Chapter 1: The Bond That Wouldn't Break

Maeve

“I Johan Sullivan, Alpha of the blue moon pack, reject you as my mate."

The words cracked through the room like a sharp clap.

And for the fifth time, the pain rushed in after the words, sharp it pierced through my veins, burning up my nerves.

A nausea clawed it’s way up my throat but I forced it down.

The bile. The burn. The shame. I swallowed it all.

Because if I threw up, I would have one more floor to scrub.

The bond should have broken, but it didn’t. Instead, it wove back. Wilder. Hungrier.

I felt him—his breath, his wolf.

Johan’s mouth tightened, and his frown deepened. He snapped his head to his beta, Roy. “Why is this happening?”

Roy hesitated. “It’s the fifth time.” He stood frozen disbelief engraved on his features . “I never thought something like this was possible.”

Neither had I.

“Maybe…” Roy tried, “Maybe you should accept her.”

“Moon goddess forbid it,” Johan hissed.

His gaze snapped to me, colder than I’d ever felt it.

“This?” he snarled. “This omega is supposed to stand beside me?”

I was used to pain. The pain from hunger when I wasn’t given food until the next day. The pain that came when they whipped my back because they weren’t satisfied with my cleaning.

But none came close to this—the pain that coiled in my chest.

“I won’t be mated to someone who scrubs floors for dinner.”

The words didn’t sting like a bee.

They stung like truth. Because somewhere deep—I’d started to wonder if the bond meant I could mean something more to someone.

He stepped closer. Shadow cutting across the rug.

“What did you do?” he growled.

“What spell? What curse?”

“I didn’t…” I tried. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Stop.” He cut me off. “Don’t lie.”

Roy stepped forward, phone in hand. Taps, a sent message.

He straightened. “I’ve notified the High Priest. He’s on his way.”

Minutes passed. Silence stretched.

Johan’s eyes never left me, He just kept glaring at me like I had shattered him.

The door creaked open, and the priest entered.

“Thank you for coming.”

The priest bowed. “What bothers the Alpha, that he sent for me?” The priest’s gaze slid between us.

“The mate bond wouldn’t break.” His voice scraped out of his throat—rough. Five times and it snaps back like before. No stronger than before.”

“It’s a full moon,” The priest said, “I’ll sever it tonight.”

Johan exhaled and his shoulders sagged.

I waited for relief, but, I felt nothing.

The beta didn’t look at me when he spoke. “You may go.”

I gave a single nod, then stood and left the study.

The door shut behind me like a slap.

My feet pounded against stone as I ran—down the steps, past the swaying linen, straight into the servants’ yard.

There, I dropped to my knees. My arms wrapped around my stomach. A raw, guttural sound tore from me as I vomited.

The shame came after. And it stayed. Coiled around me, as I sat on the floor.

….

Hours slipped by, and the full moon glared down like a witness. The wind brushed by my skin, cold. Biting but not deep enough to reach my bones, to ease the heat there.

Finishing his chant, the priest poured a black liquid into two cups, and handed it over to us.

Johan drank it without hesitation, while I—the cup froze inches before my lips. Johan’s eyes narrowed, daring me to flinch.

No room for anything stupid no that I had one planned out, I locked my jaw and drank. The bitterness scorched all the way down.

“Now,” the priest said. “Say the words.”

“I, Johan Sullivan, Alpha of the Blue Moon pack, reject you as my mate.”

I took a deep breath. “I, Maeve. Omega. With no rank or name, reject you as my mate.”

First, it was silence. Then came an agonizing pain, and it shot through me without mercy.

It didn’t feel like a bond breaking.

It felt like something was being ripped out of me with claws

I collapsed, breath tearing from my chest in ragged bursts, loud like a broken machine.

Johan didn’t flinch. He stood tall. Happy. Like this is exactly what he has been waiting for the two years we’ve been mated.

“It’s done,” he said. “Finally I’m free.” He sighed.

The air shifted as Johan’s hand flew to his chest like something had stabbed him. His breath punched out, rough and fast. He looked at me—no, through—like I’d grown claws.

I felt it too. The bond was back.

The priest went still, and his fingers trembled around his staff.

“No,” he whispered. “No… not possible.”

He staggered back, his eyes unnaturally wide as he stared at me. “She’s one of them.”

My blood froze.

“One of the Lunari.”

I didn’t know the word. But I knew it left fear at the back of my throat.

The priest’s voice rose, hoarse with disgust. “One of those wicked witches who never let go of their mates. They haunt them. Drain them. Sink their claws in until the mate’s wolf rots from the inside. Until they die.”

Johan’s jaw tensed. Roy’s face darkened.

The priest pointed at me like I’d already killed someone. “She’ll suck you dry. She’ll ruin your bloodline. That’s what they all do.”

Johan took a step forward.

His body coiled. Rage in motion. Like he might shift—might pounce.

“Johan, stop.” Roy’s voice whispered grabbing him by his wrist stopping him from lunging.

My heart hammered. And I told myself to run, yet my legs disobeyed me.

“No—please,” I gasped. My voice cracked. “I’m not—I would never do that to him. I swear. I’d never hurt Johan—”

“Shut your cursed mouth!” the priest bellowed.

His eyes burned into Johan’s now, crazed and gleaming with holy fervor.

“There is only one way,” the priest said, eyes gleaming like glass over fire. “To end the bond.” He raised his staff, voiced a curse.“You must kill the witch.” He pointed at me.

Panic surged through me drumming with my chest but I didn’t care.

Not about the pain. Not about the blood.

Only the terror clawing through my chest.

“Please spare me,” I pleaded, “spare my life. I’m not a witch. I’m not like that.” The words scraped out of my throat. Desperate—hungry for his mercy.

Johan’s face relaxed. I couldn’t tell if he had forgiven me or if he had accepted his next course of action.

“Seize her,” with a firm voice, he said.

Guards fell out of the shadows, pinning me. As they dragged me out, my heart thudded.