Lana POV
A guard stepped into the dimly lit room where I was being kept, the door creaking open as he entered. His presence was stern but not unkind. "You're needed in the courtroom," he said in a firm yet respectful tone. "Could you please come with me?"
I nodded silently, brushing my hands against my pants as I rose from the cold, hard floor where I had been sitting for what felt like hours. My legs were stiff, and my heart began to pound with a mixture of anxiety and curiosity. I had never been inside a courtroom before not even as a visitor. The thought alone sent a shiver down my spine.
The walk down the hallway was quiet, the guard leading the way without saying another word. With each step, the weight of the unknown pressed heavier on my chest. Eventually, we reached a large set of double doors. The guard pushed them open, and I stepped inside.
The room was grander than I had imagined—wide, with high ceilings and rows of benches arranged in a semicircle around a raised platform. At the far end, seated in tall chairs, were several elderly individuals with stern expressions etched into their faces. Their eyes fixed on me as though they could see straight through to my soul. I assumed these were the elders those who held judgment and power in their hands.
But it wasn't just them. In the crowd, I caught sight of familiar faces Ken's parents and beta Carl. They were seated together, their expressions unreadable, watching me closely like the others. The room was silent, the tension thick in the air. I swallowed hard and took another step forward, feeling as though I had just walked into the heart of something far bigger than myself.
"We don't need a long introduction," one of the elders said coldly, his voice echoing through the silent courtroom. "We have come to the conclusion that you are to be banished from this pack."
His words cut through me like a blade, but I didn't flinch. I wasn't surprised not really. The moment they locked me up without explanation, I had known something like this was coming. Still, hearing it out loud, in front of everyone, felt heavier than I had imagined.
"You are nothing but a threat to our Alpha's well-being," the elder continued, his eyes narrowing as if I had already done something unforgivable. "We will not risk you harming him physically, emotionally, or otherwise. You're to leave immediately. Take only what belongs to you."
He finished with a finality that left no room for argument. The other elders nodded in agreement, their faces stern, unyielding.
I stood there, silent, feeling every pair of eyes in the room pinned to me like weights. Banished.
"I don't agree with this," Carl, Ken's Beta, suddenly spoke up, his voice cutting through the tension like a spark in dry air. He stood from his seat, eyes blazing with conviction. "We have to wait until the Alpha wakes up before making any decisions. He deserves to have a say in this."
A murmur rippled through the courtroom, but the elders remained unmoved.
"We can't afford to wait for the Alpha to wake up," one of them replied sharply. "His condition is too unstable. Delaying this decision could put him at further risk. She has to leave."
"Yes," another elder chimed in, nodding solemnly. "It's too dangerous. Her presence alone could cause more harm. We have to act now, for the good of the pack."
Carl clenched his fists at his sides. "You're making a mistake," he said through gritted teeth. "He wouldn't want this."
But his words fell on deaf ears. The elders shook their heads in unison, firm in their stance. Carl tried again, stepping forward, his voice rising with frustration. "You're condemning her without letting him speak for himself!"
"They outnumber you, Carl," someone whispered from the side, perhaps trying to calm him. But he wasn't ready to back down.
Still, it was clear he was just one voice against many. And in the end, the council had already made up their minds.
I watched it all unfold in silence, my heart sinking deeper with every passing second. No one was going to save me not even Ken, who lay unconscious, unaware that the pack he led was turning me away after bringing him here alive.
"And one more thing," the elder who had spoken earlier added, raising his hand to silence the room. His tone grew heavier, more secretive. "We must all take an oath. The Alpha must never know what happened here today. What transpired in this courtroom stays between us."
A stunned silence followed his words, heavy and uncomfortable.
"Why?" Carl snapped, stepping forward again, his eyes wide with disbelief. "He has every right to know what decisions you made behind his back. He deserves to know that you gathered like this and banished his mate without his consent."
His voice rang with outrage, but the elders remained unmoved.
"I may not be able to stop you from doing this," Carl continued, his voice cracking slightly with emotion, "but I will not lie to him. I'll tell him everything that happened here. His Majesty deserves the truth, even if it costs me my position."
He turned to face me then, his expression full of sorrow and frustration. "I'm so sorry. I truly am. I wanted to protect you, but I didn't have the power to stop this. Please, forgive me."
Before I could respond, a guard appeared beside me, motioning silently toward the door.
My heart was pounding as I gave Carl one last look, full of everything I couldn't say. Then I turned and followed the guard, leaving behind the courtroom.
We walked through the silent halls, past towering gates, and into the dense edge of the woods that marked the outskirts of the pack's territory. Just as I took a deep breath of freedom however bitter it felt something unexpected happened.
One of the guards suddenly lunged at me, a dagger drawn, eyes wild and desperate.
Before he could strike, the other guards tackled him to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing?" one of them shouted, pinning him down. "Whose orders are you following?"
The restrained guard snarled, struggling against their grip. "The Alpha's parents," he spat. "They told me to kill her as soon as we reached the border. And then… to take my own life."
A chilling silence followed his confession.
Their leader stepped forward without hesitation, drawing his blade and plunging it into the guard's heart. The man gasped, then fell still.
The leader wiped the blood from his weapon and turned to me with a grave expression. "Go. Now. We'll return to the pack and announce your death. As far as they'll know, you never made it past the border."
I stood there for a second, stunned, my breath caught in my throat.