Clawed by Betrayal

River's POV The forest tore at me as I ran, branches piercing my arms and face while my lungs hurt terribly from the effort. It felt as though I had lost the ability to breathe, fear the only thing propelling me to move. My legs felt lumpy and at some point I couldn't feel them anymore, but I didn’t stop—not with the bears crashing through the jungle behind me. I didn’t even have time to think about why they were after me until I made it out of the trees and the sound of their roar faded into the distance. That’s when I knew. It was a prank. Another one of the Crimson Pack’s twisted games. A sick joke at my expense. They have been at it for weeks now, slowly tormenting and torturing me and truth be told only a straw was left to break me. I staggered into the clearing, breath unstable, blood trickling down my thigh from a fresh gash. My clothes were torn and dirty, and my hair was tangled with leaves and twigs. I looked like hell. I felt like hell. But I was alive, thank God. I'm beginning to think that these people are truly after my life and this is beyond an antic. All I needed now was to see Gerald. My mate. My anchor. The one person who should care. I rounded the garden hedge, heart still pounding. And stopped dead in my tracks. There he was, standing underneath a fig tree—the very spot where he'd first called me his mate, just weeks ago. Where he whispered sweet nothings to me and stroked my cheek like I was the only thing that mattered in the world. Only now, his arms were around Clara. And he was kissing her. I couldn’t breathe. My throat closed around a scream that never came. I must’ve made a sound, though, because his head snapped up. “Gerald?” I managed, my voice barely above a whisper. His eyes definitely widened when he saw me—saw the state I was in—but just as quickly, his expression turned vague. Cold. Unmoved. “Can't you see that you’re interrupting,” he said. I blinked. “Interrupting? I was chased by bears. I almost—” I swallowed hard. “I could’ve died. This was another one of their pranks and you—you’re here?” Clara stepped away from him with a smirk, smug and satisfied. Like she’d won some prize. Poor River,” sneered Clara, Gerald's lover. “Not even a mate to pity her. First her mother, now this. Maybe the Moon Goddess is trying to tell us something.” Gerald didn’t even try to hide his irritation. “Maybe you should take the hint, River. Maybe the Moon Goddess got it wrong.” I felt the words slice through me. But I didn’t let it show. I stood there, dirt-streaked and bleeding, trembling from exhaustion—but I didn’t cry. I didn’t beg. I didn’t even blink. “You don’t get to decide what the Moon Goddess got wrong,” I said calmly. He scoffed, looking me over with disgust. “You look insane. I reject you, River,” growled Gerald—the one the moon claimed as my mate. His voice was stone, his eyes cold. “You are weak. Cursed. A shadow of what you should be.” The bond had barely formed, and already he severed it like it meant nothing. A part of me shattered in that moment—more than I'd thought I had left to break. Laughter echoed behind me as the pack’s elite stepped from the shadows. Their mocking eyes hurt more than my bleeding thigh. Stay away from me,” I whispered, but my voice cracked clearly from the pain of grief I was feeling at the moment. I clenched my fists, my nails piercing into my palms. If I cried again, they’d win. I turned and walked away, my steps slow but sure. Each one cost me something, but I refused to let him see. Behind me, I heard nothing. No footsteps. No apology. Just stunned silence. He probably thought I’d shatter. He thought I’d beg him to stay. But I didn’t. At least not in front of him. I didn’t stop walking. Not when the trees swallowed me again, not when the cold wind bit through my torn clothes, and not when the weight in my chest grew too heavy to carry. I made it to the edge of the riverbank before the tears came—slow at first, then all at once. I sank to my knees, my hands digging into the dirt as I clutched my chest, gasping like I couldn’t get air. The pain wasn’t just emotional—it was physical, brutal, like claws tearing me apart from the inside. I pressed my palm to my heart, hitting my chest as hard as I could, hoping, praying, begging for the ache to ease—but it only throbbed harder. I had held it together in front of him. In front of them. But now, in the silence, it all broke loose. My sobs were ugly. Raw. Unfiltered. The kind that scraped your throat on the way out. I curled into myself, shaking, as everything I'd tried to hold together cracked wide open. I hadn’t always been this way. There was a time—just a few weeks ago—when I believed in fresh starts. In hope. I remembered the first time I came into Crimson territory with my mother. I’d been unsure and reluctant but ready to support my mom who was so excited. So full of dreams. We’d left everything behind for this—this chance at being part of something bigger. A pack. A family. “It’s not just the two of us anymore,” she’d said, brushing my curls back from my face as we stood on the threshold of the packlands. “We can finally rest.” And I believed her. For the first time in my life, I believed we might be safe. But then came the altar. The sacred ceremony. The moment that was supposed to bind us to the Crimson Pack forever. Instead… it took her from me. One moment she was standing proud, her hand in mine, and the next—she was gasping, coughing. Blood dripped from her lips, staining her dress and everything at her feet. I dropped to my knees beside her, screaming, crying, begging her to stay. No one moved. Not even Alpha Damien. The same man who’d promised us sanctuary. The same man who used to smile at me, who would gently play with my hair when I passed him in the hall. Distant, yes—but dependable. Trustworthy. He’d told me once, “You and your mother will be taken care of. I promise.” But when my mother’s body collapsed at my feet, when her blood soaked into the altar… he didn’t come. He didn’t even flinch. I was alone then. I’m still alone now. It’s been a month since I lost her. A month since I lost everything. I haven’t seen Damien since. Not once. Not even when they buried her. Not when I cried myself to sleep night after night, wishing for someone—anyone—to say her name. And now Gerald… my mate. I laughed, bitter and broken. Fate had a cruel sense of humor. The tears burned hotter, but I let them fall. I’d tried so hard to be strong. To hold it all in. To believe that maybe—just maybe—I could still belong somewhere. But everything I touched turned to dust. And now all I had was the sound of the river, the cold wind against my back, and a heart that no longer knew how to beat without pain. And then came the voice in my head, still at first but slowly grew louder. “Run, Run far River!!” And that was all I needed. I slowly turned ready to leave everything behind and run only to be met by those eyes. The one I had been seeking for a month. A million emotions ran through me as I bit my lip begging him with my eyes to come to me, to ease my pain. But yet again I was met with silence. He didn't even flinch, he just stared at me as though he was saying Goodbye and turned away, no emotion in him. I died a million times over as it slowly dawned on me… there was nothing left behind for me.