Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the Beast
And it was the loneliest feeling in the world.
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### The Shadow in the Green
We walked together through the new forest. It was everything we had ever dreamed of. The air was perfect. The water was clear. The people were free.
But as the sun began to set, casting long, golden shadows through the trees, I saw something that stopped me cold.
On the trunk of a massive oak tree, the bark was beginning to turn **Violet**.
It wasn't the violet of the Origin. It was a dark, bruised color. And as I watched, a single drop of black sap dripped from a branch, landing on a white flower. The flower withered instantly, turning into a pile of gray ash.