# Chapter 27 – Vanessa's POV
## Title: Into the Dark
The forest swallowed me whole.
I ran until my lungs burned and my legs shook, but I couldn't stop. Behind me, Nanisa's voice still echoed in my head like a curse. *She has no wolf.* Those four words had ripped away everything I'd fought for in one brutal moment.
The pack's faces flashed through my mind. The shock. The confusion. The way their eyes changed when they looked at me – like I was suddenly a stranger. Like I was nothing.
Maybe I was.
My feet stumbled over roots and rocks as I pushed deeper into the woods. I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I had to get away from their stares, their whispers, their judgment. The moon overhead felt cold now, distant. Like it had turned its back on me too.
Branches clawed at my dress – the white ceremonial gown that was supposed to mark my victory. Now it was torn and dirty, stained with mud and my own blood from where thorns had scratched my skin. But I kept running.
