“The Skyler pack does not accept traitors,” he announced, his voice echoing through the hall. “And a Luna who betrays her mate? A woman who carries another Alpha’s child?” He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “She is no Luna of mine.”
Words should have freed me. Instead, they shackled me further.
Because when he turned back to me, his next words came like a blade to my throat.
“You’re banished from this pack.”
A gasp rippled through the room.
Catherine’s eyes widened, her lips parting, as if she hadn’t expected things to escalate this far.
Vander tensed beside me. “Luther, don’t do this—”
“Get her out of my sight,” Luther cut him off, his voice like ice. “Before I rip that bastard from her myself.”
My blood ran cold. Luther held my gaze for a long, agonizing moment. And then he turned on his heel, striding away, leaving me standing there, shaking, broken—but alive.
I barely registered the guards moving toward me. I barely heard Vander’s voice, arguing, pushing back, trying to stop this.
Because the only thing ringing in my ears was Luther’s final warning.
'YOU BETTER RUN, CHERYL.'
The Skyler Pack stood before me, a sea of judgmental faces, their gazes sharp with disgust. My body was stiff, my nails digging into my palms as the elders delivered their verdict.
“You are hereby exiled from the Skyler Pack, Cheryl.” The elder’s voice rang through the hall like a final nail in a coffin.
I swallowed hard, refusing to let them see the fear clawing at my chest. I wouldn’t beg. I wouldn’t plead for a place among people who had already discarded me. I lifted my chin, staring at them defiantly.
“Fine,” I said, my voice stronger than I felt. “You can have your pack. I never belonged here anyway.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd, but before I could turn to leave, a deep, firm voice cut through the tension.
“No.”
Vander stood tall beside me. His presence was a force of its own, commanding attention, demanding respect. His silver eyes burned with something fierce, something protective.
“This is wrong,” Vander said, his voice steady. “You’re casting her out based on nothing but rumors and lies. If this is how the Skyler Pack treats its Luna, then maybe it’s not worth being part of at all.”
Luther’s face darkened. “This is not your concern, Vander.”
Vander let out a cold chuckle. “Not my concern? She carries my child.” His words echoed through the room like a storm breaking.