The wolfsbane still burned in my veins three days after the rejection ceremony. Every movement felt like dragging myself through quicksand, my limbs heavy and unresponsive. Luna remained silent in my mind—not the comfortable quiet of sleep, but the terrible absence of something dying.

I forced myself to the pack kitchen for my assigned duties, ignoring the way conversations died when I entered. The other omegas who used to chat with me now found sudden interest in their chopping boards. Sarah, who'd been my friend since childhood, couldn't even meet my eyes as she handed me a bucket of potatoes to peel.

"Genetic weakness," someone whispered behind me. "No wonder the Alpha rejected her."

"I heard her wolf might be defective too. That's why she can barely stand."

The knife slipped in my trembling hands, slicing across my palm. Blood welled up, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the hollow ache in my chest where the mate bond used to live.

"Careful, Lauren." Azaria's voice made me freeze. She glided into the kitchen like she owned it, which I supposed she did now. As the Alpha's... whatever she was to him. "We can't have you injuring yourself. The pack has enough concerns about your... condition."

I wrapped my bleeding hand in a dish towel, not trusting my voice. Azaria moved closer, her presence making my skin crawl in ways I couldn't explain.

"Actually, I've been thinking." She picked up an apple from the counter, examining it with the same clinical interest she'd shown my supposed medical records. "Perhaps I could help you. Special training to overcome your limitations. Build up your strength."

The other pack members were listening now, pretending to work while hanging on every word. I could feel their judgment, their pity, their relief that it was me and not them.

"I don't need your help," I managed, my voice barely above a whisper.

Azaria's smile was all gentle concern, but something cold flickered in her eyes. "Oh, but I think you do. After all, we can't have you... struggling... indefinitely. It reflects poorly on all of us."

She set the apple down and moved past me toward the door, but not before leaning close enough that only I could hear her next words.

"Know your place, Lauren. And remember—I'm only trying to help. It would be such a shame if you needed more... intensive assistance."

The threat hung in the air long after she left, disguised as kindness but unmistakably clear. I stood there, blood seeping through the towel, wondering how my life had become this nightmare.

---

Later that evening, I was scrubbing the great hall floors when I heard voices from Cade's office. The door was slightly ajar, and I couldn't help but catch fragments of conversation.

"...doesn't add up, Alpha." That was Marcus Reed, the Beta. His voice carried the frustration of someone who'd been arguing for a while. "I've gone through every genealogical record we have. There's no documentation of any genetic issues in the Watkins bloodline."

"Azaria provided medical evidence—"

"Medical evidence that no one else has seen the originals of. Alpha, I've known Lauren her whole life. Her parents, her grandparents. There's never been any indication of weakness."

I pressed closer to the wall, my heart hammering. Someone was questioning Azaria's claims. Someone was defending me.

"Marcus." Cade's voice was sharp, final. "Azaria saved my life. I owe her everything. If she says there are concerns about Lauren's bloodline, then there are concerns. I won't have you questioning someone who's proven their loyalty to this pack."

"But Alpha—"

"The decision is made. Lauren was rejected for the good of the pack. That's the end of it."

I heard Marcus's heavy sigh, the scrape of a chair. "As you wish, Alpha. But I hope you know what you're doing."

Footsteps approached the door, and I scrambled back to my scrubbing, my hands shaking as I worked the brush across the stone. Marcus emerged first, his face grim. When he saw me, something like pity flashed in his eyes before he quickly looked away.

Cade appeared a moment later, and the sight of him still hit me like a physical blow. The mate bond was gone, but my heart hadn't gotten the message yet. He looked tired, older somehow, with dark circles under his eyes.

For a second, our gazes met. I saw something flicker there—regret, maybe, or pain. But then his expression shuttered, and he walked past me like I was invisible.

I sat back on my heels, watching him disappear down the corridor. Marcus suspected something was wrong, but Cade wouldn't listen. The life debt Azaria claimed bound him more tightly than any chain.

As I returned to scrubbing, Luna stirred weakly in my mind for the first time since the rejection.

'Something's wrong,' she whispered, her voice barely a thread. 'The woman... there's something wrong with her scent.'

I paused, remembering the cold satisfaction I'd glimpsed in Azaria's eyes. The medical records that appeared so conveniently. The way she'd orchestrated everything at the ceremony.

'I know,' I whispered back to my wolf. 'But what can we do about it?'

Luna went quiet again, but not before I felt her determination flicker to life—weak, but present. Whatever game Azaria was playing, whatever she'd done to destroy my life, we weren't going to take it lying down.

Not anymore.

The hunting party had been tracking the deer for hours when the first howl split the evening air. Not the controlled call of our pack, but something wild and vicious that made Luna stir uneasily in my weakened mind.

'Rogues,' she whispered, her voice still threadbare from the rejection's aftermath.

I crouched behind a fallen log, my assigned position at the rear of the hunting formation. The wolfsbane still coursed through my system, making every movement sluggish, every breath labored. Three days since the ceremony, and I could barely manage a half-shift, let alone defend myself properly.

Azaria's scream pierced the forest like a blade.

"Help me! Please, someone help me!"

My blood turned to ice. Through the trees, I could see her stumbling backward, her face a mask of terror as shadows emerged from the undergrowth. Four massive rogues, their eyes glowing amber in the dying light, their lips pulled back to reveal yellowed fangs.

Cade's roar of fury shook the very leaves. "Azaria!"

I watched in sick fascination as he burst from the tree line, his partially shifted form radiating Alpha power. The other pack members followed—Marcus, the Gamma warriors, all of them converging on Azaria's position with single-minded determination.

Not one of them looked toward me.

That's when I realized the trap.

The rustling behind me came too late for warning. I spun around just as another group of rogues melted out of the shadows, their movements coordinated, deliberate. These weren't random attackers—this was planned.

"Well, well," the largest one growled, his voice like gravel scraping stone. "Look what we found. The rejected little omega, all alone."

My throat closed up. Four of them, just like with Azaria. But no one was coming to save me.

Luna tried to push forward, to give me the strength to shift, but the wolfsbane fought her every attempt. My bones ached with the effort, my muscles trembling as I managed only a partial transformation—claws extending, canines lengthening, but nothing more.

"Pathetic," another rogue sneered. "This is the Alpha's former mate? No wonder he threw her away."

Rage flared in my chest, burning through the weakness. "Stay back," I snarled, surprised by the venom in my own voice.

They laughed.

The first one lunged.

I rolled sideways, grabbing a fallen branch thick as my forearm. The rogue's claws raked across my shoulder instead of my throat, tearing through fabric and flesh like paper. Pain exploded down my arm, warm blood soaking my hunting clothes.

But I was still alive.

I swung the branch with everything I had, catching the second rogue across the muzzle. He howled, stumbling back, and I scrambled toward a cluster of rocks, looking for anything I could use as a weapon.

"Feisty little thing," the leader growled, circling me like a predator. "Too bad you won't live to see tomorrow."

From Azaria's direction came the sounds of battle—snarls, the clash of bodies, Cade's commanding voice directing the fight. He was saving her. Again. Just like he always did.

A rogue came at me from the left. I hurled a rock at his face, then dove behind a boulder as claws whistled through the air where my head had been. My shoulder screamed in protest, blood loss making me dizzy.

Luna was fading fast. I could feel her consciousness slipping away, the wolfsbane and trauma too much for her weakened state.

'Don't leave me,' I begged her silently. 'Please, Luna. I need you.'

'Fighting,' she whispered back, but her voice was growing distant. 'Always... fighting for you...'

Two rogues rushed me at once. I managed to rake my claws across one's flank, but the other's massive paw caught me across the abdomen, sending me flying into a tree trunk. The impact drove the air from my lungs, and I tasted copper as blood filled my mouth.

I slumped to the ground, my vision swimming. The rogues approached slowly now, savoring their victory. In the distance, I could hear the battle winding down, victorious howls echoing through the forest.

Cade had won. Azaria was safe.

And I was about to die.

"Any last words, omega?" The leader's claws gleamed in the moonlight.

I tried to speak, tried to call for help, but only blood came out. My strength was gone, Luna's presence barely a whisper now. The world tilted sideways as I collapsed fully, my cheek pressing against the cold forest floor.

The rogues leaned over me, their stench filling my nostrils. One of them prodded my ribs with his foot.

"She's done. Let's go."

"What about the body?"

"Leave it. The scavengers will take care of the evidence."

Their footsteps faded into the distance, but I was already drifting away. The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me was the moon through the canopy, its silver light growing dimmer and dimmer until there was nothing left but the void.