Chapter 3 Banished Bride

Alicia’s POV

The air shifted the moment I crossed the border. Pine, damp earth, and rain;  my favorite scent of earth and water filled the air but tonight it only smelled like guilt.

I didn’t regret what I did but my wolf was restless. It didn’t feel wrong. It felt inevitable, like the Moon herself had pulled us together, no matter the cost

The warmth of the mark Ray gave me burned faintly at my neck, and every heartbeat brought back memories of his touch.

I made a promise to myself to keep it a secret until I could find the right words to explain to my father that what I was feeling wasn't betrayal.

But fathers like Vincent Rowe didn’t think that feelings existed. They supported only war and loyalty.

But secrets in the park never last long. I hadn't realized that a scout from the patrol had seen me cross the border last night. Wolves noticed everything; Scents, silence, and change—and whispers, they spread faster than wildfire.

When I got back, he was waiting for me in the courtyard, his eyes as cold as the storm and the rain slipping off his leather coat. Pack members gathered around him, suspicious and inquisitive.“Where have you been?” His voice cut through the air like a blade.

My heart started racing. “I stepped out. I just needed…”

“Don’t lie to me.” He stepped closer, nostrils flaring. Then his expression changed, slow and dangerous, like thunder rolling over the horizon. “Whose scent is that?”

Before I could answer, he gripped my arm and yanked down the collar of my shirt. His hand froze against my skin.

The mark. The silver crescent Ray’s bite had left proof of what I had done.

Vincent stumbled back as if I’d struck him. “You mated with him,” he whispered, voice trembling with fury. “With a Stone.”

The crowd gasped. Someone shouted, “Traitor!”

I took a step forward, rain plastering my hair to my face. “Father, please. You don’t understand. Ray and I, we…”

“I understand perfectly.” His voice rose, carrying across the pack square. “You’ve shamed this family. You’ve shamed your pack. You’ve turned your back on the blood that raised you!”

He didn’t look at me. He just gave the order.“Take her to the square.”

I was pulled through the mud by two guards, dragged like a commoner.

As I was brought to my knees in front of the pack fire, the wolves I had grown up with silently stared at me.

Like dying embers, the flames hissed in the rain. Hard as steel, Vincent's voice echoed. "Alicia Rowe is no longer my daughter. From this moment, she is not a Blood Moon Pack wolf. Her name has been removed, and her connection to this pack has been severed, and she is exiled.

I gasped.

No daughter.

No house.

No home. No pack

I  didn't beg, but something inside of me broke. I refrained from crying. I got up, raised my chin, and looked away.

Each step toward the border felt heavier than the last. When I crossed it, the storm swallowed me whole.

---

The scent of Dark Night Pack territory was different, with more iron and mist, and it was colder. The wind whispered his name and every breath I took drew me closer to him.

Half from the bond drawing me to Ray and half from the rain, my body shook.

I found him before dawn, standing in front of his pack, holding a silver crown.

The ceremony of Alpha.

Everything else vanished as his eyes locked with mine.

Without hesitation, he made his way through the crowd, grabbed my hand, and turned to his people. "She's mine," he declared plainly.

Despite his calmness, his voice had a force that cut off all whispers. "My mate and Luna is Alicia Rowe."

Shouts replaced the murmurs. While some wolves averted their gaze, others growled.

Then, from a distance, a deep howl tore through the air, one that doesn't belong to the Dark Night Pack. It sounded like a warning. Ray’s Beta stiffened beside him. “Alpha,” he said sharply, “they've crossed the eastern gate.”

The air changed before anyone could say another word. The earth rumbled. Then, my father appeared at the gate of the pack. He didn't come alone.

He came with twenty Blood Moon wolves, all in battle form, positioning around him like shadows.

He raised a hand, his voice sharp as thunder. “By Ancient Law, this bond cannot stand. If she claims this pack, she must defend it in combat.”

Ray growled beside me. “This is madness.”

Vincent ignored him. His gaze locked on me. “Do you accept?”

I wanted to refuse, to run, to scream that I had no strength left. But pride wouldn’t let me.

I nodded once. “I’ll fight.”

Then Jake, my only brother, stepped forward. His expression was full of pain and something I couldn’t place my hands on. I know he is passionate about pleasing our father but I don't understand why he is this loyal, even to the detriment of his own sister.

“I’ll fight for our pack,” he said quietly.

The crowd formed a circle and retreated.

The dirt turned to mud as the rain fell in thick sheets.

Jake was the first to shift, his dark fur shining in the lightning.

The world became sharper in sound and silver as I followed, my wolf emerging from within, muscles tearing, bones stretching.

Growls echoed through the storm as we circled one another. I met him halfway when he lunged, jaws snapping and claws clashing. The air was heavy with the smell of blood as the crowd roared.

Jake's voice then slipped through the pack link, trembling and broken, as I pinned him to the ground. "Alicia, you shouldn't fight me. You're not even his daughter.

Everything came to a halt.

Everything faded into silence, including the thunder, growls, and rain.

"What were you saying?"

Jake’s wolf eyes flickered with hatred. “You’re not Vincent’s daughter. You’re his brother’s sin. The daughter of the man Ray calls father.”

Gasps filled the air. Vincent’s face went pale. Ray froze where he stood. It felt as if the world had been ripped about by the goddess herself. My love had just turned into blood.

The mark on my neck burned like fire. Pain shot through my chest, deep and raw. The bond — it was tearing itself apart.

I fell to my knees, clutching my chest as the world tilted. I could feel Ray’s pain through the bond, echoing mine, two hearts breaking in the same rhythm.

Voices screamed around me, but I couldn’t hear the words.

As I lay there, all  I could see was Jake's face, full of pride, and Ray’s eyes reaching for me through the chaos before everything and I was consumed by darkness.

And as the rain washed over me, one chill truth that settled in my heart like ice.

Our love wasn’t just forbidden by law. It was condemned by blood. By destiny itself.