Judged

They didn’t give me time to speak.

Guards seized my arms before the echo of Delilah’s accusation had fully faded. Their grips were tight, unforgiving, as if I were already guilty.

“I didn’t do this,” I said, my voice steady only because shock had numbed me. “I would never—”

“Enough.”

Finn’s voice cut through the hall like a blade.

I turned toward him, desperate. “Finn, look at me. You know me. You know I would never harm a child.”

His eyes met mine, but there was no warmth in them. Only cold resolve.

“She was the only one who prepared Delilah’s meals,” he said to the elders. “She had motive.”

Motive? The word felt unreal.

“She is still your mate, Alpha," Elder Rowan said carefully. “We must tread lightly.”

Finn’s jaw tightened. “A mate who resents my chosen woman. A mate who had chose to  humiliate herself, just to carry out her grand plan of murdering my unborn child? I don't need that kind of mate!.”

I flinched, turned slowly to stare at him.

Each word sounded rehearsed—like he had already convinced himself long before today.

“She wanted Delilah gone out of jealousy,” he continued. “And now my child is dead.”

A sob tore from Delilah’s lips as she clutched her stomach. Finn rushed to her side instantly, wrapping her in his arms.

I stood alone. Quietly. And didn't resist when they dragged me into the center of the Alpha hall.

The pack gathered in a wide circle, their eyes sharp with judgment, fear, and something worse—anticipation. I felt stripped bare beneath their stares.

“Swear it,” Elder Rowan urged softly. “Swear on the Moon Goddess that you are innocent.”

“I swear,” I said without hesitation. “On my wolf. On my life.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Delilah lifted her head weakly. “Then why does my body still burn from pain?” she whispered. “Why do the healers say poison was found in my blood?”

My heart slammed against my ribs. “That’s impossible,” I breathed. “I used only moonleaf and silverroot—”

“Enough,” Finn snapped again. “You will not twist this.”

Twist it. I laughed then. A broken, hollow sound tore from my chest encouraging shocked gasps.

“You begged me to wait,” I said, my voice shaking now. “You asked me to endure. I served her, fed her, protected her—because you asked me to.”

Silence. Finn didn’t deny it. Instead he said, “Take her to the cells,” he ordered.

The finality in his voice crushed something inside me. Whatsoever hope i had in him has being broken.

The dungeon smelled of damp stone and despair.

They threw me into a cell and the iron door slammed shut, the sound echoing like a death sentence.

I slid down the wall slowly, clutching my chest as whatsoever bond is left between us, screamed in agony.

Finn didn’t come. Not that night. Or the next morning.

Instead, the rejection summons arrived at dusk.

A single guard stood at my cell door, face averted. “The Alpha has called for a formal rejection,” he said quietly. My breath hitched.

Rejection meant more than severing the bond.

It meant exile. Banishment. Or Death if the Moon Goddess deemed me unworthy.

I pressed my forehead to the cold bars.

“I loved him,” I whispered to no one.

The ritual circle was prepared beneath the full moon.

The pack gathered once more, torches flickering, judgment carved into every face. I was forced to my knees at the center, chains biting into my wrists.

Finn stood before me. Tall. Imposing. Untouchable.

Delilah watched from behind him, her eyes dry now—sharp and victorious.

“Do you still deny the accusation?” Elder Rowan asked.

“I do,” I said hoarsely. “With every breath.”

Finn raised his hand. “I reject her,” he said coldly. “As my mate. As my Luna. As anything to me.”

Pain exploded through my chest.

I screamed as the bond tore violently, white-hot agony ripping through my soul. My wolf howled in terror, in loss, in betrayal.

I collapsed forward, gasping, blood filling my mouth. The Moon Goddess did not stop it.

When it was over, Finn didn’t look back.

“Banish her beyond the border,” he ordered. “By dawn.”

And just like that— I was nothing.