Chapter 2 – The Day Fate Turned Against Me

The lantern at Aria’s side burned low, casting shadows against the canvas walls. She dipped her cloth into the basin one last time, wringing out the blood-stained water until her fingers were wrinkled and numb. The world outside had long since gone still, only the faint crackle of a dying fire and the distant hoot of an owl breaking the silence.

Her body ached, her hands raw from endless work, but it wasn’t the fatigue that kept her from sleep. It was the laughter she’d overheard, the sneers still ringing in her ears.

Weak. Worthless. Omega.

They were the same words she had heard once before, the same words that had broken her beyond repair.

Aria closed her eyes, her chest tightening as memory pressed against her. She tried to shove it back, to bury it where it belonged, but the past clawed its way free, demanding to be remembered.

And so, with a shuddering breath, she let herself sink into the nightmare that had shaped her.

It had been the night of her eighteenth birthday.

The night everything had changed.

The full moon had risen high, bathing the clearing in silver light. The entire pack had gathered, their voices raised in song and celebration. For Aria, the evening had been a whirlwind of nerves and anticipation. Because eighteen was the age when the mate bond revealed itself, when Fate’s choice was finally made known.

Her heart had beat with wild hope. She’d always dreamed that somewhere out there, someone was waiting for her. Someone who would look at her and choose her—not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

And then she had caught his scent.

It was like the forest after rain, sharp and earthy, filling her senses until her knees nearly buckled. She had turned, wide-eyed, and there he was.

Damian.

The future Beta of the pack. Strong, broad-shouldered, his presence commanding even though he was barely older than she was. He had always walked past her without a glance, always surrounded by friends and admirers. But now his eyes locked on hers, glowing with the recognition of the bond.

For a heartbeat, she couldn’t breathe.

He’s my mate.

Her chest had swelled with joy, with disbelief, with a thousand dreams that suddenly seemed within reach. She had stepped forward, trembling, her lips parting to whisper his name.

But before she could, he laughed.

The sound was sharp, cruel, cutting through the night like a blade.

“Her?” he said, his voice carrying across the gathering. “Fate must be broken.”

The crowd stirred, murmurs spreading. Aria froze, her smile fading, confusion crashing through her.

Damian stepped closer, his eyes hard and cold. He looked her up and down as though she were something filthy clinging to his boots.

“You expect me to claim this as my mate?” he sneered, gesturing toward her. “An Omega? No. I won’t.”

The words struck like a physical blow. Aria’s breath caught, her throat tight, her heart pounding in her ears.

“You can’t,” she whispered, desperate. “You can’t reject the bond—”

But he could. And he did.

“I reject you, Aria,” Damian declared, loud enough for all to hear. “I reject this bond, I reject Fate’s mistake, and I reject you. I deserve better than an Omega. I’ll never tie myself to someone so pathetic.”

Gasps echoed around them. Some wolves looked shocked. Others laughed, as though it were entertainment. The sting of humiliation burned hot across Aria’s skin, hotter than fire, hotter than blood.

“No…” Her voice cracked, barely audible. “Please…”

Damian smirked, enjoying her desperation. “Look at her. Clinging already. Did you really think anyone would want you? Fate must’ve been drunk to pair me with you.”

The pack roared with laughter. Some whispered behind their hands. Others didn’t bother to hide their smirks.

Tears blurred Aria’s vision, but she forced herself to stand tall. “You don’t mean this,” she said, her voice trembling but stubborn. “The bond—it’s real. You feel it. I know you do.”

For a fleeting second, she saw it in his eyes—the flicker of something, the same pull that she felt, undeniable and raw. But he smothered it quickly, his expression twisting into disdain.

“I feel disgust,” he spat. “And shame that Fate thought I belonged with you.”

Then he turned his back on her.

Just like that, the thread of the bond snapped, tearing something deep within her soul. Pain exploded through her chest, white-hot, suffocating. She staggered, clutching at her heart as though she could hold the pieces together.

But she couldn’t.

Damian walked away without a backward glance, leaving her in the center of the circle, broken and alone while the pack watched.

That was the night Aria’s world ended. The night her hope was crushed beneath laughter and rejection. The night she stopped believing in Fate.

Back in the tent, Aria’s eyes snapped open, her breaths coming quick and shallow. The memory clung to her like chains, dragging her deeper into the ache she had never escaped.

Even now, years later, the wound hadn’t healed. She still felt the phantom pain of the bond tearing, the echo of Damian’s cruel words in her ears.

She pressed her hands to her face, her shoulders shaking. But no tears fell. She had cried them all out long ago, until nothing was left but numbness and anger.

They said the mate bond was sacred. That it was unbreakable, that Fate never made mistakes. But what about her?

If the bond was sacred, why had it shattered her?

If Fate never made mistakes, why had it cursed her with rejection?

The questions gnawed at her, night after night, until her faith was gone.

Maybe she was a mistake. Maybe she was meant to suffer.

But another voice whispered inside her, stubborn and fierce: Or maybe you are meant for something more.

Aria drew a shaky breath, lowering her hands. She looked at the lantern’s flame, small but steady, refusing to die even as the oil dwindled.

That was what she would be. No matter how many sneers or rejections she faced, she would not extinguish. She would burn, even if only as the faintest spark, until the day she proved them all wrong.

“Damian may have rejected me,” she whispered to the empty tent, her voice raw but steady, “but I will not reject myself. Not anymore.”

Her words trembled in the silence, but once spoken, they felt real.

And for the first time since that night, Aria allowed herself to believe—just a little—that Fate’s cruelty wasn’t the end of her story.