Chapter 5
522words
Guards led me to the altar, silver chains burning into my wrists.
The silver seared my flesh, drawing an involuntary whimper from my lips.
Lily watched from the platform, her smile dripping with satisfaction.
Karl faced me, silver blade gleaming in his hand.
The ceremony began in terrible silence.
"In the name of the Alpha, with the Moon Goddess as witness..."
"I declare that Ella is no longer Luna of Silver Moon."
He raised the blade and drove it into the mark on my neck.
My world exploded into agony. My soul shattered, my bones crushed by invisible hands.
I screamed until my throat tore, blood pouring from my mouth, nose, eyes.
I reached out, a wordless plea for mercy.
No one moved. Every pack member stared at the ground, unwilling to witness my suffering.
My gaze found the young mother in the crowd.
Her child—the one I'd pulled back from death's door.
I stretched my hand toward her, begging.
She turned her back.
I looked to a warrior standing nearby.
His leg—once shattered, now whole because of me.
He too looked away.
I searched the faces of my pack.
Those I'd healed. Those I'd protected. Those I'd sacrificed for.
Every single one turned away.
Not one stepped forward.
Not one questioned their Alpha.
With my last ounce of strength, I forced my lips into a smile.
So this is my worth. After everything, I am nothing to them.
Karl finished the ritual and turned to Lily, waiting on the platform.
Before the assembled pack, he took her hand.
"I declare Lily as the new Luna of Silver Moon."
Cheers erupted through the sacred grounds.
Lily beamed, her triumphant gaze finding me on the ground.
She mouthed two words.
"Worthless."
I met her eyes, too broken to respond.
Guards grabbed me and dragged me toward the territory border.
My blood left a crimson trail behind us.
At the barrier, they unlocked my chains and shoved me through.
I collapsed into the snow as the blizzard howled around me.
I curled into myself, feeling my life force ebbing away.
Snow fell faster now, beginning to cover my body.
I couldn't move a muscle.
An Omega stripped of their mark loses even the ability to shift forms.
I could only lie there, waiting for death's merciful embrace.
So cold.
God, it's too cold.
My fingers went numb first, then my limbs. My breathing grew shallow, each exhale weaker than the last.
I closed my eyes.
Maybe death would be kinder than this betrayal.
At least the pain would end.
Suddenly—footsteps crunching through snow.
A pack of black wolves materialized before me.
Their leader shifted, revealing a man with sharp features and piercing eyes.
When he saw me, his eyes widened in shock.
"Moon Goddess's chosen one," he whispered. "Karl, you damned fool."
Only then did I realize I'd somehow shifted back to wolf form—and my fur was glowing with silver light.
He lifted me gently.
"I am Ares, Alpha of the Dark Night Pack. You're safe now."
Darkness claimed me.
