Chapter 5: Into the Woods
1316 Words
My legs carry me before my brain even catches up.
I don’t know where I’m going. I just know I can’t stay here.
The air feels thick, the noise of the pack too loud. Laughter, applause, the sound of wolves celebrating the Hunt: it all blends into this suffocating roar. I can still see their faces, their eyes on me, their smug smiles as Sabrina stood beside him like she belonged there.
And me? I’m just... nothing.
Maxwell's voice echoes in my head like a gunshot.
“You were never Luna material.”
The words slice through my chest, sharp and relentless. They dig deeper every time I try to breathe. My vision blurs, my cheeks wet, but I don’t bother wiping the tears away. What’s the point? There’s no one here to see me fall apart.
Branches catch at my clothes as I run, the forest swallowing me whole. The torches that lit the edges of the clearing are far behind now, their warm glow replaced by shadows and darkness. The only light comes from the moon above, cold and distant, slipping through the treetops.
I stumble over a root, my ankle twisting painfully, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop. If I stop, I’ll hear the whispers again.
The ones that aren’t real but feel so loud.
“Did you see her face?”
“She actually thought she had a chance.”
“An Omega? With the Alpha’s son? Pathetic.”
I choke back a sob, gripping a tree trunk to steady myself. My lungs burn, my legs shake, but the whispers won’t stop. They follow me, curling around my mind like smoke, suffocating me.
It’s not fair.
God, it’s not fair.
I gave him everything. Every piece of myself I didn’t even know how to give. I trusted him. I loved him. And he...
He threw me away like I was nothing.
“You were a distraction.”
The memory of his voice makes my stomach turn. I double over, pressing my hand to my mouth as nausea rises, the pain in my chest spreading like poison. I gasp for air, but it feels like I can’t get enough, like my lungs are collapsing under the weight of it all.
“You were never Luna material.”
I sink to my knees, the damp earth soaking into my jeans, and scream. The sound rips from my throat, raw and jagged, echoing into the empty woods.
I don’t know how long I sat there, my body shaking, my tears mixing with the dirt on my face. My fingers claw at the ground like it might somehow take the pain away.
But it doesn’t.
Nothing does.
The silence presses in around me, broken only by the rustle of leaves or the distant howl of a wolf. It’s almost comforting, the emptiness. Out here, no one can see me fall apart.
Out here, I can just be broken.
I close my eyes, leaning back against a tree, and try to breathe. In. Out. In. Out.
It doesn’t help.
All I can see is him. His face, so cold and detached, standing beside her. The way his eyes met mine, just for a second, before he turned away like I didn’t even exist.
He lied to me.
All those nights together, the promises he made, the way he held me like I was the only thing keeping him sane: it was all a lie.
A bitter laugh escapes my lips, harsh and broken in the quiet of the forest. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have believed that someone like Maxwell Grayson would choose someone like me?
The pack was right about one thing.
I don’t belong.
Not with them. Not with him.
I never did.
The moon hangs high, casting a ghostly light over the forest. The trees reach upward like skeletal hands, their branches bare and unfeeling. The night feels endless, cold, and empty.
Just like me.
I should go back. I know I should. But the thought of facing them, of seeing Sabrina's smug face, of hearing the whispers and laughter. it’s too much.
What would I even say to my mom? She already thinks I’m a disappointment. This would only prove it.
Proof that I’m exactly what the pack has always said I am.
Nothing.
I press my hands against my face, letting out a shaky breath. The tears keep coming, no matter how hard I try to stop them.
“Get it together,” I whisper, my voice hoarse. “Get it together.”
But I can’t.
I can’t stop hearing him.
“I never promised you anything.”
“You don’t fit into the future.”
“You were never enough.”
I slam my fist into the ground, the pain shooting up my arm, but it feels good. It feels better than the hollow ache in my chest.
“I hate you, Maxwell,” I whisper, my voice shaking. “I hate you for making me believe in you. I hate you for making me feel like I mattered.”
My shoulders shake as the sobs take over again, raw and uncontrollable.
How could he do this to me?
I trusted him. I believed in him.
All those nights we spent together, sneaking into the woods, whispering under the stars, his hands on my skin, his lips on mine,those weren’t just memories. They were pieces of me. Pieces I’ll never get back.
And he... he took them and gave them to her.
Sabrina Nightshade.
I grit my teeth, my nails digging into my palms. I can still see her face, the way she looked at me after he announced their engagement. That smug, perfect smile. Like she was daring me to say something. Like she already knew I wouldn’t.
She was right.
I feel sick.
The forest spins around me, the shadows twisting and closing in. I press my forehead to the ground, the dirt cold and damp against my skin, and try to make the world stop.
But it doesn’t.
It keeps spinning, relentless and uncaring, dragging me along with it.
For a brief, horrible moment, I think about not going back at all.
What’s the point? I’ve lost everything. My dignity, my pride, my heart: it’s all gone.
Maybe I should just stay out here. Let the forest swallow me whole. Let the moonlight fade and the darkness take over.
At least out here, I don’t have to see their faces.
But I can’t.
As much as I want to disappear, as much as I want to just... stop, I can’t.
Because even now, even after everything, there’s a small, pathetic part of me that wants him to come after me.
A part of me that wants him to find me, to take me in his arms and tell me he made a mistake. That he’s sorry. That he loves me.
But he won’t.
I know he won’t.
He’s probably still at the Hunt right now, standing beside Sabrina, smiling and laughing like nothing happened. Like I never even existed.
The thought makes my chest ache all over again.
I push myself to my feet, my legs trembling beneath me. My head is pounding, my throat raw from crying, but I don’t care.
I can’t stay here.
I can’t stay anywhere.
The forest feels endless as I walk, the shadows stretching and twisting around me. The air is cold, biting against my skin, but I barely notice.
I don’t know where I’m going.
I just know I can’t go back.
Not tonight.
The moon is high above me, its light cold and distant, and for the first time in my life, I feel completely, utterly alone.
And the worst part?
It’s my own fault.
I let myself believe in him.
I let myself fall for his lies.
And now, I’m paying the price.
- Writer
