chapter 3
579 Words
The Alpha Who Rejected His Moon Queen
By MALLO Royale
Chapter Three
Banished
A cold wind swept through the ceremonial grounds.
Seraphina lay motionless on the stone floor as murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Is she dead?"
"No... she's still breathing."
"What was that silver light?"
Elder Rowan stepped forward, resting two fingers against her wrist. A frown creased his weathered face.
"Take her to the infirmary," he ordered.
Before anyone could move, Alpha Lucien raised a hand.
"Leave her."
The command silenced the gathering.
One of the pack elders looked at him in disbelief.
"My Alpha, the rejection has already wounded her soul. She needs treatment."
Lucien's expression remained unreadable.
"She is no longer my concern."
His words struck harder than the rejection itself.
The warriors lowered their heads.
Even those who had mocked Seraphina felt a flicker of pity.
She had lost everything in a single night.
As Lucien turned away, his wolf roared inside him.
You are making a mistake!
He ignored it.
He had spent years preparing for this moment.
The prophecy had warned him.
"The Alpha who binds himself to the girl marked by the moon shall watch his kingdom burn."
He refused to become the Alpha who destroyed Blackwood.
No matter the cost.
Hours later...
Seraphina slowly opened her eyes.
The celebration had ended.
The bonfires had burned to ash.
She was alone.
Pain spread through every part of her body.
Not just physical pain.
A deeper wound.
A wound inside her soul.
Tears rolled silently down her cheeks.
"So..."
"This is what rejection feels like."
She struggled to her feet.
The small cottage she called home stood at the edge of the village.
When she reached it, a crowd was already waiting.
Mira stood in front, arms crossed.
"So the rejected mate has returned."
Laughter erupted.
Another woman threw Seraphina's bag onto the muddy ground.
"You don't belong here anymore."
Someone else tossed out her blankets.
Then her books.
Then the herbs she had spent months collecting.
"They're throwing me out..." Seraphina whispered.
Elder Rowan stepped forward, unable to meet her eyes.
"The Alpha has issued his judgment."
"You are banished from Blackwood Pack."
Her knees nearly gave way.
"This has been my home since I was a child."
"It is no longer your home."
A folded piece of parchment was placed in her trembling hands.
It bore the Alpha King's seal.
The order was short.
"Seraphina Ashbourne is hereby stripped of all rights and exiled beyond the borders of Blackwood Pack before sunrise."
She looked around.
Not one familiar face defended her.
Not one voice spoke on her behalf.
Everything she had ever known had vanished.
Without another word, she knelt and gathered the few belongings left untouched.
A worn cloak.
A small leather satchel.
And the silver pendant that had been with her for as long as she could remember.
She placed the pendant around her neck.
For a brief second...
It glowed.
She frowned.
"Why does this necklace keep reacting?"
Before dawn...
Seraphina crossed the border stones marking the end of Blackwood territory.
She paused only once.
Looking back, she whispered,
"I hope... I never return."
The moment she stepped beyond the border...
A pair of crimson eyes watched from the shadows.
A deep voice echoed through the darkness.
"Protect her."
"Do not let the Alpha's spies find her."
Several cloaked figures bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Hidden beneath the hood, the Vampire King smiled.
"The game has finally begun."
- Writer
