“Don’t you ever say my name again, you slut.”
My heart breaks. He believes them. My wolf howls, the sound claws its way out of me even though I try to hold it back. My legs give out and I hit the cobblestone with a thud. When the tears come I don’t have the strength to stop them.
Alpha Ashford stalks forward. “Disgusting filth.”
The fight in my wolf is gone and I’ve never been a fighter. I don’t move as he advances on me. I should run. I try to move but I’m a puppet whose strings were cut. I stay right where I am,broken and ripped open. Alpha Ashford stops in front of me and reaches down to grab me.
“I’m going to make sure you never see another sunrise.”
A sob wracks my body at his words but still I don’t move. Alpha Ashford grabs me by my shoulder and jerks me forward. My palms hit the ground with a slap, barely saving my face from hitting the cobblestones when he drags me towards the bonfire. Oh hells. Is he going to throw me in the fire? Fear spikes through me and I start to fight but I can’t stop him. My wolf is gone. She’d hiding, silent and fearful. I can feel her sorrow bleeding through every inch of me. She’s broken just the same as me.
I’m on my own.
“Tonight I will finally rid our pack of this filth!” Alpha Ashford’s shout makes the pack cheer. He walks faster and the stones slice into my hands and knees.
“Let go of me!” I scream and kick. I lose my shoe when he doesn’t stop and end up busting my knee wide open on the ground. Blood smears across the cobblestones with each step the Alpha takes. We’re so close to the bonfire that I can feel the heat of it. I turn to try and get my bearings and lock eyes with Keiran. He’s nearby, the woman is back by his side, delicate hands wrapped around his bicep.
“Keiran!” I scream. “Help me!”
He doesn’t do anything. Just moves back another pace and puts an arm around Bella. Somehow, seeing him with her like this hurts more than being shamed and dragged in front of the entire pack.
“Get out of the way, witch.”
I jerk in surprise and that’s when I realize we’ve stopped moving. I lean over to the side and see Maud standing in front of Alpha Ashford. The witch plants her feet and squares her chest. Whatever happens tonight, I know it won’t be Alpha Ashford getting past Maud.
Maud wags a finger at Alpha Ashford and strolls forward. “Take care in what you do next,Alpha.” She spits the word out at him like a curse before she looks down at me. There’s remorse in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Cordelia. I told you it wouldn’t end well for you, didn’t I?”
“Tonight at the moon run the Alpha’s son will announce his mate. It won’t end well for you when he does.”
I feel sick. Maud knew. She told me this would happen even if I didn’t understand. Keiran called me his mate and it's all gone downhill from there. My heat. My wolf. All of it has been wiped out by Keiran’s rejection.
Tears spill down my cheeks. “Maud, please. Help me.” I look to her because who else can I look to? I don’t even bother to look Keiran’s way. It hurts too much to see the proof of it now that he has his chosen mate. There’s no one in this pack to take up for me but Maud.
“I didn’t do it,” I whisper to her. A tremor moves through me. I want to peel my skin off. Every part of me that Alpha Ashford has touched, I want to burn it off until his scent, the memory of him is gone. Vomit rises up in me when I smell him. Creosote and kerosine. I’m going to be sick.
“This female is in heat. She needs peace. Somewhere Alphas like you can’t get to her,” Maud says. There’s more whispers behind me from the pack at the news of my heat. Shame is my constant companion with the Frostclaw Pack at my back. I hate that I feel ashamed of my heat, as if I did something wrong.
“Another trick. You did this, witch. Thinking you can tempt my son to throw his life away for orphan trash.”
Maud lifts her chin at his words. “Don’t you blame me. This is as the moon goddess wills it.”
“The moon goddess’s will? No. I refuse to believe that. You did this with your spell, didn’t you? How dare you defy me, witch? I tasked you with crafting a spell to select hismate,” Alpha Ashford rumbles out. “He chooses Bella of the Moonshadow Pack! Notthat.” He flings a hand in my direction.That.I’m not even a breathing member of this pack to him. He stalks over to Maud and I move to try and stop him but it’s useless. He’s too fast and I’m crawling. In the end it doesn’t matter, because Maud isn’t bothered.
She stares the Alpha down. “No, the spell wasto reveal.You heard what you wanted. Don’t blame me because your comprehension skills are limited,Alpha.” She growls the last word at him. My mouth falls open because never in all the years I’ve known Maud has she ever growled at anyone much less the Alpha.
“You lying witch!”
“Ignorant fool.”
“I ought to have you banned. The pair of you,” Alpha Ashford looks between us both. I want to throw up when I hear the finality in his voice. I don’t have anywhere to go. Even if Frostclaw isn’t much, it's home. The only home that I’ve got and the only one that Maud has.
Except he was going to throw me in the fucking bonfire. I wince because it’s true. At least I think it was. I glance over at the bonfire where it crackles merrily away. If Maud hadn’t stepped in would I be in it now?
Maybe banishment is a solid option after all. Hells. I have to get out of here.
But I can’t let Maud be banished because of me. She’s an Elder here, anywhere else and she’d be working her way up from the bottom like me.Like me.My chest burns at the thought of it with shame. I won’t let her live like me. I love her too much for that. She deserves more than walking through the world like me.
“No! No, Maud didn’t have anything to do with it. I-send me away. It was me. It’s my fault.” I step forward and raise my hands like I do when I’m trying to prove to the chickensMaud keeps that I’m not going to try and gather their eggs when they’re brooding. “I’ll go. Just send me.”
