Chapter 2 — Exile Before Dawn
931 Words
Aria didn’t go back to her cabin.
Not to the little place on the edge of the forest where Derek’s scent still clung to the blankets, where she’d once believed the word mate meant safety.
If she went there, she would break. And if she broke tonight, she wouldn’t make it to sunrise.
So she walked behind the healer’s lodge instead, to the hidden fire pit where the wind couldn’t carry sound back to the pack hall.
Her hands shook as she struck flint against stone.
The first spark died.
The second sparked, caught, and the flame finally lifted—small and stubborn, like it was fighting the same fight she was.
Aria crouched close, holding her cloak tighter around her shoulders. The pain in her chest had dulled from sharp tearing to a deep, bruised ache, but the emptiness was worse. The bond had been a constant for so long that its absence felt like silence after a lifetime of noise.
Voices drifted from the pack hall in bursts—laughter, cheers, the scrape of boots.
They were celebrating.
She swallowed hard, forcing air into her lungs.
Footsteps crunched over leaves.
Aria’s spine snapped straight. Her wolf stirred under her skin, restless and raw.
A shadow dropped into the edge of the firelight.
Mira.
Her closest friend looked like she’d run the whole way—hair loose, eyes red with rage. She didn’t ask permission. She sank down beside Aria and grabbed her hand.
“You’re freezing,” Mira whispered.
“I’m fine,” Aria lied, not looking at her.
Mira’s grip tightened. “Don’t do that.”
Aria’s throat burned. “Don’t do what?”
“Pretend you’re not bleeding inside.”
Aria let out a shaky breath, staring into the flames so she wouldn’t have to look at Mira’s face and risk losing control. “It’s done.”
“No,” Mira snapped. “It’s not done. He did it because of her.”
Aria’s head lifted. “Her?”
Mira swallowed, voice dropping. “Lyra.”
The name hit Aria harder than she expected.
Lyra was beautiful in the way wolves admired—sharp cheekbones, confident smile, the kind of woman who walked into a room like she owned it. She’d been around the pack for months, always “visiting,” always near Derek when Aria wasn’t.
Aria’s stomach twisted. “That’s a rumor.”
“It’s not.” Mira’s eyes flashed. “I saw her tonight. She stood behind Derek like she was already Luna.”
Aria’s fingers curled around a stick, snapping it without realizing. “If he wanted someone else, he could’ve told me.”
“He wanted the pack to approve it,” Mira said, voice bitter. “He needed you to look weak so his choice looked justified.”
Aria stared at the fire.
She thought of Derek’s words—You froze when it mattered.
One moment, used like a knife.
“Sunrise,” Aria said quietly. “They said I have to leave by sunrise.”
Mira nodded fast. “You leave before dawn.”
Aria blinked. “Before dawn?”
Mira leaned in. “They’ll make it worse if you wait. They’ll send someone to ‘escort’ you. And the route won’t be safe.”
Aria’s breath caught. “They’d hurt me?”
Mira didn’t answer immediately. That was answer enough.
She pulled a small pouch from her cloak and pressed it into Aria’s palm. “Silver. Enough for an inn in Stonebridge. Enough for food.”
Aria stared at the pouch. “Mira… If they find out—”
“Let them,” Mira said fiercely. “I’m a healer. They need me more than they want to punish me.”
Aria’s eyes burned, but she refused to cry.
Mira shoved a folded paper into her other hand. It had an old council seal—faded but real.
“A travel writ,” Mira whispered. “It’ll get you past checkpoints if anyone questions you.”
Aria’s heart pounded. “How do you have this?”
Mira’s mouth twitched, almost a smile. “Healers see things. We keep things.”
More footsteps.
Both women went still.
A figure stepped out of the shadows—tall, broad, scar at his jaw.
Rhen.
Aria’s pulse spiked. He was one of Derek’s captains.
“I knew they’d send someone,” Aria said, voice tight. “Get it over with.”
Rhen didn’t move closer. His gaze flicked to Mira, then back to Aria.
“I’m not here officially,” he said.
Mira stood fast, chin lifted. “Then why are you here?”
Rhen’s jaw clenched. “Because if she leaves at sunrise, the patrol will take the long route.”
Aria’s blood ran cold.
“And Lyra’s friends will be waiting on it,” Rhen added quietly.
Aria’s stomach dropped. “So it’s an ambush.”
Rhen didn’t deny it. “Leave before dawn. East trail. Not the main road.”
Mira stared at him like she couldn’t decide whether to hate him or thank him. “Why help her?”
Rhen’s eyes hardened. “Because banishment is supposed to be exile. Not execution.”
Aria swallowed. “Thank you.”
Rhen’s gaze held hers, steady. “Don’t thank me. Move smart.”
He turned and disappeared back into the dark.
Mira exhaled, trembling. “This is bigger than we thought.”
Aria stared at the dying fire.
Then she stood, pain and all.
“Before dawn,” she said, voice steady now.
Mira nodded once. “Before dawn.”
- Writer
