Exiled Then Reborn As The Vengeful Luna

Chapter 6

Juanita.

I was in a fever dream.

Things were happening too fast, too incredulously.

I’d found my destined mate, the one I’d spent one crazy night with. And he wasn't just anyone. He was the most feared Alpha of the Werelands. Alpha Ryke Blackclaw.

Then Avery had shown up.

Avery, the golden-haired, perfect-smiling woman, had claimed to be Ryke's mate. She had seemed so confident, so certain of her words. And then Alpha Ryke had accepted her.

My heart tightened.

Had I imagined the mate bond?

No. No, I knew what I’d felt. The way my soul had recognized his. The way my body had moved toward him, pulled by something beyond reason.

It had been real.

Hadn't it?

And yet Ryke stood there, his large, looming body pressed against Avery's, his face expressionless. And the bond between them, it couldn't be denied. I could feel it.

Just as I had felt mine.

What was going on?

Before I could make sense of it, Avery’s voice had cut through the air like a blade.

“Witch!”

I’d had barely processed the word when the crowd erupted.

It started as murmurs. Then whispers turned to shouts.

"She bewitched him!"

"She’s trying to steal her Alpha’s mate!"

"She's just like her father!"

My chest constricted in fear.

The first kick struck me in the ribs, making me stumble forward.

The first push made me reel.

The first spittle landed on my cheek, warm and degrading.

I gasped, my breath hitching. No. No, not again.

I’d been here before.

I’d watched as my father had been humiliated, beaten, executed by this very pack.

I’d been a little younger then, thirteen years to be exact, witnessing as my mother screamed for her mate, held back by those who had once called themselves her friends and family. My mother had tried to shield me from what was going to happen despite her pain. She’d told me to leave, to go home and wait. But I’d stood there and I’d seen everything.

And now…

The Moonbeam pack would do the same to me.

I shook as I forced herself up onto my feet. I turned around, intending to leave, to return to my room and shut the world out.

But they wouldn't allow it.

Hands came out to snatch me, nails scratching at my arms.

Someone yanked at my hair, another ripped at my coat.

Blows rained. A slap on my cheek, a punch in my face, a shove that sent me sprawling.

I tried to fight, tried to struggle, but I was no match for them.

Pain blossomed as somebody struck me across the back. Blood flowed from a cut in my lip.

I gasped for breath.

My vision swam.

Then my eyes found Ryke’s.

For a second, just a second, something flickered across his amber gaze.

His brows furrowed, the corner of his mouth twitched, as though something deep inside him recognized my suffering.

But then it was gone.

His expression smoothed into indifference.

And he watched as they tore into me.

My stomach twisted.

A sharp voice rang out, cutting through the chaos.

"Enough."

The pack fell silent.

The wolves that were tearing into me froze.

And then, stepping out of the shadows, came Alpha Erod of Moonbeam.

I shook. I’d spent these past years trying to keep out of the notice of this man.

Tall and wide, he loomed over the entire square with ease. Yet he paled in comparison to Alpha Ryke. His Willa-streaked hair glowed in the moonlight, and his piercing, ruthless eyes locked onto me with utter disdain.

His lips twisted in a sneer as he looked down at my form.

"Corrupting the sacred mate bond," he mused, his voice dripping with disdain. "A crime against nature. A crime against the Moon Goddess herself."

I sobbed, shaking my head. “No, I…” My voice broke, but he wasn’t listening.

He talked over me, drowning out my feeble protest. I saw it then.

The brief flicker of his gaze toward Avery. A silent exchange. A quiet agreement.

My blood ran cold.

He turned to the crowd. "I am not a cruel Alpha," he announced. "I will not execute her for her deceit."

My breath caught.

He wasn't going to kill me. Relief almost surfaced for an instant.

Then, "She will be exiled." The words were final. "Effective immediately," Alpha Erod continued. His lip sneered. "You should be grateful, girl. This is mercy."

Mercy. I had nothing left. No home. No family. No pack.

And the one person the Moon Goddess had intended for me stood before me, silent.

My head bowed as I dragged in torn breaths, my face wet with tears.

Erod snarled. "Stand up."

Gingerly, I forced myself to my feet, shaking but upright. I turned, my gaze meeting Ryke's one final time.

Maybe… maybe he would say something. Stop this madness. Rescue me. But he stood, cold.

The last piece of me shattered. Something inside me numbed.

I turned without a word and walked away. The crowd parted, jeering and whispering as I passed. No one stopped me.

I walked until I reached the borders of the Moonbeam pack. Barefoot. With nothing but my ragged coat and shift.

I lifted my head, gazing up at the bright moon above. Pain poured out of me, thick and suffocating.

My lips trembled as I whispered into the night, "Once more, you have struck against me."

I sniffled, wiping at my face with the back of my hand.

"But I will not hold it against you."

And with that, I crossed the boundaries.

Into the unknown. Into exile.