Condemned by the Alpha

Darius swirled the dark wine in his crystal glass. At Kaelen's report, he dragged his gaze away from the rain-lashed window and the pathetic figure standing in the storm below.

Darius's voice was devoid of warmth as he issued his next command. "Inform the Alpha of the Crystal Creek Pack that he has a choice. He can keep his pack intact, or he can keep Sloane. If he values his people, Sloane must be expelled."

Kaelen bowed his head. "Yes, Alpha."

Darius took a deliberate sip of his wine before continuing. "Contact the werewolf university. Revoke her degree. Make sure she cannot secure a decent job in human society. A high school diploma is all she gets."

"Understood."

Darius's tone dropped to a lethal cadence. "And send her to the werewolf prison."

Kaelen's head snapped up. "Alpha Darius?"

"She killed one of our own. She will serve three years in the underground cells. Beta Kaelen, do you have an objection?" Darius stated, fixing the Beta with a hard stare.

Though the hard evidence was currently circumstantial, Darius was convinced of her guilt. Sloane was the one who had murdered Valeria.

Kaelen's voice cracked as raw grief choked him, and tears spilled over his cheeks. "No, Alpha. You did the right thing. Thank you. If it weren't for you, Sloane would walk away unpunished for what she did to Valeria. She belongs to another pack. I have no jurisdiction over her."

Darius turned his back to the room, facing the window once more. His dark eyes tracked Sloane's retreating form until the shadows of the winding road swallowed her.

He tightened his grip on the glass and downed the rest of the bitter wine.

Darius murmured, his gaze never leaving the dark horizon. "Beta Kaelen, I am not doing this just because Valeria was your sister. I am doing this because Valeria was the woman I loved."

Miles away, the relentless storm battered Sloane's exhausted body as she dragged herself to the borders of the Crystal Creek Pack. She was drenched to the bone and freezing. Home was just steps away.

But she never made it past the tree line.

A solid wall of uniformed werewolf guards blocked her path. They had received Darius's ultimatum. The Alpha of the Crystal Creek Pack—her own father—feared the wrath of the Alpha King far more than he loved his daughter.

Sloane was exiled.

She stood in the thick mud, shivering as she watched the patrolling guards turn their backs on her. She wasn't granted a final goodbye. She didn't get to see her parents, the Alpha and Luna of Crystal Creek. Her status and her family were stripped away in an instant.

She would be a rogue from now on.

A broken laugh scraped up her raw throat. She didn't understand why they were all so terrified of Darius. She shook her head and tore her gaze away from the border. The invisible line separating her from the Crystal Creek pack was a brutal cut-off from her old life.

She couldn't put the crushing devastation into words. As she turned back toward the woods, heavy boots sloshed through the mud. Two hulking werewolves in stark uniforms flanked her.

One of them clamped his heavy hand down on her shoulder and barked his order. "Miss Falkner, we suspect that you had something to do with Valeria's death. You need to come with us right now."

In the werewolf court, Sloane stood in the center of the grand council hall. She remained silent, listening to the Elders' heated discussions. The outcome was a foregone conclusion. Eventually, they decided to punish her, condemning her to the darkness of the underground cells.

Before the guards hauled her off to the werewolf prison, she saw him.

Darius waited for her just outside the heavy oak doors of the council hall. The suffocating pressure of his aura hit her long before he spoke.

Darius snorted, his imposing frame blocking the corridor as he looked down at her. "Sloane, now, do you regret killing Valeria?"

Sloane met his icy stare. "I didn't kill Valeria."

Darius closed the distance between them with slow, deliberate steps. The sheer force of his Alpha aura was terrifying, pressing down on her lungs.

Though Sloane was born the proud daughter of an Alpha, she was now nothing but a fragile rogue. Her body screamed to submit to the overwhelming power radiating from him.

She forced herself to stand tall. She told herself not to be afraid. She was innocent, and she had committed no crime.

She raised her delicate face fearlessly, fighting to maintain a mask of composure. Her trembling shoulders gave her away, and none of these tiny fractures escaped Darius's sharp eyes.

He stared down at her, a twisted sense of surprise flashing across his features. She still wouldn't give up her dignity. What dignity did a rogue even have?

Soon after, Darius understood. Sloane had always been proud.

Darius's hand shot out. His fingers clamped tight around her delicate chin.

"Let go of me! You're hurting me!"

His grip was like a pair of iron tongs, pressing into her flesh as if he were trying to crush her jaw. Bitter tears of sharp pain welled in Sloane's eyes.

Darius showed no mercy. He snapped her jaw even harder, tilting her face up. "Who would have thought of the evil heart hidden behind such a pretty face?"

Sloane bit her lower lip, her face turning pale from the agonizing pressure. "I didn't do it! You can't just send me to prison like this. There is no proof."

Darius sneered, his lips curling into a cruel smile. "Yes, I can. Miss Falkner, I hope you will enjoy your time in the werewolf prison."

Darius let go of her chin, shoving her back slightly as he looked down at her with pure disgust.

Sloane stumbled, catching her balance before she hit the stone wall. Sloane choked out the words, gazing up at him in desperation. "You can't do this to me. I am your mate. I am the future Luna of the Iron Fang Pack. This is the Moon Goddess' arrangement."

Her defiant words acted like a match thrown into a powder keg. Darius's expression morphed into pure fury. "You don't deserve to be my mate!"

A brutal pang tore through Sloane's heart. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but her stubborn pride would not allow her to show emotion. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

She pushed back, her voice shaking but resolute. "This is the Moon Goddess' arrangement, and you cannot change it. The pack will grow weaker if their Luna is absent for too long."

Darius stood with rigid posture, a coldness overtaking his features. "Really? I, Darius Rousseau, the Alpha of the Iron Fang Wolf, reject you, Sloane Falkner, as my mate."

Sloane stared at Darius in sheer shock. The words struck her with the force of a physical blow.

She felt her heart shatter into jagged pieces. Deep within her, her wolf threw its head back and let out a blood-curdling howl of agony.

The devastating pain overwhelmed her almost instantly. Sloane collapsed against the wall, pressing her trembling hand hard against her chest. She looked desperate, gasping for air as if the oxygen had been sucked from the room.

Every instinct screamed at her to accept the rejection, to end the horrific torture tearing her soul apart.

However, she clamped her teeth together. She did not reject Darius in return. She didn't want the sacred bond between them to vanish.

But that meant she would have to endure the unrelenting, fiery pain of her mate's one-sided rejection.

Through the blinding haze of her suffering, Sloane did not understand why Darius had to reject her.

Was it really all because of Valeria?

But she had never hurt Valeria.