Two Mates, One Heart

"The Final Humiliation... A Shattered Path to Freedom" part 2

* Gloria:

I no longer felt my face, nor my body. I was there, in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by their gazes... I could no longer tell pity from contempt, whispers from soft laughter. Everything felt like a dense fog pressing on my chest, but I heard her clearly — Helen.

"Kiss my feet, Gloria, in front of everyone, only then will I forgive you."

I glanced at her with empty eyes, as if my soul had left my body and stood watching me from afar. Arnold was beside her, his eyes reflecting nothing but ice. He said nothing, didn’t stop her, didn’t even look at me.

Slowly, I bent down, my knees trembling. I felt the gravel under them, scraping my skin, reminding me I was still alive, even though my dignity was dying. I placed my hand on her foot... In that moment, it felt like the whole world was collapsing on me. My face approached the ground, my lips touched her skin, tasting dust — the taste of humiliation.

Someone laughed. I heard a whisper: "Look at her... once proud, now she’s nothing."

But I didn’t raise my head. I refused to shed tears. Not even my crying would I give them. I stood up slowly, trying to gather whatever remained of me.

Arnold said clearly: "Gloria is expelled from our group. From today, she is a renégat."

That word hit me harder than anything else. I felt the air grow too heavy to breathe. I thought one day I’d leave this place strong... but I left bowed, humiliated, and alone.

In the barren courtyard, standing before everyone, my heart pounded fiercely — yet with an indescribable pain. Arnold stood before me, solid as a rock, his eyes shining with merciless coldness, his words slicing me like a sharp knife.

"Gloria... from today, you are one of the renégats. You have no place among us anymore. I Arnold Arthal Alpha of Arthal light pack reject you Gloria as my mate and luna of this pack"

Gloria looked at him firmly, despite the pain in her chest, keeping her head held high.

"I am Gloria. I accept your rejection, Alpha Arnold."

I felt the ground shake beneath my feet, as if the whole world was collapsing around me. The guards approached slowly, their hands cold as ice, gripping my arms with merciless strength. The group’s gazes were full of mockery and coldness — some deeply disappointed, others relishing my fall.

Each step toward the exit was a stab in my soul, as if I were being torn from the family I’d known so long, from everything I thought was my hope. Helen stood far away, smiling a pale smile — a smile that meant she enjoyed my downfall.

Tears burned in my eyes, but I lifted my head despite all this humiliation, trying to hold onto whatever dignity remained. Deep inside, I knew the road ahead would be dark and lonely, full of suffering and endless struggle to survive.

My expulsion was not just a loss of place, but a new chapter of pain — the beginning of a long journey of fighting, of proving myself amid a sea of pain and betrayal.

Yet, despite it all, a faint spark remained in my heart — that small hope that refused to die. Hope for freedom, hope for survival, hope to escape this hell and find myself again.

--------

As Gloria left the courtyard, expelled from the group like a worthless shadow, the whispers and hateful stares chased her, piercing her heart like a thousand arrows. Amid the pain and betrayal, her thoughts floated to her adoptive parents — the warm home that was once her only refuge.

She longed to contact them, to hear their voices strengthening her, to feel their helping hands that she so desperately needed. But the harsh siege and strict prison rules built an unbreakable wall between them. With every passing moment, the painful longing grew in her chest, increasing her loneliness and fear.

She didn’t know where her feet were taking her—she was just running. Running from humiliation, from their stares, from the faces that carved her disgrace deep into her soul. Since she was expelled from the group, Gloria walked aimlessly, through trees tangled like traps of confusion. The forest felt like a living being, watching her, breathing around her, testing her patience every moment.

The nights were harsher than anything before. The cold gnawed at her bones, and the darkness hid sounds that filled her heart with terror. One of those nights, as she hid beneath a decaying tree, she heard a rustle behind her. She turned quickly to find one of the renégat lurking, his eyes gleaming like a hungry wolf, his steps full of menace.

She ran. Her heart pounded in her chest like drums of survival. She stumbled, fell, got up again, until she found an old wooden cabin, half-collapsed, but its door still standing. She entered and closed it behind her, pressing her back against it, panting, listening to the killing silence, hoping it would hide her.

In the days that followed, Gloria lived on the edge between life and death. She found rusty tools, and used them carefully to set rabbit traps. Hunting was difficult, but it saved her. Every evening, she lit a small fire, warmed herself, and stared into the flames as if she were seeing all she had lost.

Seven days passed. Dim, bitter days, but they gave her a chance to heal. When she felt her body had regained some strength, she stood at the cabin door, inhaled the deep forest air, and walked again.

She didn’t know where to—but she knew why: to survive.

On the third night after Gloria’s imprisonment, anxiety filled the palace. Arnold, the Alpha, sat in his office, buried in papers, trying to escape his conflicting thoughts. Since Helen’s injury, he hadn’t been the same. Anger burned in his eyes, and silence wrapped around him like a heavy cloak.

The maid, Mary, entered hesitantly and said in a low voice, “Alpha, I have something to tell you about Gloria... I overheard her on the phone saying she plans to push Helen out of the pack, even if she has to kill her.”

Arnold froze in place and looked at her sharply. “Are you sure? That’s a serious accusation.”

Mary replied, “Yes, sir. I am loyal to you and your unborn child, and I wanted to warn you.”

Suddenly, the door opened, and Helen entered, her face pale and eyes teary. “Is this true? Does Gloria want to kill me?”

Arnold approached and embraced her, saying, “Don’t be afraid, nothing will happen to you while I’m here.”

But Helen pulled away, tears streaming down her face. “She has already started hurting me, and you’ve done nothing. I don’t want her here anymore. Choose: me or her.”

She left the room, leaving Arnold torn. Three days later, he decided to expel Gloria from the pack, despite his inner wolf’s objection.

In her room, Helen waited for Mary, and when she entered, Helen smiled wickedly: “Well done, Mary. We will reward you once we get rid of that parasite.”

They laughed together, while Gloria, in her cell, remained unaware that the threads of the conspiracy were being woven around her.