CHAPTER 2

AUTUMN POV

I trembled.

Dante’s grip remained firm as he pressed the ice deeper into my mouth. "You’re nothing but a beautiful lie—a pretty little monster wrapped in deceit. Cold, just like this ice."

I shook my head frantically, but he didn’t stop.

"And no matter how much you shiver," his voice was like silk and steel, "no matter how much you struggle, I’ll make damn sure you swallow every bit of it… just like the truth."

Tears burned down my cheeks as I fought, fought, fought—but they didn’t care.

“We, the Logan Alphas, also reject you as our mate.”

Adonis stood, arms crossed. Knox tightened the ropes just to watch me wince. Dante forced the ice deeper, watching my every movement like a predator toying with its prey.

I wanted to scream until my voice gave out.

To break free of these bonds, both physical and emotional.

But the moment I looked at them—really looked at them—I knew the truth with devastating clarity.

They didn't see me anymore.

They saw a murderer.

They saw a liar.

They saw everything Agatha wanted them to see.

And they had chosen to believe it—had chosen her over me.

The wind howled through the trees, carrying the distant cries of wolves that no longer claimed me as their own. Each step sent waves of pain through my body, every bruise and cut a brutal reminder of my banishment.

Rogue.

The word echoed in my mind, heavy with finality. That's what I was now. Cast out. Unwanted.

My pack—my family—had condemned me. The mates I'd loved had discarded me like something broken beyond repair. The forest that had once been my home now felt alien and hostile, watching my struggle with cold indifference.

I swayed on my feet, days of hunger and thirst taking their toll. My wolf, once strong and proud, now whimpered deep within me, wounded not just by physical pain but by the crushing weight of betrayal.

How did it come to this? I wondered, forcing myself forward. What did I do to deserve this exile?

Then, I heard it.

Laughter. Mocking, familiar laughter that made my blood turn to ice.

My heart stuttered in my chest as they emerged from the shadows between the trees. Men—large, cruel, their eyes gleaming with sick amusement. They formed a loose circle around me, predators toying with wounded prey.

And standing before them, radiant in her cruelty, was Agatha.

Golden curls framed her perfect face, bouncing slightly as she tilted her head. The smile she wore made my stomach twist into knots. There was nothing genuine in it—only triumph and malice.

"Aw, poor thing," she cooed, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "You look awful, Barbie."

The nickname stung like acid. I'd always hated it, how she'd use it to diminish me, to make me feel plastic and artificial compared to her supposed authenticity.

My mind raced, trying to understand what was happening. Had she followed me? Why wasn't she with the pack—with my mates?

"What is this?" I managed, my voice a hoarse whisper through my parched throat.

Agatha stepped closer, her heels clicking against the rocky ground. I caught her scent—expensive perfume mixed with something else, something that smelled like victory.

"Oh, don't look so confused," she said, her pout exaggerated. "You're smart, aren't you? You should've seen this coming."

I tried to summon strength I didn't have. "Agatha—"

"Shh, shh." She pressed a finger to my cracked lips, her nail digging in slightly. "I really hate when you talk. You sound so... desperate."

I jerked away from her touch, my instincts screaming danger. Too late, I realized I'd played right into her hands.

The first blow came from behind—a fist to my gut that forced all the air from my lungs. I doubled over, gasping, only to be met with another hit. And another.

Pain exploded across my body as I collapsed to the ground, curling in on myself. Boots connected with my ribs, a sickening crack reverberating through my chest. I couldn't hold back the cry that tore from my throat.

They kicked. They laughed. And she watched.

Through the haze of pain, I saw Agatha's face. She looked... pleased. Satisfied. Like she was watching the culmination of a long-planned revenge.

Why? my mind screamed. What did I ever do to deserve this?

She crouched down beside me, her perfume overwhelming. Her fingers grasped my chin, forcing me to look at her despite the agony coursing through my body.

"You really thought they'd choose you over me?" Her laugh was vicious, slicing through the last shreds of my dignity. "Gods, Autumn. You're even more pathetic than I thought."

Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not in front of her. Not when she was already feasting on my pain like a starving vulture.

"I never hurt you," I whispered, the words tasting like blood in my mouth. "I never did anything to you."

Something flickered in her eyes—a deeper rage, perhaps, or the bitter taste of long-held resentment.

Her grip tightened painfully, nails digging into my skin. "That's the worst part, isn't it?" She cooed. "You were just there. An unknown orphan—raised by Alphas, loved by them. You had everything I wanted."

She sighed dramatically, releasing my face only to stand back up, smoothing her perfect dress. "So, I took it. And gods, it was so easy."

The men around her chuckled, amused by my misery, entertained by this show of cruelty.

I shook my head, heart pounding against my broken ribs. "Knox, Dante, Adonis... They'll realize the truth." Even as I said their names, I felt the ache of longing. My mates. My loves. Surely they wouldn't abandon me forever.

Agatha let out a sharp bark of laughter, her eyes gleaming with malicious delight.

"Oh, you still think they'll come for you? You think they're gonna feel guilty?" She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "Sweetheart... they don't even miss you."

Something inside me broke. Not just my heart, but something deeper—my faith, perhaps. My belief in the bond we'd shared.

She saw it. The exact moment when hope died in my eyes.

And she loved it.

"Jess and Ivy—" My voice cracked on their names, my closest friends. "They were my friends—"

Agatha threw her head back, laughing hysterically, as if I'd told the funniest joke she'd ever heard.

"Your friends? Oh, Barbie, you really are slow, aren't you?" She wiped a fake tear from her eye, her amusement genuine. "I paid them to betray you. Not even that much, honestly."

A chill spread through me, deeper than the pain of my physical wounds. My mind replayed moments I'd shared with Jess and Ivy—secrets whispered in the dark, promises made under starlight, laughter shared over meals. All lies? All an act?

The thought was too much to bear.

"You really thought people cared about you? Thought your mates adored you?" She leaned in, voice dripping in mock sympathy. "Sweetheart, they hated you. They just didn't know it yet."

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Her words were like poison, seeping into every crack in my armor, every vulnerable place I'd left exposed.

Her voice slithered into my ear. "Now, everything belongs to me."

She straightened, satisfaction radiating from her like heat. "The Logans are mine. The pack is mine. And you?"

She tsked, shaking her head. "You're just a stain I need to wipe away."

That's when I noticed it.

The edge.

The sharp, jagged cliffside behind me.

My stomach plunged as realization dawned. This wasn't just about humiliation. This wasn't just about watching me suffer.

She wanted me dead.

I scrambled to move, ignoring the screaming pain in my body, but a sharp kick to my ribs sent me skidding back—closer to the edge. Too close.

Agatha loomed above me, lips curling into a smile that promised no mercy.

"Bye-bye, Barbie."

Then—

She shoved me.

And I fell.

Wind roared in my ears as gravity claimed me. My heart pounded in my chest, faster and faster, the rhythm of fear and desperate regret.

The world blurred into streaks of color—blue sky, green trees, gray rock—all spinning violently around me.

No, no, no—

The jagged rocks below rushed toward me, promising a brutal end.

In those final moments, my life flashed before my eyes in vivid bursts of memory.

Childhood laughter echoing through the pack house.

Nights spent curled in Dante's arms, listening to his lazy jokes, feeling safe and cherished.

The way Knox used to brush my hair back when I was tired, his touch so gentle it made my heart ache.

The rare, secretive smiles Adonis gave me when he thought I wasn't looking, betraying the affection he tried so hard to hide.

All gone.

Taken from me by a woman who hated me simply for existing.

My throat ripped open in a final, desperate scream—not of fear, but of defiance.

"MOON GODDESS! GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE!"

The words tore from my soul, carrying with them all my rage, all my sorrow, all my determination to right the wrongs done to me.

Then—

Darkness swallowed me whole.