Chapter 8

Vivian collapsed into Adrian's embrace, crying her heart out. In the heat of the argument, the shattered moonstone tumbled to the floor, landing right next to the snapped Moonbond Cord.

My inner wolf let out a sound I had never heard before. A wild mix between a scream and a desperate whine, it bounced around inside me again and again.

My awakening and the ripping of the bond crashed together, tearing me apart from the inside out and twisting my guts into a mess.

Everyone started whispering.

"Is she crazy? She has not even gone through her awakening, yet she claims she is the Alpha's fated mate."

"How pathetic. Even now, she is still clinging to her delusions."

"Only a wolf as powerful as Vivian deserves to be our Luna. No one else comes close."

"Please, Alpha, throw her out. She does not belong in our pack, and she dared to lay hands on our future Luna."

Vivian shrank into Adrian's arms, her whole body trembling as she buried her face in his chest, like I had scared her.

Her voice was small and shaky with tears, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Adrian, please, send her away. I'm so scared. I'm going to have nightmares."

Adrian stared at me for a long, heavy moment. His deep amber eyes were utterly unreadable, as lifeless and still as a lake with no wind.

Then he spoke, his voice low, "Selene, if these words are what you need to finally let go, then listen closely."

My whole body started trembling, from my fingertips down to my teeth. I knew what he was about to say. So did my wolf. She screamed inside me, and that silver howl nearly broke my mind apart.

He said, "I, Adrian Blackwood, Alpha of the Nightshade Pack, in the presence of the Moon Goddess and our ancestors, reject you, Selene, as my fated mate. From this moment on, the fated bond between us is broken. All ties between us are severed."

A metallic taste filled my mouth, and warm blood trickled from the corner of my lips onto the stone floor.

When the bond snapped, it felt like someone had torn a hole right through my chest. My whole body seemed to be ripping apart from the inside, every inch of skin burning beneath the surface.

My wolf let out one last howl and then went quiet, growing weaker in my mind.

My knees crashed onto the stone floor, my hands bracing myself as my fingers slid through blood and moonlight.

I tried to speak, but my throat was choked with blood. Not a single word would come out. All I could spit out was frothy blood.

After Adrian finished speaking, his right hand somehow pressed against his chest. His brow tightened for a moment, then relaxed, like nothing had happened.

"Take her away," he ordered. His voice was back to its usual cold, steady tone. Then he turned and disappeared into the shadows, leaving Vivian behind.

I was almost dragged out. Blood kept gushing from my mouth, and my legs were completely useless. My heels left long streaks across the stone floor.

They dumped me in the wasteland beyond the pack's territory. There were no roads, no markers, and no way to tell which direction I was facing.

Withered grass and jagged stones stretched in every direction. The wind cut in from all sides, sharp and biting cold.

Everyone else hung back, but Vivian was the only one who stepped right up to me.

She crouched down so we were eye to eye. The tear stains on her cheeks had disappeared, and there was no fear left in her eyes. Instead, she gave me a calm, indifferent smile.

Her voice was soft, but there was something cold in it I'd never heard before. She said, "Selene, if it weren't for your parents, I never would've gotten stuck here with this pack.

"My own pack would've taken me back. Instead, I lost my home because of you. Now I'm a wolf doomed to grovel forever, begging for a place to belong."

I stared at her helplessly, my lips moving without sound. I was too weak to utter a single word.

Back then, when she was on the verge of death, my parents rescued her from the wilderness. If it hadn't been for them, Vivian would not have survived at all. How could she say that?

Vivian stood up and looked down at me. "Who would have thought a loser like you, after years of swallowing poison, could still show a hint of awakening?

"But it doesn't matter now. It's over. So what if I lied to Adrian? No one is going to believe you. Once you're gone, I will be his one and only fated mate."

She scoffed, "Once you're out there, death is all that's waiting for you. Selene, enjoy being a stray wolf. Feel the same hopelessness I felt when I was dying."

With that, she turned and walked off.