Chapter 3

 Willa

The blood on my collarbone was still warm.

"Travis, wait!" I choked out, stumbling toward the doors.

He didn't look back. He shoved the balcony doors open, letting the noise of the Great Hall swallow him whole.

I dragged myself through the entrance a second later, my legs barely holding my weight. Maya spotted me instantly near the curtains, her eyes widening in horror as she noticed my torn collar and the crimson blood staining the midnight-blue dress.

"Willa!" Maya whispered, rushing over and grabbing my elbows. 

"What happened to you out there? Your neck—oh Goddess, did he bite you?"

"He marked me, Maya," I gasped, clutching my throat where the pulse was throbbing violently. "He marked me... and then he told me I was too low for him."

Maya gasped, her face draining of color. "He did what? Is he insane? A pack mark isn't a game!"

A loud blast from the ceremonial bronze horns shattered the room's chatter. The crowd of hundreds fell silent, turning their attention toward the elevated stone dais at the front of the hall.

The current Alpha, Travis's father, was far away on the northern borders settling a territory dispute with neighboring clans, which left center stage entirely to Travis—the crown prince and first in line to the throne.

Travis walked up the steps of the platform.

I remembered the political wars that had circulated two years ago. When Travis was estranged from his father due to a dispute over council succession, the Alpha had almost named one of Travis's high-born stepbrothers as the rightful heir. But once father and son reconciled, Travis was declared the next Alpha. Since that day, Travis had been obsessed with securing his bloodline and proving his noble worth to the High Council.

And an orphaned pack doctor was a blot on his crown.

"Pack members of Silvermoon," Travis spoke, his voice booming through the sound system with authoritative Alpha command. "Tonight was meant to be a celebration of our border victory. But tonight, I also stand before you to clarify the future of our leadership."

The elders leaned forward, whispering among themselves.

"We all know that a future Alpha requires a Luna worthy of standing beside him," Travis continued, his dark eyes sweeping over the crowd until they locked directly onto me. A cruel, distant coldness touched the edge of his lips. "Earlier tonight, an unfortunate incident occurred on the terrace. Certain individuals in this pack believe they can use old childhood ties to manipulate their way into high status."

My heart dropped straight into my stomach.

"Willa, come here," Maya muttered, trying to pull me toward the exit. "Don't listen to him. Let's go."

"No," I whispered, my voice shaking as I stood my ground. "No."

"I am speaking, of course, of Willa Greer," Travis said loudly, his tone dripping with cold contempt.

Gasps echoed across the hall. Hundreds of heads turned, their eyes pinning me to the floor like an insect.

"She is our pack doctor, yes," Travis sneered into the microphone. "A hardworking orphan we took in out of charity. But she holds no noble bloodline. She carries the lineage of a nameless stray. The Moon Goddess would never intend for a woman of her low standing to wear the Luna crest."

"Is he serious?" a high-ranking female near the front row whispered loudly. "She’s just a clinic charity case!"

"She must have taken advantage of his combat fatigue!" an elder wolf spoke up, his voice carrying over the crowd. "He just returned from the wild zones! She tried to trap the Alpha's heir!"

"Exactly!" another voice chimed in. "Look at her! A low-blooded stray trying to steal the Luna's throne!"

Humiliation burned through my skin. The whispers multiplied, growing into a roar of disgust.

"Travis!" I cried out, stepping forward into the open aisle. My voice cracked, but I couldn't stop myself. "You marked me ten minutes ago! You held me against the wall and called me yours!"

The crowd gasped louder, the scent of shock filling the room.

"A temporary reaction driven by lingering wild-zone instincts," Travis said coldly, not flinching. "And I am correcting that mistake right now."

He raised his right hand, pointing directly at my chest.

"I, Travis Keene, future Alpha of the Silvermoon Pack, publicly reject you, Willa Greer, as my destined mate. You are far below my standard, and I will never share my throne with a stray."

The rejection bond hit me like a physical blade. The agony tore through my chest, burning through my veins so fast that my knees buckled. I fell to the marble floor, gasping for air, clutching my head as my inner wolf shrieked in absolute torment inside my mind.

"And now," Travis announced, his cold gaze shifting away from my collapsed form on the floor, "I introduce the woman who is actually worthy of pure blood and royalty. The daughter of the High Council."

Darcy Bell stepped onto the stage. She wore a shimmering gold dress, her blonde hair falling in perfect waves down her back. She walked over to Travis, wrapping her arm possessively around his waist.

She turned toward the crowd, looking directly down at me on the floor, and let out a light, mocking laugh.

"Thank you, my love," Darcy said into the microphone. She turned her gaze back to me. "I hope everyone sees what happens when a stray forgets her place."

Pain and rage forced me back onto my feet. I pushed past the lingering pack members, stumbling right up to the edge of the stage platform, staring up at them. Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall in front of these people.

"How could you do this to me, Travis?" I choked out. "Three years! I wrote to you every single week while you were away! I waited for you!"

"You were convenient, Willa," Travis said, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. "You were desperate enough to write letters while I was already building political alliances with the High Council."

The room burst into quiet, cruel laughter.

Darcy took a step forward and leaned over the railing, sneering directly into my face.

"Did you honestly think a dirty little clinic girl could ever wear a crown?" Darcy taunted. "Look at you, Willa. You're pathetic. You're nothing but a warm distraction Travis used between battles while he waited for a real woman. You belong in the clinic scrubbing blood off the tiles, not standing near royalty."

"Darcy, please—"

"Shut your mouth," Darcy spat. "You're a disgrace to this pack. Now get out of our sight before I have the guards throw you into the dungeons for disrespecting the future Alpha."

I stood there, exposed, bleeding from the fresh mark on my neck, surrounded by the harsh, mocking laughter of the pack I had served for years. My heart felt completely shredded.

Travis wrapped his hand around Darcy's waist, pulling her against his side. "Announce it," he ordered the master of ceremonies.

"In three days' time," the announcer bellowed, "we shall hold the official public mating ceremony of future Alpha Travis Keene and Lady Darcy Bell!"

The crowd cheered wildly.

Darcy turned to Travis, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss his lips right in front of everyone.

I turned and ran.