Chapter 2: His Eyes Turn Cold

I can't stop shaking.

It's been three hours since Alpha Kade rejected me in front of everyone, and my body still won't stop trembling. I'm back in my small room at the pack house—well, calling it a room is generous. It's more like a storage closet that someone stuck a bed in. But it's mine, and right now, it's the only place I want to be.

Away from the pitying looks. Away from the whispers. Away from my father's rage.

I'm curled up on my bed, hugging my knees to my chest, trying to breathe through the pain. The mate bond—or whatever broken version of it exists now—feels like a constant ache in my chest. Like something vital has been damaged and won't heal properly.

My wolf is quiet now. After hours of howling and whimpering, she's finally retreated deep inside me. I can feel her there, wounded and confused. She doesn't understand what we did wrong. Why our mate looked at us with such hatred.

I don't understand either.

A knock on my door makes me flinch.

"Sera?" The voice is soft, female. It's Maya, one of the few pack members who doesn't treat me like dirt. "Can I come in?"

I don't answer, but she opens the door anyway. That's Maya—she never waits for permission.

She slips inside and closes the door behind her, holding a tray with tea and what looks like bread. Her face is full of concern as she looks at me.

"You need to eat something," she says, setting the tray on the small table near my bed. "You've been in here for hours."

"I'm not hungry."

"I don't care." Maya sits on the edge of my bed, close but not touching. She knows better than to touch me right now—my wolf is too hurt, too defensive. "Everyone's talking about what happened. Alpha Morrison is furious. Your father is—" She stops, seeming to think better of finishing that sentence.

"My father is what?" I ask, even though I don't really want to know.

Maya sighs. "He's telling everyone you must have done something to offend Alpha Kade. That you embarrassed the pack. He's demanding to know what you did."

Of course he is. Everything is always my fault.

"I didn't do anything," I whisper. "I was just standing there. The bond just... happened. And he looked at me like..." I can't finish the sentence. My throat closes up.

"Like he hated you," Maya says softly. "I saw. Everyone saw."

Fresh tears burn my eyes. I thought I'd cried them all out, but apparently not.

"Do you know why?" I ask. "Why would he hate me on sight? We've never even met before tonight."

Maya is quiet for a long moment. When she speaks, her voice is careful. "Sera... you really don't know?"

Something in her tone makes my stomach drop. "Know what?"

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone. After a few swipes, she turns it toward me. On the screen is a photo of a beautiful woman with long dark hair and striking silver-blue eyes. She's smiling at the camera, radiant and happy.

"This is Elena Rosewood," Maya says. "She was Alpha Kade's chosen mate. She died three years ago."

I stare at the photo, confused about why Maya is showing me this. Then understanding hits me like a truck.

The woman in the photo looks exactly like me.

Not similar. Not kind of like me. She could be my twin sister. Same dark hair, same eye color, same facial structure. If someone showed me this photo without context, I would think it was me.

"Oh," I breathe, the word barely making it past my lips.

"Yeah," Maya says, taking her phone back. "Everyone in the Thornridge Pack knows what Elena looked like. When Alpha Kade saw you tonight..." She trails off, but she doesn't need to finish. I understand now.

He didn't just see me. He saw her. The woman he loved. The woman he lost.

"What happened to her?" I ask, even though I'm not sure I want to know.

Maya tucks her phone away. "She was killed by rogues three years ago. They were supposed to have their mating ceremony the next day. She went for a run in the woods the night before and never came back. They found her body the next morning."

Horror washes over me. "That's awful."

"It destroyed him," Maya continues. "Everyone says Alpha Kade was different before Elena died. Warmer, kinder. But after she was gone, he became..." She searches for the right word. "Cold. Closed off. Angry all the time. He refused every she-wolf who tried to approach him. The Elders have been pressuring him to choose a new mate for years, but he always refused."

"Until the Moon Goddess chose for him," I say bitterly. "And she chose someone who looks exactly like his dead mate."

"It's cruel," Maya agrees. "For both of you."

I lean back against the wall, processing this information. It doesn't make the rejection hurt less, but at least it makes sense now. Kade didn't reject me because of who I am—he rejected me because of who I look like.

No, that's not quite right. He did reject me because of who I am. He used my full name. Sera Blackwood. The traitor's daughter.

"Maya," I say slowly. "Did Alpha Kade know Elena before she died? I mean, did he know her family?"

Maya nods. "Of course. Elena was the daughter of Alpha Rosewood from the Eastern Pack. It was a big alliance. Their mating would have united two of the strongest packs in the region."

"And her family... what was her mother's name? Her maiden name?"

Maya looks confused by the question but thinks about it. "I'm not sure. Why?"

Because the resemblance is too exact to be coincidence. Because I've never known anything about my mother's family. Because my mother, Celeste, appeared in our pack out of nowhere when she was young, with no history and no family.

What if there's a connection? What if my mother and Elena were related somehow?

But I don't say any of this to Maya. Instead, I just shake my head. "No reason. Just curious."

Maya clearly doesn't believe me, but she doesn't push. Instead, she stands up and points at the tray of food. "Eat something. Even if it's just the bread. You need your strength."

"For what?"

"For whatever happens next." She moves toward the door, then pauses. "Sera, Alpha Morrison wants to see you tomorrow morning. Early."

My stomach twists with anxiety. "Why?"

"Because the Thornridge Pack formally requested a meeting with our pack leadership. About you." Maya's face is sympathetic. "I don't know what they're going to decide, but you need to be prepared."

After she leaves, I stare at the cold tea and bread, my appetite completely gone.

The Thornridge Pack wants to discuss me. That can't be good. Maybe they want to make sure I never come near their Alpha again. Maybe they want to formally ban me from their territory. Maybe they want to punish my pack for producing someone who offended their Alpha.

I touch my chest where the mate bond sits like a bruise. Even now, even after his rejection, I can feel the faintest connection to Kade. It's painful and wrong, but it's there. Like a phone line that's been cut but still carries a faint signal.

Can you fully reject a fated mate bond? I don't actually know. I've heard stories about rejected bonds, but they're rare. Most wolves, even if they don't like their fated mate at first, at least give the bond a chance.

But Kade didn't give us a chance. He took one look at me and decided I wasn't worth it.

The worst part? I don't even blame him. If I looked at him and saw the face of someone I'd lost, someone I'd loved, I'd probably react the same way. The Moon Goddess is supposed to be wise, but pairing him with someone who looks like his dead mate seems cruel, not kind.

My wolf stirs slightly inside me, disagreeing. She still thinks Kade is ours, that we should fight for him, that we should make him see us as separate from Elena.

But I'm not a fighter. I'm the girl who hides in corners and tries not to be noticed. I'm the girl everyone blames for her father's sins. I'm the girl who has never been chosen for anything good in her entire life.

Why would the Moon Goddess pair me with the most powerful Alpha in the region? It doesn't make sense.

Unless it's punishment. Maybe this is what I get for being born to a traitor. A mate who looks at me with disgust. A bond that causes nothing but pain. A future that was dead before it even started.

I finally reach for the bread, forcing myself to take a bite even though it tastes like dust. Maya was right about one thing—I need my strength for whatever comes next.

Because something tells me my nightmare is just beginning.

Tomorrow morning, I'll face Alpha Morrison and whatever judgment the Thornridge Pack has demanded. I'll stand there and accept whatever punishment they decide, because that's what I've learned to do. Accept. Endure. Survive.

But tonight, alone in my tiny room, I let myself mourn.

I mourn the mate I'll never have. The love I'll never know. The bond that was broken before it could form. I mourn the life I saw in his eyes for that one perfect second before the hatred took over—the life we could have had if I'd been anyone else, if I'd looked like anyone else, if the Moon Goddess had been kinder.

I cry until I have no tears left, until my head aches and my eyes are swollen. I cry for myself and for Kade and for Elena, who didn't deserve to die. I cry for all of us caught in this horrible situation.

And when I finally fall asleep, I dream of golden eyes that turn from warm to cold, over and over again, an endless loop of hope and rejection that feels like it will never end.