MARKED BY REJECTION

Chapter 2 - BANISHED

The cold night air stung my skin the moment I stepped outside the pack hall.

Behind me is the Moon Ceremony carried on like nothing had happened. Music drifted faintly through the closed doors. Wolves laughed. Glasses clinked in celebration.

Life moved on, but for me, everything had fallen apart.

My chest still burned from the broken mate bond. Every breath felt sharp, like tiny knives scraping against my lungs. I pressed a hand over my heart, trying to calm the violent trembling running through my body.

It felt like something inside me had been ripped away because it had.

Among wolves, a mate bond was sacred. It was supposed to be unbreakable—blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. Yet Alpha Ryker had severed it like it meant nothing.

A hollow laugh slipped out of me.

“So this is what it feels like,” I murmured.

The pain of rejection wasn’t just emotional, it was physical.

My wolf whimpered faintly inside me, hurt and confused.

For the first time in my life, she had awakened only to be crushed moments later, tears blurred my vision again, but I quickly wiped them away.

No, I’d already humiliated myself enough tonight, I wasn’t going to cry anymore.

Then I heard footsteps behind me.

“Lyra.” My body went still. I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. My father, I faced him slowly.

Beta Thomas stood a few steps away, his brows drawn together as he studied my pale face. For a moment, neither of us said anything. The silence stretched between us, heavy and uncomfortable.

Finally, he sighed. “Come with me.”

I followed him across the empty courtyard outside the hall. Moonlight spilled across the stone paths and the tall pine trees that surrounded the pack territory.

Usually, this place felt like home but tonight, it felt different. We stopped near the edge of the training grounds, far enough that no one else would hear us. My father turned to face me, his expression unusually serious.

“What happened tonight was unfortunate,” he said. The word hit me like a slap.

“Unfortunate?” My voice trembled despite my effort to stay calm. “He rejected me in front of the entire pack.”

My father looked away. “You need to understand the Alpha’s position.” My chest tightened.

“His position?”

“Yes.” His voice hardened slightly.

“Alpha Ryker is the most powerful Alpha in this region. His Luna must be strong—someone capable of standing beside him and leading a pack.”

Each word felt colder than the last.

“And I’m not strong enough,” I finished quietly. He didn’t deny it. The silence that followed was answer enough.

A dull ache spread through my chest. Not just from Ryker’s rejection but from realizing my own father agreed with him.

“You’ve always been different, Lyra,” he said carefully. “Your wolf never fully awakened. The pack has noticed.”

“I know.” I had heard the whispers my whole life. Weak, useless, a disappointment to the Beta family. Still, I hoped finding my mate would change everything.

Instead, it had taken the last shred of dignity I had left. My father let out another tired sigh.

“Because of what happened tonight, the elders have reached a decision.” Something about his tone made dread settle in my stomach.

“What decision?” His gaze hardened.

“You will leave the pack.” The words echoed in my head.

“You’re banishing me?” I asked quietly.

“The elders believe your presence will create unnecessary tension with the Alpha.” My fingers curled into fists.

“So instead of standing up for me, you’re sending me away.” My father’s expression didn’t change.

“It’s what’s best for the pack.” For a moment, anger flared inside me—hot and sharp but it faded just as quickly because deep down, I already knew the truth. The pack had never truly accepted me and now that I had embarrassed them in front of Alpha Ryker, they had no reason to keep me.

“When do I need to leave?” I asked. My father hesitated.

“Tonight.” The word hung heavily between us.

“Tonight?” I repeated.

“You’ll gather all your belongings and leave before sunrise.” A hollow feeling spread through my chest.

The pack I had lived in my entire life was casting me out like I meant nothing. I searched my father’s face, hoping—just hoping—to see some regret in his eyes. But all I saw was resolve.

The Beta of the pack, not a father.

“I understand,” I said at last.

He looked relieved that I didn’t argue.

“This is for the best.”

Without another word, he turned and walked back toward the hall, leaving me alone beneath the moonlight. I stood there long after he disappeared.

The forest around the territory rustled softly as the wind moved through the trees.

Everything looked the same, yet my entire life had changed in a single night.

Eventually, I forced myself to move. My small house sat near the edge of the Beta district. The wooden door creaked quietly as I pushed it open.

Inside, everything was exactly the same.

My books were still neatly arranged on the shelves. My cloak hung beside the door. The bed I’d slept in since childhood sat in the corner.

The room felt painfully small. I grabbed a small bag and packed what little I owned. A few clothes, some food and my old silver necklace—the one my mother gave me before she died. That was all I had.

I slung the bag over my shoulder and stepped outside again.

The moon was still high in the sky.

A cold wind brushed my face as I walked toward the forest path leading away from the territory.

No guards stopped me, no friends came to say goodbye, no one cared that I was leaving.

When I reached the border of the pack lands, I stopped. This invisible line marked the end of everything I had ever known.

Once I crossed it, I would be alone, completely alone.

For a moment, doubt crept into my mind.

Where would I go? How would I survive?

I had never lived outside pack territory before. Rogues roamed the forests beyond these borders. Danger is waiting everywhere but staying here wasn’t an option anymore.

I took one last look at the distant lights of the pack, then I stepped across the border. When my foot touched the other side, something shifted inside me.

A strange feeling spread through my chest.Not fear, not sadness but freedom.

The forest stretched endlessly ahead, dark and unfamiliar. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled—a reminder that the world beyond the pack was wild and unforgiving.

I tightened my grip on my bag and walked deeper into the trees. Each step carried me farther from my old life.

Farther from Alpha Ryker. But as the wind whispered through the forest, a quiet thought lingered in my mind.

Tonight, they believed they had cast out a weak wolf.

They thought I would disappear quietly into the dark.

They were wrong, because one day, I would return and when I came back— the pack that rejected me would wish they had never let me go.