Jodie's feet dragged, each step a reminder of the life she would be leaving behind. She couldn't believe it. Had Kenneth just banished her? He had to be joking. Deep within her, she knew he was serious. That was the most serious she'd ever seen him. Regret ran down her spine. She should have held her tongue, or better yet, yielded to him. But Jodie knew she couldn't have. Not even if she wanted to.
"Now, you've done it, and it serves you right too." Rachel sneered as she walked out of the corner she'd been hiding at. Of all people to witness her downfall, it had to be her. Jodie cleared her throat but didn't deem the woman with a response. Tussling with her wasn't worth it. She had bigger things to think about now. Like, how she'd survive out of pack lands.
"Just beg him and get it over with." Rachel rolled her eyes as though she couldn't fathom Jodie doing anything else. It was the sensible and most viable option after all.
"I'll never beg." Jodie grated out.
"Then I suggest you leave now. You have another hour until you're considered an enemy. Your bond to the pack will be severed as well." Alpha Kenneth sauntered out of the room looking smug.
Jodie would have felt more hurt by that piece of information if she'd ever felt like a true member of the pack. Her mom was a maid in the pack who died years ago. She had no one here. She had no real friends. The closest person to a friend that she had was Esmeralda, the pack's resident seer. Which was ironic because everyone stayed clear of Esmeralda and her mad magic. Seers were werewolves blessed with foresight by the moon goddess. Packs benefited greatly from this blessing, yet ostracized the recipient. Jodie had to see Esmeralda before she left for moon goddess knows where.
"And what is going on here?" Mother Luna approached the trio. They stood outside the Alpha's bedroom and she hated to see her son with people she considered vermin. Mother Luna was as beautiful as she was wicked. Alpha Kenneth got most of his good looks and bad traits from her. Jodie didn't remember much about the previous Alpha because he died when she was just ten, but pack members often whispered that his reign had been kind until he met Mother Luna.
The Dowager's auburn hair was arranged in an immaculate hairdo, and her outfit, made from gold brocade and vicuña, looked ridiculous for the twenty-first century, yet somehow suited her well. Her age was never mentioned because it was a taboo but she was fifty two—Jodie knew this because she once checked her ID while cleaning—but she didn't look a day over thirty five. Her wickedness glaringly kept her young.
Alpha Kenneth regarded Jodie, as if silently waiting for an apology to fall from her lips. One that would save her from being exiled from pack lands and getting killed in the wild. One that would likely get her catapulted into his bed because she would forever be at his mercy. With one last defiant look at him, she bowed her head in greeting at Mother Luna.
"Greetings, Mother Luna," she said in time with Rachel.
Jodie couldn't see his face, but she imagined Alpha Kenneth scowled deeply as he said, "Jodie has been banished."
She swallowed the lump in her throat. There was truly no going back now.
"A wolf-less omega, she was useless anyway. Good call son. Take no belongings with you as you leave, maid." Mother Luna turned her nose and left.
"You heard her." Alpha Kenneth muttered, following behind his mother like a lost puppy. She would have laughed at her little analogy if her situation weren't so dire.
"Are you insane? Why didn't you beg?" Rachel shot at her once the Alpha and his mother were out of sight.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you actually care about me, Rachel." Jodie crossed her arms.
"You're an omega without a wolf, but you think you're better than the rest of us. News flash, you're going to get killed and eaten by rogues. Good riddance bitch." Rachel's laugh was mean as she left Jodie in her misery. The maid was right. Jodie didn't stand a chance out there, yet she couldn't stay here.
Jodie walked out of the building, gazing at her surroundings as she moved. As shitty as the pack was, it had been her home for the past twenty years. Now, she was leaving it behind. She breathed in the fresh scent of pines and sandalwood, and headed to the first place she could think of. Her mother's grave.
Jodie's mother passed away when Jodie was barely twelve. She'd always been frail and tired because of her workload as a maid, but did everything she could to protect Jodie from the bitterness of the world. When she died with all the protection and love, the bitterness crept in. Jodie bent down before the headstone. Moss and lichen surrounded the grave. It had taken a while to get her mother a befitting headstone. As an omega and maid, Jodie didn't earn much money. The moment she finally had enough, she'd gone and got the best marble headstone she could afford. She knelt down at the grave and touched the gravel. Tears welled in her eyes. She would never see her mother again.
Her mother's last words came to her, "You're stronger than you know little Jodie."
She pulled out a couple of the moss and lichen that surrounded the headstone. "I don't feel strong mom, not now that I've signed my death will. I won't be back here for a while." She wiped at her face as a stray tear fell. Or ever. She stood and turned away. Judging by the sun she didn't have much time left. There was only one other person to see now. As she passed a couple of pack members, they sneered and laughed at her.
"She's going on a suicide mission,"
"She won't survive a day out there,"
"Serves her right for defying the Alpha,"
The words stung, but they weren't surprising. She had never felt a real connection with her pack mates because she didn't have her wolf and couldn't bond with them through the pack bond. She expected no less from them. They strengthened her resolve to somehow survive and disappoint them all. Yes, she would survive. Prove them all wrong.
Jodie took the road that led to her quarters. It was a deserted place that only one other person used. As she neared the shack, she felt calmer. The cabin reeked of herbs and plants that nauseated the other pack members but oddly calmed her.
The smell of lilacs and wolfsbane hit her nostrils as she entered the shack. "Esmeralda, I–"
"You've gone and done it now," Esmeralda hissed, as she ran around with wolfsbane and a small pot. The seer was always whipping something up.
"I couldn't beg, physically couldn't do it." Jodie confessed hoping Esmeralda would have some answers for her.
"The road ahead of you is treacherous, child."
"Does that mean I'll survive?" Jodie's eyes lit up. The seer always spoke vaguely, but she had spent enough time with her to know those words meant that she wouldn't die immediately. Jodie seized on the hope.
"There's no guarantee of that, child."
Jodie had a feeling Esmeralda wasn't letting on all she knew. The seer's eyes suddenly glazed over and her pupils bled into the whites of her eyes, turning them completely black. She was experiencing what was called the sight. With the sight, seers were able to see into the future and predict alternate realities. The first time Jodie had witnessed it, she'd nearly fainted. Jodie hadn't met any witches, but she believed it akin to seeing a witch in full glory.
"You must leave now." Esmeralda's eyes went wide with fear.
"Where will I go? What did you see?"
"Go north, Jodie, go north," Esmeralda repeated in a chant. Jodie knew better than to try and get any more answers from her. That was the best she would be getting.
Jodie sighed and left the seer. She stared at her quarters. It was small and clustered, but it was her only home. Mother Luna forbade her from taking any belongings. She didn't have any belongings she held dear anyway. But a blanket and a knife would be helpful. She turned to the left and saw a backpack sitting on Esmeralda's porch. She neared it and opened the bag. It has a blanket, weapons, and food. She smiled at the door. She hastily grabbed it and ran down the hill. The sun was setting, casting a golden hue over the forest that bordered the pack lands.
She paused at the edge of the forest, glancing back one last time at the place she had called home. The memories of her mother, the times they shared, and the life she had tried to build all felt like they were slipping away. Her heart was heavy, burdened with the weight of rejection, banishment and the uncertainty of her future. With a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and stepped into the dense woods. Heading north, her heart pounding in her chest.