le

pletely, sucked into a sudden, chilling emptiness created by the Alpha's unexpected words. Every single eye in the huge room, hundreds of werewolf eyes, was glued to E

ject

ly unreal, like a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. Her mind struggled to understand how final it was, how unbelievably awful. The bond, the real, undeniable connection she ha

t like something important, something that was part of her, had been ripped away, leaving a raw, bleeding hole. Her wolf, which had been singing with joy at the

y nothing. His whiskey-gold eyes were hard, cold, and determined, showing no warmth, no shared shock, no recognition, just the cool, distant dismissal of a leader giving bad but necessary news. He loo

too. The healer's apprentice, dreaming too big? The little delta who somehow wrongly triggered a bond with the Alpha? How arrogant. How embarrassing. The shame washed over her in h

ology for destroying her world. He simply turned his broad, indifferent back to her and walked purposefully back towards the platform, taking his place a

ointedly looking away from her. The happy feeling from before was completely gone, ruined by the public rejection. Elena felt hund

oked, horrified whisper. Her friend reached

escaping her raw throat, she turned and ran. She stumbled blindly, pushing past stunned onlookers who quickly moved aside, her simple green dress suddenly feeling like rough, humiliating cloth. She ignored

streamed down her face, hot and angry, blurring the familiar paths of the pack grounds winding between the lodges and training areas. She ran, driven by pure ins

in her soul. The rejection wasn't just about a potential mate; it felt like a fundamental erasing of her value. As if

te-autumn branches like bony fingers reaching up against the sliver of moon in the inky sky. Here, the sounds of the awful feast were distant, muffled noises, replaced by the soft rustle of dry leaves under her feet and the steady chirping

roken heart. Why? The question screamed silently in her mind. Why had fate been so cruel? Why link her to someone who was destined to throw her away so easily, so p

ievable denial of what she knew they had both felt. Anger at the unfairness of fate for setting up such a twisted, painful game. And a burning anger at herself – for the se

onflict or regret. It was like swatting her away, destro

d nearby, loud in th

ne. Her senses, already heightened by her distress and her wolf's inner turmoil, strained against the darkness. The forest w

ing slightly but with a new, reckless defiance

, real presence lurking just beyond the edge of the weak moonlight filtering through the thick leaves. It wasn't the

ening, echoed softly through the trees, making the small hairs on her neck and arms stand

sily to her feet, peering intently into the thick, dark shadows between the tree trunks. Two points of light gleamed back at her fro