CLARABEL'S POV

His voice was so cold it felt like ice water being poured down my spine. His eyes were full of rage and disbelief. "How dare you?!"

"Lis—Please listen to me, I did not—"

I wasn't done explaining myself when he raised his hand and silenced me. The gesture was so dismissive it hurt more than the slap had.

"I trusted you. I gave you a home, a place in this Pack, and this is how you repay me? By attacking the woman I love?"

“I swear, she's setting me up. I didn't touch her. She was the one who—"

“Enough!" He roared. The sound vibrated in my very bones. "I am done with you. This ends now. I reject you as my mate and I hereby banish you from this Pack!"

The words felt like a physical blow. A mate rejection was supposed to be a process—a conversation, but he was severing the bond like it was nothing more than a nuisance. All for a woman who had abandoned him.

He turned to the guards who were standing at the far end of the hallway and commanded them in an icy tone.

"Take her. Throw her out of the Pack borders and if she dares to set foot on our land again, treat her as a trespasser."

"Yes, your Grace." The guards roared back, their voices echoing his command.

For a moment I thought the ground had been ripped from under me. I looked at Monica, who was watching from the floor. For a split second, her crying stopped, and she gave me a look of smug satisfaction before she returned to sobbing.

“You can’t do this to me! Not now!” I screamed at the top of my voice, anger taking over. “No—Not when I am pregnant… with your child!”

The hallway went dead. For one heartbeat, the guards’ grip loosened, and the air seemed to thin between us. I saw a flicker in Greenwood’s eyes—a momentary crack in the ice—and hope surged violently through my chest.

But it died as quickly as it came.

“She’s lying!” Monica’s voice sliced through the silence. She was still on the floor, clutching her face, but her eyes were locked on Greenwood, calculating and desperate. “She’s just saying that to stop us! She told me she would never allow me to take her place!”

“That’s not true—!”

“Guards!” He snapped, turning to me. The uncertainty was gone. His eyes were cold, hard, and disgusted. “Get this miserable liar out of my sight!”

My chest tightened. Something inside me didn’t just crack; it shattered. The fear, the love, the blind devotion all burned to nothing and my trembling stopped.

Slowly, I straightened, my fingers curling into fists at my sides. For the first time since I met him, I felt something else… raw, burning rage.

My voice tore out of me before I could stop it.

“Greenwood!”

My voice didn’t break this time. It didn’t waver or plead. It tore through the hallway, sharp enough to make the guards flinch. The pathetic, trembling girl who had obediently done anything her Alpha asked of her was gone, burned away by the acid of his betrayal.

I stopped shaking. The coldness from his eyes seemed to transfer into my own blood, turning it to ice. I didn’t reach for him. I didn't beg. I simply straightened my spine, standing tall even as my cheek burned with the mark of Monica’s lie.

“You want me gone?” I said, my voice dropping to a terrifyingly calm register. “Fine. I accept your rejection, Greenwood. I release you from every vow, every touch, and every lie you ever fed me. But mark my words today! You didn’t just throw away a mate. You threw away the only thing that was ever real in your life.”

My insides were burning, breaking, shattering— though I wouldn’t let them see it.

Greenwood’s jaw tightened, his eyes flickering with a momentary flash of something… guilt, perhaps… but it was drowned out by the woman sobbing at his feet.

I turned my gaze to Monica. She was watching me through the gaps in her fingers, her eyes gleaming with malicious victory. A dark, visceral heat began to coil in my gut, something ancient and primal. It wasn't just my anger; it was the howl of a rejected Luna.

"You think you’ve won?" I whispered. The air around us seemed to drop a few degrees. "You think you can build a throne on the ruins of my life? You can have the title. You can have the man. But the place you stole will never bring you peace. Every time you close your eyes, you will feel the weight of what you took. This Packhouse will become your cage, and his love will turn to ash in your mouth. You will wither here, and no one, not even him, will be able to save you from the rot in your own soul."

The words felt like they were being ripped from a part of me I didn't know existed. It wasn't a tantrum; it was a decree.

Monica let out a sharp, strangled gasp, clutching Greenwood’s leg as if she had been physically struck. "Greenwood! She’s... she’s cursing me! She’s trying to hurt me again!"

Greenwood’s face transformed. The disbelief vanished, replaced by a madness I had never seen. He looked at me as if I were a monster, a creature that needed to be put down. The rejection wasn't enough for him. He wanted blood.

"How dare you?" he roared, his voice echoing like thunder. "You attack her, you lie about a child, and now you dare to lay a curse on her in my presence?"

He looked toward the head guard, and the man looked away, his hand hovering over his belt.

"Fifty lashes, Silas," Greenwood commanded.

The silence that followed was deafening. Silas looked up, his eyes wide. "Alpha... fifty? She’s an Omega. She won't survive—"