The Betrayed Warrior Mate

"This is your destiny, Alyna." "You are the lucky one. Chosen by the moon goddess herself." "Aren't you happy? Your mate loves you so much!" When Alyna was younger, she used to raise her head and take these voices as a compliment. At the age of 23, these voices sound like blatant mockery in her head. She was naive. The naivety broke her. Standing at the edge of the stage, she looked at the crowd. Their curious eyes held questions about her appearance. Alyna raised a trembling hand to hold the mic. In front of the pack members, she lowered her head and read out the contents of her speech. "I, Alyna Westwood, am here in front of the Silver mane pack members on this day, to address my unforgivable sin." The pack collectively roared. The hall as vast as a football field immediately went out of control. The guards on all sides worked together to control their uproar. Alyna took a deep breath, hoping to keep her voice steady for the next few minutes. "May the goddess and the Silver mane pack bear witness to this shameful moment of mine. As I admit on harming the Luna of the silver man pack." The roars grew louder. Alyna turned a deaf ear to their voices. Her grip on the paper tightened. A single tear dropped on the messy surface. "I lower myself to the lowest of positions and humbly ask, Miss Delphine Westwood, to bestow me a punishment by the rules." Ignoring the sounds all around her, Alyna finally looked up from the paper. It balled into her fist. With eyes red and tearful, she was surprised that her voice was steady as it came. "My crime is punishable by death." In the open field, her red gown fluttered, revealing the dark stains of blood between it's fold. Her honor was taken away from her. The sight of the pack's former glory was piercing to the eyes. Alyna folded her hands together and gave the crowd a deep bow. She turned around, facing the two people she bore most hate towards. She bowed to them. "Alpha Cedric and Luna Delphine. I wish to be put to death." She managed to say breathlessly. She closed her eyes and knelt before them. She didn't wish to see Delphine's triumph. Nor did she want to see Cedric's cynical smile on knowing what he made out of her. It was her defeat. Alyna admitted it. The decade of love and trust was broken within a few days. With that, Alyna lost her courage to keep living in this harsh world. Alpha Cedric's voice rang into the field without a mic. "Alyna has commited a crime. Holding her accountable is the right thing to do. It breaks my heart, it truly does, to loose a warrior who's so valuable to us. It's a terrible loss. However, it is true that Silver mane pack has never housed a traitor. By holding a dagger to her Luna's throat, she has shown that her loyalty does not lie with us. Hence, I announce her to be no longer the general with the highest rank. She must leave the silver Mane territory within the next twenty four hours. What she does outside is not of our concern. This is the least we can promise as former friends and companion of battle." His fake regret silenced the crowd. The Alpha himself gave the word. Alyna lowered her head and bowed to them, touching her forehead to the floor. "I ask to be put to death, Alpha." Her red gowl fluttered in the wind. The wind carried her cry to the crowd. The crowd cried along with her. "No! You can't do that!" "It's impossible!" "Alyna is the most loyal!" Alyna squeezed her eyes shut. She wished to turn invisible and save herself some dignity. If not, she wished to die before letting herself fall prey to their schemes. Alpha Cedric's steps were light. He stopped right in front of Alyna and used the tip of his shoe to lift her head. The humiliating gesture earned him the protesting cries of the crowd. The entire scene was shown in the large screens all around the field. Delphine narrowed her eyes at the crowd. She walked next to Cedric and pulled Alyna up on her knees. The anger vanished as soon as she saw the sight of Alyna's red eyes. She hoped Alyna would cry pathetically. Unfortunately, Alyna was never the one to cry easily. Even when kneeling, she had to keep her spine straight. "Leave before I change my mind. You are no longer a member of this pack." Cedric's voice boomed into the field. "I wish for death, Alpha." Alyna repeated. This time she was as steady as a mountain. In response, Cedric landed his foot in her chest. Alyna lay flat without protest. She had to die today. She wouldn't be able to live with this humiliation. Dying by her own hands is cowardly. She needed to be put to death by the Alpha. Any other way would leave a stain darker than her sin on the pages of history with her name on it. "Leave!" He growled. Alyna closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the field was long gone from her vision. Replacing it was the roof of an old wooden home. The aroma of food motivated her to sit up from the wooden bed and paddle towards the kitchen. Rubbing her blue eyes until they were red, she reached the kitchen where a woman with gray hair hunched in front of the stove. "Grandma. What are you cooking?" The old woman turned to her with a motherly smile. She opened the pot lid to reveal the stewing meat and vegetables inside. Alyna took the spatula from her hand and gently sat her down on a nearby chair. "Sit here. Let me do it." "You cannot waste your time, Alyna. The recruiters will open the gates any minute. You cannot let this chance go. Get ready and have breakfast before leaving." She protested. Alyna helplessly handed her the spatula and went back to her room to get dressed. The mirror in her room was covered with a black cloth and so was the window. It's been precisely 456 days since she left silver mane in shame. Her wish for death was never granted. For more than a year, Alyna wandered around like a stray cat in the open territories until a kind hearted grandmother took her in. The old woman never disclosed her name, always asking Alyna to address her as grandma. She lived alone and was more than happy to take Alyna in as a company. Today was the day when the pack closest to their home will open their border gates to recruit people. It was a yearly tradition where the people belonging to the open territories get the chance to enter the pack. Only the Ember Claw pack ever had the confidence to do such a thing. Letting random people into the pack to increase their work forces and defence was indeed a good idea but the chances of it going haywire with one wrong person getting in was too large. That's where the reputation of the Ember Claw pack worked it's magic. As the pack with the biggest army, the biggest territory and the most ruthless Alpha to bode, there was absolutely nothing they fear. After a year and a half of wandering around, Alyna finally made up her mind to enter the border of Ember claw pack and give her life a meaningful new start. Dressed in a black hoodie and the same black trousers, she walked back to the kitchen to help grandma serve up the stew. They ate in silence. When the clock struck nine, Alyna hugged the grandma and left the wooden house. The house was located in a rundown community in the open territory. It was a territory that ran between the Ember claw pack and it's immediate neighbour Fire moon pack. The territory may not be vast, but it housed many. some of them were rogues who were kicked out and a vast majority was made up of people who lost their families and pack to either natural disasters or pack attacks. Of course, the same wasn't true for every open territory. Rogue infested territories suffer great casualties with tens or hundreds of people dying in their hands in the open territories. Only the territory around Ember claw pack enjoyed the safety under the umbrella of Alpha Eiran. (A/N : Eiran - Air-an) A line of guards were stationed at the border. The gates of Ember claw were dubbed as gates of hell three years ago because of the newly thrones Alpha's bloodshedding behaviour. Today, the very same gates opened up to shelter those in need. Alyna lined up along with the others. All she had was a backpack with few change of clothes and an identity card. She took out the identity card. Everything was filled correctly. Including the name of the pack, for which the space remained empty for the last 456 days. The guards passed one person at a time. Alyna handed over her bag for checking and her identity card to the next guard. Before she could pass, a commotion was heard at the front. A man was running back with a bag. The guards were not expecting someone to be this bold as to steal another person's belongings and run away. Alyna wanted to turn a blind eye. Until she saw the victim who's bag was stolen. It was a young girl, no more than 15. She was holding the guard's hand and staring blankly at the person who stole her bag. She was alone. "Bastard." Alyna cursed under her breath. Her blue eyes were considered a gift from the goddess. It caused her to be noticed by the highest authority of the silver Mane pack. One of the good qualities was that her vision was better than the majority. The man running away passed by her. Alyna stretched out a hand and grabbed him by the hair. The strength in those slender hands were significantly less than it used to. It was still enough to hold back a thief. The man was forced to stop. He struggled under her hold, crying out in pain. The guard caught up within seconds. He eyed Alyna with interest. She let go of his hair and wiped her fingers on her clothes. She acted ignorant most of the time and this was not an exception. The man was dragged away to an unknown place. Alyna saw the girl being handed her bag and welcomed into the gates. Right before entering, the girl looked back in Alyna's direction. "Here is your identity card and bag. Move ahead." The guard next to her called on Alyna and handed her those things. Alyna shouldered the bag and walked inside the pack border minutes later.