I woke up to cold whispers and harsh gasps, and the weight of quiet cruelty pressing in on me. My head spun, like someone had shoved it into a storm.
I realized I was lying on a rough stone, and my skin was scraped raw. I blinked, trying to understand where I was. I realized I was not alone. I was in the center of the pack square, and people were pressing in around me in a tight circle.
"Look at her," someone whispered.
"She's disgusting," another voice hissed.
I panickedly pulled on what was left of a thin, torn sheet around myself. I was almost naked. My arms and legs were scratched and red.
My heart started racing as my skin burned with shame. How did I get here?
The circle shifted closer as everyone stared at me with so much madness and disgust in their eyes. I felt like a rabbit in the wolf's den.
Suddenly something heavy and squishy smashed across my chest. I looked down in shock as the horrid odor of a rotten tomato assaulted my nose as it's cold juice dripped down my bosom to the ground.
"Ah!" I had barely processed that when a golf ball sized stone, which struck my head with a harsh thud. A jolt of pain cut through my skull as I screamed bloody murder.
"The sleeping whore finally woke up," someone announce.
I looked around, confused and terrified. I refused to believe it, this scenario felt too much like the punishment reserved only for the most heinous traitors of the park before they are killed or banished.
But what crimes have I committed?
My lips trembled. "W-what's going on?"
Then I saw Alpha Jaxon. He stood at the edge of the square with his arms crossed, looking down at me like I was garbage. He was not angry as his expression showed that he was not sad either. He looked… disgusted. His eyes were cold, and his jaw, tight.
Behind him stood my parents. My father with his arms folded, his mouth in a thin line. My mother's face was blank, but her eyes were hard. Next to them stood my brother
Cory, his eyes were full of hatred. Then Rosa, her face pale, and her expression fearful but sad.
"Get up," Jaxon demanded, his voice sharp and distant. He sounded cruel and empty.
I tried to sit up, but the stone was cold under me. I tried to pull the sheet tighter around me, as tears welled up. My voice shook as I raised my head looking up to my mate.
"Mate," My voice cracked, "Help me."
"SHAMELESS! She still dares to claim such a thing right in front of us."
A gavage of words barraged my senses as I futilely tried to grasp the situation.
"That's what happens when you give mutts like these a chance," a senior pack member sneered. "She should have been vanished a long time ago!"
"Ugh look at that scrawny sickly body, I bet it's riddled with diseases." A girl dry heaved, "I'm gonna throw up."
"I can't believe she threw herself at the alpha!"
"Open legs won't make you Luna, bitch!"
They laughed and jeered.
The onslaught was relentless as I was used as target practice. Rotten fruit, dirt, sticks, piss and waste... nothing was too good to be thrown at me. I felt dirty inwards as much as I was outwards.
Still, my gaze held still on Alpha Jaxon.
Why is he standing over there? Couldn't he see what they are doing to his mate? Why is he looking at me like that?
Cory stepped forward. His harsh voice interrupting my train of thoughts.
"You disgust me." He spat. "Throwing yourself at Alpha Jaxon like a cheap dog in heat. You were never my sister. You are a stain on this family."
I tried to speak, but my voice broke. "Cory, please. I don't know what they're saying. I didn't—"
"Shut up!" He snapped, "I wish you were never born."
My mother took a step forward. Her voice was calm, and cold, yet frightening at how calm she sounded.
"You are a disgrace, and I'm ashamed to say you are my daughter."
Her words cut deeper than any blade. I gasped, clutching my chest, as oxygen burned in my lungs.
All eyes fell on Jaxon now, as his lips curved in the smallest hint of a smile.
He took a slow step forward. He raised his head and spoke so not just these people could hear but the whole realm could feel it.
"This weak, pathetic omega thought she could be my mate and my Luna."
He paused, letting everyone feel his disgust.
"She cried for attention, and begged me for my cock, and whispered sweet things into my ears. But she is worthless. She has no strength. No pride. No grace. She is just an empty whore."
The crowd gasped, some nodded. Their eyes followed his every word. My legs turned to lead as I felt flooded with helplessness.
He looked down at me like I was a bug. "Aria Blake. Mate of the Alpha no more. You mean nothing to me. Tonight, I cast you out."
The word "cast" echoed in my ears. I closed my eyes, as my breath turned into sobs.
Tears splashed down my cheeks, burning like acid. I felt the hot sting of it pooling in my throat. I gasped, struggling for air as my knees buckled.
My father's voice joined Jaxon's.
"She was supposed to bring us honor. She was supposed to carry us higher. Instead, she brought us shame. She is a curse and a failure."
My tears blurred their faces, but I heard the disgust in their voices. I tasted bile in my mouth as I tried to speak. But my throat closed. I could not.
The insults kept coming. Horrible, dirty words, and lies. I realized they painted a story that I had chased Jaxon, seduced him, tricked him and used him. I tried to hold up my hand.
"That's not true!" I managed to choke out.
Someone in the crowd shouted, "Oh yes it is," and began to yell over me. Two men began throwing more dirt and rotten fruit. I felt the wet, warm sludge covering my hair, soaking my sheet.
I sank to my knees, my eyes closed, shaking so hard I could not even cry anymore.
Then they left me there. Alone and broken. Only Rosa stayed. She did not speak, or help me. She just watched, as tears filled her eyes.
The crowd drifted away, some still whispering, some still staring at me behind them. They left me in the silent, cruel square.
I stayed where I fell. My body quivered as my soul felt ripped out. I pressed my face to the rough stone as wet tears pooled around me. My breath came in jagged bursts of pain.
I waited. I couldn't move.
Hours passed, and soon everywhere became dark.
One by one, lights in the houses went out. And the square became empty except for me and Rosa.
Finally Rosa stepped closer. She kneeled beside me, as she wrapped her arms around me tight, trembling above me.
I felt my body shake like it was breaking.
"I want to leave," I whispered between sobs. "I'll break if they see me again like that. I—I'll die if I stay."
"There is nowhere left, Aria," Rosa said softly. "Your name is ruined and your place is gone."
I cried harder, squeezing her arms. "I don't care. I just want to disappear."
She looked up at the empty sky, as the cold clouds wheeled over.
"There is only one path," she said, her voice soft and sad. "A hidden, secret path. It appears under the full moon when someone has lost everything. If you walk it, you can vanish. But you can never return."
I hesitated, as my heart pounded in my chest, and my mind closed down. I felt numb.
I looked at her. "Will it come tonight?"
She nodded, as her voice calmly said,"When the moon is high."
I studied her face. She was frightened for me. "I'm ready," I whispered. "Let the forest swallow me whole. Anything is better than this."