Evelyn's Mother

Evelyn POV: When I opened my eyes, I prayed I was still dreaming.

That the ceremony was over, that the whispers and the laughter were figments of a cruel nightmare.

But reality hit me the second my body shifted. Cold stone beneath my palms. The sting of humiliation still fresh in my chest. And above all, him. "Lucien Blackthorn."

He stood a few steps away, towering, unshaken, the moonlight painting sharp edges across his face. His golden eyes—those eyes I once admired from afar—looked at me with nothing but disdain.

“She’s awake,” someone murmured.

Laughter rippled through the crowd like poison. My heart clenched so hard it hurt to breathe. I wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

No one came to help. No one ever did.

My vision swam as I tried to push myself upright. The room tilted, my head spun, but the sound of his voice pinned me in place.

“Evelyn,” Lucien said, his tone cold enough to freeze the air. “Accept my rejection.”

The words struck again, slicing through the tiny thread of hope I still clung to. I thought—foolishly—that maybe when I woke, he’d take it back. That it was all a cruel misunderstanding.

But Lucien never looked uncertain. He spoke like a king delivering judgment.

“I” My throat closed. The weight of a hundred stares pressed down on me. “I can’t”

His jaw tightened. He stepped closer. The scent of cedar and dominance hit me like a wall. “Say it,” he ordered. “End this farce.”

I wanted to. I really did. The rejection would break the bond, free me from the pain tearing through my chest. But the words wouldn’t come. Something deep inside me refused.

I shook my head, my lips trembling. “No.” Gasps spread like wildfire.

“She said no?”

“To him?”

“Has she lost her mind?”

My pulse thundered in my ears. I couldn’t look away from Lucien, even as his expression darkened, as golden light flickered behind his eyes—the mark of an Alpha’s fury.

“You will never be my mate,” he said. His voice didn’t shake, but mine did. “You will never stand beside me. The Moon Goddess made a mistake when she tied me to you.”

I flinched. His words dug deeper than claws ever could. The whispers that followed were knives, each sharper than the last.

“Pathetic omega.” “She should be grateful he even looked at her.” “She’ll never belong here.”

I felt my chest tighten, my breath hitch. My vision blurred again as tears burned down my cheeks. I wanted to scream, to tell them they were wrong—but my voice died in my throat. “Enough, Lucien.”

A soft, melodic voice drifted through the hall. Selena.

She moved gracefully through the crowd, her silver gown glimmering under the moonlight. Every wolf in the pack admired her—our healer, our darling, the one everyone said would be Luna someday.

And maybe they were right.

Her smile was sweet, angelic. But when her gaze landed on me, something sharp hid behind it. She looked me up and down, her lips curling with pity that wasn’t real.

“She’s already humiliated herself,” Selena said, stepping close enough that I could smell the jasmine in her hair. “Let her go.”

For a heartbeat, I almost believed she pitied me. Then her hand cracked across my face. The sound echoed through the hall.

The sting was immediate—white-hot, shocking. The world seemed to stop. I touched my cheek, trembling. “Why” I whispered, but no one heard me. Gasps turned into approval.

“That’s what she deserves.”

“Selena shouldn’t have to see this mess.”

Selena tilted her head and smiled sweetly. “Oh,” she said, mock surprise dripping from her tone, “my hand slipped.”

Her eyes met mine for a heartbeat—cold, triumphant—and I understood. She wanted me to break. To fall apart in front of everyone.

Lucien said nothing.

He didn’t stop her.

He didn’t even flinch. And that hurt more than the slap.

My knees buckled, but I forced myself to stay upright. My whole body trembled as humiliation clawed at me from every direction. My heart screamed that this couldn’t be the same man the Moon Goddess chose for me.

Tears blurred everything, but through the haze, I saw Lucien still staring at me. His expression was unreadable now, anger and something else flickering behind his eyes.

The whispers grew louder.

“She’s trembling again.”

“She should’ve accepted it.”

“Useless omega.”

Their laughter swelled until it drowned everything.

I dropped my gaze to the floor. My tears fell silently, splashing against the cold stone. Somewhere deep inside, something small twisted—a spark that burned for only a second before fading. But it was there.

And one day, that spark would set the world on fire.

Lucien POV:

She looked so small on the floor.

Broken. Shaking. Tears sliding down her face.

And I hated how it made my chest twist. "Evelyn."

The name itself felt like a curse. The Moon Goddess had to be joking. Out of every she-wolf in the pack, why her? Why an omega? Why the girl everyone ignored?

My mate.

The word burned.

When she fainted, part of me wanted to pick her up. To tell the guards to get everyone out. But I didn’t move. I couldn’t. Too many eyes were on me. The next Alpha couldn’t show weakness.

And yet, when she opened her eyes and looked at me—just looked—something inside me pulled tight. The bond snapped awake again, strong and alive. I felt her pain in my own chest.

I almost stepped forward.

Almost.

Then she whispered, “No.”

No.

To me.

The hall went silent, and every wolf stared, waiting for my reaction. My blood roared in my ears. No one ever said no to an Alpha. Not even a fainted omega who looked ready to fall apart.

“You will never be my mate,” I heard myself say. The words came out cold and sharp. I thought saying them would kill the pull between us.

It didn’t. If anything, it made it worse.

She flinched, and I felt it like a punch to my gut. Her eyes—goddess, those eyes—were full of hurt and something else. Something that looked too close to hope. I couldn’t look at them for long.

I needed her to stop looking at me like that.

Then Selena’s voice broke the air. “Enough, Lucien. She’s already humiliated herself.”

Selena walked in like she owned the room. The crowd parted for her. She always knew how to move when people were watching. Calm. Beautiful. Perfect.

And I let her speak for me. I always did.

When her hand hit Evelyn’s face, the sound echoed through the hall. I didn’t stop her.

Everyone thought it was right. The soon-to-be Luna putting the weak omega in her place. I could almost hear my father’s voice in my head: An Alpha doesn’t protect the weak. He leads the strong.

So I stood there, frozen, pretending I didn’t feel anything. But I did.

Her tears slid down, and the bond flared again. Pain rushed through my chest, hot and sharp. My wolf growled inside me, furious. He hated what I was doing. Hated seeing her hurt.

She’s ours, he whispered. Do something.

No, I pushed back. She’s nothing.

But even I didn’t believe that.

When Evelyn finally looked away, something in me cracked. I saw the fire in her eyes, faint but real, and I knew she wouldn’t stay broken forever. That scared me more than anything.

Selena turned to me, smiling sweetly, the picture of innocence. “You did the right thing,” she said. Her hand brushed my arm, gentle and practiced. “She’s just an omega. She’ll forget soon.”

I nodded, because it was easier than answering. But inside, I felt sick.

The crowd began to disperse, still laughing. Evelyn stayed on the ground. No one helped her up. And I… walked away.

I told myself I didn’t care.

That I had to do it. That rejecting her was strength, not cruelty.

But as I stepped out of the hall, the sound of her whisper echoed in my head.

That one small word she’d managed to say before the darkness took her again.

“No.”

And the worst part was, a part of me wished she’d keep saying it.