CHAPTER ONE

“I, Alpha Ryker, reject you, Nyra Vale, as my soulmate."

                     The rumbles of destruction never came. This was the unwinding of a great monster. A thread by thread destruction. Reality became blurry and everything became quiet. The air was slowly disappearing, and for a moment it seemed like the room was entangled in this time-stopping silence.

                    The world returned, but not the same. A sleeve brushed against the chair. Or maybe it was the chair rubbing against its leg. A hesitant hand was out. Like the release of a brake, it began. Rapid, but quiet.

                    Nyra remained still, the world moving around her. She wished the ceiling wasn't so bright. She wished everything wasn't on the light, but instead focused on her. She felt like she was put on display. In the dimmed lights, the judging eyes began to haunt her. The lights touched her the most, giving no room for escape, for avoidance. The world was a blurred mass of moving faces, glances, and expressions. Everyone was awaiting an explosion. A fracture would welcome the release of a bond that grew even more invisible. 

                      The emptiness was filling her more and more. The bond wasn't disappearing. It was ripping. It was so painfully real. The crisp winter air tugged a deep longing to set herself free, but it wasn't the air. It was something deep inside of her. Waiting, but never meant to. 

                      Across from Nyra, Ryker looked unbothered. Not at all like a man who just severed something irrevocable. As if on cue, Lyria was nestled against him, shoulders brushing. Close enough that there was no need to verbalize the message. Resting his arm, Lyria's hand was softly secured on him. With a victorious, soft smile, something inside Nyra went cold. 

"You're rejecting me." Nyra stated. Her voice was clear and unwavering. "You're doing this, for the whole pack?" 

"It has to be done." Ryker replied. A rapidly but insufficiently, stifled, brief laugh escaped the audience. Nyra ignored the disruption, and shifted her gaze to Lyria. "And why her?" Nyra questioned. 

               Lyria met her gaze without a hint of shame, open and unguarded. Nyra was silent for a moment then stayed her head, as if something had illuminated. 

"There is no reason to prolong this." Ryker declared. "You do not have the right to stand beside me, Nyra." 

                Finally, there it was. Not by fate or circumstance, but by Choice. Against her will, the bond forced and resisted by her wolf, twisted. Still, Nyra didn’t move.

"And she is?" she asked. "Yes." 

                 There was no doubt. Saying 'yes' carried more weight than the rejection. Something in her cracked. Not loudly, not visible, just quietly into nothing. Nyra straightened. When she spoke again, she no longer had to force control. There wasn't much left in her to shake. 

“Then listen carefully, Alpha Ryker.” 

                  A subtle shift rippled through the room, heads tilted, and the whispers stopped. The unexpected took place. Stepping forward, Nyra closed the gap, stopped just short, and noticed the corner of his jaw slightly tense. 

“If you reject me, then you lose every single right you ever thought you had over me.” 

“Then you don’t get to—” 

“I'm not finished,” she cut him off.

                   The lack of volume was overshadowed by the forcefulness of the interruption. Even Lyria's fingers stilled against Ryker’s arm, and Nyra held her gaze. 

“From this moment on, I am not yours to dismiss, yours to reconsider at your convenience, or yours at all.” Then, to everyone's surprise, “Then I reject you too... Alpha.” 

                 The title cut deep. For the briefest of seconds, Ryker lost control and the bond severed. Pain ripped through Nyra's chest, and the world went dark.

                In that instant, it felt as though something essential had been viciously stripped away from her and left bare, exposed. Her knees were unsteady, but she remained vertical. The tips of her fingers dug into her palms, the pain giving her something to focus on. Standing was enough of a burden for everyone to see the price.  

               She turned and made for the exit. Each footstep resonated in the quiet hall, their silent defiance refusing to break. The scattered whispers grew as she walked, now in a chorus, now full of disbelief. She would not look at Ryker, nor Lyria, nor the life stripped away from her. 

                     As the doors swung open, the harsh air of the night poured in, quenching the horrific staleness of the hall and breaking the suffocating weight that filled the room. She stepped outside and her breath trembled.

"You did better there than most," A calm, measured voice, somehow devoid of all surrounding chaos, emerged from the shadows. 

                  Nyra froze and slowly turned. A tall man stepped from the shadows. He looked to be of the darkness, tall, dressed in darkness, and composed. He had been, and still was, watching her with great intent.

"What are you?" She asked and the silence continued.

                 His gaze flicked over her, not in an intrusive manner, more methodical.

“Someone who is able to make sure tonight is not the end of your story.” 

                  Nyra didn’t change her expression. 

“Why would that concern you?” she asked and he took a step toward her. 

“Because I like to see the potential in people and I like to see that potential realized.” 

                   She thought about his answer for a second and then said, 

“You have good powers of observation, but that doesn’t say why you are talking to me.” “It doesn’t need to.” 

“If that is the case, you are wasting your time.” 

               She made to walk away but he said, 

“I am offering you a contract marriage.” 

                The offer made her stop, not because of what was being offered but how effortlessly he said it. She turned to face him with a slow, calculated, and emotionless face. 

“That's a poor offer cause it has been thought of at the very last moment.” 

“I would say I am very correct with my assumptions.” 

                  He took the last steps to close the distance. There was an air of something dangerous about him. Something that was not restrained, but also not contained. 

“You will have a reason for that.” 

“You’re wrong.” he said and she turned around again. His voice had been filled with cold certainty when he spoke.

                   Nyra turned her head to look back. 

“Why?”

                    His eyes locked with hers.

“Because I am the only person in this city that can make Alpha Ryker regret rejecting you.”

                    The statement hung in the air around them. It was quiet, but the weight of it was unmistakable.

                     Nyra looked at him and what she saw surprised her. There was no arrogance. There was no showing off. In fact, it looked like he was holding back—like he was a person that didn’t need to show off.

“What’s in it for you?” she asked.

“Just you,” was his reply.

“That’s a terrible answer.”

                  There was a trace of a smirk on his face. 

“I don’t take what’s unwanted.” He let the statement settle. “I take what’s worth having.”

                 They fell silent. The night felt like it was listening.

                   The ache in Nyra’s chest was a reminder of what was lost. And, standing in front of her was something else entirely.

“...What are the details?” She asked first.

                   His eyes got a little darker.

“Be cautious, Nyra,” he warned. “When you say yes, you are mine for good.”

                   It was a warning. It should have scared her. But, it gave her confidence.

                   Nyra held his gaze. 

“Then I’ll make sure I don’t have to.”

                   For the first time, his tight control slipped, enough for her to notice.

“I'm Kael Drax,” he said.

                   

She moved on, not forgetting his name. 

"Start talking, Kael.”