Chapter 37

Chapter 37
Alena stood in the center of the stuffy Old Hunter’s Cabin, illuminated only by the single piece of old parchment she held. The last words of Alpha Kael, Orion’s father, danced in the faint moonlight: "Do not let him tear the true destiny."

Kael knew. Kael knew the power flowing in her blood was vital. Kael knew there was a plan. And Kael knew, somehow, that his son would make the biggest mistake in the pack's history.

Alena's breath hitched. This was no longer about personal rejection. This was a political betrayal, a sabotage of destiny itself. The pain she felt eight years ago now transformed into a cold, focused rage. She had never been a curse. She was the key, and that key had been thrown into the abyss of exile by the naive and easily manipulated Orion.

The quiet cabin suddenly became the perfect stage for the memory demanding to be seen, a reenactment of the worst night of her life.

That night was a full moon that should have been sacred, but it had turned into a night of mourning. The air in the Pack House was thick with the scent of blood and stifled cries. Alpha Kael had just died, killed in a sudden attack on the border.

In the main hall, where a large bonfire usually blazed warmly, it was now cloaked in long shadows. Orion, barely twenty, stood in the center of the Elders’ circle. He wore slightly torn battle armor, stained with blood that wasn't his—the blood of his father, whom he tried to hold on to until the end.

Alena, sixteen, trembled in the corner. She wore the simple white dress prepared for their bonding ceremony. She should have stood by his side as Luna, lending strength, but now she only felt horror. She wanted to run to Orion, hug him, share the crushing burden of grief.

"Alpha Orion," the voice of Elder Thane, the council head, broke the silence. His voice was hoarse and carried a terrible tone of authority.

"We must act quickly. Our bloodline is under threat. You know the prophecy. This girl... she carries the Old Moon Blood."

Orion looked up. His eyes were red and swollen. "What does that have to do with my Father, Thane?"

"Everything!" Thane hissed, stepping forward. Orion's shadow reflected on the wall seemed to waver. "The Primal Luna. A power that cannot be controlled. A power that attracts enemies, not protects against them! Your father tried to shield her, to shield you, but look at the result! Kael is dead, and we are in danger!"

The other Elders nodded in agreement, their whispers like the hiss of snakes. They had long been jealous and fearful of the ancient power promised in Alena's lineage. Now, with the wise Alpha Kael gone, they saw their chance to eliminate her.

"Draven is gathering strength in the North," Thane continued, his voice now cajoling.

"He will smell this unstable power. If you bond her, Alpha, you are not just bonding chaos, you are inviting destruction to our gates. You must choose. The Pack or an unproven Destiny?"

Orion closed his eyes, processing the words. He was a newly anointed Alpha, burdened by overwhelming responsibility, and gnawed by guilt for not saving his father. He needed logic, not emotion.

"Call her forward," Orion ordered, his voice strained. The sound was alien, cold, and far from the Orion who once kissed Alena's forehead under the stars.
Alena was pushed to the center of the hall. Her heart hammered against her ribs, like a trapped bird. She looked at Orion's face, and what she saw was not the grief she knew, but a frozen rage. Orion had made his decision.

"Alena," Orion's voice was loud, echoing through the hall. He took a deep breath, each word like chewing on broken glass. "You are... you are a mistake that must be corrected."

Tears welled up in Alena's eyes. "Orion, don't. We can get through this. I'm here. We can..."

"There is no we!" Orion roared, his Alpha tone erupting for the first time, startling everyone.

"I have to protect this Pack. I cannot let this crazy prophecy destroy us all. I cannot let your Ancient Blood draw Draven here!"

He stepped closer, his usually warm eyes filled with hatred borrowed from the Elders. "I, Orion Kael, Alpha of the Crescent Pack, reject you as my mate, as Luna, and as part of this pack!"

The moment those last words were spoken, Alena felt an explosion in her chest. It was not an explosion of energy, but an explosion of emptiness. Their Mate Bond, the golden thread connecting their souls, was suddenly pulled with brutal force and ripped in half. The pain was so immense that she collapsed to the floor, letting out a silent scream, because what she felt was her very soul tearing apart.

In her pain-distorted vision, she saw the bond—not as a thread, but as an ancient parchment written with Moon Blood. And she saw Orion’s hand, the cruel Alpha hand, tearing that parchment with a deafening sound, into meaningless scraps that fell onto the dusty floor.

"Go," Orion hissed, now looking utterly disgusted. "Leave and never return. You are nothing but a curse. If you cross this boundary again, I will kill you myself."

Alena couldn't move. She could only crawl, her tears staining the cold stone floor. She looked back, searching for Liam, searching for Anya, but all eyes avoided her gaze. They had all chosen a side. Orion's side.

She finally managed to stand, her body trembling, her wolf whimpering in agony. She ran. She didn't run from the pack, but from the place that was supposed to be her home. Every step she took away from the Pack House was an erasure. Her spirit, her future hope, all torn apart with that paper of destiny.
She ran until she crossed the border, until she could no longer smell the Pack House. Only deep in the dark woods, under the gaze of the judging moon, did she shift into a wolf. Not a strong wolf, but a thin, wounded pup, who howled at the sky, howling for the lost bond, for the stolen life.

Alena snapped back to the Old Hunter's Cabin, gasping for breath. She clutched Kael's letter so tightly her knuckles were white. The smell of moss and damp wood rushed back, replacing the odor of blood and grief of the past.

It was not a nightmare. It was a memory now fully weaponized by the truth. They didn't reject her because she was weak, they rejected her because she was strong. They didn't banish her because she was a curse, but because she was the key.

And Orion—the young Alpha she loved—had been the perfect tool. He had torn the true destiny out of grief and fear implanted by the Elders.

Alena walked to the fireplace, where she had caught the memory flash. She saw the charcoal she used to draw the defense map. Her eyes narrowed. Orion had torn one paper—their bond. He had torn another paper—her law of exile.
But tonight, Alena had torn the last remaining paper.

She pulled out the worn leather book she used as a journal—the book containing promises and hopes that she had just carved with the symbol of unbound power. She opened it again, staring at the symbol she had scored over Orion's name and her own.
She hadn't just torn a promise. She had torn herself.

Alena allowed her silver power to flow from her hands, completely enveloping the book. This time, she didn't want the memories to fade. She wanted to destroy them. With a sound like silk being rapidly ripped, the energy scraped away every trace of ink ever written in that book, every sentiment ever felt, leaving only blank pages, as if the book had never existed.

When the process was complete, Alena felt a cruel peace. She had purged the archives of the past. There was nothing left for Orion to tear. No more wrong papers.

Yet, deep within her soul, in the place where the Mate Bond used to be, she realized that even though the papers were destroyed, the echo of the original tearing eight years ago never truly vanished. That echo had shaped her into something new. Something powerful. Something dangerous.

Alena closed the book, realizing that Orion had torn destiny, and now, she was back to stitch it up. But the stitching would leave a permanent scar—a scar that Draven, and perhaps even Orion, would soon feel.

She was the Primal Luna, and she no longer cared about paper. She only cared about vengeance for what was stolen from her, starting with the safety of the Pack that had cast her out.