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The storm outside had not ceased. Rain beat against the windows of the council chamber, echoing like a heartbeat inside the room. The scent of burning candles and damp earth filled the air. Damon Voss stood before the round table of elders, his clothes still wet from the night’s chaos, his expression unreadable.
Across the table, Elder Rowan leaned forward. “The Luna has been cast out, yes?”
“Yes,” Damon replied, his voice low, almost mechanical. “The sentence was carried out an hour ago.”
Another elder, an older woman with snow-white hair, tilted her head. “And you are certain of her guilt?”
Damon’s jaw clenched. “The evidence was found in her study. She confessed nothing, but her signature and seal were on the documents sent to Nightbane.”
Selene Nightborn stood near the wall, her hands folded neatly before her. The soft light caught her pale features, painting her in shades of quiet perfection. “The betrayal runs deeper than we imagined,” she said gently. “Lyra’s actions could have destroyed the pack. Damon did what was necessary.”
Elder Rowan nodded in grim approval. “Then it is time, Alpha. The Blood Moon Oath must be sealed.”
Damon looked down at the parchment before him. The oath glowed faintly red beneath the flickering candlelight. Signing it would make her exile permanent. No one who took the Blood Moon Oath could ever reverse it, not even the gods.
His hand hovered above the silver quill. For a moment, memories flooded in. Lyra’s laughter, her warmth, the way her eyes used to find him across a crowded room. The woman who had stood beside him when others doubted his rise to Alpha. The mate who had once been his heart.
He swallowed hard. “If she is innocent,” he said quietly, “this cannot be undone.”
Selene’s eyes softened with false sympathy. “You cannot think that way, Damon. An Alpha must protect his people, not his past.”
Her words pressed against his chest like a chain. He looked up at the elders, all watching him, waiting for his decision. The silence stretched until it became unbearable.
Damon signed his name.
The quill cut across the parchment, leaving behind crimson ink that shimmered like blood. A faint tremor ran through the room as the magic sealed. The oath was complete. Lyra Hale was erased from Silvercrest forever.
The candle flames flickered violently. Damon felt something tear deep within his soul, a sharp, sudden pain that made his wolf snarl in protest. He pressed a hand to his chest, breath catching.
“What is it?” Selene asked, stepping closer.
“The bond,” he muttered. “It’s gone.”
A silence heavier than any storm filled the chamber. Damon straightened slowly, his expression closing off, his emotions buried beneath the armor of duty.
Elder Rowan rose from his chair. “It is done. The pack will be safe.”
Safe. The word rang hollow in Damon’s ears. He turned toward the rain-streaked window, watching lightning tear across the night sky. Somewhere out there, Lyra was alone.
Selene touched his arm lightly. “You did what an Alpha must do. You cannot dwell on her.”
He looked at her, his eyes colder than steel. “Leave me.”
She hesitated, but the command in his tone left no room for argument. When the door closed behind her, Damon finally let out a breath he had been holding since the courtyard. The storm outside howled like a wounded beast, and for a moment he swore he could hear another sound beneath it, soft, distant, like a woman’s cry carried on the wind.
His wolf stirred uneasily, pacing inside him, restless and angry. Damon clenched his fists, fighting the instinct to go after her. He had to believe he’d done the right thing.
But deep down, beneath pride and reason, something inside him whispered the truth he refused to face.
He had just banished the only woman who had ever loved him.
And somewhere beyond the gates, under the same storm, she was swearing vengeance in his name.
