CHAPTER THREE : THE PUBLIC REJECTION
622 Words
For a moment, no one moved.
The words echoed through the Alpha Hall like a thunderclap.
“I, Alpha Kael Stormfang… reject you, Aria Nightshade… as my mate.”
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Aria stood frozen where she was, staring at him as if she hadn’t understood what he had just said.
But her wolf understood.
Selene let out a wounded cry inside her mind.
No…
A sharp pain stabbed through Aria’s chest.
She gasped.
Her knees trembled.
The mate bond—something sacred among wolves—was being torn apart.
And it felt like her heart was being ripped from her body.
“Why…?” Aria whispered weakly.
Kael’s face remained cold and unreadable.
The murmurs began immediately.
“Did the Alpha just reject her?”
“In front of everyone?”
“Poor girl…”
“Aria Nightshade? The wolfless one?”
The whispers cut deeper than knives.
Aria felt every pair of eyes in the hall burning into her.
Kael’s voice rose again, strong and merciless.
“A Luna must be strong. Respected. Worthy of leading a pack.”
His gaze slid over her like she was nothing.
“You are none of those things.”
The humiliation struck harder than the bond breaking.
Aria felt heat rush to her face as laughter rippled through parts of the crowd.
Selene growled weakly inside her mind.
He lies…
But the pain was getting worse.
Much worse.
Her chest felt like it was on fire.
Aria struggled to stay standing.
“My Alpha…” she managed to say, her voice shaking. “The bond… you can feel it too.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
For a brief moment, something flickered in his eyes.
Then it disappeared.
“I feel nothing,” he said coldly.
The lie slammed into her like a physical blow.
A tall, beautiful woman suddenly stepped forward from the crowd.
Lyra.
The daughter of a powerful Beta.
Her lips curled into a satisfied smile as she walked toward Kael.
She slid her arm around his.
“Alpha,” she said sweetly. “Why waste time on someone like her?”
A few wolves chuckled.
Aria’s vision blurred.
The pain inside her chest was unbearable now.
Selene cried out again.
He’s breaking the bond…
Lyra looked Aria up and down with obvious disgust.
“A Luna should be powerful,” she said loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Not a weak, wolfless girl who can barely defend herself.”
More laughter echoed through the hall.
Aria’s hands trembled.
She wanted to run.
She wanted to disappear.
But her legs wouldn’t move.
Kael turned toward the pack again.
His voice carried authority.
“Let it be known tonight that Aria Nightshade is not my mate.”
Aria’s heart shattered completely.
“And she will never be the Luna of Shadow Moon Pack.”
Selene’s cry turned into a howl of agony inside her mind.
The bond snapped.
The pain exploded through Aria’s body like lightning.
She gasped sharply.
The world tilted violently.
Her knees finally gave out.
The last thing she saw before hitting the ground was the crowd staring down at her.
Some with pity.
Others with cruel amusement.
And Kael—
Standing tall beside Lyra.
Watching her collapse without moving.
Darkness swallowed her vision.
Her body hit the cold stone floor of the Alpha Hall.
Gasps echoed around the room.
But no one stepped forward.
No one helped.
As Aria lay there, barely conscious, something strange began stirring deep inside her.
Something ancient.
Something powerful.
Selene’s voice whispered weakly in her mind.
They have no idea… what they’ve just done.
And then—
A faint silver glow flickered briefly beneath Aria’s skin.
But no one noticed.
- Writer
