Exiled
947 Words
The first thing Maris felt was cold.
Not the gentle chill of a midnight breeze.
This cold settled deep within her bones, wrapping around her heart like invisible chains.
She slowly opened her eyes.
The stone ceiling above her came into focus.
The familiar scent of herbs filled the small room.
The healer's hut.
"You've finally awakened."
Maris turned her head.
Old Healer Miriam sat beside the bed, crushing herbs with a wooden mortar. The elderly woman's tired eyes softened with relief.
"You were unconscious for almost an entire day."
Maris tried to sit up.
A sharp pain shot through her chest.
She gasped.
"Easy," Miriam said, helping her lean against the pillows.
"The rejection damaged your mate bond."
Maris lowered her eyes.
"...My wolf."
The old healer's hands stopped moving.
Silence answered her question.
Maris closed her eyes.
She already knew.
She could still feel the emptiness inside her.
The place where her wolf's presence had always been...
Was gone.
Tears slipped silently down her cheeks.
"I can't hear her anymore."
Miriam reached over and gently wiped away the tears.
"I'm sorry, child."
"I've treated many rejected wolves."
"But I've never seen anything like what happened to you."
Maris looked up.
"What do you mean?"
The old healer hesitated.
Then she shook her head.
"It doesn't matter."
Before Maris could ask another question—
BANG!
The hut door swung open.
Beta Tristan entered.
His expression was unreadable.
Behind him stood four warriors.
No one smiled.
No one greeted her.
Maris's stomach tightened.
"Maris Ashwood."
His voice echoed through the quiet room.
"The Alpha has issued his judgment."
The words struck her harder than the rejection itself.
Judgment?
She slowly climbed out of bed.
"I'll come."
Miriam grabbed her wrist.
"She isn't well enough."
Tristan didn't even look at the healer.
"The Alpha's orders are absolute."
...
The Alpha Hall was silent.
Every elder.
Every warrior.
Every noble family had gathered.
As Maris entered, hundreds of eyes turned toward her.
Not with sympathy.
With pity.
And curiosity.
The whispers began immediately.
"She's the rejected mate."
"The wolf-less girl."
"I heard her wolf died."
"What a disgrace."
Maris kept her head high.
If this was to be her final humiliation...
She would endure it standing.
At the far end of the hall sat Alpha Kaelan Nightbane.
His throne, carved from black stone, towered above everyone else.
He looked exactly as he had the night before.
Cold.
Untouchable.
As if rejecting his mate had cost him nothing.
Maris hated herself for hoping he would at least look guilty.
He didn't.
Elder Rowan stepped forward.
"Maris Ashwood."
"You stand before this council as a wolf who has lost her bond."
He paused.
"The laws of the Nightbane Kingdom are clear."
A murmur swept through the hall.
Maris's heartbeat quickened.
"No wolf who has lost their wolf may remain within the kingdom."
Her breathing stopped.
No...
Please...
Not this.
"You are hereby stripped of your place within the Nightbane Pack."
"You are to leave before sunset."
"You are forbidden from returning."
The words echoed like a death sentence.
Maris stared blankly ahead.
This was her home.
The only home she had ever known.
The kitchens where she laughed with Livia.
The forest paths she walked every morning.
The tiny cottage she called her own.
Gone.
All of it.
Gone.
Livia suddenly stepped forward from the crowd.
"No!"
She dropped to one knee before the Alpha.
"My Alpha, please!"
"Maris has done nothing wrong!"
"She has served this pack her entire life!"
"She doesn't deserve this!"
Several elders frowned.
One warrior scoffed.
Kaelan remained silent.
Livia's eyes filled with tears.
"Please..."
"Show mercy."
For one long moment...
The hall waited.
Then Kaelan finally spoke.
"My decision stands."
His voice was colder than winter.
"If she remains..."
"...she becomes a burden the kingdom cannot carry."
Maris felt something inside her finally break.
Not her mate bond.
Not her heart.
Her hope.
She looked at Kaelan one last time.
He never met her eyes.
Not once.
She laughed.
It wasn't a joyful laugh.
It was quiet.
Broken.
"So..."
Her voice trembled.
"This is how it ends."
She bowed.
Not because she respected the judgment.
But because she refused to let them see her collapse.
"Thank you..."
She whispered.
"...for teaching me how little I meant."
Without waiting for permission...
Maris turned and walked toward the great doors.
The hall remained silent.
Each step echoed behind her.
No one stopped her.
No one called her name.
Just before reaching the exit—
A powerful gust of wind burst through the hall.
The massive doors slammed open.
The torches flickered wildly.
Every wolf instinctively looked outside.
Dark clouds rolled across the once-clear sky.
Thunder rumbled.
Yet...
There wasn't a single storm cloud anywhere else.
The strange weather hung only above the Forbidden Forest.
Elder Orion's face turned pale.
"No..."
"It has begun."
"What has?" another elder asked.
But Orion never answered.
His eyes remained fixed on Maris.
As she crossed the kingdom's gates...
A single silver feather drifted down from the dark sky.
It landed softly at her feet.
Maris frowned.
There were no birds above.
No wind strong enough to carry a feather.
Slowly...
She picked it up.
The moment her fingers touched it—
A pulse of silver light flashed through the feather.
Only for an instant.
So quickly that no one else seemed to notice.
Except Elder Orion.
His breathing hitched.
His lips trembled.
He whispered words no one else could hear.
"...The first sign."
Far beyond the kingdom...
Deep within the Forbidden Forest...
Those ancient golden eyes opened once more.
This time...
They were no longer watching.
They were waiting.
For her.
- Writer
