The rain would not stop.
It fell from the sky like cold needles, washing over the ashes that used to be my home. Smoke rose into the dark clouds, carrying the smell of burned wood, blood, and pain.
I stood there barefoot, shivering, my white dress covered in soot and dirt. The ground was muddy beneath my feet. My hair clung to my face, wet and heavy.
Around me, the people I had known all my life — people I had loved, trained with, eaten with — now stared at me like I was a monster.
"She did it!" a man shouted from the crowd. "She burned the Alpha's house!"
"It was her! I saw her near the flames!" another voice added.
Their words came at me like stones, cruel and sharp.
"I didn't!" I screamed back, my voice shaking. "I didn't do anything! Please believe me!"
No one moved to help me. No one even looked sorry. Their eyes were full of hate, full of disgust.
Then I saw him — my uncle, Alpha Leon. He stepped out of the crowd, tall and strong, his dark coat dripping with rain. He looked at me as if I was dirt beneath his boots.
Behind him stood Mia, my best friend since childhood. Her arms were crossed, her face pale, her eyes empty.
I took a small step forward. "Mia… please. You know me. You know I would never hurt anyone, not my parents. You know that!"
She flinched but didn't come closer. "I saw you, Aria," she said softly, though her voice was shaking. "You were the last one in the house before the fire started."
My heart stopped. "No… no, I wasn't. I went to bed early. I woke up when the smoke filled my room. I tried to save them. I tried!"
Alpha Leon raised his hand, and the murmuring crowd fell silent.
"Enough," he said, his voice deep and cold. "Aria Moon, daughter of the late Alpha Kian and Luna Helena, you are accused of burning the Alpha's home and killing your parents."
The words cut into my chest like a knife. I could barely breathe. "I didn't!" I cried. "Please, Uncle, you have to believe me! I loved them! They were all I had!"
But there was no pity in his eyes.
"I warned your father about you," he said slowly. "I told him a child born under a red moon would bring nothing but ruin. You proved me right tonight."
The crowd gasped.
Tears poured down my face, mixing with the rain. "Please," I whispered, "don't do this to me."
Alpha Leon stepped closer, his shadow covering me.
"You are no longer part of this pack," he said. "From this moment, you are banished from the Silver Claw territory. If you are ever seen again, you will be killed on sight."
Gasps filled the air.
My knees gave out, and I fell into the mud. "No… please, don't send me away. I have nowhere to go."
"Then die in the woods like the curse you are," he said.
Someone threw a rock. It hit my shoulder. Pain shot through me.
Then another one hit my arm. I heard laughter.
"Monster!"
"Murderer!"
"Get out!"
I covered my face with my arms, trembling. The sound of their shouts filled my ears. The people I grew up with were now screaming for me to leave — or die.
"Mia!" I shouted, desperate. "Please! Help me!"
But she turned her head away. "I can't," she whispered.
That broke me completely.
I pushed myself up slowly, the mud cold under my hands. "Fine," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "If none of you believe me, then I'll go."
The rain poured harder, as if the sky itself was crying for me.
I looked one last time at the burning house — the only place I had ever called home — and then I turned and ran.
---
The forest was dark and endless.
Branches tore my skin. Stones cut my feet. The rain made the ground slippery, but I didn't stop. I ran until my lungs burned and my legs ached.
Behind me, the fire's glow faded, swallowed by the storm.
Only the sound of the rain and my heartbeat remained.
When I finally stopped, I was deep in the woods. My dress was torn, my body freezing. I sank to the ground, breathing hard, my hands shaking.
"What did I do to deserve this?" I whispered to the trees. "Why would they think I killed them?"
No answer came — only the wind, cold and cruel.
I hugged myself, trying to stay warm. My wolf was silent inside me, hiding in pain and fear.
"Please," I begged her in my mind, "say something. Don't leave me too."
But she didn't reply.
I looked up through the trees. The full moon hid behind thick clouds. Even the Moon Goddess seemed to have turned her face away.
Tears rolled down my cheeks again. My heart ached so much I wanted it to stop beating.
I thought of my mother's smile, the way she used to braid my hair and hum old songs.
I thought of my father's voice, deep and warm, when he called me "little wolf."
Now they were gone — burned to ashes, and everyone thought I killed them.
I pressed my hand against my chest, whispering through my sobs, "I didn't do it. I swear I didn't."
Lightning flashed in the sky. The thunder followed, loud and angry.
I was tired — so tired — but I kept walking.
The forest was full of strange sounds: howls, snapping branches, whispering leaves. My heart raced. I knew rogues lived here. I knew I could die before morning.
Maybe that would be better.
But a part of me — the small, stubborn part that still had hope — whispered, No, Aria. You must live. You must find out who did this. You must prove you are innocent.
I kept moving, one slow step after another. My feet bled. My arms shook. My breath came out in white clouds.
After what felt like hours, I reached a river. The water was cold and wild. I knelt beside it, drinking with trembling hands. The cold burned my throat, but it was the first water I'd had since the fire.
I looked at my reflection in the river — a girl with tangled hair, red eyes, and dirt on her face. I didn't even look like me anymore.
"I don't know who you are," I whispered to the reflection. "But you can't die here."
I got up again and started walking deeper into the forest.
The rain slowed, but the air grew colder. My body felt heavy, every step harder than the last.
Finally, my legs gave up. I fell to the ground beside a large oak tree, too weak to move.
The world around me blurred.
The moon peeked out from behind the clouds, its pale light falling on me like a soft hand.
"I'll find out the truth," I whispered with my last bit of strength. "I'll make them see I didn't kill them… I promise, Mom… Dad…"
Then everything went black.
The forest grew silent, except for the sound of rain and the faint beat of my heart.
And that was the night I lost everything — my home, my pack, my family, and my name.
That was the night I became the banished one.