"Accept it!" he barked again, trying to force her into submission. The bond could only be broken if the wolf rejected it too.

But Lyra remained kneeling, sobbing, enduring the soul-tearing pain in silence. Determined to fight for the bond until the end.

She just didn’t expect the end to come so fast.

"Guards!" he roared.

Two wolves approached.

"Take this worthless thing out of the clearing. Mark her as rejected. Punish her for refusing to obey me. And once you’re done having your fun with her, throw her out like the trash she is."

"Alpha, no!" Petra screamed, running to shield Lyra, but was stopped. "Please don’t do this to her! She’s your mate!"

Kael didn’t blink.

But inside... the scent of roses and mint kept burning.

The night, once magical, was now poisoned by the weight of rejection.

Lyra could barely grasp what was happening. The warmth of the freshly formed bond still throbbed in her chest, mixing with the agony of its violent shattering.

"I am the alpha of this pack," Kael growled, his eyes blazing, his presence silencing the clearing. "And you think I’ll accept you as my mate? That’s never going to happen!"

Lyra couldn’t speak. The words stuck in her throat. Her chest rose and fell quickly. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

"I’m a warrior," he continued, circling her like a predator ready to kill. "A leader. A wolf destined to rule with strength and blood. With lineage. How could I accept a weak omega? A servant?"

The wolves watching whispered, horrified. Some looked down. Others watched in stunned silence. No one dared intervene.

The alpha was declaring, loud and clear, that the Moon Goddess had made a mistake.

That was dangerous, and everyone knew it.

"You planned this, didn’t you? Used magic to fake the bond. I’m sure of it! That’s a crime!" Kael shouted, stopping in front of her, his eyes sharp as blades. "I had a mother like you. Weak. Too kind. Know what happened to her? She was torn apart in front of me. Taken from me because she couldn’t fight. Couldn’t protect herself. Didn’t even have the strength to run."

Silence gripped everyone like a noose. The story of the former Luna was tragic. No one saw her as shameful.

"And you expect me to go through that again? To give myself to a female like her?" He stepped forward. Lyra instinctively backed away, but he grabbed her arm and squeezed tightly. "To risk my lineage, my future, my pups... with someone who might not even survive childbirth?"

Lyra closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears.

"You’re not worthy of me," he said coldly. "You never will be. Accept the break. Accept the fucking rejection!" His voice deepened, alpha instincts flaring, the command in his tone making every part of Lyra’s body tremble.

She couldn’t resist that.

"I... ah!" she cried, doubling over and pressing her face to the ground, sobbing so hard she shook. "I accept... your... rejection..."

Finally satisfied, Kael gave one last look of disgust at the omega crumpled at his feet, then turned to the guards.

"No!" Petra screamed again, silenced this time by a guard’s brutal slap that sent her crashing to the ground.

Two larger guards approached Lyra. She tried to pull back, but it was too late.

"Please don’t hurt me..." she begged, even though she knew they would show no mercy.

"Don’t worry. The pain you’re feeling now is just the beginning," one of them whispered, pressing his nose to her neck and licking her skin.

"Alpha, please! Don’t do this! Please!" Lyra screamed as she was dragged away. "Someone help me! Don’t let them hurt me! I didn’t do anything! I’m innocent!"

But no one had the courage to defy the alpha.

Everyone watched in silence. Complicit.

To them, she wasn’t worth it.

When Lyra’s screams faded and she was gone from sight, the alpha turned and sat in his chair. The elder looked at him with a face full of pain, and more than anything, concern.

"The blessing was corrupted," she said, trying to regain composure. "The goddess chose... and you rejected."

"That damn omega tricked the goddess with magic, I’m sure of it," he replied, turning away. "But she can’t fool me. Not me..."

"I hope, for everyone’s sake, you’re right, Alpha..."

"I’m always right."

And with those words, Kael turned his back on the ceremony, the clearing, and the fate he never wanted to accept.

But no matter how far he walked, no matter how hard he tried to forget...

Her sweet scent kept following him.

A cruel reminder that he had rejected the mate he had waited for his entire life.