Chapter 5 C5

He was immediately stopped in his tracks by Kol.

"Katerina, I won't tolerate your insolence. Watch your tongue."

"But she came to join the fight. She came here in her wolf form." Renee, who was slightly injured, spoke out to defend me.

"She's your friend, why wouldn't you defend her? But choose your next words carefully, otherwise, you will be dealt with.

A werewolf fights in the face of danger, not attempts to fight in the face of danger. You can clearly see the difference, can't you, Katerina? You shouldn't have appeared with your ugly wolf. We would have been able to defend our pack without your help. Now, those idiots will think we are weak and can be easily defeated."

"But she saved our children. If not for her, the rogues could have killed our children. We are grateful to you for your help, Katerina." Some elders spoke out.

"She didn't save anyone. In the face of real danger, the rogues could have killed everyone, including her. What strength has she got to save herself, let alone save others?" Alpha Kol retorted.

"Alpha! Some of our members are dying. We need to rush them to the pack's hospital immediately." A pack warrior screamed.

"Very well then. Everyone should head over to get themselves treated. The severely injured ones should be attended to first."

Alpha Kol turned back to me just as everyone was moving towards the pack hospital.

"You are just useless. You are the only one without any injury because you are so lazy, even to defend your pack in times of danger. Even I, your Alpha, is injured. Of what use are you in this pack, Katerina?" Then, in a chilling voice, he states, "Even if you had really helped us win today, I still won't accept someone like you as my Luna." And with that, he left my presence. But as he was walking away from me, out of anger and deep resentment, I informed him of my acceptance of his rejection.

"I, Katerina Bathas, accept your rejection."

He stopped in his tracks, slowly turning around to meet my gaze. Renee was still around, approaching me with the intention to console me as she always did. But before anyone could say a word, I ran away towards my house, my mind already made up that I had to leave this pack without wasting another second. I wasn't sure if I could wait till morning.

On getting home. I saw my duffel bag, which I had already arranged my things in the previous day. I zipped it up, slung it over my shoulder, and sighed.

I had to visit Renee's room. When I reached her white, flowery door, I stopped. New tears flood my eyes. She was not around, probably in the pack's hospital, treating herself. She wouldn't have expected that I would leave this pack all of a sudden, in the middle of the night, with nowhere to go.

I had left a very brief explanation as to why I'm leaving for her on her bed. I wrote the note out myself, and told her how she would never see me again, how I was sorry, and then left the room with new tears. When I closed the pack house front doors behind me for the last time, I once again felt a painful pull, and I held in a whimper. I was now officially a rogue wolf. And I knew the Alpha, along with the whole pack, would feel I was leaving. Not that they would care, I thought to myself as I approached the woods, desperate to get the hell away from here.

Placing the duffel bag near a tree, I shifted, feeling my human clothes rip and tear to shrivels of cloth as a brown/beige furred wolf took over. My bones felt free. It was nice to be in contact with Ana, my wolf. Her voice rang in my ears as I picked up the bag with my teeth and ran through the trees and off the territory, away from Ever Falls.

Kol's (P.O.V)

I felt it when she left. We all felt it; the physical pain had the whole pack crashing to the ground wherever they were. It was awful. We knew she left for good; she was no longer a part of this pack, and I had no way of connecting with her, but I wasn't bothered anyway. Rather, I gave the order that no one is allowed to look for her. She had decided to leave on her own accord, so let her be. She doesn't belong here with all her negative attributes.

I was currently thinking about how to manage the various damage and losses the pack suffered in the war. Families of fallen warriors, those with severe injuries, and those who lost their homes in the unexpected battle were to be compensated immensely and have any damage to their homes fixed as soon as possible.

"Alpha, news reaching us is that those rogues were sent by a rival pack. It is not yet clear if it was the same pack that attacked us some years ago, during the war, when a lot of our pack members died, including Katerina's parents."

Simon, my beta, came running with updates about the ongoing investigation on the rogues that attacked us.

"Interesting. We will definitely find out who sent them sooner or later. In the meantime, we need to..."

"Alpha! Please bring her back. Don't let her go. She has nowhere to go, and she was dying of starvation before she left."

Renee, Katerina's only friend in this pack, came running towards us, interrupting our conversation, which should warrant a punishment if her reasons were not important.

"Interrupting your Alpha with such irrelevant information should get you punished, but I will spare you. She left of her own accord. I didn't banish her. Do not bring up this matter before me ever again! Have I made myself clear?"

She saw the spark of my wolf's eyes, which meant I was being serious with my warnings.

With tears in her eyes, she stretched out her shaking hand to me that holding a piece of paper. I reluctantly took it from her and read the contents.

Dear Ren,

Please, believe me when I say I am so sorry. I didn't want it to end like this; it's just too much for me to stay.

My brother hates me, and so does my pack. I have no one to protect me, and I can barely protect myself, Ren. Our beloved alpha is my mate, and so none of the above will change. What do I have left? I'm at my breaking point, Ren.

I want to promise that I'll be okay, but I'd be lying if I did. No part of me is strong at the moment, and the only thing I'm hoping for right now is the chance to be with my mom and dad again... sometime soon.

The only promise I'll be making you all is this: No one in the Fallen Moon pack will see me again. And if they ever will, it will be as a different person that they won't ever recognize.

If you could please tell Ace I'm sorry... that he was a great brother growing up, that I love him, and wish him good luck in life.

I'll miss you, Ren. Thank you for never listening and for being my only friend. Just please, this time listen. Don't come looking for me, I don't want to be found. I'm sorry.

Goodbye.

Katerina..