Chapter 2

Everyone Knew

Rowan's POV

Pain dragged me back to consciousness.

For a moment, I didn't know where I was.

Then I felt the empty ache in my chest.

The broken bond and the rejection.

Damon.

Ryan.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Maybe if I stayed still, it would disappear. Maybe it had all been a nightmare. But the pain remained, merciless. 

A low whimper escaped my throat. The infirmary smelled of herbs and medicine. God. I hated it. I hated that I was here. I hated that Damon had put me here.

 The healer glanced up from her desk and said:

"You're awake." I sat up without saying a word. The movement sent another wave of pain through my body.

"How long?" I asked.

 "A few hours." She answered. I nodded.

Has anyone come for me?

The healer shakes her head.

Not even Damon, my parents or even Ryan? 

She shakes his head again. That realization shouldn't have hurt, but it did.

The healer sighed and looked away. Guilt flashed from her face.

 Something twisted inside me.

 "Did you know?" I asked. 

The question slipped out before I could stop it.

She sighed. That was enough to answer.

My stomach dropped. Even her? 

The healer who had treated me since I was a child, knew. I laughed bitterly. The sound echoed through the room.

"Of course." She said, No one said a word.

I climbed out of bed. My legs nearly gave out. 

The healer moved to help me. I stepped away.

"I don't need your pity." I yelled.

Her face paled. 

I walked out before she could say another word.

The pack grounds were busy despite the late hour. Some warriors trained, servants carried supplies. Children played near the central square. Life continued, while I'm lying here dying in silence.

As if my world hadn't ended, as if nothing had happened. 

Their heads turned when they saw me. A silent whisper followed. I heard every single one.

"That's him."

"The rejected mate."

"I heard Alpha Damon chose Ryan."

"They look better together anyway."

My chest was twisting in my stomach, but I kept walking anyway. A group of warriors stood near the training field. They didn't notice me approaching. Or maybe they simply didn't care.

"Honestly, everyone knew Damon preferred Ryan." One of them laughed. "I thought Rowan figured it out months ago."

The others nodded.

Months? I whispered under my heavy breathing.

The ground seemed to tilt inside my feet. Almost everyone knew. Not just a few people, everyone. In every smile, every conversation and every gathering, they all knew. And they watched me make a fool of myself.

I turned away before they noticed me listening. My vision blurred. I refused to cry, not here, not in front of them.

I made my way home. The place felt smaller than I remembered. Like I no longer belonged, maybe I never had.

Voices drifted from the dining room. My parents. I stopped outside the doorway, part of me wanted to leave and the other part needed answers. I stepped inside. The conversation stopped instantly.

My mother frowned, my father sighed and

Ryan looked guilty. I hated that expression. Guilt changed nothing.

"Rowan," my mother called. I stared at her, hoping for one last time.

She could still prove she cared, just once.

Instead, she said, "You should have knocked." I almost laughed because that was her concern. Not the rejection, not the betrayal, not even my shattered bond. But knocking?

Something inside me went cold.

Ryan stood and said: "Rowan, please listen to me— No. 

I cut him off. My voice was calm, too calm. His face tightened and my father stood and folded his arms.

"You're upsetting everyone here." He said.

I looked at them all. No one looked ashamed. No one.

“Did you know?" I asked.

The answer was obvious. Still, I needed to hear it.

My mother's eyes lowered. My father avoided my eyes and Ryan started crying again. 

God. I felt sick.

"You knew?" I asked them. But no one denied it.

 The room spun around me. 

"All of us knew, but we didn't want anyone getting hurt." My mother said.

 I stared at her, and laughed. A broken, bitter sound.

"That's funny and you know that, right." I said and no one responded.

I took a step back. My father still standing, sighed.

"Ryan deserves happiness too." He said.

The words hit harder than the rejection. For years, for my entire life. It had always been Ryan.

Ryan deserves this, Ryan deserves that, Ryan is special, Ryan is important and Ryan is loved.

And me? I was simply there. An inconvenience, a mistake, and a burden.

I looked at my mother, and for the first time, I realized she had never chosen me, not once.

"Get out." He commanded.

Ryan blinked.

"What?"

"I said get out." He repeated. 

My wolf growled deep inside my skin. 

The room filled with tension. 

My father moved closer and said: "Watch your tone, remember he is your brother."

I laughed again and this time, everyone flinched.

"Why?" I asked. 

"You never cared what happened to me before." No one answered, because it was the truth.

Ryan moved in front of me.

"Rowan—stay away from me."  He said.

He stopped, good. I didn't want him near me, I didn't want his apologies and I didn't even want his excuses. Talk of his fucking lies.

I turned away and walked out. No one followed me. No one called me back. No one cared enough to try.

The pack square was crowded when I reached there. A large group had gathered near the main hall. My curiosity pulled me closer.

Then I saw them. Damon and Ryan standing together side by side smiling. Less than a day after the rejection. The crowd cheered, as if they were witnessing some great love story.

My stomach twisted badly. 

Damon's arm wrapped around Ryan's waist. Ryan leaned into him, comfortable and happy. Like he hadn't destroyed my life. I backed away before they saw me.

The cheering followed me all the way home. By the time I reached my room, I could barely breathe, so I shut the door and locked it up and slid to the floor. 

The whole silence felt suffocating.

I stared at the walls, at the room I'd lived in my entire life. And nothing felt familiar anymore.

A sudden knock broke my thoughts. Three taps. I wiped my face and stood. When I opened the door, a pack servant waited for me outside.

 His face was uncomfortable and sympathetic. I hated that too.

"What is it?" I asked

He handed me the folded document and said:

 “It’s an order from the Alpha."

I took it and the servant hurriedly left. I unfolded the paper. The Alpha's seal stared back at me.

My hands trembled as I opened them. I read the words and the little air left in my lungs vanished.

Effective immediately, Rowan Nightshade is stripped of all pack privileges and ordered to leave pack territory within seventy-two hours.

I read it again and again, hoping the words would change, but they didn't.

My mate, the very man who once promised me forever, had just made me homeless. 

And for the first time since the rejection, I realized something horrible.

I had nowhere to go.