Chapter 2

Zara's POV

Maybe I should've stayed by the stream. As soon as I stepped into the pack, eyes landed on me. Whispering started.

"There she is. The slut."

"Darren's little toy."

"She thought he'd choose her? Please."

I kept walking, pretending their words didn't sting. But then something hit the back of my head. A rock.

I stumbled.

Before I could react, a girl called Mira shoved me hard from behind. I turned quickly, ready to defend myself, but there were already four of them. Laughing. Grinning. Hungry to see me fall.

"You're not welcome here anymore, Zara," Mira said, stepping closer. "Trying to seduce the future alpha? You think that makes you powerful?"

"I didn't seduce anyone," I muttered, trying to back away.

"Liar." Another voice, Wendy, the Gamma's daughter. "You're just a desperate omega with no wolf. No class. No shame."

They rushed me, and they were all using their fists and nails to scratch my body. I tried to fight back, I really did. I scratched, I screamed, I bit one of them. But there were too many. Too strong. I felt a sharp pain in my ribs as someone kicked me hard. My face burned from a slap that landed square across my cheek.

By the time they left me alone, I was lying on the ground, bruised and bleeding, my lip split, and my chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. No one helped me. Not even the elders were passing by.

I lay there for a while, staring at the sky. Tears mixed with blood. For the first time, I didn't just feel pain, but I felt empty. When I finally stood up, something inside me had shifted. There was no going back. Not after this.

I was done trying to prove myself. I limped to my small room, the one I'd lived in since my parents died when I was nine. A small wooden bed. A shelf. A cracked mirror. It wasn't much, but it had held memories. Laughter. Safety.

Now it felt like a cage. I packed what little I had, a threadbare blanket, a pair of shoes, and a loaf of bread I'd saved from yesterday. Then I opened the wooden box beneath my bed. Inside was the only thing that still made me feel close to my mother: a gem-inlaid pocket watch. Gold around the edges, with a tiny moon carved at the center.

She used to say, "Whenever the world feels too big and cruel, hold this and remember, you're not just someone's daughter. You're someone."

I held it against my chest, breathing in deeply. I didn't know where I'd go, but anywhere had to be better than here. But before I left, a part of me still… wanted to see Darren.

Just one last time.

I didn't want to say goodbye. I didn't want to beg. I just needed to see if he ever really loved me. Or if it was all fake. So I snuck through the trees and crept toward the alpha mansion. Their garden stretched out behind the building, with torches glowing faintly. The wedding preparations had already begun, flowers being set, chairs being placed. The whole pack buzzed with excitement.

I crouched near the wall, keeping low. That's when I heard voices.

"…I'm just asking because I saw the way you looked at her," Lily said, her voice sharp but shaky. "You still care about her, don't you?"

Darren sighed. "It's not like that. She was just… comfort."

"Comfort?" Lily snapped. "She's in love with you."

"She's a wolfless orphan," Darren said coldly. "I could never make someone like that my Luna. You know that."

My heart dropped.

"She's beneath you," Lily added, calmer now. "But I still want her gone. I won't feel safe if she's here."

There was a pause. Then Darren said, "I'll handle it. I'll make sure she leaves."

"When?"

"Soon."

"Tonight," Lily demanded. "Or the wedding is off."

I didn't wait to hear more.

I stumbled backward, my whole body trembling. My breath caught in my throat. It wasn't enough that he betrayed me. Now he was plotting to drive me out like I was trash?

I turned and ran. Back to my room, I ran back to the truth. They never saw me as one of them. Not even Darren.

That night, while the pack buzzed with celebration, laughter, and music in the distance, I tied my small bag over my shoulder. I tucked the pocket watch into my pocket. And without a sound, I slipped through the back of the quarters and into the forest.

No one saw me leave. No one would care if I didn't come back. I didn't know where the road ahead would lead. I had no wolf. No powers. No family. No pack.

Just pain, and just me. I kept walking, even when the woods grew darker. I didn't stop, even when my legs began to ache. I walked until I couldn't hear the drums of Darren's wedding anymore.

The forest was quiet, too quiet. I'd walked for hours, walking through tall grass, jumping over fallen logs, and letting my legs carry me as far away from Mooncroft as they could. The pain from my bruises had dulled into a deep, throbbing ache. My feet were blistered, and I hadn't eaten since morning, but I didn't stop. Couldn't stop.

Eventually, I reached a riverbank, far beyond any place I'd ever explored. I dropped my bag and crouched near the water, letting the cold wash over my hands. The reflection staring back at me didn't feel like me anymore. My bottom lip was still swollen from Mira's punch. My cheekbone was a faint shade of purple. And yet, I wasn't crying.

I was free. I leaned against a tree and closed my eyes. Half of me wanted to scream into the night, to cry until my chest emptied of every heavy thing it carried. But the other half, the stubborn, broken part wanted to turn back. Not to beg. Not to crawl back to the pack. No, that part of me wanted one thing.

I want answers, to demand answers from Dareen. Why did Darren lie?

Why didn't he fight for me?

Why was I thrown away like I meant nothing?

I was still thinking about it when I heard the snap of a twig. My eyes flew open. It wasn't a deer. It wasn't the wind. I could feel it.

I wasn't alone.

I quickly grabbed my bag and backed away, my heart racing. My senses were sharper than usual, not from power, but from fear. I could feel the presence of some people coming closer to where I was. They were extremely close to me.

I turned and ran.

I didn't know where I was going, but my legs didn't care. My body was running on survival now. My lungs burned. Branches slapped my arms and legs, but I didn't stop.

Then I heard a voice from behind, their footsteps approaching very heavy and faster. They were following me.

Panic gripped me, I don't know who they were, but I know they won't take it lightly with me.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed into the trees. No response. I just felt that they were fast approaching me like the wind.

I darted between two trees and down a narrow path, hoping I could lose them. But no matter how fast I ran, they were right behind me.

Suddenly, something hard hit my back.

I cried out and crashed to the ground, rolling down a slope and landing flat on my stomach. Pain exploded through my ribs.

Before I could crawl away, someone grabbed my hair and yanked me up.

"Well, well," a voice smirked. "The little stray thought she could run."

I was dragged to my knees.

Six figures stood around me, all dressed in black. I didn't recognize any of them until the last one stepped out from the shadows.

Lily.

Her blond hair was tied back neatly. Her white coat is still spotless. Her smile… cruel.

"Oh Zara," she said sweetly. "I told Darren to exile you, but I had a feeling that wouldn't be enough."

I spat blood on the ground near her feet. "You followed me?"

"Of course." She knelt down in front of me, her eyes cold. "You were always a threat. A thorn in my perfect little future."

I glared at her. "He still loves me. That's why you're so scared."

Her expression was unexplainable for a moment, then she slapped me. I think it was hard to describe at that point.

"You think I'm scared of you?" she hissed. "You're wolfless, powerless, forgotten and lastly you have nobody."

"Zara, read my lips, you are nothing, but a forgotten wolf."

I tasted blood again but didn't look away. "Then why go this far? If I'm nothing?"

"Because even a spark can start a fire," Lily said, rising to her feet. "And I have plans. Big ones."

I narrowed my eyes. "What kind of plans?"

She laughed. "Oh, you really don't know anything, do you?"

She turned to one of her men. "Tell her."

The man stepped forward. His eyes were pale gray. "There's a school," he said. "A hidden one. Where powerful magic is taught. Only the worthy are invited. Royals, high alphas… and chosen Lunas."

Lily stepped forward again. "And I'm going to be one of them. Step by step, power by power, I'll climb until I'm untouchable. And you?" She looked at me like I was trash. "You could ruin that. Darren's feelings for you… They're a crack I can't afford."

She raised her hand.

"Kill her."

The men moved towards me, my heart raced, waiting for a miracle to happen. I screamed at the top of my voice. I reached into my bag for anything, anything, and my hand closed around the pocket watch.

My mother's watch the only thing that was left to me by her, I held it tight against my chest and closed my eyes. If this was the end, at least I had one piece of her with me.

But just as the first man raised his blade, suddenly a light burst from my chest, the light was blinding, warm, and at the same time blazing.

It pushed everyone back like a force field, sending them flying through the trees. They were all screaming, and the atmosphere changed. Birds scattered. I couldn't see.

The watch in my hand was glowing just like gold and silver threads of light weaving in the air like stars. I tried to hold on, but my body was shaking. And then… Everything went dark.