Chapter 3

Elara

"Elara, you're asking for it!" Kaelen snarled. He shoved me aside with brutal force.

My head hit the sharp edge of the stone steps. A sickening crack echoed, and blinding pain sent the room spinning.

Through the ringing in my ears, Kaelen was already yelling. "Are you hooked on bullying her? Your wolfless scent is ruining the air in this packhouse. It makes me sick!"

Fighting through the dizzy haze, I cut him off. "I'll move out. Don't worry."

"You better," Kaelen growled. He scooped Serena into his muscular arms and walked out without another glance.

Touching the sticky blood on the back of my head, an old memory suddenly hit me.

At fifteen, things weren't this toxic between us. Knowing we were supposed to be mates and a family someday, I used to follow him everywhere.

He was a rebellious teen back then. Once, he sneaked out to a shady fight club in the neutral zone, and I tagged along. He got into an argument with an older rogue over some turf rules. I tried to pull Kaelen back, but accidentally scraped my finger on a broken glass.

In that split second, Kaelen turned into a feral beast. He beat a guy twice his size to a bloody pulp until the wolf whined for mercy.

But the man who once lost his mind over my scraped finger could now crack my head open for someone else. And he did it without even bothering to ask for the truth.

It didn't matter anymore. Once Hubert and Fiona returned from the regional Alpha summit, I could formally cancel the mating agreement.

I turned to a young Omega maid in the corner. "Can you help me get to the clinic? I'll pay you."

She hesitated, but before she could take a step, an older Omega yanked her back, hissing a warning that easily reached my ears.

"Want to get banished? Don't you know Elara is the person the Alpha hates the most? If he catches you helping her, you'll be thrown out of the pack!"

The young maid flinched. She shot me a pitying look and scurried away.

I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head as I crawled over to pick up my shattered phone.

Hubert and Fiona were mostly out of the territory and only came back a few days a month. Kaelen ran the packhouse now.

He had made it very clear I wasn't part of the pack anymore, so no one dared to help me. Every time I came down for dinner, the leftovers were already thrown to the dogs. My plate was always empty.

Luckily, I was used to this. Pushing through the pain, I managed to get a ride to a hospital right outside the pack borders.

The doctor diagnosed a severe concussion and kept me for a couple of days of observation.

After I was discharged, I returned to the packhouse to pack my belongings. The Omegas watched in cold indifference as I limped around miserably.

That afternoon, I packed everything and sent it to a small apartment I had rented in the neutral zone.

It was my temporary fix. Once I got my herbology certificate, received a healer offer at the Silver Peaks Sanctuary, and canceled the engagement, I could escape from everything here.

Three days after I moved out of the Blood Moon territory, Kaelen called me. He sounded drunk. "Where are you? Pack club, VIP room A12. Get here now."

I was busy polishing my resume for the Sanctuary, annoyed by the interruption. "Is there a problem, Kaelen?"

The line went quiet. Even the cheering and heavy bass in the background seemed to die down.

I prompted him again. When he didn't answer, I was about to hang up, but Kaelen suddenly spoke. "Where the hell are you, Elara?"

I put the phone on speaker and kept typing. I replied casually, "Didn't you say it makes you sick to share the air with me? So, I moved out. Don't worry, I'm never coming back."

His breathing grew heavy over the line, followed by a dark snigger. "Elara, since when did you get so obedient? Weren't you always desperately clinging to me?

"Since you're so obedient, I'm telling you to move out of the territory entirely and get out of my sight. Can you do that? I don't care what pathetic game you're playing, but I'll teach you a lesson if you keep bullying Serena."

My mouse was acting up, so I kept my focus locked on the laptop screen. A few seconds later, his threat fully registered.

His mocking voice barked again. "What? Nothing to say? Aren't you tired of playing these games every day? Apologize to Serena, and maybe I'll allow you to return."

"Fine, I promise you I'll leave," I said flatly.

Before he could react, I hung up the phone.