time, the connection between two wolves that could not be broken, a deep, instinctual pull that united two people in a

d of magic. Not for someone like me.

e my heart race. I'd felt it before, but I had no idea what it meant. I thought maybe it was just my imagination running wild, like the other girls in the

ull, like an invisible thread, tugged at my chest

when I

co

expected. The last pers

as ever, his dark hair falling just slightly over his forehead, his jaw set in

comprehend. It was like all the walls I'd built up for the past year crumbled, and in their place

my

ming sense of dread. Nicolai. My fated mate was Nicolai. The same Nicolai who had tormented me for months,

undeniable, but the idea of being tied to him in such an intimate way, of belong

g it. The bond was there

ice broke thro

okay?" she asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked toward Nicolai, who was still talking to a grou

ile that felt like it would crac

n me too well, and she could sense that something was wrong.

he looked down at me, that familiar sneer forming on his lips. My heart thudded in my

't place. He nodded at Bea as if she weren't even there, dismissing he

he shaking in my hands. "Nothing,"

d see right through me. "Right." He didn't look convinced, b

sharp and wild. My heart skipped a beat, and I couldn't breathe for a moment. Nicolai shifte

ted ma

that I didn't expect - something that looked almost... conflicted. But it wa

said, his voice low and almost... kno

t... I don't understand," I whispered, the words slipping

yes, something cold. "It's not something we can control. It's the way the world works." He stepped closer, and I i

ground beneath me shift. "You're my

, reject you, Amelia White, as my mate and my future

to tilt, and I felt the bond between us crack like fragile glass. My heart pounded, but I c

your crying because I will

he one I'd been fighting for so long. I wanted to scream, to demand answers,

I finally managed, my vo

t mean anything to me. I didn't ask for this connection. I didn't ask for yo

and sniffed. "A-Accept your rejection as your mate an

ike a curse. I wanted to rip it from my heart, to erase the ache that gnawed at m

To her-the girl who can't even shift? You're nothing but

last. I could feel the bond pulsing, aching with every rejecti

g, my heart breaking. "I-I don't under

sgusted. I wanted to shrink away from him, to disappear into the shadows, but I

word. "You're nothing. I'm not going to pretend like I care about this bo

, shredded and left to rot on the cold ground beneath me. My knees

my feet felt rooted to the ground, like the bond between us had tied me to th

ing with tears I couldn't hold back anymore. "Please, don

t want you. You're weak. I'm not going to let this... this bond ruin my life. So, I'm telling you no

ath sentence. I couldn't

rejecting us. The bond. The future

f his betrayal. My heart screamed for him, but my head

elt so small.

e he turned his back and walked away. He didn't even glance over h

th in two. I reached out instinctively, but it was gone. The connection I had felt-thi

embled uncontrollably, and the tears I had been holding back for so long now poured fre

s al

a place to belong. I thought that Nicolai would be the one to show me the way, to a

I had ever known, everything I

-

ost in my grief, until I heard a voice

eli

bt seeing the whole thing. Her voice was filled with conc

t happened?

reath. "He... he rejected me," I whispered, the words tasti

er arms wrapping around me. I let her hold me as I broke d

't know how I would move on from this. But

inside of me. Something I wasn

o was try to surv