My Alpha Exiled Me—Then a Thousand Wolves Bowed

Chapter 3

In the council hall the next morning, Kalen held the crown that symbolized the Luna's position in the Bloodmoon Pack.

A crown crafted from moonstone.

It was the same one he had once knelt to place upon my head with his own hands.

And now that crown sat firmly upon Lina's head.

Meanwhile, an exile contract stamped with the Bloodmoon seal was thrown in my face.

The rough parchment cut my cheek.

Crimson blood dripped from my jaw onto the stone slabs, blooming into a glaring crimson stain.

By pack law, an exiled werewolf would lose the Moon Goddess's protection.

On this lawless wasteland where the strong prey on the weak, a lone wolf stripped of its pack was as good as dead.

Kalen looked at me with a cold sneer, as if waiting for me to yield and beg for mercy.

"Sign it, and hand over the wolf emblem on your neck. This is the price you must pay for offending Lina."

A wave of low murmurs broke out around me.

Those warriors who had once charged into battle behind me now lowered their heads, not daring to meet my eyes.

In the Bloodmoon Pack, the Alpha's absolute authority brooked no challenge.

My wolf spirit rammed frantically against its cage, the urge to transform boiling in my blood.

Kalen sensed the danger.

Powerful Alpha pressure crashed down on me like a mountain.

It forcibly suppressed my frenzied wolf spirit, pushing it back into the depths.

Lina hid behind Kalen, a smug smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

When I opened them again, only a dead, stagnant calm remained in my eyes.

"Fine," I said.

No hysterical accusations, no groveling pleas to stay.

I bent down and picked up the dust-covered contract.

My fingertips brushed across the rough parchment. Without hesitation, I bit my finger and pressed a blood thumbprint at the bottom.

The bright red mark looked exceptionally glaring in the dim light.

Kalen's pupils contracted sharply. He clearly hadn't expected me to be so resolute.

"Have you gone mad?" he demanded. "Without the Bloodmoon Pack's protection, do you think you can survive three days in the blizzards of Ultima Thule?"

I ignored his roar and tore the wolf emblem from my neck.

This was the symbol of honor he had personally placed around my neck after I blocked the Vampire Prince's fatal blow for him.

Now, it had become a joke.

A crisp clang rang out.

The wolf emblem fell onto the cold stone floor, rolling to Lina's feet.

She let out a startled cry, as if terrified, and instinctively stepped back.

Her delicate sheepskin boots just happened to step right on the emblem.

The emblem carved with my name was instantly caked with mud.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Lina hurriedly moved her foot away, her large, innocent eyes brimming with tears.

Kalen, his expression pained, shielded her behind him and glared at me.

"Get out! Take your ridiculous pride and vanish from my territory forever!"

I shot them a cold look, then turned and strode toward the gates.

Behind me, he shouted, "Eve, you'll regret this! When you're kneeling in the wilderness, barely surviving and begging for death, don't expect me to save you!"

His shouts were drowned out by the howling wind and snow.

I didn't look back, stepping resolutely into the endless snow.

The sealed Shadow Wolf bloodline within me was boiling. It was a long-lost feeling of freedom and liberation.

Five years. I was finally done suppressing my true nature for a coward.