The Curse Of Violet Wraith

Exiled

EZRA

I stood in front of the elders, awaiting my punishment with my head held high. The chains that tied my wrists and ankles were keeping me from shifting, as they were made of mercury, but I was alert and staring intently at the men in front of me. 

My mother was by my side, holding my hand as she sobbed, begging the council to spare my life. As I looked into her beautiful gray eyes, I couldn’t help but give her a faint smile and hold her against my chest, comforting her. 

“Ezra Atwood, son of Alistair Atwood and Alpha of Misty Willow. You have been charged with treason. Attacking the Luna of the pack has serious consequences.” The leader of the council mentioned, his gruff voice intimidated a lot of people, but he knew better not to do it with me. 

He sat on the courtroom chair, along with six other members, all of them looking down at me with disappointment in their eyes. 

“Please, have mercy. He didn’t mean any of it. My son was distraught. He found his mate and seeing her dead, affected him.” My mother defended me, squeezing my hand in reassurance. 

“Luna Moira. We understand your need to defend your son and we have allowed him to be the Alpha at Alistair’s request, knowing he was not his true blood. But we take the life of the leader’s mate seriously, and he attempted against yours.”

I leaned over, my mouth close to her ears. 

“Please, Mother. Don’t say another word on my defense. It’s not in your best interest,” I whispered.

“But you’re my son above all. Above the pack, above my own life.”

“It will be okay. I promise, I’ll be fine.”

She nodded, knowingly. 

“We don’t believe in hanging or beheading, so we will give you the last option for your punishment as being locked in the dungeons will be a waste of time. By unanimous decision, Ezra Atwood will be exiled from Misty Willow pack, effective now.”

Another elder stood up, his shoulders squared as he stared at me intently. 

“From now on, you will live your life as a rogue, may the Goddess be with you.”

“No! Please, don’t do this, I’m begging you!” Mother got on her knees, imploring with her hands linked to each other. Seeing her on the cold stone floor made my blood boil. How can she kneel in front of them like this, humiliating herself in their faces?

Trying to contain my anger, I lifted her by her arms and held her in mine while I looked at Evander, who stood in the corner, a smug look on his face. 

Connal growled loudly, ready to attack, but not being able to shift due to the chains was torture. 

“Calm your wolf down, Ezra!” The lead elder shouted, standing up from his chair, pointing at me with disdain. “If your father was alive, he would not be condoning this behavior!”

“Don’t you dare talk about my father, you greedy scoundrels!” I roared. 

“Warriors! Take him to the deeper part of the woods!” He ordered before looking back at me. “You’re lucky we’re not kicking you out of the lands, but stay away from the pack house and the village.”

My warriors grabbed my arms as my mother gave me one last kiss on my forehead, her tear stained cheeks breaking my heart. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you more, my son. Forgive me,” she cried.

“No, Mother. I should be the one to apologize for what I did to you. I hope to see you again soon.”

As they dragged me out of the pack house, my mother’s cries echoed in the air, and Connal whined loudly inside of me, making my chest ache. 

The ride to the woods took longer than expected, and then I realized they were not taking me where they were ordered. They were taking me to the part of the woods where Amara’s cabin was located, and that’s when I felt a sense of relief. 

As soon as we stepped out of the carriage, one of the warriors unchained me and bowed in respect, giving me an apologetic smile. 

“You will always be our Alpha. And for that reason, we decided to bring you here, where it’s safe,” he said, pointing at Amara’s place. 

I nodded gratefully as they got in the carriage and took off, going back to the pack house, leaving me to my own luck, away from my own people.

♣♣♣♣♣♣

Six months have gone by and now I was here, in front of my father’s grave, feeling guilty for not being there with him on his last days, even though it wasn’t really my fault. 

The heavy downpour hit my face as I looked at his headstone with a soft smile on my face and my tears mixed with the rain.

“I’m sorry, Father. For not being there when you needed me the most,” I told him, kneeling in front of the stone. “I promise I will make it up to you, I’m doing fine, considering. But I will make you proud.”

Kissing my fingers, I ran them through his name as I chanted a prayer in Gaelic, making him a promise. My mission to fight and take my pack back. After finding out Evander took over the pack as their Alpha, I knew I had to do something. 

This was his plan all along, to kick me out and lead them. He was always greedy, and he wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted. 

And he got what mattered to me most. 

The warriors had dropped me by Amara’s cabin, but despite being close, I didn’t dare approach her home. I was sure she wondered where I was. Losing her magic powers might be the reason why she hadn't sensed me. 

She felt useless.

For months I have lived in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to appear at her door. I was sure she would kill me. 

“You know it’s not nice to snoop around in the dark,” I heard a soft voice, making my heart race inside my chest as I felt a cold sharp object on the side of my neck. “Turn slowly and don’t try anything.”

Connal growled, but this time it wasn’t an angry sound, it was as if he recognized that voice. As I turned around to face her, my eyes opened wide, just as hers did. 

‘There she is, our mate. She’s not dead!’ Connal howled in my head. I tried to reach for her, but she backed away, ripping my clothes with the sword in her hand. 

Looking down at my exposed chest, I hated that she screwed my best clothes. I growled and shifted into my werewolf. 

“Stand back, you monster!” She shouted, running away before trying to climb on a tree, but I was faster than her, grabbing her with my paws and pulling her back towards me. 

I slammed her against the ground, earning another cut from the weapon, this time on my cheek. 

“I said, stand back!” She repeated, getting off the ground while I tried to shake off the pain, touching my fur now covered in a smidge of my blood. 

But I was not standing down, and the first thing I needed to do was take her sword away from her, and work this fight to my advantage.