The Alpha's Forgotten Bloodline

A Secret Carried in silence

Ariyah 's POV

Nightfang Pack House - Leaving at Dawn

I walk with my head held high.

That's what I tell myself anyway, as I move through the pack grounds with Elara at my side. The dawn light is pale and thin, casting long shadows across the path. My bag is heavy on my shoulder, but I refuse to let it show.

I refuse to let anything show.

"Just keep walking," Elara mutters beside me. "Don't look at them."

But I can't help it. I hear the whispers. I see the way people turn away, their eyes sliding past me like I'm already a ghost.

Rejected.

Orphan.

Nothing.

The words float through the air, carried by the morning breeze. Some are said too loudly, deliberately meant for me to hear. Others are just fragments, but I catch them anyway.

"She actually thought she could be Luna."

"Pathetic."

"Kael never loved her. He was just playing with her."

My jaw clenches, but I don't stop. I don't respond. I just keep walking.

"You're doing great," Elara whispers. "Ignore them."

"She slept with the Alpha and now she's running away with her tail between her legs."

That one hits hard.

I stumble, just for a second, and Elara grabs my arm. "Don't."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine. But you will be."

We continue walking, and I focus on the path ahead. The border gates loom in the distance, and beyond them, the unknown. The forest. The world outside the only home I've ever known.

I've never been past those gates.

Not once in my entire life.

The thought makes my chest tighten, but I push the feeling down. Fear is a luxury I can't afford right now. I need to be strong. For myself. For Elara.

For the tiny part of me that still believes I deserve to survive.

"Hey!"

A voice cuts through the morning, and I freeze.

A woman steps into our path. She's one of the pack's higher-ranking wolves, and she's looking at me like I'm something she scraped off her shoe.

"Where do you think you're going, reject?"

Elara steps forward. "Get out of our way, Kara."

"Or what?" Kara smirks. "You'll fight me? You and your little orphan friend?"

"Try me."

Kara laughs, but there's no humor in it. "You're both pathetic. You think you can just walk out of here after what she did? After she tried to trap the Alpha?"

The accusation is so absurd that I almost laugh. "Trap him? I loved him."

"Love?" Kara spits. "You're a nobody. You have no family, no power, no worth. Kael was never going to mate with someone like you. Everyone knew it was just a game to him."

Her words are like knives, but I force myself to stay calm. "If it was just a game, then why are you so angry?"

Kara's eyes flash. "I'm not angry. I'm disgusted."

"Then move."

She doesn't. Instead, she steps closer, her voice dropping to a hiss. "You should have known your place. You should have stayed in the servants' quarters where you belong. But no, you had to reach above your station. And now look at you. Running away like the coward you are."

Elara grabs Kara's arm. "Back off."

Kara shoves her, and Elara stumbles. Something inside me snaps.

"Don't touch her."

Kara turns to me, surprised. "Excuse me?"

I step forward, positioning myself between Kara and Elara. "I said, don't touch her."

The crowd around us has gone silent, watching. Waiting.

Kara's smirk returns, but there's something uncertain behind it now. "What are you going to do? Cry on me?"

"No. I'm going to walk away. Because you're not worth my time." I meet her eyes, and I refuse to look away. "You've spent your whole life trying to tear people down, and for what? To feel powerful? To feel important? But deep down, you know the truth. You're just as scared as everyone else. And when I'm gone, you'll still be here, hating yourself."

Kara's face twists with rage. "You little b***h—"

She raises her hand, but Elara catches her wrist.

"Try it," Elara growls. "Please. I'm begging you."

For a long moment, no one moves. The air is thick with tension, and I can feel the crowd holding its breath.

Then Kara yanks her hand free and steps back. "You're not worth it. Either of you."

She storms off, and the crowd slowly disperses.

Elara turns to me, her eyes wide. "What the hell was that?"

I shrug, trying to hide how much my hands are shaking. "I don't know. I just... I couldn't let her talk to you like that."

"You stood up for me."

"You've been standing up for me all morning. I figured it was my turn."

Elara grins, and for a moment, the tension eases. "Look at you, being all brave and inspiring."

"Don't get used to it."

"Too late."

We continue toward the border, and the gates rise before us. The guards watch us approach, their expressions cold.

"State your business," one of them says.

"We're leaving," I say. "We have permission."

The guard glances at Elara, then back at me. "You're the rejected one."

The word stings, but I don't flinch. "Yes. Now let us pass."

He hesitates, clearly unsure. But then he steps aside, and the gate begins to open.

The forest stretches beyond, dark and endless.

I take a deep breath and step forward.

And that's when I feel it.

His presence.

I don't turn around, but I know he's there. Watching from a distance. I can feel the weight of his gaze on my back, the echo of our broken bond pulsing faintly in my chest.

Kael.

"Keep walking," Elara whispers. "Don't look back."

But I can't help it.

I turn.

He stands at the edge of the pack grounds, his figure silhouetted against the rising sun. Our eyes meet across the distance, and for one long, terrible moment, I see him. The man I loved. The man who destroyed me.

He looks broken.

Good.

I hold his gaze for a heartbeat, then turn away.

I cross the border.

And behind me, I hear the howl.

Not the howl of a victorious Alpha.

The howl of a grieving wolf.