Shattered Promise
1081 Words
☽ Nyra ☾
I woke with my body heavy and my mind sharp, like I hadn’t truly rested at all. My muscles ached, and a dull pressure sat behind my eyes, but anger kept me upright. I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of the house waking around me. Voices outside. Footsteps. The pack was already moving.
Today was the day.
I pushed myself out of bed and dressed slowly, forcing my hands to steady. No matter what I had seen in my dreams, no matter what memories had torn through me in the night, this was still my eighteenth birthday. My first transformation. The moment that was supposed to change everything. I refused to let fear take that from me. Lucan still hadn’t returned. That stung more than I wanted to admit, but I swallowed it down. He had promised. He would be here. I clung to that as I stepped outside. The clearing was already full when I arrived. Fires burned low in stone pits, and long tables had been set with food and drink. The pack gathered in loose circles, voices rising and falling with excitement. I could feel it humming through the air, a charged anticipation that made my skin prickle. My senses felt sharper than ever. Every sound landed too clearly. Every scent carried weight. Somewhere deep inside me, something stirred, restless and alert.
Then it hit.
The pull was sudden and absolute. My breath caught as my gaze snapped across the clearing, locking onto one figure without hesitation. Zarek, our Alpha, stood near the elders, tall and unmoving, his presence pressing against me like a wall. The bond slammed into my chest so hard I staggered half a step.
Mate.
The word echoed through me with terrifying certainty. Heat rushed through my veins. My wolf, newly awake, surged forward like it had been waiting for this moment. Shock froze me in place. I had never looked at Zarek that way before. He was the Alpha, powerful and distant, more myth than man to most of us. I had respected him, feared him, but this was something else entirely. Before I could take another breath, Zarek turned. His eyes found mine, sharp and assessing. I felt the bond reach for him, pleading and raw.
His expression didn’t soften.
Silence spread across the clearing as he stepped forward. Every instinct screamed at me to brace myself, but I lifted my chin and stood still.
“Nyra,” Zarek said, his voice demanded attention. “You are mistaken,” his words struck harder than a blow, and I took a deep breath as I braced myself. I also tried to ignore the fact that the entire pack was watching us. “I reject you,” he stated firmly. Gasps rippled through the crowd, and my heart pounded so loudly I barely heard him continue. “You are weak,” he said calmly. “Too small. Too insignificant to stand beside me. I will not bind myself to someone who offers nothing,” the bond screamed in protest, but he severed it without hesitation, turning away from me like I was already forgotten.
He stopped in front of Vespera.
She stepped forward with practiced grace, her hand sliding into his as if it belonged there. Her smile was soft and triumphant all at once.
“I choose Vespera,” Zarek announced. The pack erupted into murmurs. Some stared at me with pity. Others with satisfaction. My ears rang, but I didn’t move. I didn’t crumble. I didn’t beg. Inside me, memories stirred. Another life. Another rejection that had ended in blood.
Not this time.
I straightened my shoulders and met Zarek’s gaze again. My face remained calm, my expression unreadable. I could feel something new settle over me, cool and controlled. Zarek frowned, confused. Clearly, he had expected tears or shame. But instead, I smiled.
“Is that all?” I asked lightly. “I expected more effort from an Alpha,” the murmurs grew louder, and Zarek’s eyes narrowed.
“You should learn your place,”
“My place?” I tilted my head. “You mean beneath someone who fears what he doesn’t understand?” a sharp intake of breath came from somewhere behind me. Vespera’s smile tightened as her fingers dug into Zarek’s arm.
“You are nothing,” Zarek snapped. “A fragile girl pretending she belongs in a world of strength,” I shrugged.
“Then it is fortunate for you that pretending frightens you so much,” I said, and the clearing fell silent. Zarek stepped closer, and I could clearly see the anger that flashed across his face.
“You should be grateful I spared you the embarrassment of trying and failing!” he snapped. But I met his stare without flinching.
“No,” I said quietly. “You spared me nothing. You only showed everyone exactly who you are,” Vespera laughed softly, sharp, and false.
“You sound bitter, Nyra,”
“Not bitter,” I replied as I glanced over at her. “Aware,” her eyes flickered. The elders shifted uneasily, but none of them spoke. No one moved to stop what was unfolding. Zarek scoffed.
“This is over,”
“Yes,” I agreed. “For now,” he turned away, pulling Vespera with him, already reclaiming the attention of the pack. Laughter followed them, forced and loud, eager to please. I stood alone in the center of the clearing. Inside me, fury burned, hot and relentless. It didn’t consume me. It sharpened me. I felt it then, deep, and undeniable. My wolf didn’t bow. She didn’t whimper. Instead, she watched. She remembered. I remembered. I had been broken once before, and if they thought they could break me again, they were wrong. The celebration continued as if nothing had happened, but I stepped back and retreated into the edges of the forest. No one noticed. No one was concerned about me. Lucan hadn’t returned in time. I welcomed the solitude as I slipped away from the noise and into the shadow of the trees. My hands curled into fists at my sides, nails biting into skin, grounding me in the moment.
This life would not mirror the last.
I would grow stronger. I would learn. I would wait. And when the time came, I would make every single one of them regret looking down on me.
☽☾
- Writer
