Chapter 2 Leaving The Pack

 “Are you deaf? Do you want me to spell it out for you? You have just been rejected,” a girl sneered at me.

I hadn’t seen her before, but with the power radiating from her, she had to be the child of an Alpha.

Which makes her a potential Luna.

After barking at me, she walked toward Luke and locked arms with him.

I couldn’t believe my ears… or my eyes.

Luke. The only reason for my existence. The only hope I had.

Today was the day he returned from his three years of Alpha training, and the day he was supposed to claim me in front of everyone.

Because of that, I made sure to finish my work on time.

I put on my favorite dress.

It wasn’t like the expensive designer outfits the ladies in the hall were wearing.

It was a dress I made myself, using cloth material Anita had rejected.

It wasn’t designer, but it was my best, and I had waited for this night to wear it.

But the night was taking a different turn from what I had expected.

“Did you think for a minute that he would settle for a latent as his Luna?” Anita asked, disgust written all over her face.

I looked around again, and none of the faces there held any pity for me.

Even Luke had a smile on his face as he linked his arm with the girl who had just spoken.

“Selena, how did you ever think that I would make you my mate? An Alpha and his Luna are a union that brings strength to the pack. What strength do you have to offer?” Luke asked.

I couldn’t answer him. I had lost my voice in this moment.

Is this what my life had been reduced to?

Or was this simply the reality of this world?

The strong prey on the weak.

I looked around, and it dawned on me.

I never mattered to these people. No.

Not to Luke. Not to any of them.

I was just a plaything for their entertainment.

Luke, who was supposed to be my escape, had played the greatest villain of all.

He kept giving me hope, only to shatter it completely.

Now I understood why the last thing left in Pandora’s box was hope.

I had always thought Pandora made a mistake by keeping hope inside instead of releasing it to the world.

But now, seeing the pain that came from unfulfilled hope, I realized it was humanity’s greatest suffering.

If Pandora had released it, humanity would have been crushed every time their hopes were not fulfilled.

Tears streamed down my cheeks.

After my parents died, I never thought I would experience such heartbreak again.

I heard murmurs across the hall.

I stood there and cried… and cried… and cried.

I cried until no tears remained.

While this was happening, they continued their celebration as if I wasn’t worthy of their attention.

Some even watched my suffering as entertainment.

After a while, I let out a slow breath and wiped my tears.

Then I looked at each and every one of them.

Imprinting their faces into my mind, my heart, my soul.

Since this world belonged only to the strong, I would become the strongest of them all.

I would stand at the apex… whether by hook or by crook.

I left the party, and that same night, I left the pack.

I went to my small room.

There was only one thing there that truly belonged to me, so I took it.

It was the moon necklace my mother had left me. She had warned me never to reveal it until I was in a place where I truly felt at home.

I was supposed to show it to Luke tonight, after he claimed me.

But things had turned out differently.

I took it, placed it inside its box, and tucked it into my backpack.

Leaving a pack made one a rogue, unless you were lucky enough to be accepted into another pack.

I was not leaving my fate in the hands of any pack ever again.

If I had to be a rogue to survive, then so be it.

With a determined mind, I left the pack.

If they had wanted to stop me, they would have.

A pack’s security wasn’t something I could easily evade, yet somehow, I had avoided them all.

I wasn’t naive enough to think it was because I was skilled.

It was simply because they chose to let me go.

No pack wanted a weak link among them.

Since I had no intention of joining another pack, I headed deep into the forest, far away from any civilization, just like rogues did.

Despite my determination to reach the top, I had no idea how I would get there.

But my mother always said that opportunity comes to those who desperately need it.

I just had to be ready to seize it when it appeared.

And so, I walked into the forest.

The full moon hung high in the sky, casting a pale silver light that guided my path.

The night was alive with sound.

Crickets chirped endlessly in the undergrowth, their rhythm filling the silence.

Leaves rustled softly as a cool breeze weaved through the towering trees, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and wild grass.

Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted, its call echoing through the darkness.

Twigs snapped beneath my feet with every step I took, the sound unnervingly loud in the stillness of the night.

Shadows stretched and shifted between the trees, making it seem as though the forest itself was watching me.

Yet, I did not stop.

Not now.

Not ever again.