Falsely accused and Rejected

She never even got the chance to live her life.

She hadn't even been allowed to escape and find a better life somewhere.

She lets her black flowing hair cover her face from the prying eyes of the small crowd.

This rogue Wolf has become quite popular and when the people heard she had finally been captured, they quickly came to watch her execution.

Acantha sadly realized that she was no longer in her district but in the Another Alpha district. No one knew her here.

She had never ventured so far in her life, but instead of feeling accomplished, she felt a huge sense of injustice and sadness.

"What do you say is her crime?" A loud booming voice sounds in the large accident room

"She's the rogue wolf, my Lord," Rysta said proudly.

"And do you have anything to prove this accusation?" Another voice asks with the same authority.

"Yes, my Lord." Rysta declared. This doesn't surprise Acantha as they had already planned to lie that they had caught her in the act. Zuri would narrate the story, and Rysta would affirm it.

Just the way they had planned it, they executed and the crowd began to curse and yell at her for crimes she knew nothing about

Acantha hid behind her hair, waiting for it all to be over.

"What do you have to say for yourself, young woman."

Acantha remained quiet; her eyes glued to the cold earth. The earth had always been that way to her. Cold and wicked.

She had accepted her fate. Death was better than bondage.

"I have nothing to say for myself." She finally said in a quiet voice.

They all heard her as their Wolf heightened their hearing.

"Therefore, with the necessary proof and a standing witness, I, at this moment...." The voice ends just then.

"Alpha". It sounded more or less a gasp of shock.

That managed to spike Acantha's attention, and she lifted her head to see what had gotten the once noisy crowd silent.

Her eyes immediately land on the Alpha, and her emotions spiral out of control. A feeling of relief washes away her fears. Her heart is calmed immediately, and hope overcomes her being.

"He should recognize me, it's him, he gave me his shirt" she muttered.

But he looked at her and showed no sign of recognition at all.

He looked away from her.

The relief was quickly overcome by a feeling of dread, anger, pain, anxiety, and pain, and all of them come at her at once.

The feeling is so unbearable that it becomes impossible to breathe, and just before her eyes close in welcome of the darkness that promises to comfort her, she hears the word "mate" leave the Alpha's lips.

She came to and heard voices

"Wake her up!" someone said hurriedly, but it sounded like it was coming from miles and miles away.

"You wake her up. Why does it have to be me?" another countered. This voice seemed much closer this time.

The argument went on and got louder as Acantha slowly recovered her consciousness.

"Oh, I think she's awake," someone suddenly said, and the room went quiet.

Acantha was scared to open her eyes; certain every gaze was on her.

Her eyes tore open of their own accord, and she immediately shielded them with her hands from the blinding light.

"Great. She's awake," another said impatiently.

Acantha tried to remember why she was there, and everything started flowing back.

"Let the meeting begin," someone announced, and a loud bell rang.

Acantha noticed two things when she could finally see her surroundings without being blinded by the bright light.

One, she was in a different room. It was secluded but bright, and only a few people were there. Maybe ten.

Two, she was no longer bound. It came as a relief but quickly died when she realized she didn't exactly know what was to come.

"What's your name, little one?" an older lady from a corner up the wall of what looked like another courtroom asked.

They all sat high up there while she was placed below the ground floor.

If they organized this to intimidate people, it worked—at least, on her.

"We expect quick responses!" a booming voice came from another angle, and Acantha had to turn 180° to see who was talking.

He was dark-skinned and had a frown plastered on his face. He didn't look old, but she could somehow tell he was.

"Hele..na. Acantha Pendragon." She was surprised by how the room echoed her voice. She had never been so loud before.

She always preferred to remain silent so no one noticed her.

"Acantha Pendragon, what were you doing in the woods?" another man asked. He was really old, and being a werewolf, she was sure he was probably about five hundred years of age.

Acantha considered the question for a minute but didn't know how to answer.

"Child, we're not here to hurt you. We're only curious," a woman said. She was really pretty, and Shirley couldn't help but feel a motherly love radiate from her.

"I... I..." She swallowed hard, and after a nod of approval from the woman from earlier, she blurted out, "I ran from home."

Small gasps filled the room. Not very surprising, as no wolf had ever run away from this Pack in centuries.

"You eloped?" someone reasoned.

"No, I ran. By myself from my parents, Alpha Pendragon of the Lunasville pack" Acantha said patiently.

"But why, child?" the woman asked again in horror.

It must have been hard to imagine, as the Lunasville Pack happened to be the best on the whole planet. People escaped their packs to come there.

Acantha shrugged, ready to brush off the question, when a loud, authoritative voice penetrated the room, sending chills down her spine.

"Enough!" Alpha Ghod said, and Acantha wanted to hurry away and hide.

He walked out from the darkness and stared her dead in the eyes.

"There's no need to question her," he said, still holding her gaze but speaking to what she supposed was the Council.

"We already know that she has no wolf and can't shift, so there's no way she can be the rogue Wolf. Neither is there any way she's becoming my Luna."

His tone and eyes were filled with rage and disgust, two expressions Shirley was accustomed to.

But for some reason, it hurt to be rejected by him. She already knew he was her mate when she first saw him, but getting rejected hurt like crazy even though she had been denied all her life.

"Alpha Ghod!" the motherly woman yelled at him, standing to her feet in anger.

"That's no way to talk to your mate."

"Do I look like I give a fuck?" he retorted, still holding Acantha's gaze. Acantha tore her eyes from Ghod and looked back at what she was now sure was the Pack's Councilof elders.

They were the only ones capable of speaking to the Alpha in such a manner.

"I will not marry this sorry excuse of a werewolf. The Pack cannot have a weak Luna," he said with finality.

"Ghod!" the dark-skinned man from earlier warned in a deadly tone.

The room fell silent, and everyone's eyes were glued on the Alpha as he descended the stairs to meet her on the ground floor.

Acantha tried to hide her face behind her hair as always but realized, to her dismay, that it was tied up in a bun.

She wanted to yell and scream at the moon goddess for her ill fate, but there was no way to do that.

Why hadn't she just let her run away in peace? Why had she even been born to start with? She was useless and distasteful.

"You'd better leave this Pack as you had originally planned or..." Alpha Ghod was interrupted by a calm, quiet voice.

"Or?..." The sound of that voice was alluring and calm, and Acantha found herself searching earnestly for the owner of the voice. Her eyes finally landed on an older woman who sat in a dark corner.

Acantha couldn't make out her features but could tell she was old. " Alpha Ghod and Acantha"

..... then she stopped mid sentence and looked down at Acantha. "oh my child, what kind of a horrible name is that."

Acantha didn't respond she returned her gaze to the ground

Then she heard the woman continue

"You both will wed as is customary."

" This meeting is closed."

"No! I already have attachments with another!" Ghod objected, and Acantha prayed that they would listen to him and let her escape this prison.

The Council members began to exit the room as if they had heard nothing.