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Raven's POV

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the silence. My room felt eerily still. My body ached dully, reminding me of last night. The sheets beneath me were tangled, half-pulled off the bed and crumpled on the floor.

I blinked against the faint light streaming through the window, my eyes catching the faint indent of where someone else had been lying. The other side of the bed was empty now. Empty and cold.

My heart sank as the memory of Jaxon’s hands on my skin, his lips tracing every inch of me, came flooding back. Heat rose to my cheeks as I clutched the sheet to my chest. I turned my head, searching the room for any sign of him, but it was empty. His scent—rain and steel—still lingered in the air, teasing my senses.

The ache in my chest deepened. He was gone.

I sat up slowly, the sheet slipping from my shoulders. My clothes were scattered across the floor, a mess of torn fabric and discarded buttons. My fingers brushed the faint marks on my neck and collarbone, proof of what had happened between us.

I clutched the sheet tighter. My heart pounded, guilt clawing at my throat. Goddess!

Images of Yara’s tear-streaked face flashed in my mind, followed by my father’s cold, condemning gaze. I’d betrayed them both. My sister. My pack. Myself.

I buried my face in my hands, but the memories wouldn’t stop. His touch, his voice, the way he made me feel like I belonged to him and no one else.

Tears pricked at my eyes as the truth finally dawned on me.

Oh, Goddess. What have I done?

*********

A sharp knock at the door made me gasp in surprise. For a wild moment, I thought it was Jaxon; I even hoped it was. Maybe he’d left to clear his head and was back, ready to say something, anything, that would make sense of what we had done last night.

I stood to my feet, wrapping my sheets around myself and walking towards the door. But when I pulled the door open, my heart stopped.

It wasn't Jaxon, but Yara.

Her eyes were red and swollen, dark circles shadowing her face. Her blonde curls were a tangled mess, and the moment her gaze landed on me, I saw the way her eyes widened.

"You..." Her voice cracked. "What did you do last night?"

"We..." I gripped the doorframe, my stomach twisting into knots. "Yara, please...."

"Don’t," she whispered, shaking her head. Her blue eyes darted past me, taking in the rumpled sheets and the discarded clothing. Her face twisted. "Tell me it’s not true."

I couldn’t.

"Tell me Jaxon wasn’t here last night," she begged. "Please, Raven. Tell me."

My lips parted, but no words came out. The silence was enough answer already. Then her eyes dropped to my neck.

I knew what she saw: the fresh marks on my skin, the proof of what had happened between Jaxon and me. The fact that Jaxon had marked me as his mate forever.

A strangled sound tore from her throat, somewhere between a sob and a gasp. "Oh, Goddess." She staggered backwards, away from me.

"Yara, I..."

"You slept with him," she whispered, her voice hollow. "You made him mark you as his mate!"

I reached for her desperately, but she recoiled as though I had burned her. Her expression shifted and her grief turned to something sharper. Angrier.

Suddenly she raised her hand, and her palm met my cheek before I even saw it coming.

The slap rang through the room and the sting spread across my skin.

"You traitor!" she screamed. "You... You’re my sister!"

Tears burned my eyes, but I didn’t move, didn’t defend myself. I knew I deserved this.

"I loved him, Raven!" she sobbed. "I loved him, and you..." Her fingers curled into balls at her sides. "How could you?"

I opened my mouth, scrambling for something to say, but nothing would make this right.

"Raven?"

I turned to see Jaxon stepping into my room. His scent hit me first: rain and steel. Then his presence filled the room, and my pulse picked up just from the sight of him.

Yara turned to him, eyes glistening with fresh tears. "Tell me it’s a lie," she begged. "Tell me you didn’t!"

Jaxon didn’t look away. With a blank face, he replied. "Raven is my mate, Yara. That's not something I can change."

Yara’s breath shuddered. Her entire body started to shake, and for a moment, I thought she might collapse.

"And last night," Jaxon continued, "we sealed the bond."

A sob ripped from Yara’s throat. "No," she whispered. "No, no, no!"

It was as though she needed to hear it from him to believe.

"I hate you!" she shrieked, stumbling backward. Her blue eyes that used to be so full of love for me, now blazed with betrayal. "I hate both of you!"

She turned and ran while I stood frozen, watching as my sister disappeared, her sobs echoing down the hall.

And all I could think was that I had lost her forever.

The room was still spinning from Yara’s words when the door burst open again.

This time, it wasn’t her.

Five warriors flooded in, their heavy boots pounding against the wooden floor. I barely had a second to react before rough hands clamped around my arms.

“Raven Wilder,” My father's Beta Rhys announced. “Alpha Viktor has summoned you.”

The way he said Alpha Viktor, like the man wasn't my father, made me blanch with surprise.

Jaxon moved first, stepping between me and Beta Rhys. “Let her go, Rhys. She has done nothing wrong.”

Rhys barely looked at him. “This is a pack matter, Alpha Jaxon. Stand down.”

“She is my mate!" Jaxon snarled. “She belongs with me. Leave her alone!"”

Rhys finally turned to face him. “Your claim does not erase her crimes.”

Crimes?!

"Being my mate is not a crime!" Jaxon roared. Before I could stop him, his hands were around Rhys' neck, and he was pressing the man against the opposite wall.

"Tell your guards to get their filthy hands off my mate!" He snarled. "Or I swear on the Goddess, I will rip you open from neck to groin, damn the consequences!"

"Jaxon!" I called out. "It's okay. He's my father. What's the worst that can happen?"

Jaxon stared at me with those jade green eyes, as if silently telling me all the worst things that could actually happen. Slowly he released Rhys and stepped back, but I knew my mate was far from calm. I saw the way he fisted his hands, like he was fighting the urge to punch a few faces.

I didn’t fight the warriors as they dragged me out of the room. I didn’t resist when we stepped into the hallway or when we descended the stairs. My body moved, but my mind was numb.

Then we stepped outside to see that the courtyard was full.

Pack members stood in clusters, whispering and watching. I felt their stares burn into me. I heard their words.

Shameless.

Disgraceful.

Poor Princess Yara.

I lifted my chin, refusing to let them see how much it hurt.

My father stood at the top of the steps, arms folded over his chest. His face was cold. His jaw was locked tight, his eyes were dark. The last time I had seen him look like this was when I was fifteen, and I'd stolen a sword from the armoury to train. Princesses don't use swords, my father had told me, still with that dark look in his eyes.

But now, all hopes of mercy died in my chest when I saw the look. My father wasn’t just angry. He was disgusted.

The warriors forced me to my knees.

My father stepped forward. “Raven Wilder.” His voice carried over the courtyard. “You have dishonored your sister, and you have dishonored your pack by stealing her mate.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Father, please!"

“You are no daughter of mine,” he cut in. "You shouldn't have done this to your sister."

The words hit harder than any punishment I'd suffered from stealing a sword.

Jaxon stepped forward. “Alpha Viktor, with all due respect...”

“There is no respect left here, Alpha Jaxon,” my father interrupted. “You have disrespected my family and humiliated my daughter.” He turned back to me. “You are no longer a warrior of this pack.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

My heart sank to the bottom of my shoes. "Father, don’t do this. Being a warrior is all I have known for..."

“You are stripped of your rank,” he continued like he didn't hear me. “From this moment on, you are no longer a fighter, no longer an Alpha’s seed. You will live among the omegas and serve them as they see fit.”

A dull roar filled my ears. Jaxon moved fast, but the warriors moved faster. Three of them stepped between us, blocking him from reaching me.

“You cannot do this,” Jaxon growled. “She is mine. She belongs with me!"

My father ignored him. “Take her away.”

Hands grabbed me again. My body jerked forward. “Jaxon!” I cried out, twisting against their hold.

He fought. He struggled against the warriors holding him back, but even he was outnumbered. I glanced around wildly, looking for Yara. I knew she was the only one who could change our father's mind. If only I could plead with her.

Yara stood in the crowd, her arms wrapped around herself. Her face was blank and her blue eyes were empty. A few other women were parting her back and giving me dark stares.

I turned to her desperately. “Yara, please. Say something. Please, beg father!”

Yara didn’t move. The girl I had grown up with, the sister who had always smiled at me, was gone forever.

“Yara.” My voice broke. “I am still your sister.”

She lifted her chin and finally spoke. “Not anymore.”

The words cut deeper than my father’s, and I barely felt it when they dragged me away. I felt numb as they shoved me into a small, dark room in the servants’ quarters. I felt like dying when the door slammed shut behind me.

I stood there, staring at the walls. I was no longer Raven Wilder, the Alpha’s daughter.

I was an Omega now.