Chapter 6

Caelrix POV

Seravyn’s voice kept replaying in my head, like she’d finally decided I wasn’t worth another second of her time.

 She’d accepted the rejection, dropped the mic, and walked away without even glancing back. I’d wanted her to hurt. I’d wanted her to beg or cry so I could feel justified. Instead she left me standing there feeling like I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life.

Embryk was tearing at me from the inside, restless and pissed off. The bond I thought I’d broken was still there, burning worse than before. Every time I pictured her in that black dress, head high, something twisted in my gut.

Whispers and laughter floated through what was left of the crowd. 

“What a shitshow. The new Luna couldn’t even make it through her own wedding without some rejected Omega stealing the spotlight.”

“Caelrix looked lost. Poor guy.”

Thessaly caught up fast, her nails digging into my arm. 

“What the hell was that? You just stood there like an idiot! You didn’t defend me, didn’t even say I was your Luna in front of everyone!”

I looked at her and felt… empty. The alliance was supposed to fix everything. Strengthen the pack. Make me feel like I was doing the right thing. Right now it all tasted like ash.

“You’re my Luna now,” I muttered, voice flat. “The wedding’s over.”

She let out a bitter laugh. 

“That wasn’t the wedding I wanted. You should’ve shut that bitch down the second she grabbed the microphone. She ruined everything!”

“I don’t want to talk about Seravyn right now, Thessaly.”

Her eyes narrowed. 

“I’m disappointed in you,” she hissed, then spun around and stormed back toward the pack house.

I watched her go, but my mind stayed stuck on Seravyn. Embryk growled low, aching. “She was ours. You pushed her away.”

I rubbed my face hard. “We made the choice for the pack. She’s gone.”

Seravyn POV

I turned around and I saw figures stepped out of the shadows. Four at first, then more circling behind me. They were rogues! Their eyes caught the moonlight with that ugly yellow shine.

Before I could back away, one of them slammed into me. I hit the ground hard, groaning as rough hands tore my bag off my shoulder.

“No!” I yelled. “That’s mine, it’s all I have left from my parents!”

One laughed and dumped everything on the dirt, snatching whatever looked worth taking. I tried to get up, but another shoved my face into the ground. Pain exploded behind my eyes.

A man knelt close, grabbing my chin with dirty fingers. 

“Pretty little thing,” he murmured, dangling my mother’s necklace in front of my face. 

“You want this back?”

I reached for it. He closed his fist and grabbed for my hair. I slapped him hard across the face and pushed myself up.

His eyes burned with anger. 

“Got some fight. We like breaking girls like you.”

His face started shifting. He dropped to all fours with a savage howl. The others stepped back, giving him room to lunge.

“Shift!” I begged Naryvex.

She pushed through with me, but he was too fast. His claws slashed across our neck. Pain ripped through us both. I tried to fight, but he grabbed my head and slammed it against a rock.

My wolf collapsed. Everything started going fuzzy. The rogues howled like they’d already won.

“Naryvex…” I whispered, fading fast.

“Leave her alone.”

The voice cut through everything with a commanding tone. 

I blinked through the blur and saw him standing at the edge of a tree. He was tall, cloaked in black, hood hiding most of his face. Even the rogues froze, their snarls dying in their throats.

The lead rogue turned toward him, teeth bared.

 “This doesn’t concern you, outsider.”

The stranger tilted his head a little, almost like he was amused. He took one slow step forward. 

“Everything concerns me tonight,” he said quietly, his voice carrying that strange, ancient weight. 

“Especially her.”

He still hadn’t looked directly at me, but I felt his attention anyway. Something weird stirred in my chest, warm, confusing, like my wolf was suddenly paying attention in a way she shouldn’t. Naryvex shifted inside me, not with fear this time, but with a strange flicker of excitement mixed with panic.

The rogues growled but didn’t move closer. The stranger just stood there, calm as hell, like he had all the time in the world.

“Who… who are you?” I managed to whisper, my voice weak.

He didn’t answer. His gaze stayed on the rogues as another faint rune pulsed in the air.

“Walk away now,” he told them, low and steady, “or none of you walk again.”

The tension stretched tight. My heart pounded. That strange pull in my chest grew stronger, making my head spin even more than the pain.

Naryvex’s voice trembled inside me, excited and terrified at the same time.

“Mate?”