Chapter 2 Betrayed

Elena's pov

Weakened by the events of the previous night, I felt hollow-broken. My heart ached as if someone had driven a blade straight through it and twisted.

When morning came, I found myself seated before the council, their cold, unreadable gazes fixed on me. There was no warmth in the room, no comfort-just judgment and silence.

Their faces were far from welcoming, far from kind.

And though I should have been grateful to be alive... I wasn't.

Because surviving doesn't always feel like living.

Seated in the center of the elder council, I could feel the weight of every gaze pressing down on me. My heart was racing-not out of fear, but something deeper. Something raw. Unspoken.

Then my eyes met his.

David.

He sat at the head of the council, as always, regal and composed... but cold. His icy stare pierced through me like a blade, void of emotion, void of the boy I once knew.

Of course he would be there, seated in power, watching me fall apart under the weight of everything he'd done.

Elder Rowan rose to his feet, his presence commanding and sharp like thunder in a silent sky. His voice boomed through the chamber, echoing with finality.

"The decision has been made."

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle like stone over the room. His eyes swept across the gathered elders, lingering on each face with silent authority. Then, slowly, deliberately, his gaze locked onto mine.

Time seemed to freeze as he took a step forward, his expression unreadable.

I braced myself-because whatever was coming next, it was about to change everything.

Elder Rowan's voice rang out, steady and unwavering.

"Elena," he said, every syllable slicing through the silence, "to ensure peace within the territory and secure your continued place in this pack..."

He paused, and my breath hitched. His next words felt like thunder.

"You must marry the leader of the rogues."

Gasps rippled through the council chamber like waves. My heart slammed against my chest.

What?

Marry... the rogue king?

"To forge an alliance," Rowan continued, "to end the bloodshed, to bind two enemies into unity."

My knees nearly buckled. Peace for the pack... at the cost of my freedom.

And just like that, my fate was handed over like a pawn in a game of survival.

I shot to my feet, trembling with disbelief.

Before I could even form the words burning in my chest, David rose too-his voice cold and authoritative.

"You heard him," he said, looking me dead in the eyes. "You have to marry him. The rogues have been attacking us for weeks. For peace to reign... you must do this."

His words echoed through the chamber, but it wasn't the council's voice I heard. It was David's.

The same David who rejected me.

The same David who once claimed I was his future.

"Why me?" I snapped, my voice cracking. "Why must I be the one to marry a rebel? A rogue? After everything that's happened-after everything you did-why does it have to be me?"

I looked around the room, at the elders, at the silent witnesses to my undoing.

"Why is my fate always decided by others?"

Before Elder Rowan could speak again, a sharp voice pierced through the silence.

"Because you were rejected."

All heads turned as someone rose from the crowd.

"You are no longer our Luna," the voice continued, laced with venom. "You should consider this a favor. If not for Elder Rowan's mercy, you'd have been cast out long ago."

I turned slowly, my fists clenched.

Of course.

Anne.

She stood tall, proud, her eyes dancing with cruel delight. A smug smirk curled on her lips as she crossed her arms, enjoying every second of my humiliation.

She had always wanted David for herself. And now, with me publicly rejected, she had her moment.

"You've always been too soft, Elena," she sneered. "Too emotional. You were never fit to be Luna."

My wolf, Sofia, snarled inside me, her rage echoing in my mind. But I didn't move-I wouldn't give Anne the satisfaction.

"Is this what you've always wanted, Anne?" I asked coldly. "To see me fall? To take my place beside David?"

Her smirk deepened.

"You did that all by yourself."

"You did this, Anne!" I shouted, my voice shaking with fury. "You turned their minds against me!"

Her head tilted back with that same sickening, ugly laugh-the one that had always made my skin crawl.

"Oh, don't be stupid, Elena," she spat, eyes glittering with malice. "Or act surprised. You were never going to be Luna. Deep down, you knew that."

I took a step forward, my voice low and venomous.

"You'll regret this."

But before I could say more, Elder Rowan slammed his hand on the table and stood, his voice thundering across the room.

"That is enough!" he commanded. "Elena, you will leave the pack tomorrow at dawn to meet your new husband. That is final."

The finality in his words crashed down on me like a storm.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to roar.

I wanted to kill.

But I didn't.

Because I couldn't.

Not yet.

No one could know. Not Elder Rowan, not Anne, not even David.

No one could know that I still had my wolf.

That Sofia-my wolf-was alive. Awake. Powerful.

And when the time came...

They would all know.

And they would all regret turning their backs on me.