"Get her out of here."
The words hit Jade harder than any blow.
Two guards stood at the edge of the funeral clearing, blocking her path to Caden's casket. Their faces were cold, their eyes filled with disgust.
"I just want to see him one last time," she pleaded, her voice trembling.
"You're not allowed," one said flatly.
Her chest tightened. "But he was my mate. I loved him."
The guard sneered. "Your mate? You mean the man you killed?"
The world tilted. "No… no, that's not true," Jade whispered, shaking her head.
"Save your lies," the other spat. "Caden's blood is on your hands. You cursed him the moment he claimed you. A wolfless freak like you should have known better."
The first guard grabbed her arm and yanked her back from the crowd. "The Alpha said you're to be locked up until the rites are done. He doesn't want your drama ruining the ceremony."
She stumbled, tears streaking her face. "Please, I need to say goodbye. Please."
But no one listened.
Every head in the clearing turned away. Even the friends who once smiled at her refused to meet her eyes.
They dragged her off as she screamed Caden's name, her voice breaking into raw, choking sobs.
When they threw her into the cold dungeon beneath the packhouse, the air stung her skin. The iron bars slammed shut, sealing her grief in with the smell of damp stone and rot.
No one came. No one cared.
To them, she was the villain in the story. The cursed girl who had cost a warrior his life.
But the truth was far crueler.
Hours earlier, Jade had sat in their small home, her tears falling like rain. She had waited by the door for Caden to return, praying it was all a mistake.
Her mate. Her light. Gone.
He had promised her forever. He had sworn that nothing would take him from her. Now he was gone, and she was left to face the world alone again.
The Moon Goddess must truly hate her.
Born without a wolf. Orphaned. Cursed.
Her guardian, Grandma Edna, had defied the pack to raise her, loving her when no one else would. But when Edna died, the pack turned their backs without hesitation.
"She's useless."
"She doesn't even have a wolf."
"No mate will ever claim her."
They were wrong.
Caden had chosen her. He had looked at her with warmth, not pity.
"You're mine," he had told her, his grey eyes full of certainty. "Even if you can't feel the bond, I can."
He made her believe she was worthy of love.
When he brought her home to Shadowfang Pack, she thought she could finally belong. The others whispered and mocked, but she told herself love would be enough. She had Caden. That was all that mattered.
Two weeks later, he was dead.
They buried him without her.
They called her a murderer.
And as she sat in the dark, her tears drying against her skin, something inside her began to crack.
If the Moon Goddess wanted to make her a villain, so be it.
They would all regret what they had done to her.
The Goddess may have turned her back on Jade,
but fate hadn't.n. 0