Lyanna's POV
I woke up choking on dirt.
My face pressed against the ground where the rogues had been seconds before. But they were gone. Only their paw prints remained in the mud, circling where I lay like they'd been studying me.
Why didn't they attack?
My body screamed with rejection pain as I pushed myself to my hands and knees. Every muscle felt like it was tearing apart. My wolf whimpered weakly inside me, barely alive after Dante's rejection.
"Get up," a cold voice commanded.
I looked up. Two of Dante's warriors stood over me, their expressions disgusted. Behind them, the lights of the pack ceremony still glowed through the trees. I could hear music and laughter. They were celebrating while I was dying.
"I said get up, omega." The bigger warrior, Marcus, grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet. Pain shot through my shoulder.
"Wait," I gasped. "The rogues—they were just here—"
"Shut up." The other warrior, Cole, grabbed my other arm. "Alpha's orders. You're being escorted off pack lands."
"Escorted?" I laughed, but it came out as a sob. "You mean dragged."
Marcus's grip tightened until I cried out. "You should be grateful the Alpha is letting you live. After the lies you spread, you deserve worse."
"I never lied!" The words burst out of me. "I never told anyone we were mates! Dante's the one who—"
Cole slapped me.
My head snapped to the side, and I tasted blood. My wolf tried to surge forward to defend us, but she was too broken. We were helpless.
"Don't speak his name," Cole snarled. "You're not worthy to say it."
They started dragging me back toward the pack grounds. I tried to walk, but my legs kept giving out. The rejection pain made everything blur together. Every few steps, I stumbled, and they just pulled harder.
We emerged from the trees into the pack clearing. The ceremony was still going. Wolves danced around the bonfire. Children played. Couples held hands.
No one looked at me.
"Move faster," Marcus growled, shoving me forward.
I fell, my knees hitting the ground hard. My grandmother's dress ripped even more. The beautiful white fabric she'd worn at her own bonding ceremony was now covered in dirt and blood.
"I'm sorry, Grandma," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"Get up!" Cole kicked my side.
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. But I forced myself to stand because I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of dragging me the whole way.
We passed the pack house where I'd worked as record keeper for three years. My small room was on the third floor. All my grandmother's books were in there—the only things I had left of her.
"My things," I said. "Please, just let me get—"
"You take nothing," Marcus interrupted. "Alpha's orders."
"But those books were my grandmother's! They're all I have—"
"Should've thought about that before you tried to trap an Alpha with your lies." Cole laughed. "Pathetic omega trash."
We walked through the center of the pack grounds. Wolves who'd smiled at me yesterday now looked away. Mrs. Chen, who I'd helped with her garden every week, spat on the ground as I passed. Little Tommy, who I'd taught to read, threw a rock that hit my shoulder.
My heart broke all over again.
These people were my family. I'd grown up with them. Played with their children. Helped them when they needed it. And now they hated me because Dante said to.
Then I saw Seraphina.
She stood near the platform with Dante, wearing a red dress that showed she was his chosen mate now. When she saw me, she smiled—that cruel, cold smile that looked nothing like my best friend.
She walked over, and the warriors stopped.
"Seraphina," I breathed. "Please. Tell them the truth. You know I never—"
"Never what?" She tilted her head. "Never threw yourself at an Alpha who was way above your level? Never embarrassed yourself by thinking you could be Luna?"
"You know that's not true! You were there when Dante first told me we were mates! You helped me pick out this dress!"
She laughed. "Is that what you think happened? Poor, delusional Lyanna. I helped you pick that dress so you'd look extra pathetic when Dante rejected you tonight. We planned this for weeks."
The ground seemed to disappear beneath my feet. "What?"
"Did you really think Dante loved you?" Seraphina leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "He was disgusted every time you touched him. He only kept you around because it was funny watching you hope. And I only pretended to be your friend because he asked me to."
"You're lying." But my voice shook.
"Am I? Tell me, Lyanna, did Dante ever kiss you? Ever hold your hand in public? Ever do anything that suggested he cared?" Her smile widened. "No. Because you're nothing. You always were. And now everyone knows it."
She turned and walked back to Dante, who wrapped his arm around her waist. They looked perfect together—strong, beautiful, everything an Alpha and Luna should be.
Everything I wasn't.
"Move," Marcus ordered, dragging me forward again.
We reached the pack border, the invisible line that separated pack lands from the Forbidden Forest. Once they threw me across it, I'd be packless. Rogue. Anyone could kill me, and no one would care.
"Please," I tried one last time. "I have nowhere to go. The Forbidden Forest—wolves die there. The rogues—"
"Not our problem." Cole shoved me hard.
I stumbled across the border line, falling into the dark forest. Behind me, I heard the warriors laughing.
"Don't come back," Marcus called. "Alpha's orders are clear. If you try to return, we kill you on sight."
Their footsteps faded away.
I lay there in the darkness, completely alone.
My wolf whimpered, barely conscious. The rejection pain pulsed through every part of me. And now I was packless too, which meant I'd lost the protection and strength that came from being part of a pack.
I was weaker than I'd ever been in my life.
A howl echoed through the forest. Close. Too close.
Then another howl answered from a different direction.
The rogues were back.
And this time, I heard them running.