Chapter 3 Ashes of the Moon

SIERRA'S POV

I couldn't beat it anymore, the humiliation, the disdain, the mockery, the rejection, so i packed what I could and by the time the first pale light crept over the ridge, I was already walking.

The pack lands stretched behind me, gray roofs, the faint glint of the training grounds, smoke rising from early morning fires. From here, they looked almost peaceful. But I knew better. Beneath that quiet was a hunger, a cruelty that thrived on weakness. And after last night, after him, I was the weakest thing alive.

The grass was still damp beneath my bare feet. I didn't care. Each step away from the packhouse felt like breathing again, like maybe I could scrape off the shame clinging to my skin.

But shame doesn't wash off. It burns.

It burns hotter than tears.

Every whisper, every laugh from the night before echoed in my head. Bethelina 's voice, sweet and venomous,still slithered through my thoughts. Did you really think the Moon's mistake could make you his equal?

I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms.

The Moon's mistake.

That was what they were calling me now.

The cursed omega. The rejected mate. The one who dared to stand beneath the Goddess's light and make their Alpha look weak.

They didn't know the truth,that I hadn't wanted any of this. I hadn't wanted to be chosen. I hadn't wanted him.

Or maybe I had. Maybe a small, foolish part of me had wanted it so badly that the Moon herself had heard me.

Now I wished She hadn't.

A cold wind swept through the trees, lifting my hair, and I stopped at the edge of the forest. Beyond this point was the border, the invisible line that marked the end of Moonbane territory. Past it was wilderness and danger, rogues and loners. Crossing it without permission was exile.

But the thought didn't scare me.

What scared me was staying.

I took another step, my breath coming out in clouds. My wolf was still silent inside me, no comfort, no warmth. Just emptiness. The rejection had torn her apart, and the silence she left behind was louder than any scream.

Still, sometimes in that silence, I thought I heard her whimper.

Sierra... don't...

I stopped.

The tug hit me then.

Faint at first, like a thread pulling at the edge of my soul. Then stronger,sharp, insistent.

The bond.

Even shattered, it was still there. A ghost connection, something the rejection couldn't completely kill. It thrummed low in my chest, pulling me back toward the heart of the pack. Toward him.

I gritted my teeth. "No."

But the pull didn't care.

It came again,a pulse that wasn't mine. Anger. Restlessness. The pacing of a caged animal.

Him.

I could feel him. Alpha Isaak.

The moment I realized it, my knees almost buckled. The sensation was faint but unmistakable, his emotions brushing against mine like sparks off stone. Rage, tightly leashed. Frustration. Guilt buried under fury.

I pressed a trembling hand to my chest. "Stop it," I whispered. "You rejected me. You don't get to feel me anymore."

But my body didn't listen. The mark over my heart,once glowing silver,flared dully, throbbing with every beat.

Through that connection, I saw flashes. Shadows. His pacing steps across the Alpha's quarters. The tension in his shoulders. The scent of smoke and steel.

He was angry. Not just at me,at himself.

And still, despite everything, my heart ached for him.

That was the cruelest part.

Even in rejection, my soul still sought his.

The bond that should have died still reached for him, like a root refusing to stop growing through stone. Every time I tried to push him away, my chest burned in protest.

I pressed my forehead to a tree and squeezed my eyes shut. "Please... let me go."

For a moment, it felt like the forest was listening. The morning breeze whispered through the leaves, soft and distant, carrying the faint scent of pine and moonflower.

Then the pull came again,sharper, angrier.

My breath hitched as his emotions hit harder. His wolf was restless, prowling beneath his skin. I could feel the growl building in his chest, could almost hear it.

He was fighting it. Fighting us.

And gods help me, some part of me wanted to reach for him, to soothe him, to tell him I understood, that I didn't want this bond any more than he did.

But I couldn't. I wouldn't.

I stumbled backward, my back hitting the tree trunk. "You rejected me," I whispered through clenched teeth. "You don't get to feel me. You don't get to own me."

The tug only tightened.

Pain spiked through my ribs, sharp and bright, as if the bond itself was punishing me for resisting. I gasped, sliding down to my knees.

A growl, his growl, echoed faintly in my mind, low and furious. My body trembled in response, instinctive submission rising before I crushed it down.

"No," I breathed, voice shaking. "I won't bow to you. Not anymore."

The connection flared hot, then went silent.

I sagged against the tree, heart pounding. The pain lingered, but the pull faded, retreating like a tide.

The sudden emptiness made me dizzy. I realized I was crying only when the tears hit the dirt.

I didn't know how long I stayed there, minutes, maybe hours,just breathing, just trying to remember how to exist without him inside my head.

When I finally stood again, the sun had begun to rise over the mountains, painting the sky in pale gold.

The world looked beautiful. And it hurt.

Because beauty shouldn't exist in a world that could break you so completely.

I started walking again, this time slower. The edge of the territory was near,a shallow stream marking the border, its surface glinting like liquid glass.

Crossing it meant no pack, no protection, no future. But staying meant humiliation, pity, the constant reminder of his rejection.

My choice should have been easy.

But the bond wouldn't let me move. Every step closer to the border made the mark on my chest burn hotter, sharper, as if it were warning me: You can leave the pack, but you can't leave him.

I laughed then, a bitter, broken sound. "So that's my curse, isn't it?"

The wind answered with silence.

I sank down beside the stream, drawing my knees to my chest. My reflection stared back, pale skin, hollow eyes, the faint shimmer of the bond's remnants like silver dust across my collarbone.

I looked like a ghost.

No, worse. I looked like a wolf who'd lost her soul.

I dipped my fingers into the water, watching ripples distort my face. "The Goddess chose me," I whispered. "And He called it a mistake."

The words tasted like ashes.

I wanted to scream at the sky, to demand why She had done this. Why me? Why him? Why gift me a bond that only brought pain?

But the Moon was silent. She always was.

Behind me, I heard the sound of distant footsteps, racing towards me.