Chapter 18: Rejection

Cara stopped just in time, so the tip of the sword didn’t pierce any deeper. But the wound was enough for the pain to completely take over her mind.

‘Mate… why?’

Her voice, fragile and full of heartbreak, echoed in Raven’s mind, carrying with it a wave of confusion and sorrow.

‘Don’t call me your mate. You’re not worthy.’

His reply was cold and cutting.

Cara stared at him, stunned.

She had imagined hundreds of ways their reunion might go, but never like this.

The wolf standing in front of her was clearly her mate. It was the same scent, the same soul-deep pull she could never mistake.

But why did he look at her with such unfamiliar, icy eyes?

The confusion and emotional shock she felt now hurt more than the wound on her chest.

“Mate… it’s me. I’m Cara, your Cara,” she said aloud, her voice trembling, choked with tears.

Cara.

That name stirred something deep in Raven’s heart, as if it carried a strange kind of magic. His chest tightened involuntarily. He frowned, wondering if this was the powerful bond fated mates shared?

When one was in pain, the other felt it too. When one was happy, so was the other.

He had heard countless stories from other mated wolves bragging about their sacred connection. And deep down, he too had longed for the day he would meet his destined mate.

But never, never did he imagine that day would come when he least expected it…

And that the one bound to him would be the very she-wolf he hated most in the world.

As the Alpha of a mighty pack, Raven’s reason refused to let him accept this mate. The she-wolf standing before him was his enemy. Even if she was the fated one chosen by the Moon Goddess, he would still reject her.

Raven slid his sword back into its sheath and turned to leave.

Cara stared at his back, stunned. She wanted to run after him, to call out, but the coldness and cruelty in his eyes just moments ago made her freeze in place.

Draken had witnessed everything, yet had no idea what had just passed between them.

“Lock her up,” Raven ordered.

Draken nodded slightly, signaling the jailer to carry out the command, then followed after his Alpha without another word.

Thrown once more into the dark, damp cell, Cara didn’t even struggle.

Her mind was filled only with the image of her mate, the one she had waited for, longed for, for over two years, walking away from her as if she meant nothing.

She didn’t know what had happened to him, but it was clear he remembered nothing. Not her name. Not their bond.

She’d heard the warrior call him “Alpha.”

Perhaps now, in his eyes, she was simply the daughter of a defeated enemy - Genaro’s daughter, from the pack he had crushed.

Never had she felt such despair.

Raven had forgotten her, forgotten every tender moment they’d shared in Gloomwood Forest.

She sank down, leaning against the wall, eyes blank as she stared into the void.

The wound on her chest still ached, blood soaking through the rough prison fabric. But that pain was nothing compared to the hollow emptiness tearing through her heart.

For the first time, Cara felt completely lost. As if all the waiting, the longing, the hoping… had all been in vain.

Draken followed behind Raven, noticing the unusual tension in his Alpha’s demeanor. Unable to hold back his curiosity, he finally asked,

“Alpha, what should we do with the she-wolf? Do you want her killed?”

The moment the words were spoken, Raven shot him a glare as sharp as a dagger.

“Don’t do anything unnecessary,” he said coldly, then quickened his pace.

His mood had never been worse.

Cara…

That name echoed endlessly in his mind. The pain in her eyes felt like a blade slicing into his chest, making it hard to breathe. His logic screamed at him she was the enemy, he couldn’t let himself soften. But his heart… his heart called out to her, urged him to go to her, protect her, shield her, like an instinct deeply embedded in a wolf’s very soul.

But being with her… that would be the greatest betrayal to his fallen father.

In the days that followed, Raven forced himself to forget Cara’s existence. He drowned himself in managing the aftermath of the war. Outwardly, he was still the strong, decisive Alpha his pack relied on.

But only he knew, every night, it was as if her breath still lingered in his chest. Her scent clung to the edges of his consciousness, and her tearful gaze haunted his dreams. He had thought he could resist. But now he realized, the mate bond was far more powerful than he had ever imagined.

On the night of the full moon, when its pale glow blanketed the forest, the primal instincts of a wolf burned stronger than ever. That instinct pulled Raven forward, urging him to follow the scent of the she-wolf who was bound to him by an invisible thread of fate.

Unaware, Raven’s steps had already led him to the prison. By the time he snapped back to himself, he was standing at its gates. The closer he got, the more intense her scent became, wrapping around his senses and stirring a storm of desire deep within him. Raw, untamed, and relentless.

The jailers in the death row wing were startled by the Alpha’s sudden arrival. They immediately dropped to one knee, bowing in respect.

With a wave of his hand, Raven signaled them to rise and headed straight for the last cell, the one where Cara was locked up.

Half-asleep, Cara’s eyes flew open. She could feel it, his scent was swirling around her again. He was close. Very close.

A fragile spark of hope flickered in her heart. Could it be that he had remembered everything and came to find her? Had he come to take her away from this cold and dark prison?

She got up and ran to the locked door, her gray-blue eyes filled with longing as she looked through the bars, waiting for the one she’d dreamed of for so long.

And then, there he was, Raven. Tall and powerful, just as she remembered. Still wearing that distant, expressionless look. But this time, his eyes were burning with a fire of desire, intense and barely restrained.

***

Author: It’s finally here. You can probably guess what’s going to happen next, can’t you?