Chapter 2

Elara's POV

I turned on my heel and walked away across the cold stone without giving Julian so much as a backward glance, determined to leave him standing there with the rejection he’d been so eager to give me.

"I accept your rejection, Alpha," I called back over my shoulder. "Consider us completely even."

"Stop right where you are, Elara!" Julian roared, his voice echoing across the courtyard with the kind of authority he had always assumed everyone would automatically obey. "If you still consider me your alpha and expect a roof over your head tonight, you will stand there and listen!"

I stopped and slowly turned back to face him. A small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I watched him realize that his threat had done absolutely nothing to frighten me.

"A roof over my head? When have you ever considered me a member of this pack?"

Julian opened his mouth to answer, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of getting a word in before I continued. "I've always been the worthless human or the defective freak to every single one of you, so why start acting gracious now?"

"How dare you!" Elder Thomas bellowed, his face reddening as he gripped his staff so tightly his knuckles turned white. "Do you think severing ties with your family gives you the right to speak to your Alpha like this? You have no dignity!!"

I marched straight up to the podium, stepping directly into Thomas's personal space. "Don't you dare lecture me about dignity, old man, because nobody standing in this hall has any."

"Elara, please, just stop this foolishness!" Lyra cried, wringing her hands as she looked from me to the crowd, making sure her concern was visible. "If you keep up this pathetic act, you'll end up a disgraced rogue!"

I whipped around, my eyes locking onto her with raw, burning fury. "Drop the disgusting act, Lyra, before I tear that fake sweet smile right off your face."

Lyra flinched, taking a quick step backward behind my mother. "I'm only trying to help you!"

"You're not helping anyone except Beta Marcus," I spat, watching the Beta's face drain of all color. "Do you all really think I didn't know you two have been fucking behind closed doors for months?"

A collective gasp swept through the crowd, followed by a burst of whispers as warriors turned towards Marcus. Julian's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared down at his Beta.

"And while you were in bed together," I continued, "Marcus was systematically embezzling pack funds right under your nose, just like half the elders here."

I reached into my inner jacket pocket and pulled out a heavy, leather-bound book. "This ledger holds every trade route, every tax record, and every piece of economic data keeping this pack alive."

Julian stepped toward me immediately, reaching out his hand. "Give me that book, Elara."

"You don't deserve it," I said, tossing the ledger straight into the center of the roaring bonfire.

The leather blackened almost immediately, pages curling inward as flames licked the edges and sent a shower of sparks into the night sky. Panic broke out among the council as they realized what was burning.

"While you were playing power games and throwing parties, I was the one holding this entire pack together," I said, watching the ashes rise. "That ledger was your only saving grace, but you're on your own now."

"You little bitch!" Julian roared, his eyes flashing gold as his wolf surged to the surface.

A wave of Alpha pheromones exploded from him and swept across the grounds. Warriors and elders dropped to their knees, including my parents, unable to do anything but submit.

Seraphina collapsed beside the podium, clawing at the dirt as she struggled for breath. Everyone remained on their knees, trembling under the Alpha's sheer dominance.

Except me.

I stood upright, rolling my shoulders as a strange, soothing warmth washed over my skin instead of pressure. In fact, I felt completely relaxed.

"Is that really all you and your pathetic wolf can come up with?" I asked, looking at Julian, almost disappointed. "It feels like a light breeze."

Julian stared at me from his stance, his jaw hanging open. I could guess the questions running through his mind. Why isn't she kneeling? Why isn't this crushing her?

I turned my gaze to Seraphina, who was squirming on the dirt near his feet. "I wish you both a very long, painful life together in hell."

"What kind of dark magic have you been cultivating?!" my father wheezed from the ground, glaring up at me with terrified eyes. "How are you resisting an Alpha's command?"

"Try using your brain to do the thinking for once instead of your ass," I spat down at him. "I'm out of here."

I pulled a silver blade from my belt, pressing the steel against my right palm. Without flinching, I sliced a deep, jagged line across my skin, letting the blood drip freely onto the pack's sacred soil.

"My finger breaks my bloodline, and my blood severs my tie to Silver Ridge," I announced, dropping the bloody blade at my father's knee. "We are officially done."

I turned my back on the kneeling crowd and walked straight into the shadows of the surrounding forest. The darkness swallowed me as the noise of the plaza faded into the distance.

The adrenaline that had carried me through the confrontation suddenly crashed over me, tightening my chest and making my breath hitch. My head began to spin as the pain I’d ignored for the last several minutes finally caught up with me.

My breathing turned shallow and ragged as my vision blurred around the edges. I can't breathe. I can't think.

Before I could clear my head, something massive burst from the thick trees ahead. A heavy weight slammed into my chest, pinning me to the forest floor as razor-sharp fangs sank deep into my shoulder.