Zylia's POV Killian's words echoed in my skull. It was heavy and dismissive. I wanted the floor to swallow me whole. The hall was frozen. Everyone's head turned to me. They all had disgust and shock written in their faces. My lips parted, but I found no words to say. My chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. "I...uhm.." My voice was cracked, breaking my words. Killian didn't move, nor did he waver. His dark gaze was locked on me as he moved closer. His hands stretched at me, "Come forward," He wasn't talking about me. Was he? "Come," he said again, confirming I was the one he was talking about. I stared at his hand, then I looked back at him. Should I take it? Should I not? My legs moved on their own. I couldn't control them. It was like they had a mind of their own. They trembled as I moved closer to him, trembling. Then, I placed my hand into his. His touch sent a sudden warmth through me. I had never felt anything like it before, almost like it awakened my whole body, like my heart was set on fire. My knees felt weak at every step but I couldn't help it. Then, the whispers broke loose. "This is madness..." "She's an omega!" "Impossible." Lilith's voice cut louder than them all. "This is madness, Alpha Killian!" Her gown shimmered as she walked forward. She had fury written all over her face. "She is an omega. How can she be your fated mate?!" Gasps scattered again. "Alpha," Beta Lucious's voice added, low but sharp. He bowed his head but his eyes gleamed with disdain. "Forgive me, but this cannot be. The Moon Goddess would never tie you to... her." My stomach clenched. I wanted to shrink into the floor, vanish into shadow. My hand twitched in Killian's grasp, but he held firm. Then the priestess moved forward. White robes trailed the floor, her staff clinking softly. The room silenced again. She raised her eyes toward the chandeliers, then to Killian. "Alpha," she said solemnly, "before the bond is sealed, hear the words given to me." Killian's jaw tensed. "Speak." The priestess's voice carried, strong and clear. "The Alpha's mate shall be his downfall. Beneath the blood moon, she will betray him. One he loves will wear the crown of ruin." A wave of gasps surged once again, but this time it was louder. My chest constricted. Betray him? Crown of ruin? All eyes cut to me. I would never do such a thing. "No..." I whispered, shaking my head. "That's not... I can't.... I won't" My words galloped, I couldn't get a single thing out. "She's the one!" someone hissed. "The prophecy fits her." "Betrayal. Of course it would be her." "What? Do you really think a servant like her would actually stay loyal to you?" Lilith's eyes glittered, and she smirked faintly. "You see, Alpha? Even the Goddess warns you. She will betray you." Beta Lucious stepped closer. "Killian, you must reject her. If you don't, the prophecy will destroy us all." "No..." My voice came thin, desperate. "I would never...." Killian's chest rose and fell hard. His hand trembled against mine. His dark eyes fixed on me, and for a moment, I could've sworn I saw something. It seemed like...conflict, longing, pain. Did he... Did he really mean that? Before I could figure it out, his face hardened. All emotions were lost. "No," he muttered again, but this time to himself. "Alpha," Lucious pressed, "save the pack. End this bond now." "Killian," Lilith whispered sweetly, "you know it's true." The weight of the room pressed down on him. His grip slipped from mine. Cold shot through me like ice water. "No," I whispered. "Please... don't listen to them." Killian shut his eyes, jaw tight, then opened them. An inferno burned in them. "I, Killian Stormbane, Alpha of the Howlborne Pack..." His voice trembled just once, before it sharpened. "...reject you, Zylia Nightshade, as my mate." The words struck like claws ripping my chest open. "What?" My throat burned. "No... you can't..." Gasps washed the hall. "I am sorry," Killian said, but his gaze slid away from me. "But you just...." My voice cracked. "You just claimed me!" The priestess lifted her staff. "Repeat the words, girl. Release him." Tears stung my eyes. "I don't... I don't understand..." "You must," she snapped. Everyone looked at me with pity, curiosity, satisfaction. Lilith's smirk widened. My chest heaved. My heart shattered. Finally, broken, I whispered, "I... accept your rejection, Alpha Killian." The bond tore apart, and I gasped like all air had been ripped from my lungs. Killian turned, striding away without a second glance. Lilith glided after him, her smile like victory. "No!" I cried, stumbling a step after him. "Please, don't....don't leave" "Enough!" The priestess's voice cracked like a whip. "Zylia Nightshade is marked by betrayal. She must be banished at once!" "What?" My voice broke. The situation just got worse. "She cannot stay," the priestess declared. "She will doom us. If she can betray the Alpha, then who are we?" Her words drop like a bomb. Everyone's eyes turned to me. "I knew there was something wrong with her," someone hissed. Before I knew it, the guards seized me. "No...please...I haven't done anything," I begged. Beta Lucious's cold eyes met mine. His lips curled. "You heard the prophecy. You are a traitor in waiting." "No!" I begged. "Please.....please, Killian!" But he was gone. Lucious turned to the guards. "Take her home. Let her gather what little she owns. Then cast her out before moonrise." The guards dragged me, whispers chasing me like daggers. *** At my foster father's house, they shoved me inside. He sat at the table, shadows across his face. His eyes met mine, disgust etched in them. "You've brought nothing but shame," he said coldly. "Father, please..." "Don't call me that." His hand slammed the table, the sound like a crack of thunder. "If the Alpha rejects you, then you are nothing. If the priestess condemns you, you are cursed." Tears blurred my vision. "You're sending me away, just like that?" "You should never have been here to begin with." His voice was flat, final. The guards shoved a torn bag at me. "Pack. Quickly." My fingers shook as I stuffed what little I had into the bag. My father did not even look at me. When I stepped outside, the guards pulled me through the village. Neighbors watched from their doors. Whispers followed me like fire. At the gates, Beta Lucious stood waiting, arms folded. He handed me my bag with a smirk. "Go. Do not return." "Please," I begged one last time. "Let me speak to Killian." Lucious's smirk widened. "The Alpha gave no such order. This is where you belong, omen girl." The gate slammed shut behind me. I stood there, staring at the wood until their boots faded. Slowly, I turned. The path in front of me was dark, no one knew what evil lay ahead of them. I walked. My tears blurred everything. My bag dug into my shoulder, heavy, but not as heavy as my chest. Every step replayed his voice: first claiming me, then casting me aside. Then, a branch snapped. I froze. Another step crunched closer. Someone was there in the shadows...behind me....

Zylia's POV "Who's there?" My voice came out thin and trembling. No one answered. I only heard the breeze of Dey leaves. I pressed my back to a tree trunk and clutched my bag to my chest like my life depended on it. And I could say, right now, it really did. My knuckles turned white, and legs felt rooted to the ground, as if it did not want me to move. Something moved in the darkness, really fast, my eyes only caught a shape that resolved into a man. Then it turned into two. I caught a scent of rags and sweat. It wasn't of a pack. It was... Rogues. My mouth went dry. I tried to turn, to run, but my feet would not. "Please," I said. "I don't want trouble. I'll go. I'll.." One of them laughed, soft and mean. "Look what the moon spat out. An Alpha's toy." He circled me slowly, his arms folded, his eyes dangerous."All alone....How easy.....must be our lucky night" The other crouched and grinned at me. "Pretty thing. Come on, don't be shy." "Leave me," I whispered, backing until the trunk stopped me. The bag dug into my ribs; I could feel every bruise from the guards' rough hands. My throat burned from the urge to burst into tears. The taller rogue reached out. His hand was close enough to brush my sleeve. "Not so fast." He leaned in, so did the smell of dust. "We'll have some fun, won't we?" His hands brushed my cheeks. I was cornered by both wolves. I couldn't escape, even if I wanted to. I shut my eyes. My mind flashed back to Killian's voice, the priestess, Lilith's smile. "Please," I whispered again. "Just... let me go." "You reek of the Alpha's bond," The taller one muttered to the other. "He's gone," the shorter man said. "The Alpha threw her out. No one cares." "You idiots," hissed a new voice from the trees, low and sharp. It wasn't rogue laughing, nor was it humane. It cut through the air like a blade. The rogues startled. The taller one spun, jaw working. "Who....?" Something huge moved in the darkness. I felt it before I saw it: the air shifted, like a tide changing. A wolf exhaled nearby, long and low. The rogue's grin faltered. "We should leave. Now." He stepped back. They ran as fast as they could. A shape stepped into the clearing now. Broad shoulders, shadowed face, the kind of presence that made breath catch. He moved with the silence of a predator and the ease of a man who owned the dark. He crouched near me, not touching, an arm resting on his knee. His eyes were too bright in the moon, and they measured me like a market buyer. "You shouldn't walk packlands at night, little one." I swallowed. "Who are you?" He let out a chuckel. "A dangerous thing to ask in the Wildlands." He straightened. "Name's Mason." Mason looked at me like a curious animal. "You smell like a bond and trouble," he said. "Alpha's mark still clings to you." My chest tightened. "I..." I bit my lip. "Claimed," he interrupted me, his gaze fixed on mine."Then cast off." His mouth curved. "Poor thing." He touched my chin with care, and then lifted my face to get a closer look. His hands were soft and warm. For a moment there, I could've sworn he was human. His gaze lingered "You're hurt," I checked myself, "Do I have a bruise...or injury?" He chuckled, "Not that type of hurt," He let go as if the touch had burned him. He was talking about my rejection. "Oh..." "Come. Sit." He pointed at the log I had been on and bowed his head in a mock of courtesy. I slid down, hugging my bag to my chest. "Why are you....why are you so nice to me?" He shrugged. "We're not saints. But we don't like thieves. Rogues have rules." He studied my face, and his voice went low. "And I like to know who walks my woods." "You saved me," I said. The words sounded small and ugly next to the memory of Killian's rejection. "Why?" Mason's jaw worked. "Because you're interesting." He paused as if testing the word for weight. "Because you weren't just some weeping thing. You didn't scream. You didn't beg like the others. You looked like you carried more shame than fear." I flinched. "Shame is all I have left." "Maybe." He cocked his head. "Or maybe it's something else. Something the pack hated enough to spit out." He sat across from me on the same log. It was getting quite dark so he lit a flame. The light made his eyes seem amber. "Tell me what happened," he said plainly. "I'm...not" "It's fine, you don't have to say it if you're not comfortable," He said after he saw how I struggled getting the words out. "Thank you," I said, my voice low. Silence drew between us for a while. I swallowed. The story came out in jagged breaths, the hall, the priestess, Killian's hand, the moment he took it, the way it had felt when he claimed me, and then how he had thrown me away. Mason listened, unblinking. At the end he whistled, low. "Oof." It could have been pity. It could have been greed. I couldn't tell. "So," he said, stirring the fire with a stick, "you have half a bond and all the trouble." "It should have been forever," I whispered. "It was supposed to be my place." He looked at me, not too soft or too cruel face, "Lots of things were supposed to be. The world doesn't care for supposed." "But you?" I asked, the question reckless. "Why do you care?" Mason's lips twitched. "I don't. Not really." He blew on the coals, and the embers flared. "But tonight I felt like showing up. Maybe because I don't like other men thinking they can take and then toss what they want." He flicked his gaze to the trees as if expecting someone to appear. A cold breath escaped my lips. "Can I....can I go back with you?" My voice trembled. He leaned forward. "I'm not a savior Zylia. I won't carry you home." He paused, "But I won't let you be eaten by rogues tonight." Relief crashed into me so hard I could not speak. He pushed to his feet. "Stay near me," he ordered softly. "I have camp not far." He stuffed the last of the kindling into his pocket and started to walk, not looking back. I fumbled to my feet, bag heavy on my shoulder, and stumbled after him. "Who are you really?" I asked, keeping pace so I wouldn't lose him in the dark. Mason glanced over his shoulder. A dangerous smirk appeared on his face, "Someone who likes to know things." Then softer, almost private: "And someone who hates being told what to think." We moved into the trees, and the small fire we left died to gray ash. The woods swallowed our footsteps, but not the drum of my heart. I walked with Mason because at that moment, anything that moved with me felt better than standing still in the place where they had thrown me away. Behind us, hidden in the black, eyes watched. And one voice, closer than the rest, whispered a name I'd only ever heard in the hall. "Killian," it breathed, and then silence.

Killian's POV I stormed out of the ballroom with my hands clenched and my chest heaving what annoyance. Everything had turned so fast I could hardly understand it. I had claimed Zylia in front of everyone, I had felt the bond settle between us, and then the priestess had spoken, and I had torn it all apart with my own words. The music and voices faded behind me as I walked down the corridor and I didn't care that people moved out of my way; I just needed to be alone. My heart hurt, and my anger burned painfully as I pushed open the door to my chambers and stepped inside with Lilith right behind me. "Killian, wait," she said softly, but I slammed the door before she could step in, with the wood shook under the force. "I don't want company," I said through the closed door. For a moment, I stood there, staring at the door as if it could stop all the noise in my head, and then I went to the window and threw it open, letting Moonlight pour over the room. I leaned on the frame and tried to breathe. The priestess's words still rang in my ears. Was she really going to betray me? I can't be sure but she didn't look like someone who would. I thought of the dreams that had woken me for weeks now, with smoke over the valley and wolves fighting and falling with blood on the stones of the courtyard. I had tried to push them away, but they kept coming, and tonight the priestess had spoken of the same doom. I pressed my hands to my face. "Moon goddess, why?" I whispered. "Why give her to me and then rip her away?" Time passed silently and I didn't know how long I stood there until a knock sounded. "My Alpha," Lucien's voice came through the door. "It's me." I opened the door and let him in. Beta Lucien stepped inside and closed it quietly behind him. "She's gone," he said. "I made sure she was escorted out of the territory. Just as the priestess ordered." I sat down on the edge of the bed and shook my head. "It's not right, Lucien. None of this is right." He stayed silent, waiting. "Why would the moon goddess show me she's my mate and then take her away?" I asked. "Why put her in front of me only to say she's a curse and a betrayal?" Lucien crossed the room and stood near the fireplace. "The ways of the goddess are not for us to understand," he said gently. "She sees more than we can." "That doesn't help," I muttered. "I sent her out there like she was nothing. I look like a monster. It's like I lured her here only to hurt her." I felt tears sting my eyes, and I tried to swallow them back, but they came anyway, so I bowed my head. "I knew I'd love her," I said quietly. "I didn't want to admit it, but I do. Since the time I saw at the dinner hall, dirty and trying to hide from everyone, I knew she was the one for me." Lucien's eyes softened. "I don't feel anything for the other girls," I went on. "I've tried. I've looked at every girl the council brought to me, but Nothing, only her." Beta Lucien laid a hand on my shoulder. "I know, Alpha Killian. I saw the way you looked at her. But you did what you thought would save the pack." I nodded, though my heart didn't agree. "Rest a little," Beta Lucien said after a pause. "I'll keep the guards on alert tonight." "Thank you," I said. He left quietly, and I sat there in the silence, staring at the floor in mystery. Another knock came later, and I thought Lucien had returned, but when I opened the door, Lilith stood there. She wore a thin silk robe that clung tightly to her body, and her hair fell over her shoulders, and her lips curved in a small smile. "Killian," she said softly. "You shouldn't be alone tonight." I stepped back. "Luna Lilith, you need to go back to your room." I growled. She slid inside before I could stop her, and the robe shifted, showing too much skin as she came closer. "You're hurting," she whispered. "You don't need to think about that omega wench anymore. She was trouble from the start." "Don't call her that," I snapped. Lilith placed a hand on my chest. "You need comfort," she said. "I can give you that." She leaned closer with her fingers drawing a faint line on my chest. "Stop," I said, stepping back. "Killian," she said softly, "you're an Alpha. You deserve someone strong beside you, not a betrayal that will ruin your pack." Her words made anger rise in me. "Get out," I said. She blinked, still smiling faintly. "You don't mean that." "I do," I said firmly. "Leave my room, Lilith. At this instant." Her smile faded, and she tossed her hair and turned for the door. "Fine," she said. "But sooner or later you'll see I'm the right choice." I didn't sleep much that night, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw Zylia's face as the guards led her away. Morning finally came, and I changed into running clothes and left the pack house alone. I needed to clear my head. I ran until my breath came fast and the ache in my muscles drowned out the ache in my heart, and when I returned to the pack house, the sun was already up and Beta Lucien waited by the front steps gravely. "What now?" I asked, wiping sweat from my brow. "There's unrest on the council," he said. "They met this morning, and apparently, they're worried about last night. They say an Alpha who claims an omega and then rejects her in front of everyone is a risk." I frowned. "A risk?" "They want you to choose a proper mate soon," Mason said. "If you don't, they might try to impeach you." My hands curled at my sides. "A proper mate," I repeated. "What does that even mean to them?" "They think the best choice is Lilith. She should've been your Luna," Lucien said slowly. "She has status. She's from the Crestwood Pack. A union would calm them." I let out a scoff. "Lilith," I said. "Of course it has to be her..!"