CHAPTER 3: LUCEN BLACKTHORNE

ELI'S POV

I didn’t know how long I’d been walking.

Rain lashed my face, cold and relentless, like the gods themselves were mocking me. My shoes splashed through puddles, my clothes soaked and clinging, my breath ragged. The city lights blurred behind a veil of tears I couldn’t... or wouldn’t... stop.

It had been him. Elric. My fiancé. My fated, my future, the one promised to me under the moon’s blessing. And Liam... Liam, my best friend since childhood, the one who held me when my father first fell ill, who swore he’d stand by me no matter what.

They were on each other inside that club, hands roaming, mouths fused, fully naked. Like I didn’t exist. Like our engagement, our love, our pack vows meant nothing.

And the worst part?

They were proud of what they did.

I walked through the storm, letting the grief tear through me. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks, lost in the rain. This was the last time. I whispered it to the wind, over and over.

This is the last time I cry for them.

My home loomed ahead. The lights were on. Foolish of me to think anything had changed. Foolish to think Elric would be waiting. The door flew open before I even reached the steps.

“Eli!” Mother’s voice cracked. She yanked me inside, her hands trembling. “Elena! Towel, now!”

I stood there, dripping on the rug, shivering not from the cold but from the ache in my chest. It was like my soul had been split open.

“Mom,” I choked out, “they… Elric and Liam… they’re—”

“I know, baby,” she whispered, pulling me into her arms. “I know. It's been circulating now in the whole pack.”

I broke. Right there, on the floor, I sobbed into her shoulder. Years of love, of trust, of dreams—shattered in one night.

“I can’t marry him,” I said, pulling back. My voice was raw. “I won’t.”

Elena rushed in with a towel. She tossed it over my shoulders but didn’t meet my eyes. “Noah… think about Dad. Elric’s family funds his treatments. If you back out now—”

“You’re defending him?” I snapped.

“I’m being practical,” she shot back. “They’re fated, Eli. The Moon Goddess willed it. You’ve always known alphas can take multiple mates. You could… you could be the second wife. It’s not unheard of. You’d still have status. Security.”

I stared at her. My own sister.

“So that’s it?” I said, voice low. “I just accept that my fiancé fucks my best friend behind my back, and I smile and say, ‘Yes, Alpha, whatever you please’?”

“Eli—” Mother tried to speak...

“No.” I stood, water pooling at my feet. “I won’t live like that. I won’t be owned by a man who doesn’t respect me, who doesn’t love me. I’m done.”

I walked past her, past my mother’s pleading eyes, and locked myself in my room.

Sleep didn’t come. But strength did.

By morning, my grief had hardened into resolve.

I went to the Elders’ hall, back straight, jaw set.

“Elder Mara,” I said, voice cutting through the silence. “I am formally withdrawing from my engagement to Elric Lockemere. I break the mate bond effectively immediately.”

The room exploded.

“You can’t!” shrieked Elric’s mother, Lady Selene. “ Eli, child you have to understand. The Moon Goddess has blessed their union! You cannot reject destiny!”

“Destiny?” I laughed—a cold, broken sound. “Is it fate when your future husband cheats with your best friend? Is it divine will when they laugh about it behind your back?”

“The boy is unstable!” Beta Marcus, Elric’s father boomed. “He’s disgracing the pack!”

Then he walked in.

Elric. Dressed in silver and pride. Liam at his side, shameless. “You’re really doing this?” Elric sneered. “Dramatic, Eli. Very dramatic. Did you cry all night? Did you write poetry?”

Liam smirked. “He was always sensitive.”

I looked at them. At the men who’d once meant everything.

“I, Eli Ashcroft rejected you Elric Lockemere as my chosen mate and Alpha, I reject the bond,” I said, loud enough for the whole room to hear. “By blood and by will, I sever it.”

A howl echoed... not from me, but from his wolf. Even chosen mates feel the break. I saw it in his eyes, just a flicker of pain... before it vanished behind cold triumph.

I turned to the Elders. “If this pack tolerates betrayal, lies, and cruelty… then I don’t want to belong here. I renounce my place in the Lockemere Pack. I leave now. I leave forever.”

The gasps were thunderous.

“You’ll be a rogue!” Elric laughed. “No pack will take in a heartbroken Omega who can’t keep his mate! You’ll starve!”

“Then I’ll starve with my dignity. I will die with my head held high and never be trampled down by monsters like you,” I said.

He stepped forward, gripping Liam’s chin. “We mate tonight. With honor. With blessing. And you, Eli? You’re nothing. Get off our land before sundown.”

They kissed... hard, possessive, taunting. The crowd cheered.

I walked out. No running. No looking back.

That night, I packed what little I could carry. Clothes, medicine for Dad, the old scarf Elion made me before he vanished years ago. My older twin brother. My other half.

I held it to my chest. ”If you were here, Elion… you’d stand with me.”

I crossed the boundary under moonlight, the air thick with pine and silence.

Then... heat. It hit me like a lightning strike. My knees buckled. Sweat soaked through my shirt. My faint scent... Omega in full heat... spilled into the night, mingling with the lingering trace of Nolan on the scarf.

No. Not here. Not now.

I tried to stand. To move. But my body betrayed me. Heat made everything ache. I needed… an alpha. Protection. Mating.

I crawled forward, desperate. Then strong arms caught me.

An alpha.

Tall, broad, cloaked in black. His scent... wild, untamed, like storm and iron—filled my senses.

“Easy,” he murmured. His voice was deep, rough. “You’re in heat. You can’t be out here alone.”

I turned my face up to his. Rain glistened in his dark hair. His eyes... golden, fierce... held mine.

“Please,” I begged, trembling. “Help me. I can’t... I don’t want to... please.”

He didn’t speak. He pulled me against his chest, his heat radiating through me. And I kissed him.

Like I was drowning. Like he was the only air left. My lips crashed against his, hungry, desperate. He groaned, one hand tangling in my hair, the other gripping my waist.

He didn’t push me away. He kissed me back.

“Tell me your name,” he growled against my mouth.

“Eli,” I gasped. “My name is Eli Ashcroft.”

“Lucen,” he said. “Lucen Zade Blackthorne.”

I froze.

Blackthorne from the Blackthorne pack?

“The mating ceremony…” I whispered. “You're here for them...”

Lucen spoke, lifting me into his arms. “For their farce. But not for long.”

I clung to him. “Take me away from here. Please.”

“You’re already mine,” he murmured into my ear. “Even if you don’t know it yet.”

I should’ve resisted. I should’ve feared him. But in his arms, the pain lessened. The betrayal faded. For the first time in days, I felt safe.

He carried me toward the waiting car, deep into neutral territory. His pack followed at a distance... silent, loyal.

Inside a small cabin, he laid me on furs. His touch was gentle now.

“You don’t have to do this,” I whispered. “You don’t know me.”

“I know enough,” he said, brushing hair from my face. “I saw what they did to you. I felt your pain when you broke the bond. I’ve watched you from afar, Eli. Since the moment I saw you with that red scarf, standing alone at the solstice ritual.”

“You… what?”

He smiled, just slightly. “I’m not there for Elric’s ceremony. I’m here for you. The Moon Goddess didn’t bless them. She led me to you.”

I stared at him. “That’s… impossible.”

“Is it?” He leaned down, his breath warm on my lips. “Fate doesn’t always come with fanfare. Sometimes, it comes in the rain. In the dark. With a broken heart and a stolen kiss.”

I reached up, touching his face. “And if I’m not ready?”

“Then we wait,” he said firmly. “But you’re not going back. You’re not suffering for cowards who don’t deserve your breath. You’re mine, Eli. And I’ll burn the world before I let anyone hurt you again.”

Tears welled... but not from pain. From hope.

I pulled him down. And for the first time in my life… I let myself be cherished.

Outside, the storm raged. But inside, I found peace. The last tear had fallen. Now, I would rise.