Chapter 10 Exiled to the Outer Borders

The dawn sky bled shades of gray and silver as the Black Ridge Pack assembled in front of the Council's stone chambers. A chilling wind rolled in from the mountains, as if nature itself recoiled from what was about to unfold. Tension hung like a suffocating fog, every face in the crowd taut with anticipation, fear, or quiet satisfaction.

Erynn stood stiffly near the front, her hands clasped so tightly the blood had drained from her knuckles. Beside her, Ronan and Alex flanked her protectively. Their expressions were carved from anguish and defiance. And just beyond them, Derek stood near the Council platform, his jaw set, fists clenched. He had tried gods, he had tried. Pleaded with his father behind closed doors, shouted himself hoarse. But Alpha Darius had not budged.

Serene stood off to the side in a pale green cloak, her golden hair neatly braided. Her expression was serene, almost bored, but her eyes shimmered with a secret pleasure. Her plan was nearly complete. Samantha was moments away from being erased. Cast out like a blemish on their perfect, pure-blooded pack.

The Council elders, draped in dark ceremonial robes, took their places on the raised platform. Stone-faced and unmoved, they gazed down upon the crowd like ancient statues.

Finally, the head elder stepped forward. His voice rang out, cold and clear.

"Samantha," he began, "you stand accused of violating the sacred laws of our pack. Specifically of attempting to poison your brothers and sisters with wolfbane."

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Some muttered in disbelief. Others looked away, already convinced by rumor and manipulation.

In the center of the courtyard, Samantha knelt on the cracked stone. Her wrists were bound in heavy shackles, her cloak torn, her face bruised from the harsh conditions of the holding chambers. Her eyes were dull, but not broken. Her back was straight, her chin unbowed.

She did not cry. She did not plead. But she looked hollow stripped of dignity by the weight of betrayal.

Alex's voice cracked the silence like thunder. "She's innocent!" he shouted, stepping forward, trembling. "You all know her. You know she would never hurt us. She's been one of us since she was a child!"

Ronan moved beside him, face red with fury. "There is no proof! You're condemning her on hearsay on jealousy and lies!"

From the platform, Alpha Darius didn't so much as blink.

"Father!" Derek turned sharply to him. "You know she didn't do this! You're sentencing an innocent girl just to appease the Council!"

Tobias stood motionless, lips pressed into a flat line.

Ronan's voice dropped low. "You're doing this because she's not blood."

And then Serene stepped forward, calm as ever, her voice honeyed with false civility.

"If I may, elders... we have a witness."

The chamber doors creaked open. A frail, hunched man stepped into the courtyard. The crowd parted to let him through. His hair was white as snow, his hands twisted with age. He wore the storeroom keeper's mark on his shoulder a man who had tended the pack's supplies and remedies for decades.

"This man," Serene said smoothly, "saw her tampering with the medicine stores. I trust his words mean something to the Council."

The old man raised a trembling hand. "It was her," he said hoarsely. "I saw her with my own eyes, pouring something into the herbs meant for the infirmary."

A stunned silence followed. People exchanged glances. Doubt flared. Then murmurs of confirmation began. Accusations. Judgments whispered like poison through the crowd.

Samantha's lips parted slightly, her brow furrowed in disbelief. She had never even spoken to the man before today. His face was unfamiliar. His voice, a stranger's. And yet, he condemned her with a single breath.

Erynn cried out, her voice ragged. "He's lying! You're lying! She would never"

Serene folded her arms, lifting her chin. "Why would a loyal elder lie?" she asked, her voice laced with mock innocence.

Ronan snarled, stepping forward. "Because someone paid him to. Or threatened him. Or both. Serene, what did you promise him? Food? A warm bed? His family spared from exile?"

But no one moved to stop the tide now. The Council, uninterested in debate, turned inward for deliberation. The head elder raised his hand for silence moments later.

"The Council has reached a decision."

Erynn's breath caught. Ronan grabbed Alex's arm. Derek stood frozen, expression unreadable.

"Samantha is hereby sentenced to exile." The elder's voice rang out with finality. "She shall be cast to the Outer Borders, stripped of her place in this pack. She is no longer one of us. She will leave by sundown."

The silence shattered.

"NO!" Erynn dropped to her knees, sobbing. "Please take me instead! Don't send her out there alone. You're sending her to die!"

Samantha didn't speak. She couldn't. Her voice had been taken, her life stolen piece by piece and now this.

Derek took a single step toward his father. "This is cruelty. Not justice."

Alpha Darius turned his gaze on his son, eyes like polished obsidian. "Then learn to rule with strength, not sentiment."

As two guards moved toward Samantha, Serene allowed herself a satisfied smile. But then Samantha's head lifted.

Something in her eyes had changed.

The brokenness was gone.

In its place: a quiet, burning fire.

She rose slowly, shackles rattling. Her voice came rough, but steady. "You think you've won."

The smile on Serene's face faltered.

"You took my name. My home. My family. But you didn't break me."

The crowd stilled.

Samantha turned, her voice growing stronger. "You let a lie decide my fate. And someday, that lie will unravel. And when it does" she locked eyes with the elders "I will return. Not for revenge. But for truth."

She turned back to Serene. "You'll see. All of you will. The outcast always survives."

Guards grabbed her arms and began to drag her away, but her eyes stayed locked on Serene's until the very last second. The fear in her sister's expression however brief was the only comfort Samantha had as she was pulled through the gates.

The last thing she saw was Erynn, still screaming her name, reaching for her with trembling hands.

The gates slammed shut behind her.

And Samantha was gone into the wilderness beyond the pack's protection. Alone.

But not broken.

Not yet.