The Alpha's Rejected Luna

Chapter 3: A Desperate Escape

The moonlight filtered through the trees, casting long, trembling shadows on the ground as I hurried through the woods. Every step felt like an echo in the night, my heart pounding in my chest with every beat. The familiar scents of the Shadowclaw territory clung to me, suffocating, like a blanket I could never escape. I couldn’t stay here any longer.

It had been days since the ransacking of my room, days since I’d been humiliated in front of the pack, and every day had only served to remind me how unwanted I was. It wasn’t just the words they spoke, though those stung more than anything; it was the way they looked at me, like I was a ghost haunting their pack. No matter how hard I tried to make myself smaller, to fade into the background, their eyes always found me, and the weight of their disdain crushed me further.

I had no place here. No place in a pack that could treat me like this. So, I made my decision. I was leaving.

The thought of running made my stomach churn, but I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t live in this constant state of rejection. I was nothing to them, and I could no longer pretend to be part of a pack that had made it clear I would always be an outsider.

I quickly packed what little I owned into a small bag—clothes that had been untouched by the pack’s cruelty, a few personal items I had left behind after the chaos, and a small knife for protection. There was no room for hesitation. I had to leave tonight. As I moved quickly through the house, the eerie silence of the packhouse felt even colder, and I couldn’t shake the sensation that every creak of the floorboard beneath my feet echoed too loudly in the night.

The weight of my decision pressed heavily on my chest as I stepped into the darkness outside. The scent of the forest wrapped around me, familiar yet unsettling. The night air was cool, and the leaves rustled as a light breeze swept through the trees, but I couldn’t focus on anything except the sound of my own breath, shallow and uneven.

I glanced back at the packhouse, watching the dim lights flicker from the windows like distant stars. For a moment, I hesitated. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I was just running away from my problems, too scared to fight back. But then, the truth hit me like a slap to the face. I had been fighting all my life, and look where it had gotten me. Rejected. Humiliated. Weak.

No. This wasn’t about running away. This was about surviving. It was about finding a place where I could heal. Where I could breathe without fear of being crushed under the weight of their expectations.

With a deep breath, I took my first step away from Shadowclaw. It was the hardest step I had ever taken, and yet it was also the most freeing.

I had no clear destination in mind. My only goal was to put as much distance between myself and the pack as possible. I didn’t care where I went—I just needed to escape the suffocating pressure of the pack’s disdain.

The journey through the forest felt endless. The trees closed in around me, and the path beneath my feet became increasingly unfamiliar. But even in the darkness, I couldn’t stop moving. My body ached with exhaustion, but I kept going, my legs pushing forward, desperate for some kind of freedom.

As the hours passed, the sound of my footsteps became the only noise in the world. It was calming, in a way—just the rhythmic pounding of my feet on the earth. But even as I walked, a strange feeling began to creep into my mind, like something wasn’t right.

At first, I dismissed it as my nerves. I had just left everything I knew behind. Of course I was anxious. But then the feeling intensified. It was like I wasn’t alone in the woods anymore.

I stopped dead in my tracks, my breath catching in my throat. I turned my head, scanning the darkness for any sign of movement. My senses, honed over years of pack life, told me everything I needed to know. Someone—or something—was following me.

I could feel the presence just behind me, like a shadow lurking in the corners of my vision. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I wasn’t imagining it.

Was it someone from Shadowclaw? Someone sent to bring me back?

I held my breath, straining my ears for any sound. But all I could hear was the rustling of the trees, the soft whisper of the wind, and the faint sound of footsteps—just out of sync with mine.

My pulse quickened. My heart thudded louder in my chest as I tried to steady my breath. I couldn’t let them catch me. Whoever it was—whether it was someone from Shadowclaw or a stranger—I had to keep moving. I couldn’t afford to be caught.

I turned quickly, heading in the opposite direction, trying to put as much space between myself and whatever was following me. But the feeling didn’t go away. The presence was still there, following at a distance, always just out of reach.

I pushed myself harder, moving faster through the dense forest. The leaves crunched beneath my feet, branches clawed at my arms, but I didn’t slow down. I couldn’t.

As I ran, my thoughts raced. Could it be Kane? Had he come after me? The idea of him catching me, dragging me back to the pack, was too much to bear. I’d rather keep running, keep disappearing into the night, than return to that life of constant rejection.

But then a voice, low and smooth, broke through the air. “You’re not getting away that easily, Sera.”

I froze.

The voice was familiar, but I couldn’t place it in the haze of fear and confusion that clouded my mind. I spun around, searching the shadows, but there was no one there. The voice had come from deep within the forest, from somewhere just beyond my reach.

I held my breath, waiting, listening, but nothing came after that. The silence swallowed the words, leaving only a sense of dread in their wake.

Who was it? And why were they following me?

I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was only the beginning of something far bigger than I was prepared for.