Judged

They didn’t give me time to speak. Guards seized my arms before the echo of Delilah’s accusation had fully faded. Their grips were tight, unforgiving, as if I were already guilty. “I didn’t do this,” I said, my voice steady only because shock had numbed me. “I would never—” “Enough.” Finn’s voice cut through the hall like a blade. I turned toward him, desperate. “Finn, look at me. You know me. You know I would never harm a child.” His eyes met mine but there was no warmth in them. Only cold resolve. “She was the only one who prepared Delilah’s meals,” he said to the elders. “She had motive.” Motive?!. The word felt unreal. “She is still your mate,” Elder Rowan said carefully. “We must tread lightly, Alpha.” Finn’s jaw tightened. “A mate who resents my chosen woman. A mate who has been forced to endure humiliation.” I flinched. Each word sounded rehearsed—like he had already convinced himself long before today. “She wanted Delilah gone,” he continued. “And now my child is dead.” A sob tore from Delilah’s lips as she clutched her stomach. Finn rushed to her side instantly, wrapping her in his arms. I stood alone after they dragged me into the center of the Alpha hall. The pack gathered in a wide circle, their eyes sharp with judgment, fear, and something worse—anticipation. I felt stripped bare beneath their stares. “Swear it,” Elder Rowan urged softly. “Swear on the Moon Goddess that you are innocent.” “I swear,” I said without hesitation. “On my wolf. On my life.” Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Delilah lifted her head weakly. “Then why does my body still burn?” she whispered. “Why do the healers say poison was found in my blood?” My heart slammed against my ribs. “That’s impossible,” I breathed. “I used only moonleaf and silverroot—” “Enough,” Finn snapped again. “You will not twist this.” Twist it?!. I laughed then. A broken, hollow sound tore from my chest encouraging shocked gasps. “You begged me to wait,” I said, my voice shaking now. “You asked me to endure. I served her, fed her, protected her—because you asked me to.” Silence. Finn didn’t deny it, instead, “Take her to the cells,” he ordered. The finality in his voice crushed something inside me. The dungeon smelled of damp stone and despair. They threw me into a cell without ceremony. The iron door slammed shut, the sound echoing like a death knell. I slid down the wall slowly, clutching my chest as the mate bond between us screamed in agony. Finn didn’t come. Not that night or the next morning. Instead, the rejection summons arrived at dusk. A single guard stood at my cell door, face averted. “The Alpha has called for a formal rejection,” he said quietly. My breath hitched. Rejection meant more than severing the bond. It meant exile.Erasure or Death if the Moon Goddess deemed me unworthy. I pressed my forehead to the cold bars. “I loved him, for years” I whispered to no one. The ritual circle was prepared beneath the full moon. The pack gathered once more, torches flickering, judgment carved into every face. I was forced to my knees at the center, chains biting into my wrists. Finn stood before me. Tall. Imposing and Untouchable. Delilah watched from behind him, her eyes dry now—sharp and victorious. “Do you still deny the accusation?” Elder Rowan asked. “I do,” I said hoarsely. “With every breath.” Finn raised his hand. “I reject her,” he said coldly. “As my mate. As my Luna. As anything to me.” Pain exploded through my chest and i screamed as the bond tore violently, white-hot agony ripping through my soul. My wolf howled in terror, in loss, and betrayal. I collapsed forward, gasping, blood filling my mouth. The Moon Goddess did not stop it. When it was over, Finn didn’t look back. “Banish her beyond the border,” he ordered. “By dawn.” And just like that—I became worse than nothing. **** They didn’t let me heal because at dawn, they dragged me from the dungeon like refuse—weak, shaking, my body still burning from the rejection. Every step felt like broken glass beneath my skin. My wolf was silent now, curled deep inside me, wounded and afraid. No one met my eyes...Not the guards, or the pack members who lined the path in uneasy silence. Not even Elder Rowan and Finn wasn’t there. That hurt more than the chains biting into my wrists. The border loomed ahead—marked by ancient stones carved with warnings older than the pack itself. Beyond it lay rogue land. Death. Monsters. Exile without mercy. “This is as far as we go,” one guard muttered, cutting my restraints. I swayed. “May the Moon Goddess judge you fairly,” another said, though his voice lacked conviction. Then they shoved me forward. I stumbled past the border stone and fell hard onto frozen earth. The pack turned away and just like that, I ceased to exist. The pain came in waves. Without the mate bond, my body rebelled violently—heart racing, limbs numb, lungs burning with each shallow breath. Blood soaked the hem of my dress where I had bitten my tongue to keep from screaming. I tried to stand. Failed. The forest swallowed me whole. Branches clawed at my skin, thorns tore through fabric and flesh as I crawled blindly, driven by instinct alone. Somewhere in the distance, wolves howled—not pack wolves. Rogues. My vision blurred. So this was how it ended. Not with justice or with the truth? But with silence?. By nightfall, the cold had sunk into my bones. I collapsed beneath a twisted pine, curling inward as tremors wracked my body. My wolf whimpered faintly inside me. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I tried.” The moon rose high, silver and indifferent. I thought of Finn then—not with love, but with something hollow and exhausted. The bond was gone, but the scar remained. I closed my eyes. A growl cut through the darkness. Low, dangerous and definitely not meant for prey. My eyes flew open just as glowing eyes pierced the shadows. Gold, not the usual red eyes of rogue. And it wasn’t feral either. An Alpha... A massive wolf stepped into the moonlight, black fur streaked with silver scars, power rolling off him in suffocating waves. He circled me slowly, assessing, calculating. I couldn’t even scream. He shifted then—bones cracking, fur receding—until a man stood before me. Tall. Broad and sinfully handsome and wrapped in dark leather and authority. His gaze fell on my throat where the mate mark should have been. His eyes darkened. “Who did this to you?” he asked, voice deep and edged with fury. I laughed weakly. “My mate.” The word tasted like ash. Something dangerous flickered across his face. “What is your name?” he demanded. I hesitated. Then whispered it. Recognition struck him like lightning. “Finn Nightclaw’s mate,” he said slowly. I shook my head. “Not anymore.” His jaw clenched as he stepped closer, and the air between us crackled—old magic, ancient and undeniable. My chest burned faintly, not pain this time, but something else. Awakening. “Then listen to me,” he said, crouching before me, eyes locked onto mine. “You’re not dying tonight.” Then he lifted me effortlessly into his arms. “And when the Moon Goddess finishes what she started,” he added grimly, “someone will pay for this.” As darkness claimed me, I felt it. A pull, a whisper of a bond not broken—only waiting.