Chapter 2: Fled

Elena

A wild, breathless surge of euphoria swept through my veins. The Goddess had heard my prayers. The mate bond, glowing like a living flame in my heart, anchored itself straight to Alpha Kieran. He was mine.

I took a shaky step forward, a tear of relief slipping down my cheek—only for my heart to crash against my ribs as he walked straight past me.

Kieran didn't even look at my face. He rushed straight to Patricia, who was curled on her knees near the edge of the stage. Blood was dripping from her pale hands, staining the white orchids at her waist.

"Elena! Please... I only wanted us to be sisters!" Patricia sobbed, her shoulders shaking with violent, frantic gasps. "I gave you the gift to make amends! Why must you hate me so much?"

My breath hitched. I looked down. The hem of my sapphire velvet dress was pinned under the heavy heel of a stone statue; as I had fallen earlier, the fabric had ripped violently up the side seam. If I stood up to defend myself, the dress would fall completely away, exposing me to the hundreds of eyes now gathering around us in a silent, judging circle.

"I didn't touch you, Patricia!" I gasped, clutching the torn silk to my chest. "You stepped on my—"

"Silence!" Kieran’s voice thundered across the hall, thick with Alpha command that made the very air vibrate. He dropped to one knee beside Patricia, taking her bloody hands into his. "Look at what you’ve done to her! Your own flesh and blood!"

"I am telling the truth! She's lying!" I cried out, my voice breaking. Why couldn't he feel it? Why wasn't his wolf roaring inside him the way Vernia was roaring inside me?

Crack.

The blow hit me so hard my head snapped to the side, a metallic taste bursting across my tongue. Pain bloomed across my cheekbone like a wave of liquid fire.

I lifted my eyes, trembling, to look up at the man standing over me.

"Dad..." I whispered.

"Do not call me that!" Beta Jeremiah snarled, his face twisted in utter disgust. His eyes were dark with fury as he towered over my trembling frame. "You have brought nothing but shame to my house since the day you were born! The Alpha gave you a command. Apologize to your Luna now!"

"I won't!" My voice trembled, but a spark of defiance flared in my chest. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

Crack.

Another strike caught the other side of my face, sending me sprawling flat against the cold marble. Blood dripped from my lip onto the dark velvet beneath me.

"You will obey!" Kieran growled, stepping forward. His gaze was cold, sharp, and completely devoid of warmth. "You will bow your head to Patricia. She is my mate!"

The floor beneath me felt like it was dropping away into a bottomless pit. "Your... your mate? No... no, Kieran, look at me! I am your mate!"

Kieran threw his head back and let out a harsh, bitter laugh that echoed off the high rafters. "You? A weak, pathetic omega-minded girl? I tracked the mate bond the moment I entered this hall. The air was thick with the scent of lemonade—Patricia’s scent! The Goddess chose her!"

Lemonade.

The word echoed in my mind like a death knell. My own scent was lavender and wild strawberry. But the velvet sachet Patricia had handed me in the foyer—the small, innocent birthday gift—had been saturated in concentrated lemonade oil. She had forced me to wear her scent signature directly against my skin!

"The sachet..." I gasped, my fingers frantically tearing at the small velvet bag pinned to my belt. I unhooked it with trembling hands and hurled it toward Patricia's feet. "You monster! You staged this! You gave me that bag so he would smell your scent on me!"

Patricia gasped, clutching her chest as if struck, and shrank into Kieran's side. She feigned terror, reaching down with shaking fingers to pick up the pouch.

"Father... Mother..." Patricia whined, tears streaming freely down her flushed cheeks. "That's... that's the missing scent-charm from my vanity! The one that vanished three days ago! She stole it from my room!"

"You ungrateful little thief!" Beta Jeremiah roared.

Before I could even register his movement, his heavy hand clamped into my hair, dragging me backward across the stone floor. I screamed out as my grip on my torn gown slipped, the sharp edges of the shattered wine glasses on the floor slicing into my elbows and palms. Crimson trails smeared across the white marble.

"I didn't steal it! She gave it to me this morning!" I screamed, but my father dragged me toward the center of the hall, slamming my shoulder hard against the base of a stone pillar. A sickening crack rang through my ears, and black spots danced across my vision.

"Save your breath, rogue!" my father snarled, hitting my head back against the pillar.

"Kieran!" I choked out, blood dripping down my forehead and blurring my vision. He was my last hope. The mate bond was sacred—he had to feel the thread if I could just make physical contact. "Kieran, please... look at me!"

Gathering the very last shred of my strength, I dragged myself forward on my stomach. My fingers stretched out, clawing across the floor until my bloodied hand wrapped tightly around the hem of Kieran's boot.

"Alpha Kieran..." I gasped, my fingers digging into the leather, weeping as Vernia howled in agony within my soul. "I am your mate. Touch my hand... confirm the bond. Please... I beg you..."

Kieran looked down at me, his amber eyes narrowing with absolute contempt.

"Get your filthy hands off me," he hissed.

He pulled his leg back and slammed his heavy boot directly into my chest. The impact shattered my ribs, knocking every drop of air from my lungs. I gasped for breath, but before I could recover, his foot came down again, crushing my wrists against the hard floor.

Pain screamed through my nervous system, so sharp and absolute that my vision went completely white. I cried out, begging for mercy, but none came. Kieran knelt, his face inches from mine, his hands grabbing a sharp, iron-tipped nail dropped from the broken stage rigging nearby. Without a second's hesitation, he drove the cold metal straight into the meat of my palm, pinning my hand to the floorboards.

A raw, shattered scream tore from my throat—a sound that didn't even belong to a human. My fingers twitched violently, numb and helpless, until my grip finally gave out completely.

"Drag her out," Kieran ordered coldly, standing up and wiping his boot on the stone floor.

Three massive Alpha guards lunged forward, grabbing me by my arms and waist. As they hoisted my broken body up, the remnants of my sapphire dress tore completely away, falling into a blood-soaked heap on the floor. I was left exposed, bleeding, and trembling in front of the entire court.

They threw me down near the open courtyard archway, where the cold night rain lashed against the stone.

Kieran walked slowly toward me, stopping at the edge of the threshold. He raised his right hand, his voice booming with the ancient, unyielding power of an Alpha carrying out a death sentence:

"I, Kieran Smith, Alpha of the Crest Pack, hereby declare that Elena Pearl is no longer a member of this pack!"

The universe seemed to split open. An agonizing fire ignited inside my heart, tearing through every artery and vein as the collective pack link snapped like a strained cable. The warmth of belonging died instantly, replaced by a dark, terrifying emptiness. Vernia whimpered softly in the dark corners of my mind before going completely silent.

I was a rogue. Unwanted. Unmarked. Alone.

The Lead Gamma of the pack stepped forward, his heavy combat boot striking me hard in the stomach, lifting my breath from my lungs once more.

"You have twenty minutes to clear the Crest territory boundaries, trash," the Gamma spat, leaning down until his teeth brushed my ear. "If you are still on our land when the moon reaches its apex, we will hunt you down like the beast you are."

Pain radiated through every inch of my body, but the instinct to survive—the primal, desperate spark of a wolf with nothing left to lose—flared to life in my chest.

With a ragged sob, I pulled myself up off the wet stone, ignoring the blood dripping from my hands and head. I turned my back on my father, my stepsister, and my mate, and threw myself into the dark, rain-drenched forest.

I ran.