Ch: 6 A Noble Sacrifice.

Riel’s words

Don’t make me wait too long for an answer, were still ringing in my ears, his fiery, possessive gaze burning into my back as I helped Tiana limp away from the stairs.

My mind was a whirlwind. Mate. Moonfire and rain. A sleeping wolf.

A tiny, dormant part of me, a pulse I’d never felt before, had flickered to life under his gaze. For one second, I wasn't the freak. I was... his.

Then Tiana’s scream had shattered it all.

“Just a bit further, Tia,” I murmured, my arm tight around her waist. She was leaning on me heavily, her breath coming in short, pained gasps.

We bypassed the main hall, ignoring the curious, whispering stares, and ducked into the first private break room we could find. It was opulent and empty, a plush velvet chaise lounge sitting in the center.

I carefully lowered her onto it. “Let me see,” I said, kneeling to look at her ankle. It was already starting to look a little red, but…

“Don’t!” she yelped, pulling her leg back.

“Tia, I need to see if it’s broken. I’ll get a healer.”

“No!” Her voice was sharp, bordering on hysterical. She grabbed my wrist, her nails digging in. “No healers. Please, Yara. Just… just stay with me. Don't leave me.”

“Okay, okay,” I soothed, startled by her panic. “I’m not going anywhere. Just breathe.”

I sat on the edge of the chaise, my head spinning. Riel was out there. My mate. He was waiting for an answer. That flickering pulse inside my chest was thrumming again, a quiet, hopeful beat that called for him.

“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”

Tiana’s voice was small, choked. I looked up, and she was watching me, her eyes filled with a desperate, heartbreaking sorrow.

“What? Tia, I…”

“I saw how he looked at you in the garden,” she whispered, fresh tears welling and spilling down her cheeks. “I saw… his eyes. That golden glow.”

My stomach tightened. She had seen.

“Tia, I don't know what happened. He just…”

“I love him, Yara.”

The words, spoken so brokenly, sucked all the air from the room. My heart stopped.

“What?” I whispered.

“I’ve loved him for years,” she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “Ever since we were kids. He was always so kind, so strong… I always thought… I hoped that maybe, when I presented as a Beta, he might finally see me.”

I stared at her, my mind reeling. Tiana? And Riel? She had never, not once, said a single word.

“You… you never told me,” I said, my voice barely audible.

“How could I?” she cried, looking up at me, her face a mask of misery. “You were always his friend. You were the one he joked with. And I… I was just your quiet older sister. And then tonight… I heard what he said. He called you his mate.”

The last word was a wail of utter despair. She clutched her ankle, but the pain she was expressing was clearly from her heart, not her foot.

“Tia, I swear, I had no idea…”

“If you accept him, Yara,” she cut in, her voice dropping to a terrifying, trembling whisper. She grabbed my arm, her eyes wild. “If you take him from me… after everything… I don't think I can live. I can't. I can't watch you two be together.”

“Tiana, don’t say that.”

“I mean it!” she shrieked, her grip tightening. “I’d rather just… end it. What’s the point? He’s the only one I’ve ever wanted. And the Goddess gives him to you? The one person who… who…”

She didn't have to finish. The one person she loved, her sister.

My blood ran cold. The image of her lying… no. I couldn’t even think it.

The tiny, flickering pulse of my new-found wolf went silent, as if doused with ice water.

This was Tiana. My sister, who had protected me my entire life. The one who took Mother’s whip for me just days ago. She was fragile. She was in pain.

And I was the cause.

Riel’s face flashed in my mind, his kind eyes, his gentle smile, the shocking warmth of his claim. Moonfire and rain.

It was a beautiful, impossible dream. But Tiana’s life? That was real.

There was no choice. Not really.

“Tia, no,” I said, my voice firm, though my insides were shattering. “Don’t you ever say that. He’s not… It’s not… Of course not.”

“But he’s your mate,” she sobbed.

“He’s nothing,” I said, the word tasting like ash. “It doesn’t matter. Your happiness is all that matters to me. I... I don't even want a mate.”

Tiana’s desperate eyes searched mine. “Do you mean it? You’ll… you’ll reject him?”

My stomach heaved. The formal rejection. To sever a bond the Goddess herself had chosen. It was the worst sin a wolf could commit.

But Tiana’s life was on the line.

“Yes,” I said, my voice hollow. “I promise you, Tia. I’ll reject him.”

Her sobs quieted, her breathing still hitched. “Promise me you’ll make him believe it. Promise me you’ll make him hate you, so he… so he’ll never try again.”

My heart cracked. But I looked at my sister, my protector, and I nodded. “I promise.”

I left her in the break room and walked back toward the garden, my body numb, my feet moving on autopilot. I felt hollowed out, but a small, sick part of me felt… noble. I was doing the right thing. I was saving my sister. This was my sacrifice to make.

Riel was exactly where I’d left him, pacing by the terrace, the moonlight catching the silver in his hair. The second he saw me, he froze, his eyes flaring with that same intense, golden light. It wasn’t just his wolf; it was his hope.

“Yara!” He rushed toward me, his hands outstretched. “Is Tiana alright? Did you… did you feel it? The bond?”

He was beaming, his face transformed by a joy so pure it was like a physical blow.

I had to break him. I had to kill that light.

I flinched back, putting my hand up. “Stop.”

My voice was colder than I’d ever heard it. It startled us both.

Riel’s smile faltered. He slowly lowered his hands. “Yara? What’s wrong?”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” I said flatly, forcing the words out. “I didn’t feel anything.”

His brow furrowed in confusion. “What? That’s impossible. My wolf, Ashen… he’s screaming. Your wolf, I can feel her…”

“I don’t have a wolf!” I snapped, letting all my years of bitterness and humiliation twist my voice into something cruel. “Remember? I’m the freak. The Hawthorne disappointment.”

“Yara, stop. That’s not true. You’re…”

“You’re what?” I forced a laugh. It sounded brittle and ugly. “My mate? Is that what you think? That the Goddess would pair you, the Alpha Heir of Blackthorn, with me?”

I stepped closer, jabbing a finger at his chest. I had to make this hurt. I had to make it final.

“How pathetic,” I spat. “Was this some kind of pity party, Riel? You saw the freak alone in the garden and decided to tell her a fairytale?”

His face went pale. The gold in his eyes flickered, wounded. “No. Yara, you know I would never… I’m telling the truth.”

“You’re telling me a lie!” I shouted. “And I don’t want it. I don't want your pity, and I don’t want you.”

His breath hitched. The wound in his eyes deepened. “You… you don’t mean that.”

“I mean every word,” I said, the lie burning my throat. I balled my fists, my nails digging into my palms. “You and me? It’s a mistake. A sick joke. I don’t want a mate. And if I did, it damn well wouldn't be you.”

I saw the moment his heart broke. His shoulders slumped. The light in his eyes died, leaving only a dull, aching gold.

I had to finish it. Now, while I still had the strength.

I took a deep breath, lifted my chin, and spoke the ancient, binding words. “I, Yara Hawthorne, formally reject you, Riel Black, as my mate.”

A sound ripped from his throat, a guttural groan of pain. He stumbled back, clutching his chest as if I’d physically stabbed him. The air between us grew cold and empty. The faint pulse inside me didn't just go silent; it died.

I had done it.

I turned to walk away, my legs trembling.

“You’re lying.”

His voice was no longer soft. It was a low, terrifying growl I’d never heard from him.

I stopped, but I didn’t turn around.

“I said, leave me alone.”

A hand clamped down on my arm, spinning me around. Riel’s face was inches from mine, but it wasn't him. The gentle boy was gone. His eyes were burning with a new, dark fire. His canines were elongated, his features twisted in a snarl of rage and betrayal.

“No,” he growled. “You felt it. I know you did. You’re just scared.”

“Let go of me!” I tried to pull away, but his grip was like iron.

“You’re making a mistake, Yara.” His voice was rough, his grip bruising. “You think this is noble? You think you’re protecting someone?”

My heart hammered in my chest. He knew.

“I’ll make you regret this,” he vowed, his eyes boring into mine, the gold now poisoned with obsession. “You’re mine. And if you won’t come to me, I’ll find another way. I swear to the Goddess, you will regret this day for the rest of your life.”

He shoved my arm away from him, the force making me stumble.

He gave me one last look, a look that promised pain, and then he was gone, storming back into the woods, a predator unleashed.

I stood there shaking, my arm throbbing where his fingers had dug in. The sweet smell of jasmine was gone, replaced by the scent of my own cold sweat.

I did it, Tia. I protected you.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stop the tremors. I had saved my sister. I had done the right thing.

I walked back to the break room, feeling hollow, broken, but grimly satisfied.

When I opened the door, Tiana was sitting up on the chaise, rubbing her ankle. The desperate, suicidal panic was gone.

“Yara?” she asked, looking up, her eyes bright and anxious. “Did you…?”

“It’s done,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “I rejected him.”

A brilliant, dazzling smile of pure relief spread across Tiana’s face. “Oh, Yara! Thank you!”

She scrambled off the lounge, her ankle seemingly forgotten and she threw her arms around me in a tight hug.

“You’re the best sister in the world! I knew you’d understand. I knew you’d choose me!”

I stood frozen in her embrace, my arm still burning from Riel’s grasp. Tiana’s hug felt suffocating, cold.

I closed my eyes, trying to feel the rightness of my sacrifice. But as I hugged my sister back, the only thing I felt was the chilling echo of Riel’s voice.

You’ll regret this.

The sick, hollow feeling in my stomach told me the price for my sister's happiness was one I hadn't even begun to pay.