Chapter 1 - Banished

SOFIA'S POV

"Slut!"

"Wake up, you slut!"

The voice echoed in my ears like a slap—sharp and piercing. My arm was tapped roughly, and a sickening weight pressed down on me, making my body feel like it was sinking into the bed.

But I didn’t move. My eyelids were too heavy, my body too weak, as though something was forcing me to stay still.

Then, the voice came again, louder this time.

"You whore, I said wake up!"

My chest rose and fell with a shaky breath as I forced my eyes open. The first thing I saw was Victoria's face, her lips curled into a sneer, eyes burning with disgust.

I blinked, confused. My surroundings felt wrong and strange. I should be in Nathan's room, not here. This wasn’t his room. This wasn’t where I was supposed to be.

Then it hit me. I was in the garden last night with a glass of wine, preparing for the most important day of my life. I was going to be made Luna of the pack. Nathan had called me and told me he had a surprise for me.

But now... how had I ended up here? With Victoria? And where was Nathan?

The unfamiliar room reeked of alcohol and deceit, its lavish curtains reminding me I was still somewhere within the palace. But this wasn’t Nathan’s room.

I tried to sit up, but strong hands forced me back down. Panic surged in my chest, and I looked to my left. A man, a stranger, lay beside me, his eyes closed, his lips twisted into a grin even in his sleep.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to focus, hoping it was a nightmare. This couldn’t be happening. Nathan should be the one here.

But he wasn’t.

The man beside me muttered something in his sleep, pulling me closer to him. I gasped and shoved at him, but he only tightened his grip, pulling me deeper into the bed.

"Where the hell am I?" I whispered to myself, my voice trembling.

Then, just as I was about to scream, Victoria’s voice sliced through the silence, cold and venomous.

"I’ve always told you she’s not the right one for you."

I froze, not understanding. My heart thudded painfully in my chest as I watched her step into the room again, a victorious glint in her eyes.

"She’s a slut. A whore who only knows how to open her legs for any man," she sneered, her gaze flicking from me to the man beside me.

I opened my mouth to protest, to explain, but nothing came out. The words were trapped in my throat, tangled in confusion and fear.

What was happening?

Before I could even process it, the door swung open with a force that rattled the frame.

Nathan walked in.

His eyes locked on me, and the world seemed to stop. The flicker of pain in his eyes was all I needed to see to know something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

My heart sank as his gaze swept over the scene—me, disheveled, clutching the sheets; the stranger beside me. His jaw tightened, and I saw the coldness build in his eyes.

"What the hell is this?" he growled, his voice low, filled with barely contained rage.

"I... Nathan, I... I don’t even know what’s going on," I stammered, my body trembling. I tried to pull away from the man, but he didn’t let go.

I didn’t even recognize him. Who was he? How had I ended up here?

Victoria stepped forward, smugly observing the chaos she had set in motion. Her role in this was clear. She was the mastermind, feeding him lies, manipulating him with every word.

But I didn’t have time to think about that. All I could focus on was Nathan’s cold stare, the complete rejection I saw in his eyes.

"Can you explain this?" His voice was tight with fury.

I tried to explain, tried to make him understand, but the words wouldn’t come.

"I was in the garden last night with a glass of wine... I was getting ready for…"

"For today, yes, for today," I said, smiling weakly, hoping he’d understand.

"It’s today," I added when it hit me.

"You called me, told me you had a surprise..."

Nathan's face twisted in disbelief.

"A surprise?" he repeated, his voice harsh. "This is the surprise, Sofia? You with another man in my bed?"

"And not just my bed but my private room at that," he said with hurt. I immediately looked around the room and realized he was right.

It was his private room!

The room he marked me!

He only comes here when he wants to be alone, and according to him, I was the first person he had brought to this room. And now...

Gosh! What's going on?! I thought.

Tears welled in my eyes as I clutched the bedcovers to my chest.

"No! Nathan, please... I don’t know how this happened."

"And you couldn’t even come up with a better lie, Sofia," Nathan spat, his voice dripping with contempt. "You of all people knew I wasn’t even in the pack last night! I was out making sure everything was perfect for our coronation. Then how the hell did I call you?"

"I don’t know!" I shouted, my voice cracking. "I didn’t do this! I—"

"Shut up!" Nathan roared, cutting me off.

"I’ve seen enough."

Victoria’s face gleamed with satisfaction, and she stepped closer, tilting her head mockingly. “Oh, Nathan,” she said sweetly, her voice laced with poison, “I warned you about her. I told you she’d ruin you. But did you listen to me? No.” She smirked, her eyes cold as they locked on me. “Now look at her. A whore, just like I said. You should be thanking me for saving you before she dragged the entire pack down with her filthy ways.”

Nathan’s face hardened as her words seemed to confirm every doubt he already had.

"You’re a liar, Sofia. A cheat. You’ve betrayed me." His words were like daggers, each one plunging deeper into my heart.

I tried to reach for him, desperate to make him see the truth, but his eyes hardened further, his body stiffening as he stepped back.

"You’re not worthy of me. Or the pack."

I felt the weight of his words crush me, suffocating me.

I watched in shock as he turned to Victoria.

"Get her out of my sight," he said coldly. "I don’t want to see her again."

Then, he looked at me one last time.

"You're banished. I never want to see you again," he spat.

The words hit me like a physical blow. My body went numb as his words sank in.

Banished?!

I couldn’t breathe. My chest felt like it was collapsing, and the world around me seemed to blur.

Victoria’s triumphant smile made my stomach churn. Before I could even react, Nathan turned his back on me, walking out of the room. The witch followed behind him, her wicked, victorious grin leaving me with the feeling that my fate had already been sealed.

What just happened?