Chapter 9. The boss is going to like you.

**Stella's POV**

"She is not stupid Peter. The alliance can still be fixed," my mother says desperately. "If Stella goes back, if she apologizes—"

"He banished me," I interrupt. "He said if I ever set foot on his territory again, he'll kill me."

The color drains from my mother's face.

Peter's jaw clenches.

"Then you've doomed us all," he says quietly.

"What?" I stare at him. "What do you mean?"

"Alpha Cole Grant has no reason to leave us alone now. No treaty binding him. Nothing stopping him from absorbing our pack into his." Peter's hands are shaking—from rage or fear, I can't tell. "By the end of the month, Crescent Hollow Pack will cease to exist. And it will be your fault."

"No—" I shake my head. "No, there has to be another way—"

"There is." He straightens. "You go back to Cole Grant. You beg him to take you back. You offer him anything—everything—to restore the marriage and alliance."

"I can't—"

"You will." The Alpha command in his voice makes my knees buckle. "You will go back to your mate, and you will fix this."

"He's not my mate anymore!" The words tear from my throat. "The bond is broken. He has someone else. He doesn't want me—"

"I don't care what he wants." Peter's voice drops into a dangerous snarl. "You will return to Black River Pack and make this right. Or you will be disowned. Stripped of your family name. Cast out as a rogue. Maybe Cole will spare us if he knows that we didn't support your stupid childish decision."

I gasp, shocked at my step father's decision. My mother makes a small, wounded sound.

"Peter, no," she whispers. "She's our daughter—"

"She stopped being our daughter the moment she broke that alliance." His eyes are hard. Cold. So much like Cole's. "Well, Stella? What will it be?"

I can't breathe.

Can't think.

This isn't happening.

My own parents—the people who were supposed to love me, protect me—they're choosing the pack over me.

"I can't go back," I whisper. "Mother, please. Tell him I can't go back."

She won't meet my eyes.

"Susan," Peter says quietly. "Call the warriors."

"No—" I walk toward them. "No, please—"

But it's too late.

Four warriors I've known my whole life appear. Men who used to smile at me and wish me well when I married Cole.

Now they look at me with nothing but contempt.

"Remove her from the pack," Peter orders. "And make it clear—she is not welcome here."

"Father, please—" I reach for him, but the warriors grab my arms. "Please, don't do this. I have nowhere else to go—"

"You should have thought of that before you destroyed your marriage." He turns his back on me. "Goodbye, Stella."

"Mother—" I look at her desperately. "Mother, please—"

But she's already walking back into the pack house, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

The warriors drag me backward and I try to fight, but I'm too weak. The rejection has left me with nothing.

They pull me through the pack territory. Past the houses where I grew up playing. Past the school I attended. Past the playground where I used to play as a child.

Past all the people who won't meet my eyes but know will gossip about me as soon as I'm out of sight....

At the border, they throw me to the ground.

"Don't come back," one of them—Michael, who used to give me candy when I was little—says coldly. "You're not one of us anymore."

Then they're gone.

And I'm alone once again.

Oh moon goddess, who did I offend to get such treatment from the people I called family?

I sob violently.

---

I don't know how long I lie there crying.

Time loses meaning when you have nothing left to lose but eventually, I force myself to stand.

My legs shake. My vision blurs. But I manage to stay upright.

Where do I go now?

I have no pack. No family. No home.

I start walking not toward any direction. Just away from Crescent Hollow and everything I've ever known.

The sun sets and the temperature drops.

I keep walking.

Maybe if I walk far enough, I'll find someplace where I belong.

Maybe—

Suddenly, a twig snaps behind me.

I freeze.

'Stella,' Piper says urgently. 'We're not alone.'

I turn slowly and I catch a glimpse of three men stepping out of the shadows.

They're not pack wolves. I can tell from their scent—wild and untamed. There are Rogues.

"Well, well," one of them says, grinning. "What do we have here?"

I back away. "Leave me alone."

"She smells like rejection," another one says, tilting his head. "Recent, too. Poor thing."

"Please." My voice shakes. "Just let me go."

"Can't do that." The first one moves closer. "See, we've been watching you. Saw you get kicked out of not one, but two packs in the same day. That's impressive."

"Very impressive," the third one agrees. "Makes us wonder... what did you do to piss off two Alphas?"

"It doesn't matter." I'm still backing away, but they're closing in. "Just—just leave me alone—"

"Boss is gonna want to see this one," the first rogue says to the others. "Fresh rejection. No pack. No protection." His grin widens. "Perfect."

"No—"

But before I can run, one of them lunges.

His hand clamps over my mouth. Another set of hands grabs my arms.

I try to scream, but the sound is muffled.

I try to fight, but I'm too weak.

'Stella!' Piper cries. 'Stella, shift! We have to—'

'I can't!' I scream back. 'You're too weak, remember?'

The rogues are dragging me backward now, into the forest away from the road and any chance of help.

"Don't worry, little Omega," one of them whispers in my ear. "The boss is gonna take real good care of you."

Then something sharp pricks my neck.

Drugs.

They're drugging me.

No. No, no, no—

But the darkness is already closing in.

The last thing I hear before I pass out is their laughter.

And then nothing.