Chapter 6

Rejected

Lena’s POV

Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes as I watched the others around me find their mates, one after the other. The joy on their faces only deepened the ache in my chest.

Why hasn’t anyone come to me?

For a moment, I truly believed I was the only one left unchosen. Then it happened. A ripple of light shimmered from the blood-red moon, and an image formed on its glowing surface, his face.

Kade. I gasped. It was real.

The Mate Bond wasn’t just a fantasy. It wasn’t something I had imagined or desperately hoped into existence. The moon had spoken and it had spoken his name.

Kade Marlowe was my destined mate.

My heart surged in my chest as I frantically searched the crowd, expecting to see him coming toward me. Surely, he must have seen it too. He must have felt the same magnetic pull, the same overwhelming gravity I did.

But he didn’t come. Instead, I saw him. Across the clearing, near the ceremonial stones, Kade stood beside a brown-furred wolf. He leaned down and nuzzled her. She licked his cheek. Then, together they shifted back into human form.

Camilla Vale stood at his side. And Kade was looking directly at me. Just for a second. Then he turned back to her.

My breath caught in my throat. My skin turned cold. I wanted to believe I was hallucinating, that the image in the moon had been some mistake.

But then I felt it. The mark on my wrist began to burn.

I looked down and watched as the image took shape on my skin, soft at first, then solid. A symbol. The one I had seen once on Kade’s shoulder while he played basketball. His wolf’s crest, etched now into me.

It was undeniable. I was his Mate. And he was rejecting me right in front of everyone.

My stomach twisted as Kade led Camilla toward the stage, bowing to his father and Luna Mira. Alpha Darion embraced them both with pride and lifted his arms to the crowd.

“Tonight,” he announced, “on this sacred Red Moon Night, I am proud to declare that my son, Kade Marlowe, has found his Mate. Let us welcome our future Luna, Camilla Vale, into our family and into leadership. A feast will follow to honor the bond of our new Alpha pair.”

Cheers rang out around the field.

I couldn’t hear them. All I could hear was the rush of blood in my ears. All I could feel was the mark burning against my skin and the weight of a thousand eyes staring at me with pity.

No one else saw the truth.

Kade had chosen to hide it. To keep me a secret. To quietly reject me.

Because I was wolfless. Because I was unworthy. Because he wanted power.

I looked at Camilla’s wrist. There was no mark. No bond. No connection from the moon goddess. But there she was, standing beside him, beaming. Taking my place.

The pain struck before I even knew what it was. It wasn’t just in my heart, it was in my bones. In my blood. As if the goddess herself had driven a dagger into my soul.

He’s taken the vow with someone else. I turned and ran.

---

I didn’t care who saw me leave. I didn’t care what they whispered or how they pitied me. Let them believe I hadn’t found my Mate. That I’d simply been passed over.

It was better than letting them know the truth, that my Mate had chosen someone else. That I’d been rejected.

Once I passed the edge of the ceremony grounds, I slowed my steps. The pain in my chest twisted tighter, every breath a blade.

Why did I ever believe I was meant to be loved?

Tears spilled freely as I stumbled deeper into the woods. I didn’t even realize how far I’d gone until the trees grew unfamiliar.

The wind howled. The air grew colder.

I collapsed near the edge of the restricted forest. This was the place no one entered. Not since Samantha vanished here years ago.

But tonight, it felt like the only place I belonged.

I fell to my knees and then I screamed.

The pain tore through me like fire. I clutched my chest, my stomach, the soil beneath me. My lungs burned. My vision blurred. My soul trembled.

Because I felt it. The final break. Kade had taken his vow. And my heart was tearing itself apart in response.

I couldn’t breathe. “Help…” I whispered. “Please…”

But no one would come. Not here. Not for me. Then, slowly… the pain faded. Not because it stopped but because I stopped feeling.

Numbness crept into my limbs. My thoughts dulled. I lay on the cold earth, my red dress torn and stained with mud, and I felt… nothing.

Maybe this is better. Maybe this is what happens when you’re rejected by fate itself.

I didn’t know how long I would stay there. Time stopped mattering. When I finally gathered the strength to stand, I turned toward home, my steps dragging.

That was when someone grabbed me.

I flinched, panic rising but the grip on my wrist was firm yet gentle. A hand on my waist steadied me.

“Let me go,” I whispered through my cracked voice.

The person hesitated and then released me. I turned. It was Kade of course.

His face was pale, his eyes wide with guilt. “Lena, I had to talk to you, please.”

“Why aren’t you with your ‘Mate’?” I said, the word bitter in my mouth.

He stepped forward. “I know you’re angry—”

“No, Kade. I’m broken. There’s a difference.” My voice cracked. “I don’t need your explanations. I need the truth.”

He looked at the ground. “I’m sorry. I know you’re my Mate. But I can’t accept it. You’re wolfless. You wouldn’t survive leading a pack. Camilla is—”

“—a lie,” I snapped. “She’s not your Mate. She’s a symbol you want to wear for power. That’s it.”

Kade clenched his fists. “I admire you, Lena. But I need someone strong beside me. You’re a risk.”

“A risk?” I choked on a laugh. “So you’d rather betray the moon goddess than take a chance on someone you know is your Mate?”

“She’s pureblood,” he muttered. “You’re… complicated.”

And then, the words I never thought I’d hear not like this, not from him.

“I, Kade Marlowe, reject you, Lena Wilder, as my Mate.”

---

Time stopped. The wind held its breath and my lungs collapsed. A sound tore from my throat, a strangled cry, part scream, part sob.

He stood there, emotionless, hollow like it was nothing. Like I was nothing.