Chapter 2

Humiliation

I want to walk away from the stifling gazes that are clutching me like a vice, but before I can move, a voice breaks through the whispers.

"Not so fast, Lily."

My limbs freeze in mid-step as the instruction hits me like a physical blow. That voice is familiar to me. Once, I believed that voice.

Ethan.

Jake's beta. My pal since childhood. I once believed that he would always be there for me.

I gently turn to face him, my stomach churning. His posture is stiff and commanding, and his black eyes lack warmth. The Beta pushing his Alpha's will, not the lad I knew before. imposing my embarrassment.

Ethan goes on, his voice echoing over the meadow, "even though the Alpha rejected you, you are still obligated to this pack until we say otherwise."

The whispers become louder. My ears pound with my heartbeat.

My fists tighten. I bite out, trying to keep my voice steady, "I have nothing left here." "Give me a break."

He smiles. Lily, you don't get to just go. One more thing has to be done.

My muscles tense with fear. I have to ask even if I don't want to. "What?"

Ethan approaches, and even though he talks quietly, the whole pack is listening to what he has to say.

"Concede that you are not worthy."

There is silence in the clearing.

The quiet is broken by a harsh, unpleasant chuckle. Selena.

She purrs, her sweet voice brimming with derision, "Go on, Lily." Say it. Let's say you're not cut out to be Luna.

Anger seeping through the cracks in my damaged heart causes my throat to stiffen. I look into her eyes and see the joy glimmering there. She's got everything she wanted. Jake. The approval of the pack. My location. She still wants more, however.

I turn to face my father, who should be my protector since he is the Beta of this pack. He stands silently in the middle of the crowd. He avoids looking at me.

Coward.

As the agony stabs me, I lock it away by pressing down. I will not allow them to take pleasure in my breaking.

"I refuse," I said, clenching my jaw.

Ethan's grin falters as his brows wrinkle. "Lily”

"I won't." My voice is shaking, yet it's full of defiance. I hold my head up and straighten my back, but my body still trembles from the rejection. "You cannot force me."

Selena tsks as she moves ahead. She coos, "Oh," "my dear sister." "You don't really get it, do you?"

Before I can react, she moves. Hurry. Too soon.

A searing pain explodes in my stomach as she presses her foot into me, forcing breath out of my lungs. I fall to my knees, gasping.

Whispers break out among the group. Startle. acceptance. An unhealthy hurry.

Beside me, Selena is crouched and whispering something that only I can hear. "Lily, keep your cool. Beg. Maybe I will be lenient.

I look up into her eyes, my eyesight blurred by agony and unshed tears.

She doesn't think I'm important.

I lunge.

I don't think so, so don't hesitate. Fueled by months, years, of quiet pain, my body does what it should. My fingers grab hold of her hair and I give a forceful pull. Despite her cries, I go on. I shove her back, and she sprawls on the ground.

There are gasps from the audience.

I scramble to my feet, gasping for breath. "Never will I bow to you."

Selena growls, anger flashing in her eyes. But before she can answer, a new voice cuts through the muddle.

"Enough."

Jake.

His visage is a mask of icy authority as he advances. When I see him, my heart tightens, but I ignore the emotion. I no longer own him.

Something flickers in his eyes for a short second as he looks at me. Something close to regret. His next words, however, confirm my doom as his jaw tightens.

"This pack no longer includes you."

a final denial.

A cold decision.

I hold myself standing by locking my knees even as the world sways. Despite my tight chest and unsteady breath, I make myself nod.

Scrubbing dirt off her cheeks, Selena grins from the ground. "All right, that's that."

Jake has a razor-sharp voice. "Go now."

A strange numbness sweeps over me. Nothing else can be said. There is nothing left to defend.

With my pulse pounding, I turn away from them all and go onward.

Then a growl.

Risky, low, and deep.

I barely have time to react before I'm struck from behind by something. I scream as claws sever my spine and pain shoots through me. The strength makes my hands scrape the floor as I sag forward.

I turn around, gasping, my breath stopping at the picture above me.

Selena had half-shifted, my blood gushing from her claws.

Her smile is malevolent. "Did you really think I'd let you go safely?"

The group watches in silence. No one intervenes to stop her. Not Jake. Not Ethan. Not my father.

As my strength diminishes and my blood accumulates underneath me, my vision gets fuzzy.

Then, from the shadows

A grumble.

Wild, awful, and well-known.

Damien.

His presence pierces the darkness like a sword, his storm-gray eyes burning with rage. But he is not alone.

Behind him, creatures with glowing eyes come out of the darkness. Rogues. The pack despises the brutal, heedless warriors. hardened. fatal.

Damien moves forward, his voice a threatening mutter. "I'll burn this pack to the ground if you touch her again."

The sneer on Selena's face falters. Jake stiffens. The pack is anxious because of the power shift.

A loud, ominous growl rumbles from Damien's chest as he walks toward me, his eyes focused on my wounds. "You'll regret this," he warns them all, and then he gives me a hug.

Despite the ache that gnaws at my consciousness, I cling to the warmth of his embrace and his scent wild, untamed, familiar. The pack does nothing to stop him as he turns away, holding me in his arms, and moves into the darkness beyond the clearing.

I can't see well because of the black spots. Before the world vanishes, the last sound I hear is Damien's deep, threatening voice.

"You're safe now, Lily. And I swear they'll all pay.