Broken

 Chapter 1 - BROKEN 

“Damien, no!”

My voice broke in the hall. It wasn’t just a sound—it tore out of me, raw and shaking, like something ripped straight from my chest.

Every head snapped toward me. The Wolves, elders, even the servants — all of them stared. Their eyes burned into me like fire, like they wanted me gone before I could even say a single word. 

 but I didn’t hear it. I didn’t see them. I only saw him. Damien. My Alpha. My mate.

But he didn’t even look at me.

He stood on the high step where Alpha's gave their vows, tall and strong like always, but colder than stone. His broad shoulders didn’t move. His jaw was tight. And his hand—the hand I had dreamed would hold mine—was wrapped around hers. Selene’s.

The sight cut deeper than claws.

My chest hurt. My knees gave out and hit the floor. My palms slapped the stone, shaking. “Damien!” I shouted again, my voice breaking in front of everyone. “Look at me. Please—”

Selene’s laugh cut through the air like glass breaking. Sharp, mean, and cruel. Her voice carried so everyone could hear. “Pathetic,” she spat. She leaned into him, loud and sure. “You thought he would choose you? Poor little Lena.”

Her words were pitiful, I didn't like that.

My wolf growled inside me, fierce and wild, but I couldn’t breathe. My throat felt locked. 

Elder Korr’s voice boomed, shaking the walls. “The Alpha has chosen.”

“No!” I screamed. I tried to stand, my legs were shaking. “You feel it, Damien. You know it’s me. You know!”

For the first time, his eyes turned toward me. And in that instant, I wished he hadn’t. They weren’t warm like I remembered. Not soft like when I thought he cared. They were cold. Ice.

“Enough,” Damien said. His voice shook the air, strong and final.

My whole body froze. The weight of his command pressed down on me, heavy, suffocating.

“Lena… it’s not you. It was never you.”

My mouth fell open. My heart stopped.

“Damien…” My voice cracked. “You can’t. Don’t do this. Not to me.”

Inside me, my wolf whimpered and clawed. He’s ours. He’s lying. He has to be.

Selene smirked. She tilted her head. “Us?” She said it like poison. “There was never an us, Lena. Only your little dream.”

Her arms went tighter around his. She leaned more closer to him this time, her voice loud enough for me to hear and everyone else too. “Look at her. Begging. Desperate. She’s weak.”

Gasps cut through the crowd. Wolves whispered, their voices slithering through the hall.

“Rejected…”

“She’s weak…”

“Selene is worthy…”

My whole body shook. My vision blurred. “You liar!” I shouted at Selene. “You twisted everything—”

Damien’s growl thundered over me, deep and dangerous. The ground itself seemed to tremble. “Stop, Lena.”

His Alpha voice slammed into me like a wall. My wolf whimpered and dropped low inside me. My muscles locked. My body bent against his power.

“No,” I whispered, fighting to lift my head. My words were not fluent, but I forced it out. “Not this time.”

Selene’s smile grew wide and sharp. She pressed against him like a queen, fake and sweet. “Show her, Alpha. Show her where she belongs.”

For one second, his hand slid free of hers. My breath caught. My heart leapt. He’ll choose me. He has to.

But his words didn’t save me. They destroyed me.

“I, Alpha Damien of Silverfang, reject you, Lena, as my mate.”

Everyone gasps.

My heart stopped. 

“No…” I stumbled back, shaking. “Damien, no. Please—”

Selene’s laugh rang out again, bright and cruel. “It’s done. He doesn’t want you.”

“You can’t,” I said desperate. “You feel it. I know you do.” come on.

His eyes flickered. For a split second—just one—pain flashed there. Then it was gone, buried under hard Alpha steel.

“Leave, Lena.”

“Leave?” I cried, my throat out. “This is my home! My pack!”

The elders stirred. Elder Mael raised his stick, his old voice booming. “The Alpha has spoken. The bond is broken.”

“Broken?” I snarled, my wolf snapping inside me. “You can’t break what the Moon made!”

My father’s voice cut through, colder than ice. “Get up, Lena. Stop embarrassing us.”

I turned toward him, choking on tears. “Father—”

“You are no daughter of mine,” he spat. His eyes were full of disgust, not love.

The words hit harder than anything. My own father. My own blood. Rejecting me too.

Something broke inside of me.

My wolf screamed, furious, broken. Pain ripped through me. Heat exploded under my skin.

And then—light.

Silver fire burst out of me, wrapping around my arms, glowing from my chest. Gasps filled the air. Wolves staggered back in fear, eyes wide.

“Her wolf—” someone cried.

“Impossible—” another elder gasped.

Selene’s face twisted, her lips curling back. “What the hell is that?”

Damien’s eyes widened, glowing bright gold. His hand twitched like he wanted to reach for me, but he didn’t.

The elders shouted.

“She’s dangerous!”

“She’ll destroy us!”

“Alpha, control her!”

“I can’t!” Damien’s voice cracked.

Selene clung to him tighter. “Kill her! Kill her before she kills us all!”

“Shut up!” I roared. The Silver fire exploded higher, reaching the ceiling.

Wolves fell to their knees, covering their eyes. The heat pressed down on all of them.

I stood, burning, crying. ,Silver flames wrapped me like wings. My wolf howled, fierce and broken, the sound shaking the night sky.

And for the first time in my life… they weren’t laughing.

They were afraid.

“Lena,” Damien breathed, voice trembling. “What… what are you?”

I looked at him, my heart bleeding, my tears burning hot. “Yours. But you threw me away.”

The silver fire flickered. Then it vanished, leaving smoke and ash rising from my skin. My knees buckled. I fell hard against the stone.

No one moved. Not Damien. Not my father. Not a single one of them.

I lay there, broken, hearing whispers swirl around me.

“She’s cursed…”

“She’s dangerous…”

Selene’s voice shook, but her sneer stayed sharp. “Look at her. She’ll ruin us all.”

Damien’s fists clenched. His lips moved soft, too soft for the crowd. “Lena…”

My wolf whimpered, but I whispered back to her, fierce. We are not weak. We are not done.

I pushed myself up, trembling. My throat is raw. My chest is blazing. “You’ll regret this. All of you.”

Behind me, Damien shouted, “Lena—wait!”

But I didn’t.

The crowd parted as I walked to the doors. Wolves stared. Selene smiled, pleased. My father turned his back.

The torches burned hot around me, shadows jumping on the walls. The moon glared through the high windows, silent, watching.

And I knew one thing.

The night that was supposed to crown me… had destroyed me i

nstead.

But it had also woken something inside me.

Something none of them could control.

Something that burned.

I pushed the doors and let the night take me.