The Alpha Verdict

*Chapter 3 — The Alpha’s Verdict**

The ceremony dragged on like a cruel test of endurance. My hands kept busy refilling goblets, but my mind stayed locked on the pull in my chest — the mate bond, humming and sharp, demanding I look at him.

I didn’t. Not again. Not after the way Damien’s gaze had burned through me in front of the entire pack.

Every time I caught the edge of a whisper, I felt it like a slap.

*"It can’t be real."*

*"The Alpha deserves better."*

*"She’s nothing but a servant’s orphan."*

My wolf growled low in my mind, offended by their scorn. *“We are his mate. They will see.”*

I wished I could share her certainty.

When the last of the ceremonial vows had been recited, Damien stepped forward to address the pack. His voice carried easily over the crackle of the fire and the restless shuffle of bodies. “Tonight, under the blessing of the Moon Goddess, we honor our unity, our strength… and the bonds she forges among us.”

My pulse spiked. He didn’t look at me, but I felt the words wrap around my throat like a rope.

As soon as the speech ended, the gathering loosened. Wolves began drifting away in clusters, laughter resuming. I turned toward the healer’s hut, desperate to escape the press of bodies and the heat of their curiosity.

“Aria.”

I stopped. His voice was quiet, but it cut through the night like a blade. I turned to find him standing only a few paces away, his hands tucked casually into his pockets. The casual stance didn’t soften him — if anything, it made him more dangerous.

“Come with me.”

I followed him across the clearing, ignoring the murmurs trailing behind us. The path he took led not to his private quarters but to the smaller meeting hall — a space reserved for closed-door discussions between the Alpha and his betas.

Inside, the air was cooler, quieter. The heavy wooden door shut behind us with a dull thud. My heartbeat was so loud I was sure he could hear it.

He turned to face me, leaning against the long table in the center of the room. The dim lantern light traced the lines of his shoulders, the cut of his jaw.

“You know what happened out there,” he said.

I swallowed. “I… I felt it. You’re my—”

“My mate,” he finished for me, the word flat, almost bored. “Yes. The Moon Goddess in her infinite wisdom decided to bind me to you.”

Something in my chest cracked at the way he said it, as though the bond were a chain he’d been forced to wear.

He pushed away from the table, closing the distance between us in two strides. The scent of him hit me again — pine, smoke, a thread of something wild. My wolf stirred eagerly.

“I need you to understand something, Aria.” His voice dropped, each word slow, deliberate. “Being my mate doesn’t make you my Luna.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You think this bond changes anything?” His eyes were cold steel now, the warmth I’d imagined earlier gone. “It doesn’t. I don’t want you. I never will. And I’ll make sure everyone knows it.”

The words sliced clean through me. My wolf whimpered, the sound painful in my mind.

“Damien—” I started, but he cut me off with a flick of his hand.

“I will not be bound to weakness. The Moon Goddess made a mistake.”

He opened the door, the cool night air rushing in. I realized too late what he intended. The meeting hall opened directly onto the central grounds, where dozens of pack members still lingered.

He stepped out into the firelight, and my feet followed as though pulled by an invisible thread. Conversation stilled. Faces turned.

Damien’s voice rang out, carrying easily in the night. “Under the light of the Moon Goddess, I acknowledge the bond between myself and Aria Winters.”

A shocked hush fell. My heart climbed into my throat. For a split second, I thought—

“But I reject you,” he said, his words cold and sharp enough to frost the air. “Here. Now. Forever.”

The bond snapped like brittle glass, the break so violent I swayed on my feet. Gasps rippled through the crowd. My wolf howled in agony, the sound tearing through my mind until my vision blurred.

Damien didn’t even look back as he walked away.

I was left standing in the center of the firelit clearing, with the entire pack watching me break.