Chapter 67: Chapter 67

CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN

ROXANNE

I was stupefied, staring at Ryker in utter confusion. Anger, sadness, and pain engulfed me as I tried to understand what was going on, but I couldn't make sense of it. Ryker was my mate? How?

Memories flooded back—how he lashed out at me when we first met, telling me I had no wolf. Subconsciously, I touched my neck. Was that why he kept touching it, searching for my wolf mark? Was that why he brought me to the Red Moon pack? It dawned on me then—I had just been rejected.

Since I had no wolf, I couldn't feel the mate bond or the pain of rejection. But Ryker could. He groaned in agony, placing a hand on his chest. Selina squealed in delight, clapping her hands together.

"Finally, I won't have a mentally deranged woman for a sister-in-law," she jeered.

Anguish washed over me. This was Selina's endgame. She had set me up so I would be rejected and chased away. But I didn't utter a word. Instead, I turned to Ryker.

"If that's the situation, why didn't you tell me when we met that we were mates?" I asked, my voice trembling.

Ryker’s eyes were filled with pain and anger. "Would you have believed me when you couldn't feel a thing?" he retorted.

I loved Ryker, but I wondered why I had no wolf. Seeing him in pain cut through me, and I wished I could make it better. But the situation was at its worst. The video evidence was damning. Who would believe me now?

As I opened my mouth to speak, Ryker interrupted. "You are banished from the Red Moon," he declared.

I couldn't accept it. The pain I never knew consumed me, and I stared into Ryker's eyes, my own tears falling.

Selina stood to the side, clapping her hands and smiling in victory. "You did the right thing, Ryker. We don't need a lunatic and betrayer in our pack. I'll find you another mate.”

Two guards entered at that moment and seized me. “Follow her and don't dare leave her side till you're sure she's out of Red Moon's pack territory,” he ordered.

I couldn't take any of my stuff because none of it belonged to me, and I had nowhere to go. White Moon had rejected me, and Blue Moon would never accept me. I was now a rogue.

As I walked out of the pack house, the guards pushed me forward. I could feel the eyes of the people watching me. They whispered among themselves, some were happy that the outcast was leaving, others were saddened.

Beta Miles was in shock and tried to talk to Ryker, urging him not to make this mistake. But Ryker turned deaf ears to him and instructed him to leave his office.

“Bye sweetie,” Selina called and blew me a kiss. “I'll miss you, but don't worry, you have a sanctuary in me.”

I shot daggers at her. I wanted to break free, to yell at her and scratch that ugly face of hers that was concealed by makeup.

My mind was occupied with thoughts of Ryker. Now I saw why he loved and cared for me. I now understood why he avoided conversations about his mother. Everything fit now.

I stopped and bent to take off my golden heels. I picked them up and threw them in the direction of the pack house. The clatter echoed in the eerie silence that followed, a silence that consumed me as I walked away from everything I had come to know.

“You're slowing us down,” the guards yelled.

I was intentionally doing that, hoping Ryker would rush out and tell them to stop hurting me. Hoping he would tell them to let me go and he would come to me and tell me he didn't believe Selina and he trusted me.

I glanced back once more but no one came. I was only a girl who dreamt of things she could never have.

I touched the necklace on my neck. This was the only thing that I took with me and my sanity of course. For some reason, I felt connected to it. And Ryker's mom.

I didn't know how far we had walked, but the distance felt immense when we heard Beta Miles calling out to us. The guards halted and looked back. Beta Miles ordered them not to move any further.

A look of confusion spread across their faces, but my heart leapt for joy. Maybe, just maybe, Ryker had sent his Beta to come get me and take me back.

Beta Miles glanced at me and said to the guards, "The Alpha asked me to take her. He's called for you both to return to the pack. You have something to do for him.”

Since Miles was the Beta, he had every right to order the guards, and they couldn't question him. They nodded at him and let go of me.

Beta Miles grabbed my arm. His face was cold, and he didn't break a smile. I figured Ryker must have told him everything that happened.

My heart crumpled. None of us said a word; we just kept walking. Later, I turned to him and called out his name softly. "Beta Miles?”

He looked at me. "Yes, ma'am, Roxanne.”

"Did you know I was the Alpha’s mate?" I asked, searching his eyes for the truth.

He shrugged. "I didn't. Not until today.”

Then he asked, "Did you really do what my sister claimed you did?”

I sighed sadly. "If I tell you, would you believe me?" I asked.

We didn't say anything more to each other; we just kept walking.

After walking for what felt like hours, my legs were ready to give way. But I didn't dare ask the Beta to hold up. He wasn't stopping.

I groaned many times, but he didn't spare me a glance. He probably hates me.

Suddenly, I observed the route had changed. I had no idea where this place was.

It seemed as though I could see the end of the road. Except it wasn't a road; it was a cliff with a willow tree standing alone.

"Where are we headed?" I asked, glancing around in fear.

He smirked. "Be calm, Roxanne. We're out of the pack's territory. I have to leave you to find your way now.”

I sniffled as I glanced around my unfamiliar surroundings. This place seemed unoccupied by anyone. It seemed like a dessert, but it wasn't.

"How will I get home now? I don't know anywhere," I said, my voice quivering.

"You'll find your way home," he said. He looked me in the eyes and added, "You've been through a lot, Roxanne, and I hope you find eternal peace. Now I have to read the books at the library and imagine you're there reading with me.”

A silent tear fell from my eye. "Thanks for being a good person to me and whenever you read books, picture me there giving you spoilers," I whispered and gave a small smile.

"Can I hug you? For the last time," he asked, looking unsure, as though I was going to reject him.

I nodded and opened my arms. He cracked a smile. There was something about his smile that sent shivers down my spine. Not the type that made you fall in love, but the type that made you scared of what would happen next.

He stepped closer, his arms encircling me in an embrace that felt more like a trap than comfort. I couldn't shake off the unsettling feeling as his grip tightened.

Still in the discomfort of the hug, Beta Miles whispered in my ear, his voice low and dark. "Do you think I don't know who you are?”

I froze. "What?" I whispered back, my voice shaky.

"You're the prophecy," he muttered, chuckling darkly.

I tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he held me in place, firmly. "You're the prophecy. You're what Lunar Peak has been waiting for. How could they be so dumb not to know it's you? From the powers, to the visions, the signs were there, but I guess they were too blind to see it.”

I was confused. I had heard about the prophecy many times, but I didn't understand what Beta Miles was saying. How could I be the prophecy? Was he losing it?

He tightened his hug, and I felt suffocated. He whispered in my ear, "I found you first, so I get to keep you. After all, it's losers weepers, finders keepers.”

I swallowed hard, struggling for breath. "I don't understand. What is wrong with you? Why are you speaking like this? What's going on? Make me get it!”

"You were never hallucinating, Roxanne. Everything is real. Lilith is real. Your visions are real. Oh, how I've waited for this moment," he whispered.

My mind raced. This wasn't the Beta Miles I thought I knew. His words twisted my reality, making me question everything I had believed.

"Let go of me," I demanded, my voice breaking.

He didn't. Rather, he tilted up my chin and his eyes bore into mine, filled with an unsettling intensity. "You're the key to everything, Roxanne. You're the one who will bring the prophecy to life.”

My heart pounded in my chest. "You're insane," I spat out. "I don't believe any of this.”

Being alone with him scared me. “I think it's time to let you go, Roxanne,” he said.

I heaved a sigh of relief and expected his grip to loosen around me. But instead, he brought out something from his pocket and plunged it deep into my jugular.

A gasp left my lips as I stared at him in horror. Pain rushed through my veins and I could feel myself weaken. He pulled away and smiled, “Does it feel familiar?”

Something exuded me, I couldn't tell what it was but it felt like a presence. It seemed into Beta Miles’ body and he shuddered. He twisted the knife and I opened my mouth but all that poured out was blood.

“Goodbye, Roxanne,” he whispered and pushed me off the cliff.