CHAPTER FIVE

~ RAE’S POV ~

The iron cuffs burned against my skin, digging deeper the more I struggled. Each step dragged me through the dirt, the guards gripping me like I was some animal they were proud of catching. My body shook with rage, but everything just pressed down on me.

I kept saying the same words, my voice hoarse, my throat raw.

“I didn’t do this. I swear it wasn’t me.”

None of them listened.

The woods blurred past us, the moonlight bleeding through the trees. My chest hurt, every breath sharp. The image of Damon’s Beta lying lifeless with his throat slit burned into my head. His eyes were open, staring at nothing. I could still feel the warmth of his blood on my hands. My knife. My blade.

They made sure it was mine.

My body trembled as they shoved me into another black SUV. The cuffs burned hotter the longer I wore them, the silver crawling through my veins, slowing me down. I winced and folded my wrists, but the guards just smirked like they enjoyed the pain I was in.

“Monster,” one spat, slamming the door shut in my face.

Monster.

I shut my eyes tightly, my teeth grinding together. I wanted to scream at him. To tell him he was wrong. To tell him everything. But what good would it do? They’d already decided who I was.

The convoy moved fast, the hum of the engines filling the silence. My reflection in the tinted glass stared back at me, messy hair, blood on my cheeks, swollen lips from where they slapped me. I didn’t even recognize myself.

Was this it? Was this how I’d be remembered?

The bounty hunter who betrayed an Alpha.

The human who slaughtered wolves in cold blood.

The mate who couldn’t be trusted.

A tear slipped down my cheek, hot and heavy. I bit my lip until I tasted blood, forcing myself not to cry harder. Not here. Not in front of them.

I needed to stay strong.

For me.

For the baby inside me.

The thought almost broke me. My hand twitched, wanting to curl protectively over my stomach, but I didn’t dare let them see. If they suspected, if they found out…

I couldn’t even finish the thought.

The convoy slowed, the air thickening around me. I didn’t need to look outside to know where we were. The scent of pine and iron told me enough. Crescent Fang’s council grounds. The wolves’ sacred hall. The place where decisions were final, where voices didn’t matter unless you carried a title.

The SUV door opened, and hands yanked me out. My knees buckled as I stumbled onto the stone steps leading up to the massive hall. Torches burned on either side, the firelight flickering against carved wolves etched into the walls. The building loomed over me, cold and merciless.

“Move,” one of the guards growled, shoving me forward.

I swallowed hard, forcing my legs to walk. My chains clinked with every step, loud in the silence.

When the doors opened, a wave of heat and noise hit me. The council chamber was full. Elders lined the long table, their robes dark, their expressions darker. Pack warriors flanked the walls, their eyes cold and accusing.

And there, at the far end of the hall sat Damon.

His storm-gray eyes locked on me instantly. I froze, the air knocked out of my chest. His aura wrapped around the room, heavy and suffocating, the Alpha in him impossible to ignore.

But his face…

I couldn’t read him.

Was it Anger? Pain? Betrayal?

I wanted him to look at me and know. To believe me without question. To stand up and say, “She’s mine. She didn’t do this.”

But he didn’t, rather he just watched.

The guards shoved me to my knees in the center of the hall, forcing my head down until my forehead touched the cold stone. My wrists burned as the cuffs pressed deeper into my skin.

“Rae Blackthorne,” one of the elders called out, his voice booming through the chamber. “Human bounty hunter. Daughter of Jonathan Blackthorne. You stand accused of treason against Crescent Fang. Of murder. Of betraying your Alpha’s trust.”

“No!” My voice cracked as I jerked my head up. “I didn’t do it! You have to believe me….”

“Silence,” another elder snapped, slamming his staff against the stone floor.

I shook my head violently. “Please! Listen to me. It wasn’t me. I woke up and they were already dead….”

“Lies,” someone hissed from the crowd.

“She killed them.”

“She can’t be trusted.”

“She’s human.”

Their voices blend together, sharp and merciless. I gasped for air, my chest tightening, the world spinning around me. My eyes darted to Damon again, begging him silently. ‘Please. Please, just say something.’

But he didn’t.

One of the elders stood, his face cold. “By the council’s order, Rae Blackthorne is to be branded with the hunter’s mark. She will be stripped of any ties to Crescent Fang. Banished beyond our borders. Any who aid her will be considered traitors.”

My heart stopped.

“No…” My voice came out as a whisper. “Please, no. Damon….”

Something changed in his eyes, but he didn’t move.

The guards pulled me up, dragging me toward the center of the chamber where a stone altar stood. The iron brand glowed in the fire, its edges burning red-hot, the symbol carved into it sharp and cruel.

“No! Stop! Please!” I thrashed, my screams echoing off the walls. “Damon, don’t let them do this! Please, you know me! You know I wouldn’t….”

“Hold her down,” the elder ordered.

The guards slammed me onto the altar, my back pressed against the cold stone, their hands pinning my arms and legs. The burning heat of the brand drew closer, the smell of fire and iron choking me.

Tears filled my vision. My throat ached from screaming.

“Damon!” My voice broke as I called for him again. My mate. The only one who could save me.

For a moment, just a moment, I swore I saw his hands twitch, his jaw clench. But he didn’t move.

The brand pressed against my skin.

Agony tore through me, ripping a scream from my throat so raw it felt like my soul was burning. The mark seared into my flesh, black veins spreading out like fire through my body. My vision went white. My body arched, trembling violently.

When they pulled the brand away, I collapsed onto the altar, shaking, gasping for air. The pain was everywhere, crawling under my skin, pulsing through my blood.

The mark.

Permanent.

I was no longer Rae Blackthorne, bounty hunter, daughter, mate.

I was nothing.

“Take her beyond the borders,” the elder’s voice rang out. “Let the rogues finish what we will not.”

The guards dragged me up again, my legs barely working. My body burned, my vision blurred, tears streaming down my face.

I looked at Damon one last time as they pulled me toward the doors. My lips trembled, my voice broken.

“I trusted you…”