They Sent Me Away. I Never Came Back. novel Chapter 1

The door behind me opened.

Damian, Rowan, Julian, and Asher froze in the doorway with Lyra beside them, bottles of champagne in their hands for what was supposed to be a celebration of their Moonvale acceptances.

I pulled out my phone and photographed every message on the projected screen.

Damian was the first to recover.

As the current Alpha's son and Blood Moon Pack's designated heir, he was used to making decisions for everyone else.

“Since you've already seen it, I'm not going to lie to you.”

“Lyra only just came back to Blood Moon. She's suffered enough out there, and her health isn't strong. She'd never survive the Northern Pack's climate.”

He looked straight at me without the slightest trace of guilt.

“You're different. You've always known how to take care of yourself.”

Lyra's eyes reddened as she caught Damian by the sleeve.

I didn't look at her.

I pointed at the screen instead.

“Who made the four fake applications to Frostland?”

Damian answered without hesitation.

“I did.”

“And whose idea was it to play Truth or Dare?”

Lyra's eyes instantly filled with tears.

Rowan, Blood Moon's future Beta, stepped in front of her at once.

“It was a decision we all made. Don't look at Lyra like that.”

I nodded and turned back to Damian.

“And promising to mark me once we reached the North? Was that part of the plan too?”

Damian's throat moved.

His gaze shifted away from mine.

“You told me you'd never choose a mate who was willing to leave you alone in another territory.”

“If I hadn't promised to go to Frostland with you, you wouldn't have signed.”

He knew how I felt about him.

More importantly, he knew exactly which promise would make me choose what they wanted.

Lyra suddenly reached for Julian's phone.

“This is all my fault. I'll contact Frostland right now.”

“I'll go north with Aria. You four can stay here.”

All four of them moved around her at once.

Asher, Blood Moon's future Delta, responsible for tracking and combat operations, snatched the phone out of her hand.

“Our Moonvale acceptance letters are already here. What good would calling Frostland do now?”

“But what about Aria?”

Lyra's shoulders shook as she cried.

“She'll be all alone so far away. She's going to be miserable.”

Damian pulled out a tissue and gently wiped away her tears.

“She can take care of herself.”

“You've barely been back in the pack. Don't throw away your future because you're upset.”

I stood only a few steps away and watched all four of them gather around Lyra to comfort her.

That was answer enough.

They couldn't bear to send Lyra north.

But they had no problem lying to send me there alone.

Julian, Blood Moon's future Gamma, adjusted his glasses. His voice was calm, as if he were analyzing a strategy report instead of explaining why they'd betrayed me.

“Aria, I admit the way we handled this wasn't completely honest. But the outcome benefits everyone.”

“Frostland is still one of the best academies in the werewolf territories. With your grades, you'll succeed no matter what program you choose. You're only going there for school. You can still come back to Blood Moon during breaks.”

“We stay here with Lyra, you go to Frostland, and no one's future gets hurt.”

“Except my right to choose.”

The room went still.

Rowan's expression darkened.

“You already wanted Frostland. Their mentors contacted you twice. Every time you turned them down, you still couldn't bring yourself to let it go.”

“We just helped you make the decision.”

“Wanting to go somewhere and being tricked into signing a contract by the people you trust most are not the same thing.”

“You weren't helping me choose.”

“You were making sure my choice worked best for Lyra.”

Rowan opened his mouth, then closed it again.