_Anya’s POV_

For a few seconds, no one spoke. The night was quiet except for the sound of everyone breathing. I could see the shock on their faces. The Alpha, the Luna, Talia and my parents were all staring at me as if they were seeing me for the first time.

I wished the ground would open and swallow me.

The Alpha was the first to speak. His voice was cold and firm. “Leon, tell me what is going on.”

Leon did not look away from me. His face was pale but his eyes were hard as if he was forcing himself to feel nothing.

“She is my mate,” he said finally.

Talia gasped loudly. “No. That is not possible. That cannot be true.”

My father looked at me with disbelief. “This must be some kind of trick,” he said. “There is no way she can be the future Luna.”

The Luna looked at me from head to toe, her eyes full of judgment. “She is weak. She was raised as a servant. She has no manners, no education and no status. How can she stand beside the future Alpha?”

Each word felt like a knife.

The Alpha looked at my father. “Beta Taylor, even if the mate bond is real, I will never accept Anya as my daughter-in-law. She is not fit to become the future Luna of the Silvercrest Pack.”

My heart felt like it stopped.

My father nodded immediately. “Yes, Alpha. I understand. I also do not think she is suitable. She has always been a problem.”

That was what I was to them....a problem.

Then Leon spoke again and his voice sounded like stone. “I will reject her....I will reject her right now.”

I looked at him so fast that the world spun. For a moment, I thought I saw something in his eyes. Something like pain. But it disappeared so quickly that I was not sure if I had imagined it.

The Alpha nodded. “Do it. It is better to end this now before the pack finds out.”

Talia stood beside Leon. She was holding his arm tightly as if she was afraid he would disappear.

Leon stepped forward until he was standing right in front of me. I could feel the bond between us pulling, like an invisible thread tying my heart to his. It hurt just to stand near him.

He looked down at me and for a moment neither of us spoke.

Then he said in a loud and clear voice so everyone could hear:

“I, Leon Maxwell, future Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack, reject Anya Taylor as my fated mate. From this moment on, she means nothing to me and I claim no bond with her.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. It felt as if something inside my chest tore apart. A sharp pain spread through my body so suddenly that I could not even breathe. I fell to my knees and clutched my chest, trying to stop the pain, but it only grew stronger.

It felt like my heart was breaking from the inside.

A cry escaped my mouth before I could stop it. My whole body shook and I bent forward, gasping for air. The pain was not just in my chest. It was everywhere, in my bones, in my head, in my heart. It was as if something precious had been ripped away from me before I even had the chance to hold it.

Through the pain, I looked up at Leon.

He was standing very still. His face looked calm but his hands were clenched into fists at his sides. For a moment, I thought he looked like he was in pain too, but he quickly turned his face away from me.

I understood then. Even if the bond hurt him, he had still chosen to reject me.

I forced myself to speak even though my voice was shaking and tears were running down my face.

“I… Anya Taylor… accept your rejection,” I whispered.

The moment I said those words, the pain became even worse. It was so strong that I collapsed completely onto the ground. I curled into myself, holding my chest, trying not to scream.

No one came to help me. No one said anything kind.

After a few moments, the pain slowly became dull like a deep wound that would never fully heal.

Talia let out a small laugh of relief. “Now that this problem is solved, we should go back. The guests are waiting.”

The Alpha nodded. “Yes. Tonight is still an important night. The engagement ceremony will continue.”

As if nothing had happened...as if my life had not just been destroyed.

They all turned and started walking back toward the ceremony. Leon walked with them but just before he disappeared into the trees, he stopped for one second and looked back at me.

Our eyes met.

There was something in his eyes. Something that looked like regret. But he said nothing and then he turned away and left with Talia.

I stayed on the ground for a long time after they left. My body still hurt and my heart felt empty. The forest was quiet around me and for the first time in my life, I truly felt alone.

After some time, I forced myself to stand up. My legs were weak but I knew I could not stay there forever. So I started walking home slowly.

By the time I reached the house, I was so tired that I could barely think. My mind felt empty. I went to my small room, lay down on the bed and fell asleep almost immediately because my body and heart were too tired to stay awake.

That night, I had a strange dream.

In my dream, I could not move. It felt like I was half asleep and half awake. I felt something sharp on my neck, like something was pricking me. I tried to move but my body felt heavy.

Then I saw a shadow in my room. A tall black shadow moving quietly near my bed. I tried to see the face but everything was blurry like fog.

I felt another small prick on my neck and then I heard a voice. It was very low and quiet.

“The job has been done.”

I wanted to ask what they meant but I could not speak. Everything went dark again and I fell into deep sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, my head was hurting badly. For a few seconds, I did not remember anything but then everything came back at once.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I wanted to cry again but I told myself I had to be strong. Crying would not change anything.

When I sat up, I felt something strange on the right side of my neck. It felt sore...like a small injury. I went to the mirror and looked closely.

There was a small red mark on my neck. It looked like a needle mark or an insect bite.

“What is this?” I murmured.

I touched it gently and it hurt a little. Maybe it was just a mosquito bite, I thought. I did not think too much about it.

Then suddenly, there was a loud knock on my door.

“Wake up, lazy girl!” Talia’s voice shouted from outside. “Have you seen the time? I am still waiting for my breakfast!”

I quickly wiped my face, changed my clothes and went to the kitchen.

I prepared breakfast as fast as I could and brought the food to the dining table. Talia was already sitting there. My parents were there too but they did not look at me or speak to me. It was as if I did not exist.

I placed the food on the table quietly.

Talia started eating while I went back to the kitchen to wash the dishes. I was standing at the sink when I suddenly heard loud coughing from the dining room.

Then my mother’s voice said, “Talia? What is wrong?”

I walked out of the kitchen quickly and saw Talia coughing badly. My mother gave her a glass of water but Talia’s hand shook and the glass fell from her hand and broke on the floor.

Then, Talia fell to the ground. Her lips were turning purple.

My father rushed to her. “Talia! Talia!”

My mother was panicking. “She is not breathing properly! We need to take her to the hospital now!”

They picked her up and rushed out of the house. I tried to follow them.

“I will come too,” I said.

But my father turned and shouted, “No! Stay here! Do not touch anything!”

Then they left.

I stood in the empty house, not understanding what had just happened. I was worried about Talia even after everything, because she was still my sister.

Many hours passed and there was no news. I started to feel nervous. What had happened to Talia? Was she going to be okay?

Then suddenly, the front door burst open.

I jumped in shock.

Leon walked into the house with two guards behind him. His face was dark with anger.

I walked toward him slowly. “Leon? What are you doing here? What is happening?”

He did not answer. He walked straight up to me and grabbed my arm very hard. His grip was painful.

“Leon, you are hurting me,” I said. “Let me go.”

He looked at me with so much anger that I felt scared.

“Why did you do it?” he asked coldly. “What would you gain from this?”

“I do not understand. What are you talking about?”

“Oh, stop pretending,” he said angrily. “You poisoned Talia because you were jealous that I chose her instead of you. I did not expect you to be so cruel. You are disgusting.”

I felt like the world stopped again. “No, I did not do anything. Why would I poison my own sister? I am innocent.”

“Just shut up. I do not want to hear your lies.”

“I am not lying. Please believe me. I did not poison her.”

But Leon did not listen. He looked at the guards and said, “Take her away.”

The guards grabbed my arms.

“Leon, please,” I cried. “I did not do this. Please believe me.”

But he did not even look at me again.

As the guards dragged me out of the house, I felt terrified and confused. I did not understand what was happening. I did not understand why they were accusing me of something I did not do.

_Anya’s POV_

The guards dragged me across the yard as if I were nothing. I kept stumbling because I was still weak from the rejection and everything that had happened since last night. My arm hurt where Leon had grabbed me. My chest still ached from the broken bond.

“Please,” I said. “Where are you taking me?”

Neither of them answered.

They took me behind the pack house and down a narrow stone staircase. The air grew colder with every step. The smell of mold, rust and something rotten filled my nose. My heart started pounding when I realized where they were taking me.

The cellar.

I had only heard stories about this place. Wolves who broke pack law were locked there before judgment.

“No,” I whispered. “Please do not put me here. I did not poison Talia. I swear I did not.”

One of the guards unlocked the iron door. The other shoved me inside so hard that I fell onto the stone floor.

The door slammed shut behind me. I quickly turned and hit the door with both hands. “Please let me out. Please. I did nothing wrong.”

No one answered.

I slowly stood up and looked around. The cell was small, dark and cold. The floor was damp. There was no bed, only dirty straw in one corner and chains fixed to the wall. Water dripped somewhere in the darkness.

I wrapped my arms around myself and sat down on the floor.

“Maya,” I called silently.

For a moment, there was no answer. Then I felt her stir weakly.

I am here, she said, but her voice was faint.

“What is wrong?” I asked.

Something feels wrong. I feel weak. It is like something is pressing on me. Something is blocking me.

My heart beat faster. “Because of the rejection?”

No. This is different. Something was done to us.

At once, I remembered the dream. The shadow in my room. The prick on my neck. The voice saying, The job has been done.

I touched my neck and shivered. “Someone really was in my room. It was not a dream.”

Someone wanted to destroy you, Maya said softly.

Tears filled my eyes.

Time passed slowly in the cellar. No one brought me food. No one gave me water. Hunger twisted inside me until it became a dull ache. My throat grew dry. My body became colder and weaker.

The straw in the corner was damp but I sat there anyway because the stone floor was worse.

Then I felt something brush against my foot.

I jerked back in fear.

A rat ran across the floor. Soon I heard more of them moving through the dark. Once, while I was half asleep, one bit the skin near my ankle and I cried out. Another crawled over my wrist before I could shake it off. I pressed myself against the wall and pulled my legs close but there was nowhere safe in that cell.

I thought about the house above me. I thought about all the years I had worked for that family, hoping that one day they might show me kindness. Yet now, when I needed help, no one had come.

That hurt the most.

I closed my eyes but I still saw his face. The coldness in his eyes. The way he had not listened when I begged him.

“Why did he not even ask me what happened?” I whispered.

Because it is easier for him to believe the worst of you, Maya said weakly.

By the time footsteps finally came, I was curled on the floor, shivering.

The door opened. “Get up,” one guard said.

I tried but my legs were too weak. The second guard pulled me up roughly by the chain around my wrists.

“Please,” I said hoarsely. “Water.”

The guard looked at me without pity. “You can ask the Alpha for mercy.”

Then they dragged me upstairs and into the morning light. My eyes hurt after the darkness. My clothes were dirty. My hair was tangled. My lips were dry and cracked. My skin stung where the rats had bitten me.

The guards dragged me toward the Alpha’s court.

It was already full. Pack members stood around whispering.

“That is her.”

“She tried to kill Talia.”

“She is rogue-born. What else did they expect?”

My stomach twisted.

At the far end of the court sat the Alpha with the Luna beside him. Four elders sat near them. My father and mother stood below. Leon was there too, dressed in dark clothes, his face unreadable. Talia sat beside him. She looked pale and weak. The pack doctor stood nearby.

The guards forced me onto my knees in the center of the hall.

The Alpha spoke first. “Anya Taylor, you stand before this court accused of poisoning Talia Taylor, daughter of the Beta, and attempting to harm the future Luna of the Silvercrest Pack. What do you say in your defense?”

“I am innocent,” I said. “I did not poison Talia.”

A murmur rose in the court.

The Alpha turned to my mother. “Speak.”

My mother stepped forward. She did not look at me. “Yesterday morning, Anya prepared breakfast for the family. I saw her in the kitchen. She served the food herself.”

I stared at her. “Mother, you know I always prepare breakfast. That proves nothing.”

She finally looked at me. “Do not call me mother in this court.”

My chest tightened.

The Alpha nodded at my father. “Beta Taylor.”

My father spoke calmly. “Anya has always envied Talia. She has always looked at her life with resentment. She was especially bitter after the mate bond with Leon was discovered and he rejected her. She had both the motive and the opportunity.”

“That is a lie,” I cried. “I never wished Talia dead. I never poisoned her.”

“Silence until you are told to speak,” one elder snapped.

The Alpha turned to the pack doctor. “Tell this court what you found.”

The doctor stepped forward. “When Talia was brought to me, she showed clear signs of poisoning. Her lips were turning purple. Her breathing was weak. Her pulse was unstable. I examined the remains of the breakfast and found poison mixed into her food.”

I shook my head. “No. No, that is impossible.”

The doctor continued, “Later, under Leon’s order, the guards searched Anya’s room. A small pouch of rare poison powder was found hidden in her drawer. I examined it myself. It was the same poison found in Talia’s system.”

My face went cold. “That is not true. I never had any poison in my room. Someone put it there.”

My father let out a hard breath. “You expect this court to believe someone planted a rare and costly poison in your room?”

“Yes,” I said desperately. “That is exactly what happened.”

One elder leaned forward. “This poison is not easy to find. Only someone who intended real harm would obtain it.”

“I did not obtain it,” I said. “I do not even know what it looks like.”

Talia gave a weak cough and pressed her hand to her chest. She looked pale but her eyes were sharp when they met mine.

“I never thought she hated me this much,” she said softly. “Even after everything, I still treated her like family.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “You are lying,” I said before I could stop myself.

Gasps rose around the room.

The Alpha’s voice thundered. “Watch your tongue.”

Talia lowered her eyes and let tears gather there. “I did not want to believe Leon when he said she might have done it but after the poison was found in her room...” Her voice shook. “I do not understand why she wants me dead.”

“I do not,” I cried. “I swear I do not.”

Then the Alpha looked at Leon. “Leon Maxwell,” he said. “Speak.”

Leon stepped forward slowly. He did not look at me at first. “The guards searched her room under my order. The poison was found in her drawer, wrapped in cloth beneath her few belongings. The doctor confirmed it was the same poison used on Talia.”

I stared at him. “Leon, please. You know I would not do this.”

His eyes met mine for one second. Then his face hardened. “Whether she is my former mate or not, a crime is a crime. If she poisoned a pack member, she must be punished.”

My heart broke all over again. “You do not believe me,” I whispered.

He said nothing.

The Alpha rose to his feet. “Anya Taylor, you were found with motive, opportunity and poison in your possession. Your origin already placed you under suspicion and your actions have confirmed what many feared. You are found guilty of poisoning a pack member and attempting to murder the future Luna of the Silvercrest Pack.”

“No,” I gasped. “No, please. I am innocent. Someone framed me. Please, Alpha, you have to believe me.”

But his face did not change. “For this crime,” he continued, “the punishment is death.”

Everything inside me went still.

The Alpha’s voice sounded cold and final. “Because you are a wolf of this pack, we grant you the mercy of a quick death. The execution will take place at dawn in three days.”

A broken sound left my throat. Three days. Only three days until I would die. I looked around wildly, hoping someone would say something.

My mother turned her face away. My father looked relieved. Talia hid a smile. The Luna looked satisfied. The elders stayed silent. And Leon stood like stone.

The guards grabbed my arms again. As they dragged me away, I twisted and looked back at him through my tears.

“Leon,” I cried. “I did not do this.”

His face tightened but he did not move. The last thing I saw before they pulled me out of the court was Talia watching me with triumph in her eyes.

Then one terrible thought rose inside me. If I was going to die in three days, then whoever framed me had already won.

But deep inside me, Maya stirred weakly.

Don't lose hope. We are not dead yet.