Her Subjugated Alpha

Chapter Four

Ellie

Jaxon's accusing glare burned into me. Around us, the rest of the pack looked on in confusion and suspicion. None of them would meet my eyes.

I turned desperately to Sam. "Tell them!" I pleaded. "Tell them I would never hurt Emma!"

Sam stepped forward, radiating calm authority. As one of the highest-ranked warriors, the others would listen to him.

"I know Ellie," he said evenly. "She has a gentle heart. This was a tragic accident, nothing more."

Murmurs rippled through the gathered pack members.

Jaxon cut him off with a snarl. "Don't bother denying it! She've always despised Emma, ever since we were young. You tried to eliminate your rival, plain and simple."

"He speaks nonsense," Sam argued. "Where is the proof of these outrageous accusations?"

"Proof?" Jaxon repeated derisively. "Emma nearly died today at Ellie's hands! What more evidence do we need?"

The pack elders stepped forward, their wrinkled faces grave. The eldest, Grandma Effie, fixed me with a stern look.

"If what the Alpha says is true, then you have committed a serious crime against this pack, child. We cannot let such violence go unpunished."

I swayed on my feet, dizzy with disbelief. They were all turning against me, just taking Jaxon's word. Even Grandma Effie, who'd watched over me so often as a young girl.

She thought me capable of murdering my own best friend out of sheer jealousy? The injustice of it made me want to scream and weep all at once.

"Grandma, please listen," I begged. "I would never-"

"Silence!" Jaxon roared. "You lost the right to plead your innocence when you pushed my mate into that river! You don't deserve to remain in this pack."

My vision swam as the full implication of his words hit. He didn't just want me exiled - he intended to cast me out completely. No pack, no home, no mate. A death sentence.

Panic clawed at my throat. I couldn't let this happen. I fell to my knees before the elders, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"I swear on my life, on goddess' blessed name, that I did not harm Emma," I swore urgently. "Jaxon seeks to exile me falsely. I am innocent!"

The elders glanced between Jaxon and me uncertainly. Even they seemed torn, unable to discern the truth.

Grandma Effie cleared her throat. "Alpha, perhaps we should further investigate this matter-"

"No!" Jaxon snarled. "I know what I saw. Ellie is a remorseless criminal and I will not tolerate her presence polluting this pack another day."

He stalked towards me, violence etched on his handsome face. I cried out in fear, scrambling away on hands and knees. Jaxon grabbed my arm in an iron grip, hauling me upright.

"Please," I wept. "Jaxon, please don't do this!"

His eyes were cold, devoid of the love I once glimpsed there. "I, Jaxon Wolfe, Alpha of the Crimson Moon pack, reject you, Ellie Spears, as my mate and Luna."

Agony ripped through my heart, as real as any physical wound. "No!" I screamed. But it was too late - the irrevocable words of rejection had been spoken.

"I hereby banish you from the pack lands, on pain of death should you return."

Jaxon flung me aside like trash. I hit the forest floor hard, sobbing. "Take her far from our borders," I heard Jaxon order the others. "Make sure she doesn't come back."

Rough hands seized me under the arms, dragging me to my feet. I was too shattered to even resist as Diego and another packmate pulled me stumbling away from the riverbank, back towards the woods.

Sam appeared, blocking the path. "Release her at once!" he commanded, yellow eyes flashing dangerously. The betas hesitated, then obeyed, dropping me into Sam's steadying embrace.

"This is wrong," Sam told them fiercely. "One day you all will see that."

They only shook their heads wearily before turning back to rejoin the pack. Sam helped me limp onward through the trees, our progress slow. I clung to him, each step taking me farther from everything I'd ever known and loved.

We walked for hours in silence. The farther we went, the more panic threatened to choke me. Where would I go now? How would I survive alone and friendless in the world?

As the sun began to set, we reached the outskirts of Crimson Moon territory. Here Sam finally halted, turning to face me with sorrowful eyes.

"I cannot go any farther," he said regretfully. "The Alpha's edict made it clear I will share your fate if I aid you past this point."

Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks. Of course he couldn't come with me, no matter how much I wished it. I was well and truly alone now.

Sam gripped my shoulders. "Listen to me. You are brave and strong, Ellie. Trust your instincts out there." He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead. "I must go before they notice my absence."

With that he pulled away, shifting into his russet-furred wolf and disappearing into the trees. I almost called out for him to wait, but it was too late. He was gone.

I took one last look towards the territory I'd always called home. Night was falling rapidly, the shadows deepening between the trunks.

Somewhere in the distance, my pack - my former pack - was settling down to dinner, laughing around the fire. My chest ached to picture it. They believed I was a jealous monster. I'd never have the chance to prove them wrong, to clear my name. That life was over now.

Wiping my eyes, I turned my back on everything familiar and shifted into my cream-colored wolf. My paws carried me swiftly over the forest floor as I ran from the only home I'd ever known.

My body wanted to turn back every step of the way. The urge to return to the pack pulled at me insistently, like a hook in my heart tugging westward. I ignored it, forcing myself to keep moving away.

When the moon was high overhead, I could go no further. Exhaustion forced me to revert to human form and seek shelter. I found a small cave and collapsed inside, too drained even to forage for food.

I had never felt more alone, curled up on the cold stone without a soul in the world who cared whether I lived or died. I sent up a prayer to Luna, pleading for strength and protection on the long, lonely road ahead. At last I slipped into fitful sleep, Jaxon's hateful words echoing through my nightmares.

For days I travelled deeper into unknown regions, staying in wolf form for safety and speed. I stuck to the cover of trees, surviving on rabbits and streams.

But the need to shift back to human soon forced me to risk venturing into a small town. I stole some clothes and fruit from unattended cars and gardens, fleeing before anyone spotted me.

Near the edge of town, I came across an old condemned building, partially collapsed but with portions still standing. I slipped through a broken window and decided to make this place my temporary shelter.

Over the next week, I fell into a routine. During the day I would creep into town in human form to steal essentials, avoiding all contact with locals. At night I took shelter in the abandoned building, resting my exhausted body.

But I couldn't stay here forever, living off scraps. I was now a lone omega without a pack, vulnerable prey for any roaming alphas. Each day I grew a bit leaner, despite the food I scavenged. I needed a permanent shelter and a plan.

My thoughts kept drifting back to Jaxon's betrayal. He had rejected me so callously after winning my trust and affection. He tried to rob me of my status, my dignity, even my life. The injustice of it burned bitter as poison in my gut.

I wanted to make him pay for what he'd done. But I was just one omega, weak from exile. Jaxon was a powerful alpha, surrounded by a pack that would die for him. I stood no chance against him alone.

So I came to a decision: I would grow stronger. I would train and develop my skills as a fighter and hunter until I was capable of taking down any wolf single-handedly. And when the time was right, I would have my revenge against Jaxon Wolfe.

During the days I pushed my body to its limits out in the woods, building lean muscle, stamina, and reflexes. My cream coat grew shaggy and matted from weeks without grooming. My ribs became visible beneath coarse fur.

At night I studied diagrams of wolf anatomy, learning the vulnerable points to target in a fight: throat, belly, joints. I repetitively struck the crumbling walls of my makeshift den until my knuckles bled, hardening them into lethal weapons.

With each passing day I grew tougher, shedding the timid gentleness I'd been raised to exhibit. I buried my former self piece by piece - the soft, trusting Ellie who so foolishly gave her heart back to the mate that broke it. That naïve girl was dead now.

In her place arose a new Ellie, an omega hardened by betrayal and loss. I vowed one day Jaxon would cower at my feet and call me Alpha. But only after I repaid every ounce of pain he'd inflicted on my tender heart.

The wind howled outside my den tonight, rattling the skeletal beams. A storm was coming. I huddled by a small fire, watching the flames. The old Ellie would have quaked in fear at being so isolated during a storm.

But now thunder and lightning only fuelled my purpose, reminding me how desperately I would need strength for the trials ahead. I would endure this tempest just as I had endured Jaxon's cruelty and lies - by embracing the wildness within.

Let the winds and rains rage. Just as this storm would pass, so too would my exile. And when I emerged, it would be as a wolf no man or beast would dare cross. Vengeance would be mine. This I swore beneath Luna's clouded gaze.

For now, I closed my eyes and let the rising gale lull me to sleep. My dreams these days were always of violence - teeth tearing flesh, claws rending skin, blood soaking the forest floor. But soon dreams would become reality.

My long-awaited justice may still be distant on the horizon. But floating on the wind was the first hint of a coming storm.