The Engagement Ends

Lyra’s POV

The pen shook in my hand, and I stared at the paper in front of me, but the words were blurred.

“Termination of Engagement Agreement.”

My fingers were cold, and for a moment, I could not breathe.

Serena was still holding Kael’s arm; it was like she belonged there, as she had always belonged there.

Like the past three years never happened.

I then swallowed hard, and I whispered the question that had been burning inside my chest.

“Kael… did you ever love me?”

The room went quiet; it was so quiet that I could hear my own heartbeat but Kael did not answer, and he didn’t even look at me.

Serena then let out a soft laugh, it was gentle and sweet, but it cut deeper than a knife.

“You really thought he loved you?” she said and my grip tightened on the pen. I looked at her slowly.

Her smile was calm and confident; it was like she already knew she had won.

“You were just the girl who saved him,” she continued, and her eyes moved over me slowly, from my simple dress to my trembling hands.

“To him, that was only a debt.” My chest tightened painfully, and I turned my eyes back to Kael, but he still wasn’t looking at me, and that hurt more than her words.

Three years, three whole years, waiting for him, cooking for him, and praying for him during every battle.

Did none of that matter?

My voice came out soft; it was barely a whisper.

“Was I just a debt you wanted to repay?”

Kael finally spoke, but his voice sounded distant and cold.

“I gave you everything you needed.”

My heart dropped. That answer was worse than hearing him say he never loved me, because it meant something else.

To him… this engagement was never love; it was payment, payment for saving his life.

Then Serena’s lips curved slightly, it was like she enjoyed watching this, she stepped closer to me, she was too close.

Her perfume was strong, and her eyes studied my face slowly.

“You should be grateful,” she said.

“For three years, you lived like a Luna.”

Her gaze then dropped to my hands.

“But the truth is still the truth.”

Her voice became soft and colder.

“An omega could never be Luna.”

My chest burned, and everyone in the room knew she was right, even the elders standing near the door.

I could feel their eyes on me, judging, quietly, but judging.

My throat tightened, but I refused to cry, not here, not in front of them.

So I lowered my head, and  I signed.

The pen scratched across the paper, and the sound was small, but to me, it was loud; it was like something inside my chest was breaking.

And when I finished, my hand stayed on the page for a moment, and I stared at my own name.

Lyra Vale.

I slowly pushed the paper back, and Kael picked it up. His fingers brushed the edge of the page, but he still didn’t look at me, not even once.

Serena then watched him take the paper, and her smile even grew wider

It was like someone who finally took back something that belonged to her.

 I stood slowly, and my legs felt weak, but I forced myself to stay standing.

Serena suddenly turned toward the elders.

“I don’t want her around Kael anymore,” she said calmly, and her tone was gentle, but the meaning was clear.

The elders exchanged glances, but then one of them nodded slowly, and their eyes moved towards me. They were cold and dismissive.

“She’s been around him long enough.”

Her fingers tightened slightly around Kael’s arm.

“Don’t you think?”

One of the elders then cleared his throat.

“The engagement has already been terminated.”

Serena smiled politely.

“Yes. But still… seeing her around might create unnecessary rumors.”

Rumors.

That word stung, it was as if the past three years were just gossip, then the elder nodded again.

“You may leave, Lyra.”

Just like that.

Three years ended with a single sentence.

I just nodded slowly, my voice refused to come out.

So I just turned and walked toward the door, and each step was heavy; it was like my body didn’t want to move.

And when I reached the door, Serena spoke again, her voice light.

“Lyra.”

I stopped, my hand froze on the door handle.

I didn’t turn around, I didn’t think I could.

Serena’s voice carried through the quiet room.

“Tomorrow is the Moon Goddess Ceremony.”

My heart skipped.

The Moon Goddess Ceremony.

The sacred night when wolves discover their true mates, I had almost forgotten.

For three years, I believed something simple.

That Kael and I would marry anyway, mate bond or not, but suddenly I realized something strange, something I never thought about before.

Kael and I were never mated.

Not once did the bond appear between us, not during the engagement, and not during those three years.

Nothing.

Maybe…

Maybe tomorrow will change that.

Maybe the Moon Goddess will finally reveal the truth. My fingers tightened around the door handle, and Serena’s voice came again.

“You should attend,” she said sweetly.

“It will be interesting.”

I finally opened the door, and the cool air hit my face. I stepped outside the room.

The hallway was empty and quiet, and behind me, the door closed, and I stood there for a long moment.

My chest rose and fell slowly, and my hands were still shaking.

Three years had passed, just like that, but something small still lived inside my heart.

Something fragile and something stubborn.

“Tomorrow is the Moon Goddess Ceremony.

The night when the Moon Goddess reveals fated mates.

And for the first time in three years, a strange thought appeared in my mind.

What if…

What if Kael and I are actually mates?

What if the Moon Goddess bonds us tomorrow?

Would he still choose Serena then?

Would he still push me away?

Or would he finally see me?

My chest tightened with a painful kind of hope.

A foolish hope, but  I could not stop it; maybe tomorrow would change everything.

Maybe tomorrow…Kael would finally see me.

I slowly started walking down the hallway, and I held that tiny hope close to my heart, like it was the last piece of light left in the dark.