Exiled. Rogue   

[IRIS]

The words rang in my ears like a death sentence, each syllable slicing through me. Exiled. Rogue.

It was as though the world had tilted on its axis, leaving me in the void, suspended between everything and nothing. Lorcan's voice, cold and detached, had severed the bond that tied us. The bond that had once been the only thing that kept me from falling apart. But now, I was nothing.

I stumbled away from the ceremony, my legs shaky beneath me, my breath coming in shallow gasps. The pack stared at me, some with contempt, some with pity.

But all I could feel was the weight of their rejection—of my rejection.

I looked back at Lorcan one last time, my heart heavy with disbelief. He didn't flinch. Not even a single blink. His expression remained cold, detached, as though I was nothing more than a shadow passing through his world.

He did nothing.

Not a word, not a glance, nothing to show that I had ever meant anything to him. He had branded me exiled, rogue—cast out. And he just stood there, unmoved, as if I was already gone, as if I had never been part of his life at all.

I ran.

My heart pounded in my chest, each beat a reminder that I was alone, completely and utterly alone. The forest loomed ahead, dark and suffocating. It was my only chance—my only hope of survival.

But it wouldn't be enough. The wolves would come. The beasts would find me.

I could already hear them, distant howls rising in the air like a chorus of death. They were hunting me.

I could smell the rain in the air, thick and heavy, as if the storm itself knew what I had become. The sky cracked open, and the first cold drop hit my skin, followed by another, until the heavens unleashed their fury. The rain poured down, soaking me to the bone, but it couldn't wash away the feeling that had lodged itself deep inside me.

The bond was gone.

It wasn't just the connection to Lorcan that had been severed—it was the last piece of me, the last shred of hope.

I ran faster, desperation fueling my every step, my breath ragged in the chaos of my mind. But the pain in my chest, the raw emptiness where the mate bond had once been, was unbearable. Every step I took felt like a wound reopening, a constant reminder that I had been cast aside, discarded like I had never mattered.

My legs gave out.

I collapsed to the ground, my knees scraping against the rough forest floor. I had no strength left to run, no will to keep fighting. The cold rain slapped against my face, mixing with the tears I could no longer hold back. My body shook, not just from the cold, but from the sobs wracking my chest.

I felt myself slipping.

The rain blurred my vision, but I didn't care. The storm hid the tears, but not the pain—the agony of knowing I would never be what they needed. Never be enough. Not for Lorcan. Not for the pack.

A low growl reached my ears, too close. I heard the snap of twigs, the rustle of bushes. They were coming. They were hunting me.

But the thought of them didn't matter anymore.

I didn't have the strength to run, didn't have the will to fight. The world faded, the cold consuming me from the inside out. My last thoughts were of the mate bond—the one thing that had meant everything to me, now a cruel memory.

Then, finally, darkness took me.

And the last thing I felt was the rain on my skin, washing away the remnants of my shattered heart.