Chapter 3 Exile by love

The world around me went quiet. Every whisper, stare, and gasp disappeared into emptiness.

As a memory flashed before my eyes, I fell on the ground, rocking up and down as my fingers clutched the sill of his trousers, begging him and crying profusely.

"Thorne, please." I cried, badly. "You can't do this to me. My breathing turned labored , my heart shattered the moment he stood there. "You're my mate, You can't reject me."

He did not even flinch.

The man I had fantasized about, my mate, now gaze down at me with icy indifference.

"It's done, Aria." He uttered in a bone chilling tone, utterly devoid of affection. "You are no longer my mate."

A choked sob ripped through my throat while gripping his leg. "I love you," I murmured. "All my life, I've loved you. Please..."

A malicious cackle echoed.

Selene. Her unending malice advanced off her face like a painting while she slowly uncovered her wrist to him. "Look at you," she mocked ruthlessly. "If you were-if you were half as strong as me, maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have rejected you."

"Don't speak," My blood turned into ice on the whisper I tried to utter.

These little fragments of whispers, my tribe, stirred among in the community. I released my grasp on Thorne. My hands began to shake uncontrollably because with each murmur I became more judgmental.

Selene's smile grew. "Is something the matter? Truth is painful isn't it? She took a step forward, her tone a mock of compassion. "You were never going to be Luna. You don't have a wolf. You don't fit in here. You never did.

Something inside me snapped.

My hands balled into fists, my nails into my palms.

Selene laughed. "Go on do it, weep over it." Then her eyes flared with challenge. "Or fight me."

The pack did a collective gasp.

I stiffened.

Selene smiled. "What? Did you think that was just for some also? Prove me wrong, little wolfless girl."

Rage burned through my veins.

Without thinking, I lunged.

Selene did not have a chance to react when I hit her, we both went down to the ground. She let out a shocked gasp but I didn't stop. I threw my fist out at her face.

Pain shot through my ribs as she struck first, her claws raking my side.

I cried out in pain as the world around me began to go dim. I could feel blood oozing from my wound and soak through my clothes.

The crowd was going absolutely crazy, cheers and jeers, the action was all that mattered.

Selene grinn'd like she was a feral animal. "Tsk tsk Aria. You should know better than to come after me."

She yanked my hair and pulled my head back as she lifted her claws again.

Not this time.

I turned my body to get out of her hold. I felt pain, but I pushed it to the back of my mind.

Selene lunged to get a slice in on me and I saw it at the last second, I rotated my weight and whacked my elbow down into her rib cage.

A choked gasp league her lips.

The entire pack was stunned silent.

I actually had landed a hit.

Selene's eyes went wide with disbelief , but I didn't give her the chance to recover. I moved on her, hard enough to send her sprawling onto her back. I quickly straddled her and putting my hands squarely at her throat and squeezed just enough to stop her from breathing but not enough to do her any serious damage.

"Do you surrender?" I growled out, my voice shredding.

Selene was able to throw her claws down and cut into my skin, bringing more blood forward, but she wasn't winning. I was.

I was on top of Selene for the first time in my life.

Selene looked weaker than I had ever seen her, she widened her lips and gasped for breath.

"Enough." The words were precise and cut through the chaos.

I froze.

Selene's body wanted to convulse on the ground when I released her, she stepped back into my space. Blood was running free from my injuries and I felt pain but I stood up tall.

I had won. But not for long.

Thorne stepped forward , his gaze unreadable. And then he said something that shattered me.

"You are no longer welcome here."

It felt like someone stole my breath. "What?"

Thorne was a visage of frost. "You attacked the future Luna in front of the entire pack," he said, his voice flat. "You are a rogue now. You don't belong here."

My heart stopped. No. He wouldn't-

He turned away from me. "Leave, Aria."

The pack stood like stone, his words sealing my fate. I had won the fight. But I had lost everything else.

I stood , my entire world shattering around me. My eyes glazed over with tears I refused to shed. Not here. Not in front of them.

Then more weight settled on my chest as I glanced to the crowd, looking for the one face that should have fought for me.

My father. There he was, standing like a statue at the edge of the gathering , expression frozen. I couldn't read the look on his face, but his silence was deafening, more telling than any words. He didn't move . He didn't speak.

He just stood there. A fool. And a coward . Just as foolishly silent as he had always been.

My throat constricted, a bitter taste rushed my mouth. I wanted to scream at him for not stepping forward, for not defending me , for not choosing me. But I already knew the answer. He never had. And he never would.

Next to him, Lilian clung to him with one arm, her lips curling in a smug smirk. She stood in mockery , a silent evidence that this was not a family I had ever belonged in.

I swallowed hard, turned on my heel and walked away. No one called to stop me. No one reached for me. I walked past them all , past the man who was supposed to be my father, past those who claimed to be pack. I was walking away from the life I thought I had. I kept walking, even though I had no destination.

I walked out on everything.

And no one cared.