Chapter 2 The Alpha Who Would nt Look At Me

Eliana POV

I don't make it ten steps out of the hall before my legs start shaking.

Not from fear.

From holding myself together.

The corridor is colder than the ceremony room, but my face still burns like I'm standing under a spotlight. Behind me, the doors shut with a heavy thud, sealing in the murmurs and the satisfaction and the sound of my life being rewritten without me.

Two guards follow.

They keep a polite distance, like that makes this less humiliating.

"Stop following me," I say without turning.

One of them answers, calm and rehearsed. "Orders."

Of course.

I swallow hard and keep walking. The cold in my wrist pulses again-sharp, wrong, like it's warning me not to slow down.

I turn the corner toward my room.

And find two more guards already there.

They're posted at the corridor entrance like a gate.

My stomach drops.

I stop. "Move."

The guard on the left doesn't even pretend to consider it. "You're not permitted past this point."

For a second, I can't speak.

My room is down that hall. My clothes. My things. The little pieces of life I built while everyone smiled at me and called me "future Luna."

I force my voice to stay steady. "That's my room."

The guard's eyes flick away, uncomfortable for half a heartbeat. Then he hardens again. "You can request your belongings later."

Request.

Like I'm a stranger.

Like I didn't grow up in these walls.

Anger rises hot in my throat, but the corridor is full of watching eyes-half-open doors, people pretending they aren't listening. If I explode, they'll call it proof that Riggs was right to reject me.

So I nod once, slow and controlled.

"Fine," I say.

Then I turn away before my face betrays me.

I walk with nowhere to go.

That's the part that hits hardest-how quickly a pack can make you homeless without ever saying the word.

The courtyard opens ahead, lit by torches that flicker in the wind. Wolves move in small clusters, whispering. When they see me, the whispers sharpen.

A pack woman I used to eat lowers her gaze like she doesn't know me.

A young warrior steps aside too late, like he wanted to block me but remembered he isn't allowed to touch me unless told.

I keep my chin up and walk anyway.

My wrist throbs with that unnatural cold. I rub it through my sleeve, trying to wake my wolf.

Nothing.

She's there-somewhere deep-but it feels like she's behind a locked door.

I stop near the training ring and breathe through my nose.

Think.

If they blocked my room, it means they don't want me alone with my own things. With my own choices. They want me to be visible. Contained.

A shadow shifts across the path.

Imani appears from behind a pillar, moving fast, eyes bright with fury.

"Eliana."

Just hearing my name from someone who still means it makes my throat tighten.

I take a step toward her.

She grabs my wrist before I can speak, fingers closing around it.

I flinch.

Not because it hurts-because it's cold.

Her eyes widened. "What did they do to you?"

"I don't know," I whisper. "Riggs rejected me and-"

"And then they blocked your rooms," she snaps, like she already knows. "I tried to get to you. They posted guards everywhere."

I swallow. "So it's official. I'm not a person anymore. I'm a problem."

Imani's jaw clenches. "This was planned."

The word lands like a stone in my stomach.

I look past her toward the hall, toward the elders' wing, toward the place where Riggs is probably standing like nothing happened.

"I don't understand," I say, voice rough. "Why would he do that? Why would he-"

Imani's grip tightens. "Because he was told to."

I stare at her. "You don't know that."

She leans closer, voice low. "I heard the elders arguing before the ceremony. Not all of it. But enough to know they were forcing something. And Riggs-" Her mouth twists. "Riggs looked like a man with a knife at his throat."

My chest aches.

It would be easier if Riggs hated me. Easier if he'd rejected me because he wanted someone else.

But guilt?

Fear?

That doesn't fit the words he said.

This bond was a mistake.

My wrist pulses again. Cold, sharp-like the bond is reacting to his name.

Imani follows my glance. "It's getting worse."

"I can't feel my wolf," I admit, and the confession tastes like weakness. "It's like she's been... pushed down."

Imani's eyes flick toward the hall doors. "Then we don't stay out here. Come with me."

"Where?"

"Storage steps. Old corridor. Fewer eyes." She pauses. "And Eliana-don't go near the elders. Not alone."

I almost laugh, bitter. "I'm not allowed to be alone anywhere."

We start walking, keeping our pace steady, normal. Not running. Running invites attention.

Halfway across the courtyard, I feel it.

A familiar scent.

Winter smoke and cedar.

My body reacts before my mind does-heart stuttering, skin tightening, wolf pressing weakly against the locked door.

Riggs.

He steps out of the hall into the torchlight, dressed in black, expression controlled. Two elders trail behind him, speaking in low voices.

Riggs' gaze sweeps the courtyard.

Find me.

For a fraction of a second, his eyes soften.

Then he sees Imani's hand on my wrist.

And something hard snaps into place on his face.

He walks toward us.

Every wolf in the courtyard seems to notice and go quiet, like the territory itself is holding its breath.

Imani's shoulders square. "Here we go."

Riggs stops a few feet away. Not close enough to touch me.

Never close enough.

"Eliana," he says.

My name on his tongue still does something to me, and I hate it.

I lift my chin. "Alpha."

His jaw tightens at the title.

His eyes flick to my wrist again-quick, controlled-then away.

"Leave the territory tonight," he says quietly.

Imani stiffens. "You can't just-"

Riggs doesn't look at her. "This isn't for you."

My stomach drops. "Leave... where?"

Riggs' gaze finally locks on mine. His voice stays calm, but I hear strain underneath it now, like he's forcing each word through his teeth.

"Anywhere," he says. "Just not here."

I take a step forward before I can stop myself. "Tell me why."

His eyes flash.

For a heartbeat, I see it again-fear.

Not for himself.

For me.

Then the mask slams back down.

"I can't," he says.

My throat tightens. "You can reject me in public, strip me of everything, and you can't even tell me why?"

Riggs' hands curl at his sides. He looks like he wants to grab me and shake sense into me-or drag me away from the courtyard and hide me.

Instead he says, low enough that only I can hear, "They're watching."

I still go.

Imani's breath catches.

Riggs steps back like he's afraid of being too close.

Then he turns and walks away.

Just like that.

The cold in my wrist pulses hard, almost painful.

And I realize something that makes my blood turn icy:

Riggs didn't come out here to hurt me again.

He came out here to warn me-without letting them see he was warning me.