IN THE LATE EVENING

WANESSA'S POINT OF VIEW:

The air in the Death Forest is thick with the smell of damp earth and rotting leaves. My fingers brush against the bark of an ancient tree as I move through the underbrush, searching for the herbs I need. I can't stop thinking about the day they kicked me out.

I pull a sprig of Nightshade from the ground, its dark leaves glistening with dew. It's not the herb I was looking for, but it'll do. It always does. I'm used to surviving on whatever scraps the forest gives me. But it wasn't always like this. I remember a time when I didn't have to scavenge. When I had a family. A pack.

"Michael, please don't do this." I begged him.

The words had come out in a desperate whisper, but they were too late. He had already made up his mind. My mate. The one I was supposed to spend my life with. The one who had rejected me in favor of my stepsister, Isabella. I clench my jaw, pushing the memory away as I continue to search the ground. I can't let myself think about it. Not now. But the memory is sharp, too sharp, like a wound that won't heal.

"I've chosen Isabella." Michael had said, his voice quiet but firm. "She's the one I want. She's my Luna."

I remember the way his eyes had avoided mine, like he couldn't bear to look at me. My chest had tightened, and I'd felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me.

"No." I had whispered, my voice trembling. "Michael, please. We're mates. You can't-"

"I'm sorry, Wanessa." He had said. "I just don't feel it. I don't feel that way about you. I am Michael Shones reject you Wanessa Moon as my mate."

"I accept your rejection."I whispered.

I stop walking, the memory of his words cutting through me like a knife. I've learned to live with the rejection, but it still hurts. Every day. I kneel to gather more herbs, my hands trembling just slightly as I pull the leaves from the ground..

"You're no longer part of this pack."My father had said that night. 

I had begged. I had pleaded. But it didn't matter. 

"Leave, Wanessa" My stepmother had said, her eyes distant. "We won't protect you anymore."

I freeze as a voice cuts through the stillness of the forest, too close, too familiar.

"I got everything I wanted, 'sister.'"Isabella whispered to me.

The words are soft, almost sweet, but they drip with malice. My heart clenches, and I don't need to turn around to know it's Isabella. I can feel her presence behind me, feel the smirk in her voice as she stands there, enjoying every second of my pain.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to push the anger down, but it's like a fire raging inside me.

"You took everything from me." I whisper to myself.

The last thing I remember is the harsh grip of the guards as they dragged me away. My heart was pounding in my chest, my breath coming in short gasps. I tried to fight back, but there were too many of them, too strong. My limbs felt like lead, and my mind was a whirlwind of anger and confusion. Then, a sharp pain to the back of my head. The world tilted violently, and before I could even scream, everything went black. When I woke up, I was lying on the cold, uneven ground. My head throbs, and my vision is hazy. My heart races as I push myself up, my body aching with the shock of being thrown to the ground. I blink a few times, trying to focus, but all I see is the twisted silhouette of trees. The Death Forest.

I gasp, my breath catching in my throat. 

"No…" I whisper, my voice weak and trembling.

 "This can't be happening. Not like this. Not after everything." I whisper.

I push myself into a sitting position, my hands trembling as I touch the back of my head. The pain is sharp, but not as bad as the emptiness inside me. The forest is silent, too silent, and it presses in on me from all sides. I feel the weight of it, the isolation. I'm alone. I try to stand, but my legs feel like they're made of stone. I stagger, falling back to my knees as the dizziness overwhelms me. The ground beneath me is soft with moss, but the air is thick, heavy with the scent of decay. The trees loom overhead, their gnarled branches twisted into unnatural shapes like they're watching me, waiting for me to make a mistake.

"Why… why would they do this?" I mutter to myself, touching my head. 

My chest tightens with the memory of the guards' cold eyes as they shoved me out here, their words echoing in my mind.

 "You're no longer part of this pack." My father had said.

I try to swallow the lump in my throat, but it's impossible. I can't stop thinking about Michael. About Isabella. They were the reason I was here. The reason my family had turned their backs on me. Michael, my mate, had chosen her over me. Isabella, the perfect daughter, the one who had everything. And I… I was left with nothing. I stand slowly, the world still spinning around me. My head is a haze of memories, of rejection, of betrayal. The Death Forest is supposed to be a place where only the strongest survive. But I don't feel strong.

 I flinch, instinctively reaching for the dagger at my side. It's the only thing I have left, the only thing that might help me survive this hellhole.

I take a deep breath, steadying myself, and start walking, though I don't know where I'm going. The forest seems endless, and every direction feels the same. I can't afford to stop. I will find way out of this place. And without me noticing already two years have passed since my banishment to Death Forest.