Chapter 3

Emeryville's standpoint.

His gaze swept the room, taking in Seraphina's prone form and my guilty stance. In an instant, his face transformed from concern to pure, unbridled fury.

“What have you done?” He growled, his voice deeper and more menacing than I'd ever heard it.

I tried to speak, to explain, but no words came out. He brushed past me as if I didn't exist, kneeling beside Seraphina and gently cradling her head.

“Sera? Love, can you hear me?” The tenderness in his voice was like a knife to my heart. He'd never spoken to me that way, not even in our most intimate moments.

Seraphina stirred, her eyelids fluttering. “Damien?” She murmured, confusion evident in her tone. “What happened?”

His eyes locked onto mine, blazing with an intensity that made me take a step back. “That's what I'd like to know,” he said, his words clipped and cold. “Emeryville, explain yourself. Now.”

I opened my mouth, but what could I say? That I'd attacked his fated mate in a fit of jealous rage? That I'd lost control and hurt the woman who, despite everything, was still my best friend?

"I… we were arguing,” I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper. “Things got heated, and I… I pushed her. I didn't mean for her to fall. Damien, I swear, I never wanted to hurt her.”

But he wasn't listening. His jaw was set, his eyes hard, as he helped Seraphina to her feet. She swayed slightly, and he steadied her with a gentleness that made my heart ache.

“This ends now,” he said, his voice ringing with Alpha authority. The sound of it made my wolf whimper, instinctively wanting to submit even as my human side railed against it.

“Damien, please,” I begged, taking a step toward them. “Let me explain. It was an accident, I—”

“Enough!” He roared, making both Seraphina and me flinch. “I've heard enough. You've gone too far, Emeryville. I was willing to let you leave with dignity, to give you time to say your goodbyes. But this? Attacking my mate? This cannot stand.”

The finality in his voice made my blood run cold. “What are you saying?”

His eyes met mine, and I saw no trace of the man I'd loved for so long. This was pure Alpha, cold and unyielding. “I, Alpha Damien of Wolfsong Alliance Pack, reject you, Emeryville of Wolfsong Alliance Pack.”

I staggered back, feeling as if the very air had been sucked from my lungs. A rejection from an Alpha was more than just words—it was a severing of ties, a complete expulsion from everything I'd ever known.

“No,” I whispered, my eyes burning with unshed tears. “Damien, please. Don't do this.”

But his expression remained unmoved. "You will leave pack lands immediately. If you are found within our borders after sunrise, you will be treated as a hostile rogue.

Seraphina gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “Damien, that's too harsh. She's been part of this pack her whole life. Where will she go?”

For a moment, I felt a flicker of hope. Maybe her influence could soften his stance. But his next words crushed that hope entirely.

“That's no longer our concern,” he said, his arm tightening around her waist. “She made her choice when she raised a hand against you.”

I wanted to argue, to fight, to make them understand. But Damien's rejection pressed down on me, making it hard to breathe, let alone speak. There was only one thing left to do.

“I, Emeryville of Wolfsong Alliance Pack, accept your rejection, Alpha Damien,” I managed to choke out, the formal words tasting like ash on my tongue.

A single tear slipped down Seraphina's cheek. “Em, I'm so sorry. I never wanted this to happen.”

I looked at her—my best friend, my sister in all but blood, now my replacement in every way that mattered. Part of me wanted to hate her, to lash out again. But I was too drained, too hollowed out by grief to feel anything but a bone-deep exhaustion.

"Goodbye, Sera,” I whispered, turning toward the door. As I reached for the handle, Damien's voice stopped me one last time.

“Emeryville.”

I paused, my hand on the doorknob, hope fluttering weakly in my chest. Maybe he'd changed his mind. Maybe this was all some horrible misunderstanding.

I looked back, my heart in my throat. Damien's eyes were cold, but there was something else there too. Regret? Pity? I couldn't tell.

“Don't ever come back,” he said, his voice low and final.

As I stepped out into the night, leaving behind everything I'd ever known or loved, his words echoed in my mind. Don't ever come back.

I was alone now, a rogue in a world that showed no mercy to our kind.

Where would I go? What would I do? As the door closed behind me with a devastating click, one thought consumed me: How had my life fallen apart so completely in a single day?

But even as despair threatened to overwhelm me, a tiny spark of defiance flickered in my chest. I may have lost everything, but I was still Emeryville. I would survive. I had to.