The rejection ceremony

KAIA POV

The moon temple smells like pine and burning sage.

And fear. Mostly fear.

I stand in the center of the stone circle, my leather armor catching the firelight, and my hands won’t stop shaking.

Not from cold.

From what I’m about to do.

“You look beautiful.”

Lyra squeezes my hand from beside me. My best friend since we were fourteen and stole cigarettes from the elder’s shed. She’s the only one who knows this isn’t a proposal I’m waiting for. It’s an execution.

“I’m about to humiliate the Alpha’s best friend in front of three hundred people,” I whisper. My voice cracks. “Beautiful isn’t the word.”

“Honest is,” she says. But her fingers are cold in mine. “And Rafe deserves honest.”

Does he?

Or does he just deserve to not be laughed at by the whole pack?

The drums start. Low. Tribal. Like a heartbeat.

Every wolf in the Blackmoon Pack is here. Three hundred pairs of eyes. The council on their stone thrones. The warriors I’ve bled with. The girls I trained.

And Damien.

The next Alpha.

My fated mate.

The man who’s never said my name unless it was followed by “ten more laps” or “you’re sloppy.”

He’s watching me.

Of course he is.

His jaw is locked, and there’s that little tick in his cheek he gets when he’s pissed. When he sees me, the muscle jumps.

I look away first. I always do.

But not before I catch it. That tiny pull at the corner of his mouth.

Not a smile.

It’s worse. It’s mine.

“Don’t,” Lyra whispers.

“Don’t what?”

“Look at him like you want him to save you. He won’t. Definitely Not tonight.”

She’s right.

Tonight isn’t about Damien’s ice and shadows.

It’s about Rafe.

The drums get louder.

And then he walks out.

Rafe Corbin.

He looks like sin in a tailored black suit. Amber eyes too bright. Smile too sharp. He’s glowing because he thinks this is it. His moment. His claim.

He drops to one knee in front of me, and the whole temple holds its breath.

I hear it then. A crack.

Damien’s hand on his throne.

Stone splintering under his fingers.

No one else notices. But I do. My chest aches.

“Kaia Velen,” Rafe says, and his voice is honey over broken glass. “You’re the strongest female this pack has ever seen. I watched you break Viktor’s arm and not even flinch.”

Laughter. Whispers.

My face burns.

“I’ve loved you since you got that scar and wore it like you were proud of it. I want to make you my mate. My Luna. My everything.”

He pulls out the moonstone ring. It’s beautiful.

It’s wrong.

“Will you bond with me?”

The silence is so loud it hurts.

“No.”

The word falls out of me. Small. Final.

I see it hit him. His whole body jerks back like I slapped him.

“No?” He laughs, but it’s wrong. Hollow. “What do you mean no?”

“I mean no, Rafe.” My hands are shaking so bad I lace my fingers together. “I respect you. But I’m not yours. I won’t lie to you.”

The whispers explode.

Did she just—

The Alpha’s best friend—

What is she thinking—

Lyra grips my hand tighter.

Rafe stands. Slow.

And then his bones start to crack. He shifts right there, halfway. Wolf eyes. Claws. In front of everyone.

“You’re rejecting me,” he says. Soft. Dangerous. “In front of everyone.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. And I am. God, I am. “But yes.”

He stares at me for a long time. Long enough for my stomach to drop out.

Long enough for Damien to shift forward on his throne.

Then Rafe laughs. Wild. Ugly.

“You’ll regret this, Kaia.”

It didn’t sound like a threat. It was the fact.

He turns and walks out. And the pack erupts.

I feel sick.

My legs feel like water.

Lyra’s arm comes around me. “Breathe,” she murmurs. “You did the right thing.”

Did I?

Or did I just sign both our death warrants?

The ceremony falls apart. The Alpha dismisses everyone without looking at me once. Like I’m already gone.

I’m stepping off the platform when he’s there.

Damien.

So close I can smell him. Pine. Snow. Copper. Anger.

“That was stupid,” he says. Low, just for me.

“That was honest,” I shoot back. My voice shakes.

“Same thing sometimes.” He steps in. I don’t move. I’m too proud. Too stupid.

“You just rejected the Alpha’s best friend. You think he’s going to let that go?”

“Why do you care?” The words come out broken. “You’ve never cared what I do.”

His eyes drop. To my mouth. Just for a second.

And my whole body lights up like I’ve been struck.

“Don’t,” he says. A warning. A plea.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t make me care.”

In my head “ What is that supposed to mean “

He walks past me. And I stand there, shaking, because I swear I saw his hands shaking too.

Lyra links her arm through mine. “Come on.”

“What if I messed up?” I whisper.

“You didn’t,” she says. But she definitely doesn’t sound sure.

We walk toward the exit, and I don’t see him.

Don’t see Rafe in the shadows burning in anger,phone in hand.

Don’t see him type:

[Make her pay]

The reply is instant.

[On it. —S]

Tonight I rejected a man.

Tomorrow, I’ll lose everything.

But tonight, all I can feel is Damien’s gaze burning between my shoulder blades...

and the way Lyra’s hand feels too cold in mine, like something terrible is on its way.