"Get up," a cold voice snapped.
I blinked, confused, my head pounding like I'd been drugged. The room was dim, the air heavy like something terrible had already happened. I tried to sit up, and that's when I saw my mother, sitting at the edge of my bed with a face like stone. I didn't even know how I got to my bed. I remember I was with Alpha Jaxon, in the royal pack house.
"Mom?" My voice came out shaky. "Why are you here?"
Before she could answer, a deep growl rumbled from the corner. My breath caught as I turned and saw Alpha Jaxon.
He was standing there, his arms crossed, and eyes full of disgust like I was something rotten. My heart dropped.
Then I noticed my father, my brother Cory, and even Rosa. All standing in silence. Watching.
"Wait a minute... what's going on?" I whispered.
Alpha Jaxon stepped forward, his voice sharp and emotionless.
"You're finally awake."
Rosa moved toward me and gently took my hand. She didn't say anything, but her touch calmed me, just a little. She was the only one who didn't look like she wanted to burn me alive.
Then Cory opened his mouth. His words were sharp, cruel, and aimed to kill.
"You disgust me. You pathetic whore. Throwing yourself at a man like a desperate dog in heat. I'd rather have no sister than claim someone like you as blood."
My lips parted, but no words came out. His hatred hit harder than a slap.
"What?" I choked. "I didn't do anything."
Rosa squeezed my hand, then gave me a slight shake of her head. She was silently begging me not to fight back.
I looked at my father, hoping for something. A word or a look. Anything. But he just stared like I wasn't his daughter anymore.
Then Alpha Jaxon's voice cut through the silence.
"I found my mate. And she's a weak, spineless little omega."
My heart stopped.
"She's not Luna material. She has nothing to offer—no strength, no pride. Just a stupid girl with puppy eyes who thinks being mated means being chosen."
My throat burned. I could barely stand, but I forced myself to my feet.
"Why are you saying this?" I asked. "What did I do to deserve this?"
No one answered.
Then he said the words that broke my soul.
"I reject Aria Blake as my mate. From this moment forward, we are nothing."
The room went silent.
Then my father's voice came low and bitter. "She was supposed to make us proud. Instead, she's just a waste of breath. A mistake we should have abandoned long ago."
I couldn't breathe.
I thought back to the night before. How Jaxon touched me. How I melted in his arms. How I believed, for one stupid moment, that I had finally found someone who wouldn't treat me like trash.
But he was just like the rest of them.
Tears filled my eyes in a split second. I couldn't hold it in any longer so I ran.
I didn't know where I was going. I didn't care. My chest felt like it was splitting in half. My legs moved on their own. People passed me in the hall, but no one looked twice. No one stopped me.
Even my mother ignored me like I was a ghost.
"I wish I never gave birth to you," she said coldly. "You're nothing but a burden. Useless."
The words shattered whatever was left of me.
Only Rosa followed. She found me crouched by the garden wall, gasping for air and sobbing like a child. She knelt beside me and wrapped her arms around me tightly.
"I want to leave, Rosa," I whispered into her ear. "I can't stay here. I'll kill myself if I do."
"There's nowhere to go," she whispered back. "Only the Dark Forest. But you'll get lost in there."
"I don't care," I said, pulling away from her, my eyes wild. "I'd rather be lost in one damn cursed forest than stay in this pack of a hell hole. My mate rejected me. My family hates me. I swear, if I stay here, I'll take my own life."
Rosa's face twisted with pain. She reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, her voice soft and full of sympathy for me .
"There's a trail. A secret one. It only appears under the moonlight, when you've finally had enough. It shows itself to those ready to leave everything behind."
I stared at her, breathing heavily.
"Will it appear soon?"
She nodded slowly. "Tomorrow night. But once you step on it, Aria… you can never return. You'll be on your own. Forever."
I looked up at the sky, the stars, which stood far away into the sky. My heart still felt broken, but something inside me had started to burn.
"I'm ready," I whispered.