The Forsaken Wolf Queen

Chapter 2

I couldn't see anything. The chains burned against my fur, forcing me to stay in wolf form. Every time I tried to shift back, pain shot through my body and the chains tightened.

I could hear the elders chanting. Their voices rose and fell in a rhythm that made my skin crawl. The crowd had gone quiet. No one spoke. No one moved to help me.

Hours passed. Maybe more. Time felt strange under the hood. My legs ached from standing. My throat was raw from the howl. The bond with Damien throbbed like an open wound in my chest.

When they finally removed the hood, dawn was breaking. Gray light filtered through the trees. The clearing was still full of people. They had waited all night to see what would happen to me.

Old Marcus stood in front of me. His face was hard. "Emily of the Blackish Clan, you have been found guilty of carrying a corruption. Your existence threatens the balance of our pack. The ritual will cleanse the land and remove the stain you have brought upon us."

I wanted to argue. To tell them I hadn't asked for this gift. That I had kept it hidden to protect them. But the chains had stolen my voice along with my human form.

The elders formed a circle around me. Each one held a ceremonial dagger. The blades gleamed in the early morning light.

Helena pushed through the crowd. "Please. She's just a girl. There must be another way."

Alpha Ronan didn't even look at her. "The law is clear. Corruption must be purged."

Two guards pulled Helena back. She fought them, crying my name. It broke something in me to see her so desperate.

The elders began cutting their palms. Blood dripped onto the symbols they had drawn in the dirt. The symbols began to glow with a sickly green light. The air grew thick and hard to breathe.

Marcus approached me with his dagger raised. "By the power of the ancient laws, we cast out this corruption. Let the land be cleansed. Let the curse be lifted."

He pressed the blade against my chest. Not deep enough to kill, but enough to draw blood. The other elders did the same, cutting shallow lines across my fur. My blood mixed with theirs in the dirt.

The world tilted. Power rushed through me like a flood. It felt wrong. Twisted. Like something was being ripped out of my soul and replaced with poison.

I screamed. The sound came out as a wolf's howl but carried all my human pain. The chains shattered. Green light exploded outward from the standing stones.

The elders stumbled backward. The crowd cried out in fear. For a moment, I thought the ritual had failed. That I would survive this.

Then the pain hit.

It felt like my bones were turning to glass and someone was smashing them with a hammer. My vision went white. I collapsed onto the bloody dirt and convulsed. Every nerve in my body was on fire.

Through the haze of agony, I heard Marcus speaking. "It is done. The corruption has been removed. But she cannot stay. Her presence will draw the darkness back. She must be exiled."

The pain faded slowly. I lay in the dirt, panting. My body shifted back to human form without my control. I was naked and covered in blood. Someone threw a rough blanket over me.

Alpha Ronan's voice cut through the murmurs. "Emily, you are hereby banished from the Blackish Clan. You will leave our territory immediately. If you return, you will be killed on sight."

I tried to stand but my legs wouldn't hold me. Everything hurt. The bond with Damien was gone, leaving a hollow space where it used to be.

Guards hauled me to my feet. They dragged me toward the edge of the clearing. People moved aside to let us pass. Their faces were blank. Like they were looking at a stranger.

Rose stood near the back. She was still crying. When our eyes met, she mouthed something. I'm sorry. The words meant nothing now.

They took me to the border of our territory and shoved me across the line. I fell hard on the rocky ground. The blanket slipped off my shoulders.

"Go," one of the guards said. "And don't come back."

They turned and walked away. Just like that. Eighteen years of my life erased in a single night.

I sat there until the sun climbed higher. My body slowly stopped shaking. The cuts from the ritual had already started to heal. Whatever they had done to me, it hadn't taken away my wolf completely. I could still feel her inside me, wounded but alive.

I forced myself to stand. The blanket was dirty but it was all I had. I wrapped it around myself and started walking.

The borderlands stretched out before me. Open fields dotted with ruins and scraggly trees. No shelter. No food. No plan.

I walked until my feet bled. The sun beat down on my head. Thirst made my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth. But I kept moving because stopping meant thinking. And thinking meant feeling everything that had just happened.

Rose's betrayal. Damien's rejection. The ritual. The exile.

By the time night fell, I had put several miles between myself and the clan. I found a small cave and crawled inside. The stone was cold against my skin but at least it was shelter.

I lay there in the dark and let myself cry. Not quiet tears. Deep, body-shaking sobs that left me gasping for air. I cried for the life I had lost. For the people who had turned their backs on me. For the mate who had chosen fear over love.

Eventually, the tears stopped. I was empty. Hollow. Like the ritual had carved out everything that made me human and left only the wolf behind.

Sleep took me despite the pain.

I dreamed of running through dark woods. Something was chasing me. Something huge and hungry. Every time I looked back, I saw glowing red eyes and teeth like knives. But when I looked ahead, the path split into two.

One path led to a cliff. The other led deeper into darkness.

I had to choose.

I woke with a start. Dawn light filtered into the cave. My whole body ached. The cuts from the ritual had scabbed over during the night.

I crawled to the mouth of the cave and looked out. The borderlands stretched endlessly in every direction. Somewhere out there was a new life. Or death. I wasn't sure which I preferred.

A sound made me freeze. Footsteps. Multiple sets. Coming closer.

I pressed myself against the cave wall and held my breath. The footsteps stopped right outside.

A voice spoke. Male. Deep. "I know you're in there. Come out slowly. We're not going to hurt you."

My heart hammered. They found me. The clan sent hunters to finish what the ritual started. I looked around the cave for anything I could use as a weapon. Nothing but rocks and dirt.

"Listen," the voice continued. "You're hurt and alone. Let us help."

Help. The word sounded foreign. Wrong. Yesterday my people had promised to help me join with my mate. Then they cut me and threw me away.

But I had no strength left to run. No way to fight. If they wanted to kill me, hiding in a cave wouldn't stop them.

I stepped out into the morning light with the blanket clutched around me.

Three men stood there. They weren't from my clan. I knew every face in the Blackish pack and these weren't any of them. They were big and muscular with an air of confidence my people never had. Their eyes were clear and sharp.

The one in the middle studied me. His hair was black and his jaw was strong. "You're in bad shape. When did you last eat?"

I stared at him. Who were these men? Where did they come from? The elders always said we were alone in this world. That other wolves had died out long ago. That the Blackish Clan was all that remained.

But these men stood before me. Real. Solid. Very much alive.

"Who are you?" My voice came out as a whisper.

"I'm Garrett. These are Morris and Finn. We're scouts." He took a step forward and I flinched back. He stopped. "Easy. We're not here to hurt you."

"Scouts for what?"

"Our pack. The King pack." He said it like I should know what that meant. "You're near our territory. We patrol this area."

Pack. Another pack. The words didn't make sense. The elders taught us we were the last. The only wolves left after some great catastrophe that happened generations ago. They said the world beyond our borders was empty and dangerous.

"That's impossible," I said.

Garrett frowned. "What's impossible?"

"There are no other packs. We're the only ones left."

The three men exchanged glances. Morris, the shorter one, spoke up. "What are you talking about? There are packs all over these lands. Dozens of them."

I shook my head. The motion made me dizzy. "No. The elders said we're alone. That everyone else is gone."

Garrett's expression shifted to something like concern. "Who told you that?"

"The elders. The Alpha. Everyone." My legs trembled. I had walked all night on an empty stomach and my body was giving up. "The Blackish Clan is all that's left."

"The what clan?" Finn asked.

"Blackish. My clan."

All three men looked blank. The name meant nothing to them.

"Never heard of it," Garrett said slowly. "Where's your territory?"

I pointed back toward the forest. "Ten miles that way. In the deep woods."

Morris shook his head. "There's nothing there. That land has been empty for as long as anyone can remember. The old maps mark it as cursed ground."

The world tilted. I stumbled and Garrett moved fast, catching me before I fell.

"Cursed," I repeated. The word tasted bitter. "They called me cursed too."

"Who did?" Garrett adjusted his grip on me. "Your clan?"

I nodded. Speaking was getting harder. Everything was getting harder.

"Why would they call you cursed?"

"Because I can shift. Fully. Into a wolf." The words tumbled out before I could stop them. I didn't know why I told him. Maybe because I had nothing left to lose.

Garrett stared at me. Then he looked at Morris and Finn. "Did she just say what I think she said?"

"I think so," Morris said quietly.

I waited for the disgust. For them to drop me and back away. For them to call me an abomination like my clan had.

Instead, Garrett asked, "Why is that a problem?"

I blinked. "What?"

"You said they called you cursed because you can shift into a wolf. Why would that make you cursed?"

"Because it's wrong. Unnatural. We only partially shift during the Blood Moon. Claws and fangs and glowing eyes. That's normal. Full shifting is corruption."

The three men went very still. Finn spoke first. "Partial shifting? What does that mean?"

"We keep our human bodies but gain wolf features. Under the Blood Moon, the change comes. It's how we've always been."

"That's not normal," Morris said. "Every wolf I've ever met shifts completely. Full transformation is basic nature."

I stared at him. "You're lying."

"Why would I lie?" Morris looked genuinely confused.

"Because the elders said full shifting died out. That it's a curse. That I'm the only one who can do it and it makes me corrupted."

Garrett's grip on me tightened. Not painful, just steady. "Listen to me carefully. Full shifting is normal. Every pack I know transforms completely. Partial shifting is what's strange. I've never heard of any wolves who can only shift halfway."

"No." I tried to pull away from him but had no strength. "You're wrong. The elders wouldn't lie."

"I'm not wrong." His voice was firm but not unkind. "And I think your elders have been lying to you for a very long time."

My vision blurred. Not from tears but from exhaustion and shock. Nothing made sense anymore. First the betrayal and exile. Now these strangers claiming everything I knew was backwards.

"She's going to pass out," Finn said.

He was right. The edges of my sight went dark. My legs gave out completely and Garrett caught my full weight.

"Get her to the healer," he said. "Now."

I tried to protest. Tried to tell them I couldn't go with them. That this was some kind of trick. But darkness swallowed me before I could form words.

The last thing I heard was Garrett's voice. "Whatever happened to her, it was bad. And something about this whole situation feels very wrong."

Then everything went black.