Chapter Four: I Can’t Reject Her 

Amara’s POV

Thiago looked at me for so long that I almost repeated myself. His hand rested against the desk, and one claw pressed into the wood before he drew it back.

“Yes,” he said.

I expected to feel relieved. Instead, a pain opened beneath my ribs, and Nia curled away from me.

“Then send for the priest.”

My mother touched my arm. “You do not have to decide this while you are upset.”

“When will I stop being upset about it?”

She did not answer immediately. I regretted how sharply I spoke and covered her hand with mine.

“I know what he believes, Mother.”

Thiago heard me. I could tell by the way his jaw tightened, but he did not argue. He turned towards Dario.

“Oren is helping at the Avenor sanctuary. Ask him to come privately. Tell him we need advice before a rejection rite.”

Dario looked at both of us, then nodded and left.

“Rejecting the bond does not end the investigation,” Thiago said to me.

“I know that.”

“We still need to discuss where you will be safe.”

My father moved beside us. “And that discussion includes me.”

“She is standing here, Idris. Ask her.”

I looked at him, uncertain whether he meant it or simply wanted to win the argument. He gave me nothing more to work with.

Mother took me into the garden sitting room, where someone brought food and tea. I managed a few mouthfuls before she put down her own untouched cup.

“I wish you told me about Nia.”

I looked at my hands. “I thought you would look at me differently.”

“I am looking at you differently. I keep thinking about how many times you sat beside me carrying this alone.”

My eyes burned. I could remember so many chances to tell her, and every lie I chose instead.

“I found something in the archive,” I admitted. “A book about concealing a wolf. I knew I should not take it.”

“How old were you?”

“Sixteen.”

Mother closed her eyes briefly. “And you learned by yourself?”

“Nia helped.”

“Does hiding her hurt?”

That question nearly made me cry. Nobody ever asked what it cost to make a part of myself disappear.

“Sometimes. Mostly when she wants to run.”

Mother took my hand. We sat together until I could pick up my tea again without shaking.

Outside, Thiago stood on the garden path with Celeste. He faced her while she spoke, giving her the attention she demanded in the study. Once, she reached for his hand. He held it, and I looked away before I could decide why that hurt.

She knew him. She shared plans with him. Whatever the bond made me feel, I woke in the middle of a life that existed long before this morning.

“Nia,” I said inside me. “I need you to understand.”

“I understand that he is ours.”

“He believes we are dangerous.”

“He is listening.”

“He is investigating.”

She withdrew, but she did not leave me. I could feel her longing, and beneath it the same fear I tried to keep out of my voice.

“I want to be wanted,” I told her. “I don’t want to wait until he decides whether we deserve to live.”

Nia pressed close then. She still wanted him. But she also knew why I wanted a way out.

By the time Soren checked me again, the worst of the dizziness was gone. I knew what I wanted to say, even if saying it would hurt.

Father walked with us to the prayer room. I held his arm and tried not to think about the sound Nia would make when I rejected our mate.

Priest Oren stood beside the narrow altar. He wore a slate-grey robe with a small silver crescent at the throat. His grey hair was cut close, and his dark eyes moved over my face before settling on Thiago.

“You should have called me before you reached a decision,” he told him.

Thiago did not bristle. “I called you before acting on it.”

The priest sighed and touched his shoulder. It was a familiar gesture. Thiago stood still beneath it, allowing something he did not seem to welcome from many people.

Oren turned to me. “Amara, is this what you want?”

“Yes.” I forced myself to look at Thiago. “I want to be released.”

The priest asked him the same question.

“Yes. Proceed,” Thiago said.

He made it sound like an order. Nia curled tighter inside me.

Celeste stood near the window. My parents remained beside the door. Oren set a moonstone inside a shallow silver bowl and poured water around it.

“Each of you will speak,” he explained. “A declaration is a request for release. It does not end the bond by itself. Both partners and their wolves must yield, and the Goddess must accept the separation.”

I looked at Thiago. His eyes held mine, and I wondered what his wolf was telling him.

“Will it hurt?”

“It can. You may ask me to stop at any point.”

Oren did not promise me a painless solution. I appreciated that, even while wishing he could.

He asked us to stand on opposite sides of the altar. Thiago was close enough that his scent reached me every time I breathed. Nia moved towards him, and I had to concentrate on keeping my hands at my sides.

“Tell me your names,” the priest said.

“Amara Saye.”

“Thiago Veyra.”

The moonstone gave a faint silver glow. Oren watched it for a moment, then looked at me.

“You requested the rite. You may begin.”

He gave me the declaration slowly. I listened, took a breath and faced Thiago.

“I, Amara Saye, reject Alpha Thiago Veyra as my fated mate. I ask the Moon Goddess to release the bond between us.”

I finished every word.

Pain tightened across my chest. Nia whimpered, and for one terrible moment I wanted to take it back simply to stop hearing her. I pressed my fingertips against my dress and waited.

Thiago’s expression changed. The muscle in his jaw moved, and his gaze dropped to my hands before returning to my face.

He looked hurt.

I did not know what to do with that. He agreed to this. I reminded myself of it while Oren turned towards him.

“Your declaration, Alpha.”

Thiago nodded. “I, Thiago Veyra, reject —”

He stopped.

Celeste stepped away from the window. I watched his throat move, but no other word came.

“Take a breath,” Oren said.

Thiago did. He looked at the priest, then at me. “Amara, are you doing something?”

“No.”

“My voice stopped.”

“I heard it.”

“You know what I am asking.”

Fear made my reply sharper. “I said the words first. Why would I ask you to reject me and then prevent it?”

Oren lifted his hand before Thiago answered.

“Let me examine the rite.”

He asked me to place two fingers against the rim of the bowl. I obeyed. The water remained still, although light spread from the stone beneath it. He watched my hand, then the space between us.

“There is no power passing from her into you,” he told Thiago. “Take your hand away, Amara.”

I did immediately.

Thiago looked at the bowl. “Then what is stopping me?”

“Try once more. Slowly.”

He set his hands flat against the altar. I could see the effort he made to keep them steady.

“I, Thiago Veyra, reject —”

The water rose against the inside of the bowl.

I stepped back. It held above the moonstone in a trembling silver curve, and Thiago’s next breath caught in his throat. His claws cut into the wood before he pulled them back.

“Enough,” Oren said.

Thiago stopped trying to speak. The water fell.

My mother moved closer to me. I barely noticed because the priest was looking at the bowl with an expression I did not like.

“Is that normal?” I asked.

“No.”

Celeste looked from him to Thiago. “Could his wolf be the reason he couldn't reject her?” She asked.

“A wolf’s reluctance does not lift water from a consecrated stone. This is not his wolf doing.”

The room fell silent.

Thiago drew a breath, then another. “I can speak to you.”

“Yes,” Oren replied.

He turned towards me. “I can say her name.”

My heartbeat grew faster. For the first time, he seemed as confused by the bond as I was.

Celeste’s voice shook. “You said you wanted to finish this.”

He looked at her. Whatever he saw made him turn back towards the altar.

“I reject Amara Saye as my—”

His voice failed again. Silver light filled the bowl, and Oren placed his hand over the stone before Thiago could force out another sound.

I waited for my mate to argue. He could order guards, postpone meetings and make an entire household hold its breath. Now he stood in front of me, staring at the place where the water finally settled.

When he spoke, every word was clear.

“I am sorry, I can’t reject her.”