Framed as Pack's Traitor

“She betrayed us, Father,” Ruby, my sister, said gently, her voice laced with venom. “I saw her with the rogues. She was... giving them information.”

In the pack hall, Ruby softly accused me, her false evidence painting me as a traitor.

“That’s… not true!” I struggled to lift my head, my voice trembling with disbelief. “Father, I never—”

But no one listened. The entire pack, led by my father, Lumien Bloodbane, stood unwaveringly behind Ruby.

Because she wasn’t the only one accusing me.

“I, Cedar Stormveil, reject you as my mate, traitor.”

I turned, a knife of pain slicing through the bond, my body wracked with disbelief. There, in front of me, stood Cedar—my mate, the one who had sworn to protect me, the one who had held me through every storm, the one who whispered I was his forever.

Now, he stood coldly above me, boots pressing down on my wrist as he looked at me with contempt. His voice was a low growl, dripping with malice. “I want you to feel all of this pain.”

My wolf howled in agony, trapped in an unending torment.

Cedar’s words ignited the pack’s fury. Every member pointed at me, calling me a traitor, demanding justice. Ruby hung her head, feigning sorrow, as if this was a burden to her. As if she hadn’t orchestrated this nightmare from the start.

I opened my mouth, but no sound came. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move.

He had betrayed me.

But that wasn’t enough for Cedar. He wasn’t satisfied with rejecting me, with leaving me to wither under the mental anguish. I watched as he turned to my father, suggesting, “Traitors must be punished physically.”

His words dropped on the ground, firm and cold. My mate. My Alpha. My supposed fated one. It felt like my lungs had been ripped from my chest.

“I’ll whip her, then exile her from the pack.” My father’s voice was as cold as stone, accepting Cedar’s cruel proposal.

“Take her to the square,” the Alpha commanded. “She will be marked for her crimes.”

“No!” I gasped, struggling with all my strength. “Please, Father, I didn’t—”

A sharp laugh pierced the air. Ruby.

I turned, locking eyes with her as she grinned, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.

I understood now. This wasn’t about justice. It was never about the pack.

She wanted to destroy me.

The last lash hit like a thunderclap, sending me spiraling into darkness. But even as Ruby’s taunting “Goodbye, sister” echoed in my ears, cold and smug, I knew surviving this hell was just the first step of my fight.

....

I didn’t know what I was expecting, but it was not this.

Not the deafening roar of accusations, not the faces of my pack twisted in fury, not the feeling of my entire world crumbling beneath me.

The pack’s hall was packed from wall to wall, the air thick with anger. Warriors stood at attention, their faces cold. Elders sat in their high-backed chairs,