Chapter Three

3. Alone in the hands of death

Leticia

“No matter what you do, Leticia… you will never become my Luna.” Those words followed me even after Arnold left the room.

I kept staring at the door long after it closed, hoping he would come back and tell me he didn’t mean it. My chest still hurts badly from the rejection. It felt like something had ripped open inside me and refused to close again.

Margaret sat comfortably on the sofa like she belonged there already. The Luna ring rested perfectly on her finger while she admired it under the light. “You should stop crying,” she said casually. “It’s starting to look desperate.”

I wiped my face quickly and looked away from her. My stomach hurt from the stress and standing too long, but I refused to let her notice.

The bedroom door opened suddenly and two guards walked inside. What again? A death sentence?

“The elders are waiting in the pack hall.”

My brows pulled together immediately. “At this hour?”

Neither of them answered me.

Margaret smiled slowly. “Looks like the pack finally got tired of pretending.” Her tone made me uneasy immediately

I stood carefully from the bed and followed the guards outside. Margaret walked behind me quietly. I could already feel the stares before we even reached the stairs.

Pack members filled the hallways whispering the moment they saw us.

“She’s being summoned?”

“I heard Alpha Arnold is done with her.”

“She should’ve known she could never replace Margaret.”

I lowered my eyes and kept walking. By the time we reached the pack hall, my chest already felt tight.

The large doors opened and my steps slowed immediately. The pack elders were already seated. Warriors stood near the walls while pack members filled almost every corner watching me quietly.

Then my eyes searched for Arnold automatically.

He wasn’t there.

Beta Mark wasn’t there either.

Mira pushed through the crowd immediately when she saw me. “What’s going on?”

Gamma James stepped forward before anyone else could answer.

“Leticia Hales.”

The hall slowly became quiet.

“As ordered by Alpha Arnold Reid, you are hereby banished from Nightshade Pack.”

My breathing stopped. For a second I thought I heard him wrong.

“What?” Mira snapped immediately.

“These are Alpha orders,” Gamma Lucas replied calmly.

“No.” I shook my head quickly. “Arnold wouldn’t do this.”

“He already did.”

“Where is he?” My voice cracked slightly. “I want to speak to him.”

“He left for the southern borders an hour ago.”

Pain hit me so suddenly that I almost lost balance.

He left? Without seeing me? Without saying anything?

Margaret stepped forward smoothly beside me. “You really thought Arnold would keep you here after tonight?”

“That’s enough,” Mira hissed.

Margaret ignored her completely. “She embarrassed him publicly in front of the pack.”

“She’s carrying his child!” Mira shouted.

“And?” Margaret replied coldly.

Even Mora looked uncomfortable now. “My brother never mentioned banishment.”

Gamma James folded his arms. “The Alpha already made his decision.”

“Beta Mark would never agree to this,” Mira snapped angrily.

“He accompanied the Alpha.”

Mora frowned immediately after hearing that answer but before she could speak, one of the elders interrupted.

“Nightshade Pack cannot afford weakness beside the Alpha.”

Another elder nodded. “The pack already lost faith in her.”

“She cannot shift.”

“She comes from Frostfall blood.”

“She was never fit to stand beside Alpha Arnold.”

Every word landed painfully inside my chest.

I stood there quietly while strangers discussed my worth like I wasn’t even human.

Then suddenly Ethan’s voice echoed from the staircase.

“No!”

Everyone turned immediately.

Ethan ran toward me angrily and hugged my waist tightly. “You can’t take Letty away!”

Tears burned my eyes instantly.

Mira rushed toward him. “Ethan…”

“No!” He looked around the hall angrily. “She didn’t do anything bad!”

Margaret sighed loudly. “Someone take him upstairs.”

Ethan held me tighter immediately. “I don’t want Margaret!”

The hall became awkwardly silent.

Gamma James looked irritated now. “Take the child away.”

Two maids hurried toward Ethan nervously.

He started crying immediately when they tried pulling him away from me. “No! Letty!”

I bent carefully despite the pain in my stomach and touched his face softly. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” he cried.

My chest hurt so badly I could barely breathe.

Mira finally carried him away while he kept reaching toward me.

That moment shattered something inside me completely.

The hall became quiet again after they left.

Gamma James looked toward the guards. “Escort her outside the territory.”

“This is wrong,” Mira snapped from the stairs.

Nobody answered her. Because everyone knew she was right. I slowly looked around the hall one last time hoping someone would stop this madness.

Nobody did.

Not one person.

The guards moved beside me and I finally turned toward the doors quietly. The whispers started immediately again.

“She really got abandoned.”

“A rejected mate while pregnant…”

“Margaret was always the better choice.”

Margaret didn’t deny it. She only smiled proudly.

The cold air outside hit my skin immediately the moment I stepped out of the estate. The celebration lights from earlier had dimmed already and the entire place suddenly looked unfamiliar to me.

One of the guards carelessly handed me a small bag. “Food.”

I stared at the Nightshade gates quietly. Just last night Arnold touched my stomach and asked if I had eaten properly. Two days ago he held me close while half asleep like he was afraid to let go. What about the clothes he bought? Was he dolling me up for our last moment?

Now I was leaving alone.

Rejected.

Banished.

Forgotten.

The massive gates slowly opened and I stepped outside the territory quietly. The moment I crossed the boundary line, the gates shut heavily behind me.

I stopped walking immediately. Part of me still expected Arnold to stop this, to come after me, to tell me there had been a mistake. A painful laugh escaped my lips before I turned toward the woods ahead and started walking slowly.

The deeper I walked into the forest, the colder the night became. My legs already hurt badly, but I kept moving while holding my stomach carefully. My body still felt weak from earlier and the rejection pain spreading through the mate bond refused to settle.

Everything felt unreal.

My mate rejected me.

He and his pack banished me.

And somehow I still missed him.

I kept walking until the silence around me started feeling strange. Then I heard footsteps behind me. I stopped immediately and turned around, but there was nothing there except trees moving slowly with the wind. I almost convinced myself I was imagining things until I heard it again.

This time closer.

A low laugh echoed behind me and fear crawled slowly into my chest.

Rogues.

My breathing became uneven immediately and I tightened my hand around my stomach before forcing myself to walk faster. Branches scratched against my arms as I moved deeper into the woods, but the footsteps behind me only became louder.

Then another voice echoed behind me.

“Well… what do we have here?”

My heart dropped instantly.

Just like that, I was alone in the hands of death.