Chapter 5 The pull between worlds

They summoned me at dawn.

I knew something was wrong by the way the messenger avoided eye contact when he delivered the order.

No title. No explanation.

Just:

"The Alpha wants to see you. Now."

I didn't ask why.

I already knew.

Or rather...I felt it.

The way the air shifted when I walked by.

The way people stared like I was something flammable.

The way the children had stopped smiling when I passed.

I wrapped my shawl tight around my shoulders and walked to the council hall.

It wasn't long before the whispers began.

They didn't even wait until I was out of earshot anymore.

"She's marked."

"She doesn't smell like us."

"She shouldn't still be here."

Inside, the council waited.

Three elders. Two enforcers.

And Aiden.

My ex-mate stood with his arms crossed, chin raised like he was already giving the verdict.

He looked too smug for someone so supposedly noble.

Too rehearsed.

"Remove your shawl," one of the elders said.

I hesitated.

They didn't ask twice.

I untied the knot and let the fabric slide down my shoulders.

The room went quiet.

The moment the crescent mark came into view,it was soft silver, glowing faintly with the etched R...someone gasped.

Then a voice broke.

"She bears a cursed brand!"

One of the enforcers backed away like I'd grown fangs.

Another reached for his blade out of instinct.

Aiden didn't flinch.

Not from fear.

But his eyes... they flicked to the mark with something else.

Recognition?

Or jealousy?

"I knew it," he said coldly. "She's been touched by something unnatural."

"Touched by survival," I replied. "Something you know nothing about."

His jaw tightened.

One of the elders raised his hand.

"You crossed boundaries. You've returned... different. The pack no longer trusts what you've become."

"And what is it I've become?" I asked softly.

Aiden answered for them.

"Dangerous."

There it was.

His excuse.

His stage.

His way to cast me out without ever saying the words "I regret rejecting her."

"We can no longer ensure the safety of our wolves with you among us," he said. "You are hereby exiled from Hollowshade lands."

The words fell heavy.

But not on me.

On them.

Because they weren't said in strength.

They were said fearful.

I looked at him...really looked.

He was pleased.

But beneath it, I saw something sharp and cold.

Terror.

Not of what I'd done.

Of what I might do.

I nodded slowly.

Tied my shawl again.

Then looked him dead in the eye.

"You should be afraid, Aiden."

"Because I was nothing before you cast me out."

"But I won't be nothing when I return."

Then I walked out.

No one stopped me.

No one dared.

I didn't know how long I walked.

Through the woods.

Through the trees.

Through the edges of Hollowshade that had once been my home.

I didn't cry.

Not even once.

But my chest felt hollow.

Like everything that had tried to root me there had been pulled out by force.

And all that was left was ash.

By sunset, my legs ached and my hands were trembling.

I didn't know where I was going.

I didn't care.

Until I heard footsteps behind me.

Slow. Steady.

I spun, pulse spiking.

And froze.

"Talen," I breathed.

He raised his hands.

"Didn't mean to startle you."

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

I stared at him.

This wasn't a coincidence.

It felt... designed.

And yet, every instinct inside me...every pull in my chest said one thing:

Safe.

"Why?" I asked.

He didn't lie.

"You're not safe out here alone. And... I was told to bring you back."

"Back where?"

He smiled.

"To Bloodvale."

I should've said no.

I should've turned and run.

But something in my bones...it was deep and quiet.

It said this was the next step.

Not the wrong turn.

So I followed him.

Through the fading light.

Into the trees.

Across the veil that once divided legend from reality.

Into Bloodvale.

Their camp was deep in the woods.

Not ragged, like I expected.

Elegant. Ancient. Crafted with purpose.

Wolves sat around fire pits. Women trained with swords. Children sparred under the watch of cloaked sentinels.

And when they looked up at me, they didn't whisper.

They didn't laugh.

They stared.

But not with disgust.

With... curiosity.

"She's the one?" someone murmured.

"She's marked."

"She's-glowing."

I glanced at Talen.

"I'm not ready for this."

"You don't have to be," he said. "Just be real."

He introduced me to a few names I didn't retain-people with sharp eyes and scars that told more stories than words ever could.

They didn't ask what I was.

They didn't ask what I could do.

They just nodded.

Accepted.

Like I was... expected.

It unnerved me more than the rejection ever had.

Until everything changed.

The calm broke like thunder.

A sentinel raced through the camp, eyes wild, voice loud:

"He's coming-he's coming back!"

"The curse is broken!"

"Alpha Rhydian has finally returned!"

Rhydian.

The name hit me like lightning.

My mark pulsed.

My chest burned.

And every cell in my body said:

Run toward the storm.