Chapter 4: This is far from over.

Ella's POV.

  As I stepped inside the hall, I pulled down my hood. I wasn't expecting to see every member of the Senate board. 

  Jason sat at the head of the round table, draped in an aura that screamed, ‘he was the Alpha.’ His burgundy shirt caught my eye. The same one I bought him for his last birthday. My chest tightened. How can he be so insensitive? He wore it deliberately, like a reminder, as if to taunt me with what we once shared.

  In the middle of the room was a lone chair. Not at the table nor among the Senate Alphas. Just there like a prisoner’s seat.

  My stomach burned, and I sighed heavily before forcing myself to move toward it. I had barely sat when sharp footsteps echoed behind me, forcing me to turn.

  It was that bitch, Dahlia.

  She walked in with her head high, her every step dripping with arrogance, her lips curved in a smirk as though she owned the hall. Behind her, reporters swarmed in like bees flashing their cameras violently and shoving microphones forward. One of the microphones nearly hit my chin as they stormed past me, all rushing toward Jason.

  “Alpha, what do you have to say about the headline?” one of them asked. 

  Jason leaned forward, wearing a mask of grief so polished that it almost fooled me. Almost. His voice trembled just enough to sound perfectly rehearsed.

  “I’m… I’m so sorry the whole pack had to find out this way,” he said, lowering his gaze pretending to be ashamed. “This terrible thing with the Luna-to-be…”

  His throat caught with fake emotion dripping from every word he spoke. “I’ve tried for years to love her. Even though I knew she slept with several men. She was my fated mate, so I couldn't leave just like that. I stood by her hoping she'd change. But now?” He pressed his hand to his chest, sighing dramatically as he lowered his voice. “Now I'm disgraced before the whole pack. I tried my best… but I guess one can’t teach a street dog the act of virtue.”

  HELL! Me?! A street dog? Did this bastard just call me that?

  My breath grew heavy as tears burned at the corners of my eyes. And the worst part? They were all believing him.

  “You liar!” I growled, unable to sit and continue listening to his filth. “How dare you, Jason?! You sit there spinning lies upon lies, twisting my pain into your theater! Is this a joke to you?!”

  I spun immediately to the crowd, my voice cracking. “And you all… you stand there lapping up his lies like it's holy water? Just because he’s the Alpha?! Have you lost your goddamn minds?!”

  My blood was boiling. And my wolf? She was clawing in my head, begging to be let loose. I was about to leap across the table, to claw that smug performance right off his face when two guards appeared in front of me using their iron grip to force me down, pinning my shoulders to the chair.

  Gasps rippled across the hall.

  “JEEZ! she nearly attacked him!” A man in the back whispered too loud.

  “She’s so savage… so heartless!”

  “She’s more of a rogue than a Luna material…” another echoed.

  Jason seized the moment, and stood to his feet with wounded eyes. He raised a trembling hand, soaking in the pity of the crowd, then jabbed his finger at me.

  “Do you see?” he thundered, his voice booming through the microphones. “Do you all see what I have endured behind closed doors? This is what I have suffered! This temper! This violence!”

  The crowd erupted into murmurs again, some already whispering prayers for their Alpha, and the others glancing uneasily at me.

  Jason raised his hands, silencing the crowd. “Effective immediately, she is stripped of her title. The role of Luna will be given to someone worthy of the name.”

  He turned to me, and I realized every ounce of affection I once thought he had in his eyes for me had vanished. “Now… I, Jason Blackwood, Alpha of the Stormwolf Pack… reject you, Rhaella Hammond, as my mate.”

  A sharp ache ripped through my chest the moment Jason’s rejection settled. And my knees hit the cold floor with a loud thud. My wolf was hurting terribly. The mate bond was a sacred thread and severing it always came with tremendous pain for both parties.

  Jason felt it too. I saw the flicker of pain cross his face but he swallowed it, straightened his shoulders, and masked it with the practiced coldness of an Alpha who wanted the world to believe he was untouchable.

  A soft, mocking chuckle floated from the corner. I turned slowly, still in pain, to see Dahlia standing there with her arms folded, and her lips twisted into a triumphant smile.

  I didn’t think I had the strength to move but I couldn't stand the sight of her feeling like she won. And before I could process anything, I was on my feet. My palm cracked hard across her face.

  “You bitch!” My voice shook with fury. “You deserve to rot in hell! You manipulated my mate, you poisoned him against me, you killed my babies,” My throat broke. “...and now you want to steal my name?!”

  Her head snapped to the side, a trickle of blood staining her lip. Then, with deliberate slowness, Dahlia turned back and didn’t hesitate to slap me back, harder, snapping my head to the side.

  The sting burned across my cheek, and for a second the whole hall went silent. The reporters swarmed closer to us, shoving microphones at my face like weapons.

  Dahlia didn’t even flinch. She leaned in close, her pathetic voice dropping into a venomous whisper only I could hear. 

  “Little sister,” she breathed. “Jason isn't some helpless baby I need to manipulate. Let’s just say he finally realized that the Luna's crown was never yours to wear… it’s far too heavy for a dirty omega like you. Just drop it and stop being greedy, I’ll be sure to carry that burden for you.”

  When she pulled back, her lips curled into that same smile, like the crown already belonged to her.

  I turned to Jason, desperate for something… anything…. but he just sat back in his chair, tapping his fingers lazily against the table like he was bored. My fists trembled. 

  What had I ever done to the Moon Goddess to deserve this mockery? 

  One of the Senate Alphas rose, smoothing down his tailored suit, “Rhaella Hammond,” he began, his tone dripping with disdain. “The Alpha has shown you mercy in stripping you only of your title. But if you persist in this disgraceful display, that mercy will vanish. And we will demand you be killed! Why continue this charade of victimhood when it is clear, you are the villain here?”

  Goddess, I wanted to smash that smug old man in the gut. But one wrong move here, and I’d never leave this room alive.

  Another senator leaned back in his chair, adjusting his tie with a smirk. “Better yet,” he said, “we could add her to the next batch of omegas sent to the Lycan chairman. Maybe there, she would learn her lesson.”

  Cold sweat trickled down my neck, and my eyes widened in horror.

  Everyone in Stormwolf knew who he was; a ruthless Lycan from the Lycranox Pack. I have heard stories, too many stories about what he does to people who cross him. No Omega sent to Lycranox ever came back whole. Some never even came back at all. No one knew his real name or what he looked like. He was just known as “the VIP” powerful enough to make even alphas like Jason bow.

  I wrapped my arms around myself and turned back to Dahlia. Tears finally spilled despite how hard I had fought not to break in front of them. But, the pain was too much.

  “This is far from over,” I hissed. My voice cracked, but anger laced in every word.

  And then I ran out. Outside, my link buzzed. “Babe? Are you okay?” Sylvia's voice rushed through. “We’re at your place. Your mom and I… we’re waiting.”

  I shoved my shaky hands into my hoodie pocket and hailed a cab.

  By the time I reached our small apartment, I heard my mother’s sobs in the kitchen. Sylvia knelt beside her, pale and shaken.

  “Mom?” My heart pounded. “What’s wrong? Is it about me? I’m fine…”

  She lifted her face. Her eyes were red.

  “Ella… they fired me. All of them. The Villas. The motel. Even the schools. They said they can’t be associated with us anymore.”

  The words ripped through me. “What? They can’t… just do that!” My voice broke. 

  Before I could even breathe, Sylvia’s voice cut in, reluctantly but urgent.

  “That’s not all, Ella. The hospital called. Seems the board stripped you of every benefit you should enjoy as a Luna… and now they’re billing you for every care they gave you after you lost the babies. The meds. The transfusion. Observation. All of it.”

  My chest seized.

  “They said if the scandal had broken earlier, they wouldn’t have treated you. But since it came after, the HR ruled that your care isn’t covered anymore.”

  My throat burned. “So… how much?”

  Sylvia looked at me, then looked away like the number itself might destroy me. Finally, she whispered: “21,500 dollars. And they want it in 3 days.”

  The number hit me so hard that my legs buckled. I gripped the counter, just to stay standing.

  “That’s… impossible.” The words barely left me.

  “Even if I wasn’t fired, my salary wouldn’t cover that,” my mom whispered, her hands trembling in her lap.

  “I can get you about 10,000 dollars from my mom,” Sylvia said, pacing. “But it’s still not enough.”

  She suddenly froze mid-step, “Wait, how about your car? You could sell it, get at least a few thousand up front…”

  I shook my head. “The car’s still in Jason’s villa. Do you really think they’ll let me walk in and drive it out? Dahlia probably has the keys in her purse already.”

  “Fuck!” Sylvia hissed, raking her hands through her hair. “Okay, okay… your accounts?”

  “I tried.” My throat closed as the memory burned fresh. “On the way home, I stopped at an ATM to grab some cash. But my cards are blocked. Jason must’ve called the bank.”

  Sylvia’s face twisted, "How diligent! That psycho isn’t even giving you a breather. He just wants you to choke.”

  My mom’s quiet sobs filled the room, and as much as I wanted to sink into the floor and cry until my body gave out, I knew this wasn’t the time. I had to find a way for us to survive. 

  But how on earth, am I going to raise 21,500 dollars in 3 days?!