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CHAPTER 2: Lyra's POV

“Step back, Lyra. Nobody wants your dirt rubbing off on them before the morning training session.”

The harsh voice belonged to a warrior I had personally given medicine to just last week. I stopped right in the middle of the stone pathway, my fingers freezing around the edge of my jacket. By the time the sun had completely cleared the trees this morning, the entire pack had already decided exactly who I was.

Warriors who used to bow their heads out of respect now actively crossed to the other side of the path. Women I had shared meals with looked through me like I was made of glass. I kept my head high, forcing my legs to move toward the central council hall. I needed answers. I needed to see the council records myself.

Instead, Beta Thomas met me right at the base of the stone steps, a folded piece of parchment gripped tightly in his hand.

“Don't bother going inside,” Thomas said, his face completely expressionless as he held out the paper. “The Alphas signed this an hour ago. You’ve been officially summoned to the evening tribunal.”

I snatched the paper from his hand, my eyes ripping through the text. “A summons? Thomas, you know Liora is making all of this up. I didn't touch any records three years ago!”

“Tell it to the elders tonight,” Thomas muttered, turning his back on me to walk into the hall.

“Wait!” I yelled, chasing after him. “What about my parents' inheritance? The land deed and the funds in the pack safe? I need to secure my own things if I am being put on trial.”

Thomas stopped, looking back over his shoulder with a cold, mocking sneer. “What inheritance? The council went through the pack ledger at dawn. Your parents were rogue sympathizers, Lyra. That property was quietly folded into our records years ago, and it belongs to the pack now. It’s been officially seized to pay back Liora for everything you stole from her.”

My pulse took a sudden halt. “Seized? That property was fully mine! My parents left that for me before they died!”

“You don't own anything anymore,” a voice shouted from the gathering crowd behind me.

I spun around to see dozens of pack members filling the courtyard, their faces twisted in anger. Elder Aldric stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at me with satisfaction.

“Your entire presence in this pack is a fraud,” Aldric proclaimed loudly, ensuring every warrior in the area could hear him. “The council has reviewed your history. We call your so-called bond with the twin Alphas a direct manipulation. A true mate bond does not build itself on the destruction of another wolf's happiness.”

“She’s right!” a young warrior from the back of the crowd yelled, stepping forward. “I bet her wolf is some kind of freak. She probably used her beast to force the bond in the first place, trapping our Alphas with something unnatural just to steal the title of Luna!”

The crowd erupted into furious murmurs of agreement. Nobody stepped forward to defend me. Nobody spoke up for the three years of hard work I had given them.

“That’s a lie!” a voice shouted from the left. Azalea, one of the youngest omegas from the kitchen staff, pushed her way through the aggressive crowd. “Lyra has done nothing but care for this pack! You all know Liora is a liar!”

Before Azalea could even reach me, two heavy-set pack guards grabbed her by her arms. One of them shoved her back so hard she hit the dirt ground with a dull thud. “Shut your mouth, omega, unless you want to sit in the cells right alongside her.”

“Azalea!” I cried, trying to move toward her, but three guards immediately stepped in front of me, blocking my path with their spears.

I backed away, the weight of their hatred pressing down on my chest like a physical blow. I couldn't stay here. I needed to find Ryker or Renn. They had to listen to me away from Aldric's poison.

I ran toward the southern edge of the territory, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps. I finally spotted Renn standing completely alone by the wooden fence of the old training grounds, his head bowed.

“Renn!” I gasped, throwing myself forward. I reached out and grabbed his bare arm, my fingers digging desperately into his skin. “Renn, please. You have to listen to me.”

He didn't move. He didn't even flinch.

“Look me in the eye,” I begged, my voice breaking as I stared at the side of his face. “Look me in the eyes right now and tell me you actually believe these ridiculous lies. Tell me you honestly think I poisoned Liora and forced our bond.”

Renn stood perfectly still. He slowly turned his head, his hazel eyes locking onto mine. He stared at me for three long, agonizing seconds. The silence between us stretched out, so heavy and deep that a tiny flicker of hope cracked open in my chest. I just knew he was going to say something. I knew he was going to remember who I was.

Then, Renn deliberately wrapped his fingers around my wrist, pulled my arm completely free of his body, and walked away into the trees without saying a single word.

The rejection hit my chest like a brutal punch.

By evening, the main hall was packed to the ceiling. The air was suffocatingly hot, filled with the scents of sweat and anger. I stood completely alone in the center of the room, surrounded by a massive circle of warriors. Ryker and Renn sat on their elevated twin thrones at the front, their expressions completely unreadable, while Aldric stood beside them holding the pack laws.

My whole life was being decided right now by people who used to call me family.

“We have heard the testimony of Liora,” Aldric announced, his voice booming off the high wooden rafters. “We have seen the ledger anomalies. The council calls for a formal vote to strip Lyra of her mate status, strip her of all pack rights, and return all assets to Liora.”

Aldric looked at the crowd. “All in favor?”

Every single elder raised their hand. Then, one by one, the warriors raised theirs. The vote passed almost completely unanimously. Even the people I thought were my friends held their hands high in the air, refusing to look at me.

“The vote is cast,” Ryker said, his voice cold and flat as death itself. “Lyra, you are no longer recognized as a mate to the Alphas or a member of this pack.”

I stood frozen, refusing to let them see me cry. “Is that it then? You strip me of my life and throw me out into the forest?”

Liora, who was sitting on a plush chair right next to Aldric's podium, suddenly wiped a fake tear from her eye. She leaned close to Aldric’s ear and whispered something softly, her eyes flashing with a cruel, hidden triumph.

Aldric nodded immediately, a dark smile touching his lips. He looked up at the guards standing at the perimeter. “Not quite. Secure the prisoner. Move her straight to the holding cells until the formal execution of her banishment is prepared.”

Before I could even shift or pull away, four massive pack guards moved straight toward me, dragging heavy, cold silver chains across the stone floor.