Georgia’s POV
“It should have been you.”
The words tore through me like a blade, sharp and merciless. My body convulsed with the force of my emotions, each tremor deeper than the last. A brutal, burning ache cracked open in my chest, as if my heart had suddenly imploded.
Preston turned to face me, and the sight of him shattered what little strength I had left. A mocking smirk ghosted across his face, but his eyes were cold, hollow—merciless. That mask of detachment told me everything. He didn’t see a person standing before him anymore. Just the shadow of someone he hated.
I knew why. Everyone thought I was the one who’d killed Giselle. And in his eyes, that made me unforgivable.
I tried to rise, to stand tall in the face of his judgment, but my limbs betrayed me. My legs gave out beneath me, and I crumpled to the forest floor again, humiliated. My body was numb. Broken. And still, his voice, sharp and void of warmth, sliced through the cold air.
“In the name of the Moon Goddess…”
His words struck me like thunder. I lifted my head, my breath caught somewhere between a gasp and a sob. My gaze locked onto him—my mate. My love. My curse.
“Preston, please! Don’t do this. You don’t understand—I love you. I love you more than anything. Just give me a chance to explain. Please…”
But he didn’t pause. Didn’t falter. His voice remained low and steady, ice wrapping around every syllable.
“I, Preston Hill, Alpha of Dark Spike Pack, reject Georgia Cooper as my mate.”
The words didn’t just wound—they tore me apart from the inside. My soul convulsed in protest. A sickening agony blazed through every nerve, and I collapsed forward, clutching my chest as if I could hold the pieces of my heart together. Inside my mind, my wolf howled in despair, her voice frantic, drowning in pain.
‘We need him! Go to him, Georgia. Beg if you must—scream, cry, crawl. Do anything. Damn you, stop being so proud and just ask him to forgive us!’
The noise in my head was unbearable—a violent static that surged and roared, sometimes like an explosion, sometimes like the bottomless quiet of deep water. Preston stood before me, unmoved. Silent. Watching me like one watches something vile crawling across the floor.
I knew what he was waiting for. The final step. My acceptance.
But I was the daughter of the Silver Stream Pack’s Alpha. I still had my pride, even if nothing else.
‘I won’t ask for forgiveness when I’ve done nothing wrong,’ I told my wolf. She snarled at me, furious. But I refused to give her what she wanted.
Then came another wave of pain, so raw I doubled over. Blood rose up in my throat and I coughed it onto the ground, staining the forest floor.
I had thought my heart had already been shattered, broken beyond repair. But even broken things, it seemed, could still feel. Could still burn.
And from that agony, something else emerged—something harder, colder.
Hatred.
I wiped the blood from my mouth and forced myself upright. My eyes locked onto Preston’s. A bitter smile curled my lips.
“You want to sever this bond, Alpha Preston? You think you can just cut me loose and walk away? I’m afraid you’ll find it’s not that simple.”
The flicker of shock in his eyes was brief but satisfying. He hadn’t expected defiance.
I shut my eyes, no longer willing to look at the man who had once been everything to me. I let the pain consume me, sinking into it until darkness finally claimed me.
When I came to, I was still sprawled on the cold earth of the Silent Forest. Preston was gone. Only Beta Derek stood nearby, watching me like a vulture circling a corpse.
As my eyes opened, he stepped forward, his voice like gravel and ice.
“This is exactly what you deserve for killing my sister, Georgia Cooper.”
Without another word, he turned his back on me.
I dragged myself to my feet, limbs heavy, body soaked through with sweat and blood. My soul felt just as drenched, weighed down with shame and exhaustion. I stumbled back toward the Silver Stream Pack, my former home. But two werewolves in uniform were already waiting at the border.
“Miss Cooper,” one of them said, voice clipped and emotionless, “we have reason to believe you’re involved in Giselle Price’s death. You’ll need to come with us.”
I scanned the faces around me, desperately hoping someone—anyone—might stand up, speak out, defend me. But no one did. They all watched in silence.
“I’m sorry, Georgia,” one of the guards added. “Alpha gave the order this morning. You’ve been banished. You’re a rogue now. You’re no longer one of us.”
The words hit harder than any blow. I felt the world shift beneath my feet.
“I’m innocent,” I whispered, though my voice barely carried. No one answered. No one even looked at me.
They took me away.
At the steps of the werewolf council hall, I saw Preston again. He stood there like a warden awaiting his prisoner.
“Are you ready to confess?” he asked. “Say you did it, and I’ll speak to the court. They’ll drop the charges. You could be free by nightfall.”
“I didn’t kill Giselle,” I answered, each word sharp with conviction.
My eyes stung with unshed tears, burning with anger, humiliation, and heartbreak.
I thought my love for him had died. I wanted to believe that. But even now, he made my heart ache.
“In that case…” Preston stepped forward, his presence suffocating with the full weight of his Alpha power.
I couldn’t hold my ground. My head lowered instinctively, shame and pain dragging it down.
He tilted my chin upward with one hand, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“Enjoy your prison cell, Georgia Cooper. I hope the other inmates give you the welcome you deserve. I’ve heard they don’t take kindly to blondes.”
It took everything I had to glare back at him.
“So what?” I hissed. “I haven’t accepted your rejection. That bond still stands. I’m still your mate. I’m still the Luna of the Dark Spike Pack.”
“You—”
“Time’s up, officers,” I cut him off before he could finish, turning to the guards.
They moved quickly, placing themselves between us. Preston’s hand reached out as if to stop them.
“You can’t take her yet! I’m not done—”
“I’m sorry, Alpha Preston,” one of the guards interrupted, firm but respectful. “The law is the law. She has to report to the prison before noon.”
As they led me away, I cast one last look over my shoulder, my smile razor-sharp.
“Now who’s trapped, Alpha?”
I waited for the explosion of fury I knew must be boiling inside him.
But Preston just stood there, still as stone.
“You’ll regret this, Georgia Cooper,” he said, voice quiet but full of promise. “You’ll regret not accepting my rejection.”
