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They both moved to my sides, taking my arms as I looked in confusion at Jonathan.

He seemed surprised too, even vexed, rubbing the back of his neck and mouthing ‘sorry’ at me. If I hadn’t known how badly he needed help in the archives, I would have accused him of tattling on me to the security guards. But I had a feeling somebody else was behind this.

I complied with the guards, but as they marched me out of the Lodge and across the courtyard, my dread twisted into resentment that was becoming terribly familiar. What did I do wrong now, I wondered? I was trying my hardest to be useful. Why was it never enough?

It came as no surprise when they brought me into the office building, leading me through the corridors once more to Oswald’s office. There he sat at his desk, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded like he was expecting me.

“Close the door,” he said to the guards after they dropped me off.

The door swung shut, and I stood on the other side of Oswald’s desk, meeting his eyes as I silently dared him to explain why I was taken from my job. My resentment swelled into a full-fledged rage with each second that passed before he spoke. I could already sense what he was going to do.

“You were banned from the Lodge,” he said.

“I was banned from the Lodge’s living quarters,” I fired back.

“Don’t play stupid!” Oswald snarled. “You know I wanted you nowhere near the Lodge, and yet you lied and wormed your way into a job in the archives anyway! You lied to my guards, saying you had clearance to work in the Lodge. You manipulated Jonathan into letting you handle sensitive documentation—did you really think I wouldn’t find out?”

“I’ve been trying to find a purpose since you rejected me,” I argued. “Nobody wants me working with them. Not in the barn. Not as a soldier. Mrs. Foster knew that Jonathan needed an extra hand distributing documents from the archives—it was the only job I could get! I didn’t do it to go behind your back. Please, Oswald. I’m just trying to find a place I belong!”

“Maybe if you had approached me about this, I would have given you clearance. But you went behind my back, and not only that—but you

interfered with our diplomatic relations with Silent Shadows. You got Alpha Black involved, and now the Grey Creek Pack’s relationship has been jeopardized by your idiotic behavior! So now I’m forced to take drastic measures. I have to punish you, Aria.”

What did he mean I interfered with our diplomatic relations? I did nothing but fight alongside Lucas, and I was serving my pack! My good mood was crushed, ground into the dirt by Oswald’s heel. The agony I had painstakingly swallowed down came roaring back up my throat. I clenched my fists and held my breath, waiting to hear what more Oswald intended to take away from me.

“You will be touch-starved for one month,” growled Oswald. “Nobody is to come within three feet of you. Nobody can speak to you, not even members of our neighboring packs. You are to live in isolation until your punishment is served.”

My heart dropped. Anxiety shocked my body cold at the thought of being alienated by my pack, treated like a leper, even worse than an Omega. I was to be ignored, secluded like I didn’t exist. Oswald wanted to make me suffer by ripping away what little connection I still had to my pack. The blood in my veins turned to ice as I realized what it would mean. I was going to risk insanity by forced loneliness. Wolf shifters needed physical contact with their packmates. Even without the affection of my family, the support of those who once believed in me had been enough. Mrs. Foster’s pats on the back, Dax’s hugs… Now, I would receive none of it. My entire pack and everyone I knew were ordered to ignore me. My existence would be reduced to absolute nothingness.

The breath in my lungs withered away. I couldn’t even breathe, just standing there, staring at Oswald with a grain of hope that he would realize how unreasonable my punishment was and reconsider. But he didn’t. He glowered at me, punishing me for embarrassing him in front of Alpha Black. No, this went beyond punishment. This was exile.

It became obvious then that Oswald wanted me out of the picture completely.

He hated me. He didn’t want me in the pack, and based on how viciously my packmates rejected my company, they clearly didn’t want me in the pack either. Nobody wanted me here.

I cupped my hand over my mouth, trying to hide the mournful cry that was building in my throat. Squeezing my eyes shut, I pleaded with myself not to shed tears. I turned away from Oswald and reached for the doorknob, shaking, but before I could escape, his voice cut the silence.

“Don’t disobey me this time, Aria,” Oswald said with a foreboding threat. “I’ll see to it that you learn your lesson.”

His words echoed in my mind as I ran from his office, unable to resist the tears sliding down my beet-red cheeks. There was nothing I could do to fight back. Arguing would just make it worse. I thought Oswald had taken everything from me before, but I was wrong. He was willing to go to extreme lengths to make me suffer, and now, he’d taken the entire pack from me. It was devastating.

I had no job. No purpose. No friends or family. Everyone hated me.

From now on, I was to be the loner of the Grey Creek Pack, lower than an Omega, forbidden to be spoken to or even looked at. I was worth less than garbage.

My life was over.