3. Alone

The omega district sat at the far edge of the pack territory.

I had passed through it before but not as someone who belonged there.

The difference felt enormous; the houses were smaller than the ones near the center of the pack. The roads were uneven. Paint peeled from walls. Roofs sagged under years of neglect.

Nobody smiled as I dragged my suitcase down the narrow dirt road.

A few people glanced at me, then glanced away and others didn’t bother hiding their curiosity.

I kept my eyes forward. If I looked at them, I might see pity or worse.

The room I rented was barely large enough to fit a bed, a chair, and a small dresser. I stood in the doorway for several seconds.

This was it, this was what remained of my life.

Yesterday, I had lived in the Beta House and today, I lived here.

The thought should have made me cry but instead, I felt strangely numb.

I set my suitcase on the bed, the mattress creaked beneath its weight. The sound echoed through the tiny room, for the first time since leaving home, silence surrounded me.

There was no Selene, mother or father. Not even Remus, the  thought hurt as I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall.

The mate bond still lingered like an open wound.

I hated him, I hated myself for missing him.

A knock sounded at the door, I opened it to find an elderly omega woman holding a key.

“You’re the new tenant?”I nodded.

She handed me the key.

“Bathroom’s down the hall.” Her gaze lingered on my face on the fading mark from my mother’s slap.

Recognition flashed in her eyes.

My stomach sank.

She knew, the woman hesitated, then she sighed.

“Keep your head down.”She turned and walked away.

The words followed me long after she disappeared.

***

By afternoon, the rumors had spread everywhere not because people had witnessed anything but because they preferred the story they had created.

I discovered that when I entered a small dining hall near the district center, the conversations stopped just enough for me to notice.

A few seconds later, the whispering started.

“That’s her.”

“The Alpha’s mistress.”

I froze.

“I heard she planned it.”

“No surprise.”

“Her mother was a servant.”

Laughter followed as I gripped my tray tighter.

The food suddenly looked unappetizing. I forced myself to keep walking but every table seemed occupied not because there were no empty seats but because people suddenly found reasons to fill them.

One woman placed her bag on an empty chair before I could sit down and another group turned their backs.

I stood there for several seconds, then quietly carried my food outside.

The laughter followed me, I sat alone beneath a tree.

The soup had gone cold before I finished half of it.

***

The days blurred together, everywhere I went, people stared, conversation stopped when I approached.

Some wolves whispered, others didn’t bother.

One afternoon, I passed two young women carrying baskets.

“Imagine sleeping with your sister’s mate.”

The other laughed.

“Imagine thinking that would make you Luna.”

I kept walking but they laughed harder.

The sound followed me all the way home.

Another day, someone deliberately bumped into me near the market.

My groceries spilled across the ground, apples rolled through the dirt.

The wolf never apologized, he simply stepped over them and continued walking, everyone saw but nobody helped.

I picked them up myself, by the fourth day, I stopped expecting kindness.

By the fifth, I stopped looking people in the eye.

By the sixth, I understood exactly what my father had done.

He hadn’t simply thrown me out.

He had made sure everyone knew I deserved it.

A week after my exile, things got worse.

I was returning from the market when voices erupted behind me.

A group of young wolves stood near the fountain.

The moment they spotted me, their expressions brightened like children spotting a toy.

“Look who it is.”

I didn’t answer but kept walking.

“Hey.”

I still ignored them.

“Didn’t the Alpha satisfy you?”

Laughter exploded around the square, heat rushed into my face.

My steps faltered that was all the encouragement they needed.

“Maybe she’s looking for another Alpha.”

“Good luck.”

“She couldn’t even keep the first one.”

More laughter.

The humiliation burned, every instinct told me to run but running would only make it worse.

So I kept walking with my head high and heart breaking then I saw them across the square.

My father, mother and Selene. For one terrible moment, hope surged inside me. It happened automatically before I could stop it.

They were my family, surely they would say something or do something

The laughter grew louder, Selene looked in my direction, our eyes met just for a second then she looked away.

My mother did the same as though she didn’t know me and he hope died instantly.

But my father…stopped walking, the young wolves immediately fell silent. Respect straightened their posture.

I straightened without meaning to. My fingers tightened around the grocery bag, father had stopped walking.

My father glanced at the group then at me. His face hardened.

“If she causes trouble again, report it.”

My breath caught, the wolves exchanged surprised looks.

Father continued.

“I already told everyone.”His voice carried clearly across the square.“I have no daughter by that name.”

The words struck harder than any slap, the square went silent.

My father turned away, my mother followed, then Selene.

None of them looked back, they simply left leaving me standing there alone

The whispers returned moments later, softer this time but crueler somehow.

I couldn’t hear the words. I didn’t need to.

I walked away before anyone could see the tears gathering in my eyes.

And that night, I sat on the edge of my bed, the room felt smaller than ever.

My mother’s photograph rested in my hands, I traced her smile with my thumb.

A woman I had never met. A woman who had never abandoned me unlike everyone else.

The tears finally came quietly as I  stared at the photograph.

As I look at the face of the only person who might have loved me unconditionally, then I whispered the truth I had spent years trying not to believe.

“They never wanted me.”

The words hung in the darkness because for the first time in my life, I finally understood something.

I remembered being seven years old, standing at the front gate with a handmade birthday card hidden behind my back.

Father never came home that night, I waited until the candles melted, then I threw the card away. Somehow, I was still waiting.

I pressed the photograph against my chest.

The room was silent.

The was no family, home or anyone waiting for me and for the first time in my life, I understood what exile really meant.