Chapter 2 No.2

AUTUMN POV

I trembled. I couldn't stop it.

"We, the Logan Alphas, reject you as our mate." Adonis's voice was final, ringing through the heavy silence.

Each word was a physical blow. Adonis stood, a statue of unyielding authority. Knox gave the ropes one last, deliberate pull, his expression cold and closed off. Dante's gaze held mine, the last of the softness I remembered now completely gone, replaced by a judgment that froze me to my core.

I wanted to scream until my voice gave out. To break free of these bonds-both the ropes and the chains of their distrust.

But when I looked at them-really looked-the devastating truth settled over me with finality.

They didn't see me anymore.

They saw a criminal.

They saw a liar.

They saw the illusion Agatha had crafted for them.

And they had chosen to believe it. They had chosen her over me.

The wind howled through the trees, carrying the distant cries of wolves that no longer acknowledged me as their own. Each step I took away from the Logan estate sent a jolt of pain through me, every ache and sting a stark reminder of my banishment.

Cast out. Unwanted.

My pack, my family, had condemned me. The mates I'd loved had cast me aside. The forest, once a sanctuary, now felt vast, cold, and indifferent to my suffering.

I swayed, weakened by hunger, thirst, and a grief so deep it felt like a physical wound. My wolf, once a vibrant force within me, now lay silent and wounded, crushed under the weight of a betrayal that cut deeper than any claw.

How did it come to this? I thought, forcing one foot in front of the other. What did I ever do to deserve this exile?

Then, I heard it.

Laughter. Mocking, familiar laughter that coiled around my spine like ice.

My heart lurched as figures emerged from the shadows between the trees. Men-large, with cruel eyes that gleamed with amusement. They fanned out, forming a loose circle, trapping me.

And standing before them, radiant in her triumph, was Agatha.

Her golden hair was perfect, her smile a chilling mockery of warmth. "Aw, poor thing," she cooed, her voice dripping with false pity. "You look simply dreadful, Barbie."

The old nickname, once an annoyance, now felt like a brand of shame. My mind reeled. Why was she here? Outside the safety of the pack walls?

"What is this?" I managed, my voice a raw whisper.

Agatha stepped closer, the click of her heels on the stony ground unnaturally loud. "Oh, don't look so confused. You're clever, aren't you? You must have seen this coming."

I tried to stand straighter, to muster some defiance. "Agatha-"

"Shh," she hissed, her finger coming up to press sharply against my lips. "I can't stand the sound of your voice. It's so... pitiful."

I flinched back, but the movement made me stumble. That's when they struck.

A hard shove from behind sent me sprawling to the ground before I could catch myself. The impact knocked the air from my lungs. Before I could even gasp, a heavy boot connected with my side. A sharp, sickening pain blossomed across my ribs.

I cried out, curling in on myself, but there was no escape. The blows came from different directions-sharp kicks, painful prods with boots. Their laughter echoed around me, mingling with Agatha's soft, delighted chuckles.

Through the dizzying haze of pain, I saw her face. She watched with avid interest, her expression one of deep satisfaction.

Why?

She knelt beside me, her overpowering perfume cloying in the air. Her hand closed on my chin, forcing my head up to meet her gaze. "You honestly thought they'd choose you over me?" Her laugh was a vicious little sound. "Gods, Autumn. You are more naive than I ever imagined."

Tears of pain and fury blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall for her.

"I never did anything to you," I forced out, each word an effort.

A darker, uglier emotion flashed in her eyes. Her grip tightened, nails biting into my skin. "That's the most infuriating part, isn't it?" she whispered, her face close to mine. "You were just there. An orphan, raised by Alphas, loved by them. You had everything that should have been mine."

She released me with a shove and stood, brushing imaginary dust from her immaculate dress. "So, I took it. And it was laughably easy."

The men around her snickered.

My heart hammered against my aching ribs. "Knox, Dante, Adonis... they'll figure out the truth."

Agatha threw back her head and laughed, a full, ringing sound of pure malice. "You think they'll come riding to your rescue? That they'll feel a pang of regret?" She leaned down again, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "Darling... they've already forgotten your name."

Something inside me fractured. Not just hope, but the very foundation of who I thought I was to them.

She saw the moment it broke. And she savored it.

"Jess and Ivy-" My voice cracked, the betrayal fresh and raw. "They were my friends."

Agatha's laughter turned hysterical, as if this were the pinnacle of comedy. "Your friends? Oh, you precious fool. I paid them. It wasn't even expensive."

A cold deeper than any winter seeped into my bones. All those shared moments, whispered confidences... transactions. Every single one.

"You really believed anyone cared? That your mates truly adored you?" Her mock sympathy was a cruel blade. "Sweetheart, they tolerated you. And now, they're relieved to be free of you."

Her words were a poison, paralyzing me more effectively than any blow.

She straightened up, a queen surveying her conquest. "Everything is mine now. The Logans. The pack." Her eyes, glittering with victory, locked onto mine. "And you? You're just a problem I need to... remove."

That's when I noticed it. The shift in the ground behind me. The sound of the wind rushing up from below.

The cliff's edge.

Panic, sharp and immediate, cut through the fog of pain. This wasn't just humiliation. This was an execution.

I tried to scramble back, ignoring the shriek of protest from my ribs, but a swift, brutal kick sent me skidding backward-dangerously close to the precipice.

Agatha loomed over me, her beautiful face a mask of serene malice.

"Goodbye, Barbie."

Her hands shot out and shoved with all her strength.

And I fell.

The world became a violent blur of sky and rock, the wind a deafening roar in my ears. My heart hammered a frantic, final rhythm against my ribs.

No, no, no-

The jagged rocks below raced up to meet me, a promise of oblivion.

In those last, spinning seconds, my life didn't flash-it screamed.

The echo of childhood laughter in sun-dappled halls.

The safe, solid warmth of Dante's arms around me.

The gentle, precise way Knox would fix my hair.

The rare, unguarded softening in Adonis's eyes.

All stolen. All destroyed by a hatred I never understood.

A sound tore from my throat, raw and primal, not of fear, but of furious, unyielding defiance. It was a plea and a demand, aimed at the very heart of the moonlit sky above.

"MOON GODDESS! HEAR ME! GIVE ME A CHANCE TO MAKE THIS RIGHT!"

The cry consumed everything I had left-all my rage, my sorrow, my shattered love, forged into a single, desperate vow.

Then-

The darkness rose and swallowed everything.