#Chapter 4: Isolation

Claire's POV

I yank against the guards. My nails dig into their skin as I kick at their knees. But it's no use.

My limbs are lead, my strength still not available to me so soon after giving birth. The two stone-faced wolves grip my arms like nothing I'm doing is affecting them.

“Let me go!” I scream, “You’re making a mistake!"

The guards don’t answer. They just keep dragging me deeper and deeper into the woods. Closer to the edge of our territory.

No, they can't be taking me there.

The outlands.

The land is run by Rougues. Starving outcasts who lost their minds and their packs. The kind of wolves who tear into flesh just to remember what it feels like to have a purpose

My heart pounds against my ribs. No. No, this can’t be real.

Gideon said a cabin. He said I was to be locked up. Watched. Not this—not exile.

We reach a clearing. The trees thin out, revealing the broken fence that marks the edge of Silver Crescent's land. Just beyond it, wild woods stretch on for miles. Untamed. Lawless.

Waiting.

Daphne stands at the center of the clearing.

Her smile is chilling. She walks toward me slowly, arms folded, like a cat circling a wounded bird.

“Change of plans,” she says sweetly. “We’re not stopping at the cabin after all.”

I stiffen. “But Gideon said-”

“I changed my mind,” she interrupts, “I could do whatever I want. After all, he doesn't care if you live," Her white teeth flash in the sun, "Or die."

The words strike me like lightning.

"You delivered a fake order." My voice comes out small and hoarse.

She shrugs. “Just not in those exact words, no. But he said to leave you there and not to interfere. Sounds like he’s fine with whatever happens next.”

I try to lunge at her, but my knees buckle. I stagger. The world tilts.

Something’s wrong. My senses are muffled. I can’t hear my wolf. She’s silent. Too silent.

My chest tightens.

“What did you do to me?”

Daphne chuckles, “Wondered when you’d figure it out.”

I look down at my shaking hands. I try to summon my wolf, to shift, even partially, but I stay in my human form. I can't feel the rush of her running within my heart. Not even a flicker of the wild within me.

“You feel it, don’t you? Or lack thereof, I should say.” Daphne laughs. “That hollow silence where your wolf should be?”

A chill runs down my spine.

“I had one of the nurses give you a little medicine to help you sleep.” she says casually. “Just a little bit of wolfsbane."

My heart drops into my stomach.

Wolfsbane. Wolf poison.

That’s why I can’t shift. That’s why I can’t feel her.

She reads the horrified look on my face and smirks.  "Not enough to kill you, but enough for you to be weakened. Slows regeneration. Blocks the bond. You know, the things that keep you alive."

“You bitch,” I whisper.

Daphne’s smile slips. “You never deserved to be his Luna. You just wanted to steal attention away from him. From us. But I won't let you.” She spits.

Daphne then gestures to the guards. “Toss her out.”

They don’t hesitate.

I'm suddenly lifted off the ground. I try to struggle, but  I'm sloppy and slow. A mortal. My body doesn’t respond the way it used to. No wolf strength or speed.  Just pain and panic.

I scream as they drag me to the fence and throw me like garbage into the dirt on the other side.

I land hard on my side, my ribs aching in my chest. The sharp scent of blood and pine fills my nostrils. My vision swims.

Daphne stands at the edge of the border, arms folded, satisfied.

She tilts her head, eyes gleaming.

“Welcome to the rogues’ forest, Claire,” she says. “Let’s see how long your instincts keep you alive without your precious wolf.”

I push myself up on trembling arms. “Gideon will find out.  He’ll see through you.”

She laughs. “Oh, honey.  He saw what he needed to. You played right into my hands with your tantrum, your violence, and your obsession. He’s moved on. So has your son.”

Her words strike like claws to the throat.

Leo.

She turns away.

“You’ll be torn apart within the hour,” she says. “Not that anyone will hear you scream out here.”

She disappears into the woods, guards following.

I’m alone.

I lie still for a moment, breathing hard, trying to keep the panic from cracking me in half. And then I hear it.

A snarl. Deep and guttural. It’s coming from the trees.

They've already caught my scent.

Rogues.

***

Gideon's POV

I look outside my office window. The red and orange trees go for miles. Usually, the sight calms me, but after the hospital...

I run a hand over my face, trying to ward off the images of Claire crying and begging.

I didn't want to see her again. That was the truth. The second I rejected her, I thought it would bring some relief!  A clean severing of the bond. But it didn’t.

There’s a sharp edge under my skin that I can't seem to dull.

I keep picturing her large brown eyes and crimson hair. I find my heart longing for the scent of her skin. I shake the image away.

The plan was supposed to be simple. Keep Claire at the edge of my territory, out of sight and out of mind, while I ran the pack with Daphne as my Luna.  Let Claire stew in whatever guilt or delusion she needed.  

A secluded cabin, quiet and contained. I’d even arranged for Claire to have supervised visitations with Leo, but then she attacked Daphne and threatened a nurse.

When my Beta, Xavier, came to see me, I was debating having her committed to the mental hospital.

“She’s still out there,” he said, eyes tired, arms crossed like he was holding something in. “Claire’s been sitting outside the pack house for hours, Gideon. Just… sitting.”

I didn’t answer.

He looked at me disapprovingly over his glasses. "You can't abandon her, but she just gave birth. Her instincts are telling her to stay with her child. You can't just get rid of her."

I glanced at him, jaw clenched. “I’m not killing her, Xavier.”

“Feels close enough,” he muttered.

The guilt began to eat at me. Claire had looked so wrecked in that hospital. Her face pale, her voice cracked as she begged me to believe her.

I didn’t believe her.

I don't.

But she wasn’t in her right mind, and I needed to ensure her safety.

I sighed. “Fine. Send a weekly supply drop to the cabin. Food, clothes, essentials. The works."

I thought for a moment. "And get a healer to check on her every two weeks.”

Xavier’s shoulders dropped with relief. He nodded once, then left.

Just before my next council meeting starts, Daphne appears in the doorway of my office.

She's dressed elegantly, as always; her presence is sharp and beautiful, like a rose with thorns. She comes to stand by my side and places a hand on my arm.

Immediately, some of my tension falls away.

“I heard what you said about Claire,” she says softly. “That you were planning to send her supplies?”

I nodded. “Just to help her survive quietly."

Daphne hesitates, biting her lip.

“I was thinking that I could handle her care. This must be so stressful for you. I'm happy to make all the arrangements for the supplies and the doctor. Whatever she needs.

I smile sadly, patting Daphne's hand. "I would really appreciate that, my heart. She deserves some amount of kindness."

Everything seems to be fine until the baby starts to cry.

And cry.

And fucking cry,

He won't stop. Hours, then days.

The maids try everything. Rocking him, warm baths, singing old lullabies. Hell, I even tried running a vacuum. But nothing works.

He screams himself hoarse and then sobs when the pain in his throat is too much. It claws at my heart.

The fourth time a maid knocks on my office door, her face is pale. “Alpha, the baby is now refusing to eat."

Blood rushes to my head. I rush to the nursery. Leo is in the bassinet, curled up, fists clenched, cheeks blotchy from crying.

When he sees me, his little body shudders, and then he lets out another pitiful cry.

Not hungry. Not in pain.

Just missing something.

Missing her.

Something inside me begins to crack. I send Xavier to retrieve Claire from the cabin. Leo needs his mother. His actual mother.

I pick up my son, "Hush, pup. Your mother will be here soon."

Soon, the door to the nursery bursts open. Xavier storms in, panting, face pale.

“She’s not there.”

My heart drops. “What the hell do you mean?”

“She’s not at the cabin. There’s no sign she even made it inside.”