VEYRA POV
The moon was full, and I was about to lose everything to Kaelthar my ruthless mate.
"I, Kaelthar Veyrin, Alpha of the Obsidian Fang Pack, reject you Veyra Nyx, as my mate."
The words hit me before I could process them. No ceremony, just rejection in front of everyone.
The mate bond broke immediately with a deep pain that made me scream.
The pain was fire and ice tearing through my chest, ripping apart something I didn't even know could break this way.
My knees slammed into the dirt and I doubled over, gasping, choking on air that wouldn't come.
"The prophecy is clear," Kaelthar continued, his voice cold and distant. "The Moon's daughter shall bring the Obsidian Fang to ruin. I will not allow sentiment to destroy this pack."
I forced my head up, forced myself to look at him through the blinding pain. He wasn't even meeting my eyes.
"You're wrong," I managed, blood on my tongue from biting through my lip. "The prophecy—"
"Is about you," Elder Mordain cut in, satisfaction dripping from every word. "We cannot risk our pack for one weak wolf who can barely shift."
Weak. Always weak.
The pack murmured their agreement. Some even laughed.
I should've begged. Should've cried for mercy. That's what they wanted.
"You'll regret this," I said instead, locking eyes with Kaelthar. "You just made the prophecy inevitable."
Fear flickered across his face. Just for a second.
"Remove her from pack lands," he ordered. "She is banished."
The crowd cheered.
No one defended me.
Not even Lyssa, who I'd thought was my friend. She just stood there, silent and useless.
I pushed myself up, swaying, the broken bond screaming inside me.
But I walked.
Turned my back on all of them and walked into the darkness.
I made it to the trees before I collapsed.
Then I crawled and dragged myself forward until my hands bled.
The bond was gone and normally I should've been dying.
But something else was waking up.
FINALLY. My wolf's voice crashed through my head, loud, ancient and furious. "Finally we're free."
"We're dying," I choked out.
No. We're being reborn. My wolf said.
Heat exploded through me.
My bones cracked and I screamed, but this time it was different.
Not the failed shifts I'd suffered through before. This was real.
My hands changed first. Not weak, half-formed paws but powerful and perfect. Glowing with silver light.
My eyes burned.
I felt them shift from brown to something else, something that made the darkness pull back.
Silver. With gold.
What's happening?
"They rejected the weak girl" my wolf snarled. "Now let's show them what they've unleashed."
The transformation took me completely. When I opened my eyes again, everything was sharper.
I could smell the pack in the distance, smell their fear.
I looked down.
White fur and massive body, twice the size of any wolf I'd ever seen. An aura that glowed like moonlight.
I was beautiful.
I was powerful.
I howled, and the sound shook the trees.
Behind me, the pack howled back. But theirs was fear.
Good, my wolf purred. Let them fear what they created.
I ran into the wilderness, leaving behind the weak girl who couldn't survive.
My eyes still burning silver as unknown power surged through my body.
They thought they destroyed me.
They only set me free.