded outcast.
The guards dropped her in the mud like garbage and turned away without a word.
She lay there, soaked, bruised, broken.
Above her, the sky darkened unnaturally. The moon, once silver, began to bleed red.
Selene lifted her head, heart thundering. A Blood Moon.
A rare eclipse, feared by packs. It was said to awaken old power. Forgotten things. Forbidden things.
A sudden gust of wind swept over the forest, and with it, whispers.
Selene...
She flinched. "Who's there?"
No one. Just trees, wind, and the rising blood-red moon.
You are not broken. You are reborn.
She staggered to her feet, drawn toward the shadow of the mountain.
Something pulled at her bones. A calling.
She stumbled forward-toward the ruins beyond the border. Ancient stone arches jutted out like ribs from the earth. The Temple of Luna. A place no pack dared enter. It was cursed, they said. Haunted by the last Moon-Blooded Queen.
Selene crossed into the temple, breath ragged, heart pounding.
In the center stood a cracked pedestal, overgrown with vines and moonflowers blooming out of season. She reached for it, fingers trembling.
The moment her skin met stone, a surge of power rushed into her.
Visions exploded behind her eyes-a crown of silver flame, a kingdom torn by war, her face on a throne of bones.
She screamed as light burst from her chest.
And then-
Darkness.
> Selene's body collapsed in the ruins, glowing faintly with lunar light. Somewhere deep in the temple, a whisper echoed:
"The reckoning has begun."