Chapter 3: "They Took My Crown, Now They Want My Blood."

AUREN'S POV

Elder Vayric didn't waste a second.

"The council has reached its decision."

My knees were still weak from the floor I had nearly collapsed on. I pulled myself up straight, refusing to let them see me break further than I already had.

"Auren Valecrest." He said my name like it was already in the past. "Your failure to produce an heir and your dormant wolf are signs of a cursed blood"

"Wh…what!?" The words burst out of me as my eyes widened. 

"Yes, a cursed blood." He said it so plainly, like he was reading off a grocery list. "No family has claimed you, no bloodline has come forward for you, do not forget you are an orphan. The Moon Goddess has not blessed you with a wolf in twenty-two years. He paused to let the words land.  

“This is not a coincidence, child. This is rejection from the divine itself."

The hall murmured in agreement again. That same hum of wolves circling.

"That's insane." I looked around the room, "You're blaming me for something I never had control over."

"We are not blaming you." Elder Corvin's tone was almost gentle, like he was now on my side. "We are simply acknowledging the truth Thornridge has ignored for too long."

I turned to Melvin. He had to say something now. He had to.

"Melvin?" His name barely left my mouth.

He looked at me, and for a second I thought I saw him finally realizing that all of this made no sense and was about to rescue me from their claws.

Then his jaw tightened and he looked away again.

“Wow” I whispered under my breath.

"For the protection of the unborn heir," Elder Vayric continued, "tradition demands a blood offering. Cursed blood must be cleansed from this union before it can pass to the next generation."

My stomach turned. "What are you talking about?"

"Your blood, Auren." He said it without blinking. "Given freely, before your exile, to protect the child Selene carries."

I laughed with tears in my eyes and a pounding headache. "You want my blood? For her baby?, a baby gotten through betrayal?, a union I never approved of?" I paused and looked at Melvin. “Is this a joke?” 

"It is the only way to ensure the heir is untouched by what curses you." Elder Vayric's voice brought my gaze back to him. "A small price, considering everything else you are losing today."

I searched the room again, for anyone, anyone who would stand and say this was wrong.

No one moved.

"Melvin, say something." I begged, my voice breaking apart. "Please. You can't actually sit there and watch them do this to me." I sobbed.

He didn't answer me. He nodded at the guard standing near the door instead.

.

The guard stepped forward holding a silver bowl and a blade.

My whole body went cold.

"You're really going to let them do this to me?" I whispered, looking only at him now. "After everything?"

Melvin's throat moved like he was swallowing something heavy, but no words came out.

My gaze moved past him and stopped at Selene, she folded her arms across her chest, with a smile on. I didn't look away

The guard reached for my arm. I yanked it back.

"Don't touch me." My voice shook so hard it barely sounded like mine. "I will do it myself."

I took the blade with a trembling hand. I didn't look at the elders. I didn't look at Melvin. I stared straight ahead at the blurry wall as I pressed the edge against my skin.

It stung less than everything else that had happened in this room.

The blood dripped slow into the bowl, red against silver, and I watched it like I was watching someone else's life fall apart.

Selene stepped forward to take the bowl from my hands.

Her fingers brushed mine as she did, and she leaned in close, like she was offering comfort.

Her voice was barely a whisper, meant only for me.

"Thank you for letting me take your place." Her lips curved, just slightly. "No one would be more deserving of carrying your obligations than me."

I froze. The words didn't make sense at first, then it became even more clear what this was all about. My heart stopped.

This wasn't an accident. This wasn't a moment of weakness between her and Melvin.

She wanted this. All of it.

Before I could find my voice to ask her what she meant, Elder Vayric spoke again.

"The ritual is complete."

Melvin stepped forward then. He wouldn't look at me directly, his eyes fixed somewhere past my shoulder.

"Auren Valecrest." His voice was steady in a way that made my heart swell. "By the laws of Thornridge and as Alpha of this pack, I, Melvin Calmoore , Alpha of Thornridge, reject you as my Luna and as my mate."

My knees shook, I almost lost my balance. It felt like I had been hit in the chest.

"No." The word left me before I could stop it. "No, Melvin, don't—"

"It is done." Elder Vayric said it like a door closing.

I felt the guards move in around me before I even understood what was happening. Hands on my arms, pulling me back, away from the council, away from him.

"Melvin!!" I screamed his name like it could undo what he had just said. "Look at me! Look at me!, Please!"

He didn't.

"You promised me." My voice cracked, "You promised we'd face everything together, please, don't do this to me!! I–"

"Take her out." Elder Vayric's voice cut through mine like it meant nothing.

The guards dragged me toward the doors, my feet barely keeping up, blood still trailing down my arm where I had cut myself open for a child that wasn't even mine to protect.

I twisted against their grip, searching for him one last time.

"Melvin, please." My voice had nothing left in it. "Please."

The doors of the council hall opened behind me, cold air hitting my back, 

I turned my eyes and it met Selene's, she smiled, like she had won.

The doors of the palace shut behind me with a sound that echoed through my bones, sealing away every promise Melvin had ever made me.