Chapter 3

SERAPHINA'S POV:

For two days, the Alpha's treehouse was silent. He didn't return. The space, once filled with the powerful, intoxicating scent of my mate-pine and wild musk-now felt hollow. The lingering, sickly sweet smell of Lyra was a constant reminder of my failure.

I didn't cry. The tears had frozen somewhere in my chest. Instead, I moved with a cold, deliberate purpose. I gathered every gift he had ever given me-a pressed wildflower from our first meeting, a smooth river stone he'd said matched my eyes, the simple wooden wolf he had carved for me.

One by one, I tossed them into the fireplace. I watched the flames consume them until they were nothing but ash, just like my love for him.

On the third day, Kaelen's Beta, a wolf named Marcus, arrived. He wouldn't meet my eyes. He held out a velvet box.

"Alpha Kaelen asks you to give this to Lady Lyra at her birthday celebration tonight," Marcus sent through the mind-link, his thoughts laced with pity. "It is a gift."

I took the box and opened it. Inside, nestled on a bed of silk, was a necklace of moonstones. They shimmered with an inner light, beautiful and pure. He had promised it to me on the night of our mating ceremony. "A gift for my one and only Luna," he had said.

Now, he was sending it to her, using me as his messenger.

It wasn't just an insult. It was a message. My role was no longer mate, but servant.

"Tell him I will deliver it personally," I said aloud, my voice steady.

After Marcus left, I went to my hidden chest. From beneath a false bottom, I retrieved a small, flat dagger. It was carved from a single piece of black obsidian, cool and heavy in my hand. Along the blade, runes were etched in silver. It was a Rejection dagger, an artifact from my own clan for a ritual so painful, so final, that it was rarely ever used.

Tonight, at her party, in front of all the allied packs, I would set myself free.

When I entered the grand hall, a wave of hostile energy washed over me. Hundreds of pairs of eyes fixed on me. The mind-link was a cacophony of scorn.

"The Omega is actually here. Look at her cheap dress."

"She has no shame. After what she did."

"Why hasn't Alpha Kaelen exiled her already?"

I ignored them. My gaze was fixed on the center of the room, where Kaelen stood with Lyra clinging to his arm. She was radiant in a gown of shimmering gold, the moonstone necklace already fastened around her throat. She must have gotten impatient.

I walked straight towards them, the obsidian dagger concealed in the folds of my simple dress. I held out the empty velvet box.

"You forgot the box for your gift," I said, my voice carrying in the suddenly silent hall.

Lyra's eyes flashed with triumph. She leaned in and kissed Kaelen's cheek, a blatant act of possession. "Oh, silly me. Thank you, Seraphina. Kaelen was just so eager for me to wear it."

Then, her eyes widened, and she let out a small gasp, stumbling theatrically. "Oh! A cramp!"

Kaelen immediately turned his full attention to her, his brow furrowed with concern. "Are you alright? Should I call the Healer?"

"No, no, I'm fine," she breathed, clutching his arm tighter. "Just... a little dizzy."

He was distracted. It was the perfect moment.

I drew the obsidian dagger. The crowd gasped. Kaelen's head snapped towards me, his eyes widening in disbelief and then narrowing in anger.

"Seraphina, what is the meaning of this? Put that down!" he growled.

I ignored him. I drew the razor-sharp edge across my own palm. The pain was clean, real. I raised my bleeding hand, letting everyone see.

Then, I spoke the ancient words, my voice ringing with a power they had never heard from me before. A power I had kept hidden for far too long.

"I, Seraphina of the Whitefang Clan, reject you, Kaelen of the Bloodmoon Pack, as my mate."

The magic in the words vibrated in the air. A physical force. Kaelen staggered back as if struck, his face contorting in shock and sudden pain. The mate bond, the sacred link forged by the Moon Goddess, was being forcibly torn. For the rejection to be complete, he had to accept it.

"Stop this nonsense!" he snarled, his distress over Lyra making him reckless and impatient. He just wanted the drama to end.

In his agitated state, wanting to dismiss my challenge and get back to Lyra, he uttered the binding response without thinking.

"I, Kaelen, accept your rejection."

The moment the words left his lips, it was as if the world shattered. A searing, white-hot agony ripped through my chest, a pain so profound it stole my breath. I saw a mirror of that agony flash in his eyes before confusion and Lyra's cries reclaimed his attention.

At that exact second, a foot shot out from the crowd and tripped me. I fell hard, my head cracking against the marble floor. Stars exploded behind my eyes.

Through the ringing in my ears, I heard Kaelen's voice, distant and panicked, but not for me. "Lyra! Someone get the Healer!"

He turned and left, rushing a wailing Lyra from the hall without a single backward glance.

The bond was broken. It was a gaping, bleeding wound in my soul, but beneath the pain was a sliver of something else. Freedom.

Ignoring the jeers and mocking laughter from the crowd, I pushed myself up. Blood trickled from my forehead, but I stood tall. Alone, weak, and finally, utterly free. I had to get to a human hospital. I had to save my pup.