Couldn't Be More Humiliating: Yes It Could

Gasps echoed through the crowd. Applause swelled, joyful and deafening. But Talia heard only the pounding of her heart, each beat a reminder of the impending doom.

Thomas raised his hand for silence. "Tonight," he began, his voice rich and unwavering, "we celebrate not just a victory, but a new alliance. The Northern Summit has agreed to join the Black River. This bond will strengthen our territory. Making us safer. Prosperous."

Cheers erupted, but he raised his hand again. Silence followed. Talia couldn’t help but admire Thomas’s ability to deliver a good speech. His pack was eating up his words, oblivious to the pain he was causing her. It was as if her family’s sacrifices meant nothing.

"And soon, a Luna will rise beside me."

Mira stepped forward, her smile soft and her eyes sparkling with triumph.

Hesitant clapping mingled with a wave of whispers and stunned silence washing over the crowd.

Thomas did not look at Talia.

"But first," he continued, finally turning toward her, "I must close the chapter on a bond that once held meaning but no longer serves our path."

He looked her in the eye, and she felt her knees go weak. “Loser,” Kaela repeated in Talia’s head for the umpteenth time since he started speaking. Talia knew Kaela was directing a lot of her animosity toward Ramble, but he had closed his mind to her, and all Talia could feel was a brick wall.

"Talia Elowen Graves, daughter of Elias Graves, former second-in-command of the Black River warriors, I, Alpha Thomas Calder of the Black River Pack, hereby reject you as my chosen mate. I release you from any claim, spiritual or emotional, that once existed between us. Let the Goddess of wolves Selene witness this severance so that we may walk separate paths."

Gasps again. The crowd held its breath, intently watching Talia for her reaction.

That rejection hit Kaela hard, and she whimpered in Talia’s head as if she had been violently struck, finally withdrawing deep into the corner of Talia’s mind.

A piercing pain burst in Talia’s chest as if something vital had been torn loose. A gasp tore from her, but still, she stood tall. It took everything in her not to fall to her knees.

She met her mate’s gaze, unflinching, but unable to hide the betrayal and pain. Thomas met her stare with a coldness that felt like ice. No remorse. She did not recognize the man looking back at her. He was fully committed to this act of separation, and he had made up his mind.

Her voice was soft at first, then grew louder. Stronger. Steady. Confidence surged within her, a reminder that she would not hold onto someone who did not want to be with her. His wolf’s eyes flashed at her with respect, and Talia preened at the acknowledgment, then hated herself for it. She felt Kaela lift her tail and give a few thumps, flattered by the attention. Then she stopped herself and curled tighter into herself, only looking out at her former mate through her wolf’s eyes in disappointment. Her final goodbye to her wolf mate as he abandoned her.

"Alpha Thomas Calder of the Black River Pack," Talia began, “I, Talia Elowen Graves, daughter of former Beta Elias Graves and warrior of this pack, accept your rejection. May the moon goddess bear witness to the bond that is now broken. I release you, as you have released me. I accept your rejection."

A pulse of energy rippled through the circle.

The bond was gone, severed, as if it never was.

She could feel it. She could almost breathe again. But the unbearable pain of the loss persisted. How long will this last? No one had ever prepared her for this, to be alone.

Then Thomas turned to the crowd, and she could faintly register his words. "Mira, daughter of King Cyrus of the Northern Borderlands, is my chosen mate and future Luna.” He paused, without looking at Talia. “And effective immediately, I name Talia her bodyguard. She will guard Mira’s life with the same honor she once used to guard this pack."

The insult hit harder than the rejection.

Talia stepped forward again. “Oh, hell no!” Her anger gave her some reprieve from the pain of the rejection. “I am not your pawn, Thomas,” she said coldly. “You may reject me as your mate, but you do not command my soul.”

“Silence!” The Alpha roared. Everyone, including Talia, bared their necks at the command of the Alpha. “I am and will always be Alpha to you!”

Kaela chose that moment to speak in Talia’s mind, “You mean dickhead. You will always be known as dickhead to me!” Talia almost burst into hysterical laughter at that one. “Good girl, Kaela. We will get through this shit show!”

Alpha Thomas continued, “This is not about your soul, Talia. This is about your duty to the Alpha and Luna of this pack, and you will do your job. I will give you tonight and tomorrow to report to your post.”

Gasps turned into murmurs. Mira looked away, her smile widening at Talia’s humiliation.

Talia turned without waiting to be dismissed and walked from the circle, her boots striking the earth with force, her long braid sweeping behind her like a trail of fire, defiance radiating from her every step. Behind her, the celebration resumed. Applause. Laughter. Music. “Traitors.” As if she never existed as their leader and future Luna.

Behind the trees, her sister Alina waited.

“Talia!”

Her younger sister ran to her; eyes wet with unshed tears.

“I heard everything. You did it,” Alina whispered. “You really accepted the rejection.”

Talia nodded and pulled her into a hug. “He doesn’t get to define me. We start over. We protect each, always.”

Alina buried her face into Talia’s shoulder. “We are leaving?”

Without an answer, Talia looked to the moon overhead. “We must be careful. We plan first.”

The bond was gone. The pain is still fresh. But beneath it was something else. Something clearer.

Freedom.

Alina whispered, “Where will we go?”

“Somewhere they can’t reach us. Somewhere we write our own story.”

Kaela stirred in her chest again, this time not in grief. "We're not broken," Kaela whispered. "We're free."

Talia nodded, feeling the weight of the rejection.

“Come on, Lina.”

Together, they stepped into the night. Tomorrow, they will need a plan to forge a new path and leave the betrayal and heartbreak behind.