Chapter 150 ALPHA'S REJECTION

Chapter 150 ALPHA'S REJECTION
CHAPTER 150

ALPHA'S REJECTION

CHARLOTTE

I stepped through the gate beside Zade and stopped cold.

The entire pack stood gathered in the yard behind the main house. I stood in the center of the clearing, the packed dirt cold under my bare feet. The air smelled of damp earth and the sharp metallic scent that always came with a formal pack gathering.

Every face turned toward me at once. Side-eyes cut across the crowd from every direction. Low hisses rose from different groups. Open murmurs followed, sharp enough that I caught every word clearly.

“There she is.”

“Wolf killer.”

“She should have been put down already.”

“Two young wolves are dead and they still want to keep her?”

“A threat that should never have been allowed to stay.” Another voice called louder, adding more weight to the rest.

My stomach dropped hard. The words landed against my skin like small cuts. The air felt thick and hostile against my skin. My pulse started racing under my ribs. I kept my shoulders straight even though my hands had already curled into fists at my sides.

I looked at the sea of faces and forced the words out. “What’s going on?”

Dorian stepped forward. His face stayed flat, but the muscles along his jaw flexed once. “The pack has voted for your banishment. The procedure is already underway.”

I stared at him. Heat rushed up my neck and into my face. For a second I could not believe the words had actually left his mouth. “You’re joking. You cannot actually banish me from the pack.”

Selina moved closer. Her shoulders were set hard, and the veins in her neck stood out. “What do you think you are, to believe you can’t be banished after what you did? You should count yourself lucky no one called for a death sentence. Going on a killing spree and killing pack wolves is punishable by death under our laws. We’re only offering banishment.”

My stomach tightened further. I turned back to Dorian. My voice came out rough. “I told all of you my wolf went berserk. I tried everything I knew to pull her back under control. Nothing worked.”

Julia spoke from the side. She kept her arms crossed tight over her chest, fingers digging into her own sleeves. “And that is exactly why you are dangerous to this pack. You need to be banished. How can you still fail to control your wolf after every training the Alpha gave you?”

My lungs felt tight. I pulled in a breath and held it. The words from the circle kept coming in short, sharp insults mixed with agreement. I could hear the scrape of boots as people shifted, the low continuous murmur that made it clear no one stood with me.

Dorian turned his head toward Zade. “It remains your vote. Vote against your sister.”

Zade stood two steps away from me. I felt the heat of his body even without looking at him. I turned my head just enough to see his face. My eyes stayed wide and fixed on him. I did not reach for him. I did not speak. I was not begging. I only waited, every muscle locked, to learn what kind of man my brother would choose to be in this moment.

The hours we had just spent together…the bike ride, the clearing, the beach, the easy laughter sat between us like something that no longer belonged to this moment.

Zade closed his eyes. The silence stretched. When he opened them again his voice was steady. “I vote for the banishment.”

The sound hit me in the chest like a physical blow. My breath stopped for a full second. I stared at the side of his face. This was the same brother I had spent the last several hours with. The same brother who had sat close enough that our shoulders touched. Now he stood with the rest of them and sealed the decision that would cut me out.

Dorian’s voice cut through the noise. “You have one hour to gather your things. You will be escorted to the borders of the pack territory. You are not to be seen anywhere near the pack or inside its lands again.”

I did not look at Zade. I did not answer Dorian. I turned on my heel. The ground felt uneven under my feet as I walked away from the circle. The murmurs followed me for a few steps and then faded.

I kept my eyes forward and moved straight toward the path that led to my room. My hands stayed clenched the entire way. Inside my head the same thought repeated without pause: he voted against me.

After everything, he voted against me. I reached the door, pushed it open, and stepped inside without looking back.

I sat on the edge of the bed in my room. The door was shut. The air inside felt thick and still.

My hands rested on my knees, fingers pressed hard into the fabric of my pants. I stared at the floorboards and tried to make sense of the last hour.

Where had I gone wrong? What had I done that made the entire pack turn on me like this?

I had lost control of my wolf once. I had tried to stop it. I had failed. That failure now cost me everything. The hisses and the side-eyes from the clearing still sat under my skin.

Why would Dorian willingly banish his own mate?

He was Alpha. He could have ordered them to stand down. Instead he stood there and let the vote happen.

I pressed my palms harder against my knees. The bond between us still hummed in my chest, low and constant. It did not feel broken yet, but it already carried a sharp edge of pain.

And Zade—My brother had looked at me and then closed his eyes and voted against me. The vote had already been decided before he spoke. His voice would not have changed the outcome.

I knew that. Still, he had said the words. He had stood with the rest of them and cut me out. The hours we had spent earlier felt like they belonged to a different day. I could not understand how he could do it.

I lifted my head and looked around the room. Clothes hung in the open closet. A few books sat on the small table. This place had been mine for months. Now I had one hour to leave it.

Where would I go?

No pack would take in a wolf who had killed her own kind. My mother was still in Italy. Going back there was not an option. I had no other family who would claim me.

How was I supposed to live without a pack, without an Alpha, without a mate?

The questions circled without answers. My throat tightened. I swallowed and forced the air back into my lungs.

The door opened. Dorian stepped inside and closed it behind him. The click of the latch sounded loud in the quiet room. He stood near the door. I stayed on the bed. Our eyes met and held. Neither of us spoke for several seconds. I felt the pain coming from his side of the bond.

He shook his head once. “I’m sorry.” His voice was low. He walked to the closet, pulled out a bag, and started folding clothes into it.

His movements were steady, but he kept his eyes on the fabric. He did not look at my face. I could still feel the pain through the bond, steady and heavy.

I stood. My legs felt stiff. I watched him pack for a moment, then spoke. “If this is breaking you, why did you agree to the banishment?”

He stopped. The shirt in his hands stayed still. He turned, closed the short distance between us, and placed both hands on my cheeks. His palms were warm. His thumbs rested near my jaw. He looked directly at me now.

“This is the right choice,” he said. “The people were already past the point where I could talk them down as Alpha. It was either banishment or they brought in the council of wolf elders. If the elders take the matter, they will order your death. You need to leave the pack.”

I swallowed. The pressure of his hands on my face stayed firm. I kept my eyes on his. “What am I supposed to do out there alone?”

He shook his head. His hands dropped away from my face. He stepped back toward the door. The space between us opened up again. His voice changed. It went flat and hard.

“I am not your mate. Do not think any of this meant anything to me. Leave. Live your life. Forget about me and everything that existed between us.”

My chest locked. The bond flared with a sudden spike of pain that made me dig my fingers into my own arms. I watched him stand there near the door. His shoulders were rigid. He shook his head once more. A single tear moved down the side of his face. He did not wipe it away.

“I’m sorry for what I’m about to do,” he said. His voice stayed steady even as the tear continued its path. “But this is the only way I can protect you and make you strong.”

He cleared his throat. The sound was rough. He straightened fully and spoke the words in a clear, formal tone.

“I, Alpha Dorian of the Ironveil pack, reject you, Charlotte, as my mate.”