Betrayal
The Alpha Ceremony was meant to be a celebration, a time for the pack to come together and pay homage to the new leader and the future of their people. Now, however, the full moon stood high in the sky, shedding its cold light over the clearing, and it felt like everything was falling apart.
Selene stood in the center of the clearing with all the weight of the pack's eyes upon her. The beat of her heart was knotted in her chest and deafened her ears. She tried to steady herself, but deep inside, it twisted with nerves, biting her skin with the cold night air.
It felt like the ground under her feet was unsteady, much like the earth itself pulling her down into the depths of a nightmare.
Kieran was standing at the front, eyes glued to hers, but there was something different about his gaze. Something sharp, cold. It was not the expression of the man who once swept her off her feet with sweet promises beneath the stars. No, this time it felt like something else. A mask, a wall he had put up.
Behind him stood Lyra, all tall and proud, a smirk on her lips. Selene couldn't break her gaze from her.She knew something was wrong—something had shifted between them, but she couldn't quite place it. Not yet.
Kieran's voice hushed the crowd behind: deep and authoritative.
"Selene."
Her name felt like a weight on her chest, suffocating her. She stepped forward, the crowd parting as she moved, her heartbeat racing in her ears.
"Kieran," she whispered, not feeling quite sure yet about what might come next. Her throat was dry, the words hanging in her mouth. For so long, she had been preparing for this moment, but now that it had finally come, there seemed to be so much uncertainty clouding her mind.
But his expression hardened, and Selene's heart twisted in response. He lifted his hand, holding up a piece of parchment, his voice carrying over the crowd. "I stand before you today, my pack, to announce the betrayal of one of our own."
The words sliced through her like a dagger. Betrayal. It didn't make sense.
Her chest tightened as Kieran's gaze moved to her, pinning her down with his eyes. "Selene has committed treason against this pack, against me."
The world seemed to spin. She wanted to speak, to defend herself, but the words wouldn't come. Treason? That couldn't be right. She had never betrayed her pack, never done anything to deserve this.
But then, Kieran raised his hand again, and Lyra stepped forward, her face as cold as the moonlight. She held something in her hand, something that glinted in the firelight.
"It's true," Lyra said, her voice smooth and steady, every word dripping with deceit. "I've seen the evidence with my own eyes. Selene has been plotting against you, Kieran. She has been working with the rogues."
Selene's breath caught in her throat. Her mind raced, trying to make sense of the accusation. Lyra's words felt like a punch to the gut. But how could it be? How could Kieran believe her?
The crowd murmured, whispers growing louder. Selene turned to Kieran, desperation flashing in her eyes. "Kieran, please. I would never betray you. I swear, I've never—"
But Kieran raised his hand to silence her, his eyes dark and unforgiving. "Enough." His voice was low, like the rumble of thunder before a storm. "The evidence is clear. You've been seen meeting with the rogues. You've been plotting to undermine this pack."
"No, Kieran, it's not true!" Selene's voice cracked, but her words seemed to fall flat. She could see the coldness in his eyes now, the hard line of his jaw as if he had already made up his mind. She wanted to reach for him, to hold him, but there was nothing left of the man she had once known. He was gone.
Lyra stepped closer to Kieran, her presence a shadow over Selene's heart. She placed a hand on his arm, her fingers curling possessively around him. "Kieran, you don't have to do this," Selene pleaded, her voice breaking. "I've always been loyal to you. Always."
The smirk on Lyra's face remained constant. Leaning closely towards Kieran, she whispered into his ear whatever it was-for him alone to hear. He nodded his head; it seemed to harden his expression further.
"And there is yet another thing," Kieran stated in a voice colder than ever before. "I have decided who will stand by my side as my mate. Who will lead this pack together with me."
Selene's heart stopped. The air within her throat caught. It felt a little heavier and suffocating.
Kieran faces Lyra with one hand resting on her shoulder, although Selene's stomach churns at the image of them together- a perversion of all she had cherished.
"Lyra is my new mate." Kieran's voice rang out clear and final, unheard by any but him, as though it were with himself. "She is the one who will stand beside me as Luna." The world fell silent. It was as though the ground beneath Selene's feet crumbled.and the ground beneath her seemed to tilt at an impossible angle. Her world was breaking apart, piece by piece.
"No..." she whispered, barely escaping her lips, "No, Kieran... you... you can't..." But Kieran didn't look at her. He didn't even glance at her direction. His eyes were fixed solely on Lyra, his new mate, as if Selene didn't even exist anymore.
She tried to breathe, to steady herself, but the air was thick, and the ground beneath her seemed to tilt at an impossible angle. Her world was breaking apart, piece by piece.,
"You're not worthy of leading this pack," Kieran continued, his words cutting deeper with each syllable. "You've betrayed me, betrayed your people too and for that, you will be exiled."
The words hit her like a physical blow. Exiled. The one word that made everything sink into darkness. It was over.
She was no longer welcome here. She was nothing.
Kieran's voice became a distant echo, drowned by the ringing in her ears. "Leave the pack, Selene. Never return."
There was nothing but silence from the crowd, no eyes directed towards her, as though she was less than a shadow.
Comfort? Sympathy? No. Just cold indifference.
Her vision blurred with tears, but she wouldn't allow them to fall. Not now, not in front of them.
Selene turned away, her legs shaking as she took her first step away from the pack that was once her home.
But she did not turn back; she couldn't. All she heard were the whispers of the pack behind her.
Every step weighed heavier than the one before it, as if the earth itself resisted her. But she could not stop; she had nowhere else to go.
Her heart ached with each step, her chest tight with the pain of betrayal. She wanted to scream, to fight back, but the words wouldn't come. There was nothing left to say. Nothing left to fight for.
The rogue territories waited ahead of her, the unknown looming. She had no allies, no pack. Only herself.
The pack she had once loved, the pack she had given everything to, had cast her out without a second thought.
And as the moonlight flooded the clearing, Selene knew one thing: she was alone at last.