Banished

 “I, Kharl Blackthorn, Alpha of Blood Moon Pack, banish you, Celeste Storm, from this pack,” his voice rang out like a blade slicing through her chest. “I strip you of the title of Luna. You are no longer one of us.”

The crowd gasps! Not out of shock but happiness. Many of them have waited for a day like this after all, they hated her.

 Some lowered their heads, unwilling to meet her gaze. Others smirked at her, especially Lydia, her archenemy standing a few feet away in a flowing crimson dress, looking like the Luna she was about to become.

Celeste’s throat tightened, her heart bleeding .She felt her wolf cry out in her head. 

For three long years, she had endured whispers, insults, and humiliation. For three years, she had loved Kharl despite the cold way he had begun to treat her. She had given everything to this pack. Her loyalty. Her heart. Her soul. Although she knew they didn't like, Celeste had tried her best to be the perfect Luna for the Pack. She always put the pack first in everything before herself.

And this was how it ended. She is being trashed out and almost everyone in the pack seems happy about it.

‘O dear moon goddess, what did I do to deserve this?’ Celeste silently lamented.

“Kharl…” Her voice was small, shaky. The sound of it only seemed to harden him more. “Why are you doing this? I am your mate!” Celeste bitterly lamented.

She left the need to remind Kharl that they are mates because the way he has been behaving these past few months seems as though he has forgotten they are bond with d together.

“This is not up for debate,” he snapped. “The Pack Seer has spoken. You are barren because of the cursed blood you carry. Your witch lineage taints this pack.”

A murmur of agreement spread among the gathered wolves. She had known this day would come. From the moment she failed to give Kharl an heir a year after they mated, the whispers began. Barren Luna. The title clung to her like a scarlet mark, whispered in the hallways, spat at her behind her back and sometimes spoken right in front of her.

But hearing him say it so coldly broke something inside her.

“I am not cursed,” Celeste said, her voice stronger now. Her wolf stirred within her chest, trembling but defiant. “The Seer lied. They have hated me from the beginning. You know this.”

Kharl’s lips curled slightly, not in pity, but disdain. “Enough. You will leave Blood Moon territory tonight. If you step back on this land, you will be treated as a rogue.”

Lydia stepped forward then with a soft, fake smile playing on her lips and her long blonde hair shining in the morning sun.

She looked every bit like the perfect Luna they wanted. “You should be grateful, Celeste,” she said sweetly. “Most Alphas would have had you executed for bringing a curse into their home.”

Celeste’s fingers curled into fists. She could smell the smug satisfaction rolling off Lydia like perfume. She wanted to rip it off her. She wanted to scream. But what good would that do? No one here would listen. They had already chosen who to believe.

“I loved you,” Celeste whispered to Kharl. Her vision blurred as hot tears filled her eyes. “Even when you stopped loving me, I still believed you were my mate.”

He didn’t flinch. Not even a twitch. “You were a mistake! I will forever regret the day I mated with you.”

Something cracked inside her at those words. She could feel her heart breaking.

The crowd erupted as warriors moved closer, surrounding her like she was some kind of criminal. She knew the rules, once you get brandished, you are expected to leave the pack immediately or face the consequence. 

Celeste stumbled back, her breaths sharp and uneven. She could still hear their whispers of the pack members as  their eyes clawed at her.

“Barren Luna.”

“Witch.”

“She deserves it.”

“I heard Lydia is already pregnant. A real Luna.”

It felt like knives cutting into her skin. She wrapped her arms around herself, as if that could shield her from their cruelty. She wanted to scream, to make them see the truth. But the pack had already turned against her long before this moment. She had just been too blind to see it.

Her gaze fell on Kharl one last time. Once upon a time, those golden eyes had made her feel safe. Now, they were the eyes of a stranger.

Tears spilled down her cheeks as she turned and ran.

Bare feet hit the cold earth as she dashed into the forest beyond the pack house, past the howling wolves, past the boundaries she had once called home. Her chest burned with every breath, but she didn’t stop. If she stopped, she would break completely.

The wind bit against her skin, sharp and cruel. Branches tore at her long nightgown, slicing thin lines into her legs. She didn’t care. She kept running.

She ran until the lights of the pack house were gone. Until the laughter behind her faded. Until the bond between her and Kharl burned inside her like a dying star.

When she finally collapsed on the damp ground, the night sky above her swam through her tears. She could still feel the mating bond, faint but painful, like a chain dragging across her heart. She bit her lip until it bled, pressing a hand against her chest as if she could rip it out.

He had rejected her. He had banished her. But the bond didn’t disappear that easily.

She screamed.

The sound ripped through the forest, wild and raw. It wasn’t the scream of a Luna. It was the scream of a woman who had lost everything.

The bond flared again, as if mocking her. Her wolf whimpered inside her, wounded and weak.

Why didn’t he fight for us?

Why wasn’t I enough?

“Because they never wanted you here,” she whispered to herself. Her voice was hoarse, broken.

She had known from the beginning. The elders hated her. She wasn’t born as a powerful wolf and grew up as an orphan in the Pack’s shelter home. They had always seen her as an outsider. And when the moon refused to bless her with children, their hatred turned into open war.

The Seer’s words still echoed in her skull. “She is barren because she is tainted. Her bloodline carries witchcraft.” A lie. A perfect, cruel lie. And Kharl believed it without a fight.

He hadn’t even looked at her when he pronounced her banishment.

Celeste curled up on the forest floor, hugging herself tightly. The cold seeped into her bones, but she didn’t move. For the first time in years, she was truly alone. No pack. No home. No mate.

And yet, somewhere deep inside, a small spark of fire refused to die.

“You will all pay! I will make you all pay for what you did to me!” Celeste swore as she held her hand to her chest.