Chapter 2

"Just like that?" My voice was nothing but  a whisper, my heart pounding in my chest. All tears on my chin stopped and instead, a burning fire suddenly rose from within me, heating up my veins.

    Damon adjusted the towel around his waist. "Yes, just that, Annie. We are done. I reject you as my mate. And since you've been accepted into the Silver Sword Academy, let me make this very clear... You are rejected from the Silver Sword Pack, too. From now henceforth, you should not move around Agolia not to talk of living anywhere under my watch."

    Cassandra cut in, her voice high and the tone quite unpleasant. "Did you hear that, poor girl? You're not even good enough to be an Omega! Go back to your books and start with your reading… over again."

    "The pack? But I haven't even begun my training!" I advanced, fists balled. My Inner Wolf was screaming, not in pain, but in a strong need for revenge. "My Uncle has invited me already! I have the letter right here!"

    Damon didn't even flinch. "I am the Alpha, my word is law. Your uncle reports to the Martial Lord, and he listens to his Alpha, and that is me. I'll make sure your invitation letter gets torn before the sun sets."

    I almost forgot who Alpha Damon truly was: the one in charge of the areas of land in Agolia, including my house, where he stopped by to visit me whenever he wanted to.

    Now, face to face with him, my heart was pounding while his words hit my eardrums with fear. "I know, but Damon…"

    My mother had suddenly appeared at the door, attracted by the brewing noise; her eyes had grown wide as she spotted Damon and Cassandra half-naked. "What is the meaning of this, Damon? Annie, why are you sobbing?"

    Cassandra seized the opportunity. She pointed at the pizza I mistakenly spilled on the floor. "Look, Mrs. Scarlett! Your ‘precious’ daughter tried to sneak in and attack Damon! She's trying to get obsessed with him! She doesn't want to accept that the Alpha already chose me. Your daughter keeps doing crazy things even when I'm the true Luna. I have been waiting for this poor thing of yours to leave him for me!"

    My mom looked at the floor, then at me, completely overwhelmed by deep  shame and fear. "Annie, I always tell you to focus on your studies! This werewolf of a thing has brought nothing to you but trouble. You're even causing a problem for me, too. Damon please, I apologize for my daughter's behavior. Just don't hurt her."

    Damon sneered, his eyes flashing cold and wild. "I don't hurt Omegas, Mrs. Scarlett. I banish them. Annie, you have an hour to get ready and leave the premises of the pack's territory. If I see you here after that, my Betas will make sure you leave in pieces."

    "But this is our home…" I cried, desperate.

    "It's a house on pack land," he said, his voice very flat. "It belongs to the pack. Now, get out."

    Mom nudged my arm, pushing me away softly. "Annie, please, let's just go. Don't argue with an Alpha!"

    In the overwhelming worries intermingled with fear, gathering our belongings felt like losing all hopes. My mom threw my clothes into a duffel bag, her hands shaking. "Cassandra called me yesterday," she revealed in a whisper. "She said Damon was serious about leaving you. She offered to help me get a job outside the Academy's territory if I made sure you never pursued this wolf dream again. I just wanted you to be safe, Annie. I didn't want you to get involved with these powerful Lords."

    "So you agreed with her?" I stared at her, the real betrayal now involving my own mother. "Are you taking sides with both of them?"

    "No! I was scared! And Cassandra. She knows the Martial Lord's family. She said she could make sure you'd be removed and even blacklisted from every pack."

    "She did it," I muttered, my chest beating faster than it was earlier. Cassandra didn't want me near Damon or the Academy—she wanted the Alpha position for herself.

    I grabbed the bag, pushing past my sad mother. I was no longer an innocent failing student. I was a rejected banished she-wolf. I didn't think very deeply of that moment then. As I stepped off the pack's grounds, something was different. I couldn't describe what it was.

    Reality hit me on the face.

    My mom's hand was like a chain on my arm. She dragged me toward the door, whispered to me to just follow me, not to make it any worse. I let her lead, my body restless. "Don't worry. We will have a place to go…

    Everything looked the same, but my life was over. Damon's warning echoed in my mind: this was never our home. It belonged to the pack.

    My mother’s hands trembled as she packed my bag, scared by the Alpha's rage. I couldn't watch. I grabbed the half-filled bag and walked away.

    I didn't look back. Not in my room. Not in my old life.

    The air shifted the second I crossed the pack's border. I looked up. The strange, dark cloud hanging over our town seemed to move. A piece of its shadow broke off... and began to follow me.

    A cold shiver pushed me forward. I had no plan, only a need to escape. I walked straight into the deepest, most dangerous part of the woods.

    If they were really casting me out, I wouldn't beg. Let them have their precious pack. I was done.

    The woods were dark and wild, but they were more honest than the home I’d lost. I walked on, the strange shadow my only companion.

    Then I felt it—a pull from inside. My inner wolf, Nyx, stirred. "Shift," she whispered in my mind. "You're finally old enough. Let me out."

    I was afraid. I had never learned to control the shift. I wanted to run, to be free, but I didn't know how.

    That's exactly when I heard it. A low, rumbling growl from the darkness. It was not a wolf from my old pack. I froze, my breath catching in my throat.