LUNA: Reborn as The White Wolf

LOCATION; Woodlands, miles from the outskirts of Silver Falls pack.

TIME; 7;43pm

***

Thud! Thud!

The sound of footsteps could be heard through the woods. As they got closer, their owner came into view.

A woman, clearly in her early twenties, dragged her feet across the snowy grounds. Her light brown hair had been stained with the snow and her bright blue eyes, which had once been full of life, had grown dimmer as the cold from the snowy night rippled through her entire body.

She laughed to herself, shivering under the slight blizzard of the cold night. Under normal circumstances, werewolves were usually resistant to the cold as their body temperatures were normally higher than that of the average human.

However, not to severe storms such as these. Because under normal circumstances, werewolves usually took shade in their respective dens before the cold got too intense. And given the current circumstances she found herself in, she did not have the luxury of doing that…

Not anymore…

Thud! Thud!.

She trudged on, dragging her feet in the snow as the cold swept through her entire body. She exhaled loudly, finding support on a nearby tree trunk. Resting her back on the dry wood, she looked up at the sky. There was no moon in sight to illuminate the darkness…

Which she felt was a perfect representation of how she currently felt inside…

It had only been about two weeks since the “incident” took place, but it still felt like yesterday to her. Of course, how could she forget….

How could she forget being kicked out of her own pack….?

Still under shade from the tree, her fingers clenched around her body. She remembered it all, the stares she had gotten from the bystanders, who looked at her like she was a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. She could tell there was a mix of pity and disdain within the crowd as they awaited her judgement. Worse of all, she could still remember those exact words…

The words which had been used to pronounce judgement on her….

….

“Rachel TalonHeart, from this day forward, as a punishment for stealing the Twin Spiral medallion, you will cease to be a member of the Silver Falls pack. You will be branded as an omega and banished, never to set foot on these lands ever again. Be grateful that you get to keep your head.”

She clenched her right shoulder, the place where the mark of the omega had been engraved onto her skin. She could still recall the searing pain she had felt when the red hot metal, which bore the symbol of the omega, had made contact with her skin. The painful shriek she had let out as her flesh burned…

She scoffed when she remembered her verdict. She would have genuinely preferred death over whatever she was facing right now. She whirled around to face her father, Alpha Jacob TalonHeart, the Alpha of the Silver falls pack. Even though her father tried his best to conceal his emotions through the stoic expression on his face, his eyes betrayed his emotional state…

Disappointment… Anger… Grief… Confusion….

A part of her felt that all of those emotions were directed more at himself than at her. Anger and disappointment in the fact that he could do absolutely nothing to stop his only child from getting kicked out of the pack he was in charge of. Grief was the thought that he was going to fail his late wife, to whom he had sworn on her death bed to keep their child safe…

He tried to be stoic, but she could see him fighting back the tears….

Rachel's eyes watered. Seeing her father in such a state made her feel as though someone had carved a spear through her own heart.

Alpha Jacob sat poised on his throne. He had to be present for the judgement proceedings, although his facial expressions betrayed the fact that he would rather be anywhere else. He sighed, turning his gaze back to his daughter, who was still mounted on the judgment podium.

Even though he didn't like the verdict from the judge, as an alpha, his stance on the matter had to remain neutral. It was the whole reason why he wasn't passing the judgment himself as the judge had to be unbiased when passing their judgement. And although he had every reason to believe his daughter had been framed for this crime, as he knew his child better than to assume that she would go out of her way to steal a national treasure such as the Twin Spiral medallion, all of the evidence DID point her out to the culprit….

But why would anyone go out of their way to frame his daughter for a crime she did not commit…?

This was also the question that had been on Rachel's mind this entire time as she was taken down from the podium. She walked on, escorted by two Gamma wolves, which normally served as guards for the Alpha, as they walked her towards the outskirts of Silver Falls territory. The crowd stared on, looking at her like she was some witch waiting to be burned at the stake. Through the crowd, her eyes could make out her childhood friend, Trina Sampson, who was inconsolable as she kicked, wailed. beat around and swore on everything she knew that Rachel was innocent until she had to be carried off by her own parents…

Rachel took a deep breath, then closed her eyes. She could care less about the stares she received from the people, who looked at her like she was a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. However, among the stares she got from the crowd, there was one that bothered her the most

The guards stopped in front of a young man in his early twenties. Rachel swallowed hard when her eyes met his own…

He stood there, his hands in his pockets as the cold gaze locked in with hers…

Edward Garrett…

The first son of chief Lucius Garrrett, who was the man who had just pronounced judgement on her. She swallowed hard as his disapproving stare ran through her heart like a sword wound.

Of everyone present, he was the last person she wanted to see her in this undignified state…

Not the man she had been fated to… the man she had loved since childhood…

She gritted her teeth, the tears she had been trying hard to suppress after seeing her father began to flow freely.

“Eddie, I…” she began, but was cut off by a wave of his hand. His brown eyes trailed from her tearful gaze, to the stoic expressions of the guards' faces.

“Take her.” He ordered, his voice carrying a coldness that surprised her to her marrow. She was familiar with that tone he used. She looked at his face, which carried that expression he used when addressing complete strangers.

An expression she was familiar with, but not one he had never turned to her…

Not ever….

Without another word, he stepped aside, allowing the guards to drag her off. In her little resistance, she turned around to face Edward, who didn't even look at her.

“Edward!” she yelled out, her voice trailing after him as she struggled with the guards, who intensified their grip on her wrists as they dragged her on. She turned around, desperately longing to see his face once again, hoping, no praying that there might have been a shred of expression on his face. However, he didn't even react, or act like he was the one being referred to.

She gritted her teeth again, the tears flowed freely now, more out of heartbreak than despair. She could not believe that the man she had loved since childhood could turn his back on her so easily….

And for a crime she didn't commit too…?

She clenched her fists as they arrived at the outskirts of Silver falls. She turned round, meeting the gaze of the crowd, of whom a large number had dispersed since the walk from the town square. Her eyes darted through the crowd, and she could spot her father, who had of course followed her to see to the end what would become of his daughter….

“Rachel TalonHeart,” the Judge, chief Lucius Garrett cleared his throat, Jolting her back to reality “You may leave and never come back…”. Came his deep, baritone voice as he held his scepter, the scepter of judgment, over her. Rachel could not help but stare at him, and his eyes, which had taken on the bright orange color, signifying his rank as a Beta. Through the orange hue his eyes gave, Rachel could see that the man too was not completely ice cold towards her….

Chief Lucius himself didn't want to exile her, as the girl had been like a daughter to him as well, and he too knew her better than to assume she would steal the medallion. However, all of the evidence pointed to her so he was powerless in this situation, as tradition must be upheld, no matter the cost. Bending the rules, he thought, even for a little bit, could bring a stain to the current alpha’s rule and make people question the alpha’s competency.

In the worst case scenario, the pack could fall apart, and as the Chief judge of the Silver Falls pack, it was his job to prevent that from happening.

Rachel raised her head to face the chief judge. The realization that he too was conflicted about exiling her, brought a smile, however small, to her face. It warmed her heart to realize that not everybody was cold blooded towards her. She raised her head, determined to take the disgrace with dignity as she took one final look at her father….

Meeting his gaze for what would be the last time….

“Of course Chief Garrett” she responded, the words coming out slowly, carefully as she gave a light bow, maintaining what was left of her dignity till the very end. She then turns around, heading into the forest, to the outside of Silver Falls…

She was leaving it all behind….

Her father…

Her friends

Her love….

Her life….

***

Rachel blinked, her eyes fluttering open. She raised her head, looking up at the tree which she had accidentally fallen asleep while taking shade under. She sighed, sitting up and propping her back against the tree. She could still feel the cold in her toes, that was something she still had to take care of. With that thought in mind, she looked around, wondering what was in store for her in the near future…

Thwack!

An object whooshed passed her, jolting her from her train of thoughts as it struck the ground beside her, just inches from her face as the object missed her by a hair’s breath. Her eyes trailed the object, which had been planted firmly into the ground beside her . She could make out the wooden hilt of the object.

An arrow…?

It looked like a regular arrow, however, its head glistened with a grayish glow. A glow that sent fear into her…

The head of the arrow was made of silver, and that could only mean one thing….

Hunters were coming for her….

Rachel stared blankly at the arrow, dazed…

Why were hunters after her? She wondered. But this was no time to process her internal thoughts.

Thwack!

Another arrow whooshed passed, striking the tree behind her. That was all the motivation she needed…

She hurriedly scrambled to her feet, immediately taking to her heels as she evaded yet another arrow, which had also missed her by a hair’s breath as well. Straining her ears, she could make out the hunters voices in the distance as their steps grew closer.

“Dont lose her….” she could have sworn she heard one of them say

Like hell, She thought as she navigated another turn, picking up speed with the little strength she had left. She had no idea where she was going, but there was only one thought that lingered in her mind…

Survive…

With that thought in mind, her irises shifted from their normal blue color to a fiery green color, signify