Chapter Two

“My son,” The Alpha’s broken voice whispered, as he took Caspian’s lifeless hand in his, tears streaming down his face. “She killed my son...”

The ground was stained with blood, mingling with the crushed grass and broken branches. Everywhere around us was glaring evidence of what I had done, the grave unforgivable sin I'd committed last night, and the pain twisted my insides—I killed everyone. I killed my friends, my mate. They all had their families waiting back home for them and I murdered every single one of them.

“I'm sorry…” The words fell from my lips, weak and useless. “Please, please, I didn't mean to… I don't know how it happened.”

As the crowd began to gather and with the realization of what had happened, their tears and screams intensified until it felt like a thousand knives stabbing me from all sides. Pain ravaged me, tearing at my soul ferociously until I could no longer bear to be in my own skin.

The Alpha straightened up, his face contorted in sorrow, his eyes brimming with tears.

“The rules of the land forbid us from killing a Wild Wolf,” he declared, his voice breaking with grief. “And that is the only reason she is to be spared.”

Another wave of cries erupted from the crowd. I'd never felt so devastated and I felt the weight of my guilt crushing me. Fear shook my core and I could only watch in agony.

“Leave, and never return, Scarlett Reed!” The Alpha commanded, his voice cold and final. “You are no longer a part of the Moonlake Pack and have been deemed a Wild Wolf and a rogue. Any attempt to return will be met with violence. If your family chooses to leave with you, they too will be stripped of their position and will no longer be considered members of this pack.”

All eyes turned to my father, the Beta, who bowed his head in submission. “The loyalty of my family lies with the Moonlake pack and to you, Alpha. I have no ties with a Wild Wolf.”

The Earth shattered at his words. For a moment, it was silent, and then the world exploded around me. Each broken fragment slammed into me, forcing itself into my skin and piercing every inch of me, pain crumbling me from the inside out.

My legs shook in fear and I swayed, my surroundings faded into nothingness. The only words that echoed in my head were my father’s denouncement: “I have no ties with the Wild Wolf.”

—I was no longer his daughter, no longer the Scarlett he was proud of. I was nothing more than a Wild Wolf, a murderer banished from her pack.

“No!” Someone yelled, and I slowly registered it as my brother’s voice “No, please! Please, don't!” Finn continued to beg but my older sister, Alyssa held him back to stop him from running to me.

“Let me go with her, please. I will go with Scarlett, please, please, let me go…” Finn pleaded but Alyssa continued to restrain him, a distant cousin assisting her. Beside my sister, my mother stood quietly, her hands clasped in front of her and she watched me with blank eyes.

They hated me. They all hated me and wanted nothing to do with me.

“Go!” My father barked. “Get the hell out of here and never return!”

I took one last look at Caspian, his eyes, once so full of life and laughter, were now empty, staring up at the sky. I stumbled back, bile rising in my throat.

This couldn’t be real. It must be a nightmare. But as I staggered away from them, tears blurring my vision and my heart shattering with each step, I didn't wake up still, the thorns painfully piercing through me as I stumbled deeper into the forest, desperate to escape my own self. The reality sunk in and I'd never felt so alone in my life.

The wilderness blurred around me as I ran deeper into it, ignoring the pain that snagged at me. My legs moved on their own, fleeing to get away from the echoes of the cries and insults that I could still hear being hauled at me from the distance.

I’d been banished, and the reality was beginning to set in slowly. I, Scarlett, who'd never stepped out of our region had now been expelled from my pack. I had nowhere to go but still, I ran because it gave me a sense of purpose. If I was lucky enough, death could find me soon.

I wished they'd killed me too. But even death wouldn’t be enough as an atonement for my sins.

‘‘Stop or you'll end up falling to your own death at this rate. Don't be stupid!’’—a scathing voice resounded in my head, its tone laced with arrogance and bitterness.

I came to a startling halt in the middle of the forest.

“What are you?” I asked shakily, balling my hands into fists.

‘Wild Wolf,’ She replied, her voice cold and detached. "That is what your kind address me as, no?’

She was my wolf and she was communicating. My wolf that had killed twelve people in a fit of rage, the one who’d killed Caspian and Aria and ruined my life by getting me banished from the pack, branding me as a rogue.

Being branded as a rogue was one of the worst things that could happen to any werewolf. As a rogue, a werewolf was subjected to a lawless life where they either kill or be killed.

‘‘It's good you know that so you best quit your pity party and get yourself prepared. The worst is yet to happen,’’ my wolf said haughtily.

“You killed my friends!” I yelled enraged, in the silence of the forest, my voice bounced back at me, ricocheting through still air. “You killed my mate and ruined my life!”

My wolf’s response was devoid of remorse. “Good riddance. That boy was no fit for someone like us”

A scathing response lay at the tip of my tongue but before I could retort, the rustle of bushes cut me off and I watched in horror as a group of five armed men emerged, their leader, a bulky, heavily built man stepped forward, his blade scraping the floor as he approached.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing out here?” He asked, his voice slippery with lust. “Come here, sweetheart, let me show you what a real man feels like.”

Laughter echoed from behind him and the other men looked at each other, sadistic expressions on their faces. “I advise you to stay away from me.” I warned in a loud, clear voice.

The leader raised an eyebrow. “And if we don’t?”

I eyed them with a bored expression. “Fine, if you are going to kill me then you better make it quick.”

Lethal silence met my words and they glanced at each other once again but this time, questions in their eyes. I didn't care about living anymore, there was nothing to live for.

I didn't deserve to live not after what I’d done, not when I was still drenched in the blood of the people I had killed. If these men were going to harm me, I would gladly take it.

“You are the Wild Wolf, aren't you?” One of them asked, his voice quiet and uncertain.

I didn't respond but my silence seemed to confirm their suspicions. The leader’s eyes gleamed with renewed interest. “Is that so? I heard we had a Wild Wolf running around this region but I didn't think I’d have the honor of meeting you this soon.”

Another man stepped forward. “And killing you,” he said with disgust, pulling out his blade and taking a fighting stance.

“You are nothing but dirt polluting our blessed land. You and your kind do not deserve to live!” Someone else spat at me.

“Get her!” The leader commanded and the men lunged toward me with their weapons, rage consuming their expression.

“Kill the Wild Wolf!” They barked, blades poised in the air, glinting, ready for attack.

I stood still and held my breath, my eyes shutting on their own as I waited for death to come.