Chapter 3

Sarah's POV

No one came for me.Not Mom.Not Dad.

Not even a maid.No one.

I lay there staring at the ceiling of the infirmary, listening to the faint sounds of footsteps passing outside my room.

Every time I heard someone approaching, a tiny, foolish part of me hoped they had finally come for me.

But every time, the footsteps passed.And no one opened my door.I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Did I mean so little to them?I had been rejected in front of the entire pack.

Humiliated.Abandoned.And apparently, no one cared enough to even check if I was alive.

I turned my face toward the window.Maybe I should have expected this.After all, I was the weak one.The sick one.

The daughter who couldn't shift.The mate who wasn't good enough.The girl everyone had decided was better off replaced.

A bitter ache settled in my chest.Did my own family really hate me that much?I slowly pushed myself up.My body protested immediately.

Every muscle ached, and the pain in my chest hadn't completely disappeared. My illness had no cure. It could only be managed.

But there was no point staying here.No one was coming.I changed back into the same dress I had arrived in.

My hands trembled as I stood.For a moment, my legs almost gave out.I caught myself against the wall.

"Come on, Sarah," I whispered.My voice sounded painfully small in the empty room.

"Just get home."

One step.Pain shot through my body.

Another.

My knees trembled.

Another.

I gripped the wall harder.I didn't know how I was going to make it home.But somehow, I had to.

Because no one was coming to carry me there.

I reached the door and slowly pushed it open.

I took one step outside.And walked straight into a hard chest.A gasp escaped me.

Strong arms immediately wrapped around my waist before I could fall.

My heart stopped.I knew that scent.That warmth.

I slowly lifted my head.

Zion.

For one horrible second, my heart betrayed me.It fluttered.Just like it always had when he was near.

Then I remembered.He had rejected me.He had chosen Jasmine.He had stood in front of everyone and declared her his Luna.

The warmth in my chest turned cold.I immediately tried to push him away.

"Let me go."

My voice was colder than I felt.He didn't release me.

"Stay still," he said quietly. "You'll fall."

I hated that he was right.My legs were barely holding me up.But I didn't want his help.

Not anymore.

"I can walk on my own."I forced myself to straighten.

"You wouldn't want your Luna to see us like this."

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.His arms immediately fell away.The sudden absence of his warmth made me shiver.

A bitter smile touched my lips.Of course.

He couldn't even hold me anymore.Jasmine mattered now.She was his Luna.

Not me.

"I'll take you home," he said.

I shook my head."I don't need your help."

"Sarah—"

"Go back to your Luna."

I looked at him."I don't want to be the reason you two argue."

His expression tightened."Stop saying that."

"Stop saying what?"My voice rose."That she's your Luna?"I laughed bitterly."She is."

I pointed toward the door."You chose her."My voice cracked."You chose her over me."

Tears burned my eyes.

"You humiliated me in front of the entire pack, Zion."

He lowered his head."I'm sorry."

Sorry.That word again.

I was beginning to hate it."You're sorry?"

I laughed softly, but there was no humor in it.

"What am I supposed to do with your apology?"

He reached for my hand.I stepped back immediately.

"Don't."

He froze.I wiped the tears that had escaped down my cheeks.

"You made your choice."I stared into his eyes."Now live with it."

His shoulders dropped."It wasn't an easy decision."

I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Wasn't it?"

He looked at me."I never wanted things to happen this way."

Something inside me cracked."Then why did you let them happen?"

He didn't answer.That silence hurt more than any explanation could have.

I nodded slowly."Exactly."

I looked away."I don't care anymore."

The lie tasted bitter.Because I cared.God, I cared so much it hurt to breathe.I had spent years loving this man.Years believing he would be the person standing beside me when the world turned against me.

And now he was the reason my world had fallen apart."I've already accepted my fate."

A broken laugh escaped me."I'm nothing but a weak, wolfless girl."

My voice trembled."No wolf."

I swallowed."No Luna title."

Another tear rolled down my cheek.

"No mate."

I looked at him.

"No future."

My lips trembled.

"No one will ever want me."

Zion's face changed.There was something in his eyes.

Pity?

Guilt?I couldn't tell.And I didn't want to know.

I didn't want his pity.I'd rather have his hatred.

At least hatred would mean I was worth feeling something for.

A knock sounded.A pack warrior stepped inside.

"Alpha, your presence is required."

Zion nodded."I'll be there shortly."

He looked back at me.For one brief moment, neither of us spoke.He looked like he wanted to say something.Maybe he wanted to apologize again.Maybe he wanted to tell me he still cared.

Maybe—No.I couldn't do this to myself anymore.

"Goodbye, Zion."

His lips parted.But whatever he wanted to say never came.

"I'm sorry, Sarah."

I looked away."It doesn't matter anymore."

He stood there for another moment.Then he turned and walked away.The door closed behind him.And the moment it did, my strength disappeared.

I slid down the wall.My knees pulled toward my chest.I covered my mouth with my hand as the first sob escaped.

I tried to stop.I really did.But the tears came harder.My dreams.My plans.Everything I had imagined for my life.Destroyed.In one day.

I pressed my palm against my chest."Why?"

My voice broke."Why, Moon Goddess?"

Another sob shook me."What did I ever do?"

I had never asked for much.I had never wanted power.I only wanted to be loved.Was that really too much to ask?

••

By the time I arrived home, my entire body ached.I pushed open the front door.

Mom was sitting in the living room.She barely looked up.

"You're back already?"

I stared at her.

"I would have come to get you."

I almost laughed.Almost.But I was too tired."It doesn't matter."

She shrugged."If you say so."

That was it.No hug.No questions.No Are you okay?Nothing.

"I'll be in my room."

"Lunch will be ready soon," she said without looking at me. "You should come downstairs."

"Okay."

I turned toward the stairs.Each step felt like it took everything I had.I reached my bedroom.

Opened the door.And froze.

My heart stopped.My room looked as though someone had torn it apart.

Drawers were hanging open.Clothes were scattered across the floor.My belongings had been thrown everywhere.Someone had searched through everything.

"No..."I rushed to my dresser.My hands shook as I pulled open the bottom drawer.

Empty.

My breath caught."No."

I searched again.As if looking twice could somehow make it appear.It wasn't there.My hands began trembling.

"Where is it?"

My heart started pounding.

"No... no... please."

I dropped to my knees and began searching through the things scattered across the floor.

Nothing.

The bracelet was gone.My bracelet.The only thing I had left.The only thing I had held onto for years.The only treasure that had never abandoned me.

I stumbled downstairs."Mom!"

She looked up sharply."Why are you shouting?"

"Someone went into my room."My voice shook."They took my bracelet."

"Oh."She sounded completely uninterested.

"Jasmine was looking for something earlier."

My heart dropped."Why would she take my bracelet?"

Mom frowned."It's only a bracelet, Sarah."

Only a bracelet?I stared at her.She didn't understand.She couldn't.

"Mom..."My voice cracked."That bracelet means everything to me."

She sighed."I don't understand why you're so attached to that old bracelet you found as a child."

She stood."I have more important things to worry about."

Then she walked away.I stood there.Frozen.

The room around me suddenly felt too quiet.

First Zion.Now this.It felt as though someone was slowly stripping away every piece of my life.

And I couldn't stop them.

I immediately called Jasmine.She didn't answer.

I called again.Nothing. I called her again.Finally, she answered.

"What do you want?"

"My bracelet."I didn't waste a second."Give it back."

She laughed."That ugly bracelet?"

My fingers curled around my phone."You know how important it is."

"It's not with me."

"Please."I hated how desperate I sounded.But I didn't care."Just give it back."

She laughed again."You must be stupid if you think I'll return it."

"For all we know, you probably stole it when we were kids."

"I didn't!"My voice cracked.

"You know I didn't!"I closed my eyes and forced myself to breathe."Please, Jasmine."

My voice dropped to a whisper."Just give it back."

Silence.

For a moment, I thought she might actually agree.Then she spoke.

"I threw it away."

My blood ran cold."What?"

"I dumped it in the trash."

The phone nearly slipped from my hand."No."

My voice was barely audible."You wouldn't..."

But the call had already ended.

I ran.I didn't think.I didn't care that my body was weak.I didn't care that my legs hurt.I didn't care that people might see me.I ran outside.Toward the garbage area.

I dropped to my knees beside the overflowing bins.The smell hit me immediately.

I gagged.But I didn't stop.I dug through the garbage with my bare hands.

One bag.Then another.And another.

Food scraps.Dirty clothes.Rotten waste.I pushed everything aside.

"Please."My fingers shook."Please, please..."

I couldn't lose it.Not that too.It was all I had.

The bracelet had been with me through everything.Through the lonely nights.Through the sickness.

Through the years I felt different from everyone else.It was proof that something good had once found me.Proof that not everything in my life had been taken away.

I searched harder.My fingers became filthy.

My nails filled with dirt.My palms began to sting.

I didn't care.

"Where are you?"Tears streamed down my face."Please..."

I opened another bag.Nothing.

My vision blurred."No..."I shook my head.

"It can't be gone."

I called Jasmine and I was sent to Voicemail.

My hands fell into my lap.I stared at them.They were covered in dirt.I had never felt so helpless.

Slowly, I sank onto the ground beside the overflowing trash.

My body trembled.I pressed my dirty hands against my face.And finally—

I stopped fighting.

A sob tore out of me.Then another.Then another.

I cried until my chest hurt.Until my throat burned.Until there was nothing left inside me to hold the tears back.

Zion was gone.My family had turned against me.

My sister hated me.And now even the one little piece of my past I had treasured was gone.

I curled into myself beside the garbage, crying like a child who had finally realized no one was coming to save her.

For the first time since Zion rejected me, I didn't try to be strong.I didn't tell myself I would survive.I didn't tell myself I would become stronger.I didn't tell myself that one day I would leave.I simply cried.

Because for the first time...I didn't know what I had left to lose.