Chapter 2

Lana’s POV

I was struggling to hold back my tears when Amelia’s laughter harsh laughter echoed in the room, sharp and mocking, as if my heartbreak was nothing more than a joke to her.

“Oh, Lana, are you really that pathetic?” she sneered. “You’ve always been jealous of me, haven’t you? That’s why you’re making such a scene. You can’t stand that I have everything you want.”

Her words cut deep, because they weren’t entirely a lie. Amelia had always taken everything from me. My father’s affection, my place in the pack, and now the only man I had ever loved. The man I thought I’d spend my life with. The father of my baby.

Something inside me snapped finally snapped at that moment.

All the years of torment, of being weak, of letting her walk all over me—they boiled over in a rage I couldn’t contain and I suddenly lunged at her with fists clenched, ready to finally stand up for myself, but before I could even reach her, Asher shoved me back hard, nearly knocking the wind out of me.

“Don’t you fucking dare touch her!” he yelled furiously while I struggled to recover from the shock of what had just happened.

Amelia suddenly gasped dramatically, clutching her stomach like I had succeeded in hitting her. “Asher!” She cried. She’s trying to kill our child! She’s trying to kill the heir to the pack! That’s treason!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “No, I wasn’t—” I tried to explain, but Asher cut me off, his eyes cold as ice.

“You’re just jealous of our happiness, Lana. That’s all this is.”

“Jealous?” I repeated in disbelief. “Asher, I love you! I would never—”

“Enough!” he shouted, his voice echoing in the room. “Just leave.”

Tears filled my eyes as I choked out, “Fine. I’ll go.” I turned to leave, feeling like my heart was shattering into pieces, but Asher’s next words stopped me dead in my tracks.

“I meant leave the pack not leave this room. From today onwards, you’re forever banished from the Greymoon pack Lana.”

It felt like the floor dropped out from under me. Banished? From the only home I have? No, this couldn’t be happening. “What? You can’t—”

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” he said coldly. “You’re no longer welcome here. If I ever see you in this pack again, I’ll kill you myself.”

I dropped to my knees, the cold fear gripping suffocating my heart. “Asher, please! You know I have nowhere to go! I have no money, no wolf to protect me—I’ll be killed by the rogues out there!”

Amelia’s laughter rang out again, they were cruel and unfeeling. “Maybe that’s for the best then Omega,” she said. “Good riddance to bad rubbish.”

Asher’s gaze was equally as cold, and his next words were like the final nail to my coffin. “I don’t fucking care what happens to you, as long as you’re far away from my wife and child. Get out of my sight Omega.”

I couldn’t hold back the desperate sobs anymore. “Please, Asher. I’m begging you. I’ll do anything. Just don’t send me out there. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” I wanted to protect my unborn child, to find some way to make this right. But all I could do was beg.

Asher’s only response to my cries was a brutal kick that sent me sprawling to the floor. “Leave by tomorrow morning,” he ordered, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion. “If you’re still here when the sun rises, I’ll have you killed.”

Before I could say another word, the guards dragged me out of the house and threw me onto the cold ground outside.

The door slammed shut behind me, and I lay there for a moment, numb from the pain and the overwhelming hopelessness that was threatening to destroy me. Then, like a floodgate breaking, the tears came. I ran, blind and desperate, until I found myself at the stream in the forest, the place where I’d come so many times before to escape my horrible life.

I soon collapsed by the water’s edge, sobbing uncontrollably. Banishment for someone as weak as me was a death sentence. I had no wolf, no protection. The rogues would tear me apart, and my baby... my baby wouldn’t even have a chance to live.

I didn’t know how long I sat there crying, but eventually, I heard footsteps behind me. I looked up and saw my best friend Jasper standing there, His eyes were filled with concern as he looked at me.

“Lana, what’s wrong? Why are you out here all alone?” he asked, his voice gentle but urgent.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I told him everything. About Asher, about Amelia, about the baby, and about how I’d been banished from the pack.

When I finished, Jasper’s face had darkened with fury and his fists clenched at his sides.

“That fucking bastard,” he spat. “I knew he wasn’t any good. I’m going to kill him.”

“No!” I cried, grabbing his arm. “It’s no use, Jasper. Even if you did, I’d still be banished. I’d still be alone out there.”

Jasper’s anger softened into something else—something more fierce and protective when he looked at me. “You’re not going to be alone, Lana. I won’t let that happen. You’re the most important person to me. I’m coming with you.”

I stared at him, shocked. “No, Jasper, you can’t. You have a life here, a place in the pack—”

“None of that matters without you,” he interrupted with a firm voice. “I’ve never cared about this pack, not the way I care about you. I’m not going to let you go out there alone to die. We’ll leave tonight, together. Before your sister and Asher can pull anything else.”

His words were like the lifeline sent by the moon goddess, something to cling to in this deadly darkness. I looked into his sparkling blue eyes that were filled with warmth and care, and for the first time since this nightmare began, I felt a sliver of hope.

“Ok, let’s do this.” I said and he smiled, but then he suddenly grabbed my shoulders and made me look in his eyes.

“I’m really glad you agreed Lana, but if we are to do this, then I need you to understand that you can never ever come back here no matter what. If Asher or Amelia finds out that you have children for him, your children would be in grave danger. As we are leaving, I’ll have to find evidences to make it look like we died in the wild, it’s the only way to keep your children safe. You understand?” He asked and I nodded with tears in my eyes.

“Thank you,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. “Thank you so much Jasper.”

He pulled me into a tight embrace, holding me close as I let out the last of my tears. We were going to run away, leave this nightmare behind, and maybe, just maybe, find a place where we could start over. Where I could keep my baby safe and away from Asher forever.