THE REJECTED LUNA'S REVENGE

Untitled Episode2: BANISHED

MAYA LEAVES BLACKWOOD PACK ALONE, BLEEDING AND BROKEN

The gates of Blackwood Pack closed behind me with a sound like a tomb.

Final. Cold.

I didn’t cry.

I didn’t look back.

The full moon watched me from above as I walked into the forest wearing nothing but muddy training clothes and the pieces of my broken heart.

Three years as Damian’s almost-Luna. Gone in one sentence.

I, Alpha Damian Blackwood, reject you, Maya Reyes...

The words echoed in my head. With every step, they cut deeper.

My wolf, Mira, was silent. Too silent. The mate bond wasn’t just severed. It felt like someone had torn a piece of my soul out and left a bleeding hole.

I pressed a hand to my chest. No blood. But it hurt like there was.

"Keep walking," I told myself. "Don’t stop. Don’t you dare stop."

The snow started an hour later. Soft at first, then harder. By midnight it was up to my ankles, then my calves.

My clothes were soaked through. My fingers were numb.

This is how rogues die, I thought. Frozen. Forgotten.

Part of me wanted that. To just lay down and let the snow cover me. To let the pain stop.

But then I remembered Selena’s smile.

I remembered the way Damian’s face went blank when he said it.

I remembered five hundred wolves watching me fall and doing nothing.

No.

I wouldn’t give them that satisfaction.

I walked.

By dawn, I had no idea where I was. The trees all looked the same. The cold had crept into my bones. My legs were shaking so bad I could barely stand.

That’s when I smelled them.

Rogues.

Three of them. Male. Hungry. They’d been tracking me since I left the territory line.

"The Alpha’s reject," the biggest one said, stepping out from behind a tree. He had scars across his face and a knife in his hand. "Bet Blackwood would pay to get her back."

"Or," the second one grinned, showing broken teeth, "we could have some fun first."

My blood went cold. But not with fear. With rage.

Mira stirred. Weak, but awake. Fight, she whispered. We are not prey.

I bared my teeth. "I’m not a reject," I said, my voice shaking from cold and anger. "I’m banished."

The first rogue laughed and lunged.

What happened next was a blur of claws and blood and snow turning red.

I was outnumbered. I was starving. I was hurt.

But rejection makes you desperate. And desperate wolves fight like they have nothing to lose.

I got the first one in the throat. Felt the warm spray on my face.

The second one caught me across the ribs with his knife. Pain exploded.

The third ran when he saw me kill his brother.

I collapsed to my knees in the snow, breathing hard. Blood was dripping from my side. My own and theirs.

I was going to die here. Alone. Just like they wanted.

Footsteps.

Not running. Walking. Slow. Deliberate.

"Well," a deep voice said above me. "That was impressive."

I forced my eyes open.

A man stood there. Tall. Broad shoulders. Dark hair dusted with snow.

His eyes were storm gray. And he smelled like Alpha.

But not Damian.

This smell was different. Cleaner. Like pine and rain instead of smoke and power.

"Who..." I tried to speak but my teeth were chattering too hard.

He crouched in front of me. Up close I could see the scar that cut through his left eyebrow. The way his jaw was set.

"You’re bleeding bad," he said. No pity in his voice. Just fact. "Can you shift? Heal?"

I shook my head. The rejection had weakened me. I couldn’t even feel Mira properly.

"Then I’ll carry you," he said simply, like it was nothing.

Before I could argue, he scooped me up. I weighed nothing to him.

"Name’s Kade," he said as he started walking. "Alpha of Silverfang Pack."

He glanced down at me. "And you’re Maya Reyes. The Blackwood reject."

I flinched. "Don’t call me that."

"Then what should I call you?"

I closed my eyes. The pain and exhaustion were pulling me under.

"Maya," I whispered.

"Alright, Maya," Kade said. And something in his voice made me believe him.

The last thing I remembered before darkness took me was the sound of his heartbeat. Steady. Strong.

Nothing like the one I’d lost.

When I woke up, I was in a warm bed. Blankets piled on top of me.

And for the first time since the rejection...

I wasn’t alone.

========== END CHAPTER 2 ==========