Chapter Three: His chosen mate

Thalia

The cold stone floor of the dungeon tore into my hard knees as I knelt in chains, my wrists were raw and bruised. I could feel the dampness in my bones as I sat there In the dark. Tiny rays of Moonlight filtered through a small barred window high above me, casting shadows across the walls. I was not new to the cold as I slept on the bare floor of the servant quarters and my hands have been constantly torn and bruised.

I had spent the night in silence. No tears, no screams just the endless ringing of Cane’s words in my head.

“I reject you, Thalia, Omega of Greenwood Park, as my mate.”

Again and again, like the pulse of a wound that refused to close. I tried to shut those words out but I just couldn't no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't believe that he would reject his fated mate all because of my sister. Our bond was meant to be sacred but it meant nothing to him.

The cell door creaked open and i looked up. Two guards stepped inside without a word and grabbed my arm. I was yanked up and dragged to the great hall. I didn’t resist. What was the point?

They led me out into the blinding light of day, dragging my broken body up and throwing me at the foot of my father. I was treated like a prisoner or even worse. I was treated with contempt. Just as my father was about to speak cane cleared his voice. My father looked at him expectantly, urging him to speak.

“I wish to formally sever the mating bond between myself and Thalia, Omega of Greenwood Park, and maybe seraphina my chosen mate” he declared.

“Very well then. The ceremony would take place at full moon. Take her back to the cell.” My father commanded and once again I was thrown into the cell and locked behind bars, waiting for my fate to be sealed and to be officially severed from the fated bond between me and my mate.

At dusk, the entire park had gathered. Again. Not to celebrate me. Never for that. They had come to witness my final shame.

A platform had been erected in the center of the clearing. The high-ranking warriors stood to the left, the council members to the right. My father sat on his stone throne in the center, flanked by Seraphina and Cane now dressed in matching ceremonial robes of crimson and gold, the colors of royalty.

She looked radiant, triumphant. He looked cold. Distant.

But I still felt it. The bond.

It pulled at me like a thread tied to my chest, frayed and bleeding, but not yet severed. I hated it. Hated that it still existed, that no matter what he’d done to me, some part of me still wanted to believe it meant something. My wolf looked up at me. I could see the sadness in her eyes. I could see that she loved him and wanted to be with him, but... he rejected her. He rejected us.

The guards forced me to kneel in the middle of the circle, chains clinking loudly in the Silence.

The High Priestess stepped forward, her robes flowing like liquid moonlight. She looked down at me, her expression unreadable.

“State your request Cane" she said calling him forward.

Cane stepped forward, his jaw tight, his hands clasped behind his back like a true Alpha. He didn't look at me. Not once. His eyes were on the Priestess, on the crowd, on everything but me.

“I wish to formally sever the mating bond between myself and Thalia, Omega of Greenwood Park,” he declared. “And in the sight of the Moon Goddess and this pack, I wish to choose Seraphina as my mate.”

The crowd gasped. Some murmured. Others smiled. The same pack that had watched me fall now waited to watch me break.

The Priestess nodded solemnly. “Then let the ritual begin.”

She turned to me. Even her voice had softened, as if she already knew the pain that was to come.

“Thalia, do you accept the rejection from your fated mate? Do you accept that your bond is severed by the Moon Goddess?”

My heart thudded in my chest. My wolf stirred weakly, her ears pinned back, her breath shallow. This would be the final nail. No more invisible string. No more pain-filled dreams. No more false hope. "I'm sorry" I apologized to my wolf through my mind-link. I had to do this. I had to put an end to this. If I wouldn't be chosen, I wasn't going to be the victim. I raised my chin, eyes burning with defiance.

“I accept.”

Silence fell again, heavy and final. The Priestess raised her arms to the sky, chanting in the ancient tongue. A silver glow began to rise from the stone beneath my knees, encircling my body like mist. My breath caught in my throat.

Suddenly, I felt pain. A kind I had never felt before. It tore through my body like fire beneath my skin. My spine arched, and a scream ripped from my throat before I could stop it. It felt like claws digging into my soul, ripping something vital from deep inside.

The bond. It wasn’t just a connection. It was a living part of me and now it was being ripped away. I collapsed onto the stone, my palms scraping against the harsh surface. My vision blurred. My mouth opened in a silent cry as wave after wave of agony rolled over me. The Moon Goddess wasn't fair. She had chosen him for me. And yet I was the one left in pieces.

He stood untouched beside the she-wolf who had stolen him from me. I could see him shiver a little as I groaned and winced then he stood still. Stiff even. Did he really not care for me even for a bit?Seraphina’s lips curved in a satisfied smile. She had won.

She had everything now. The crowd watched in silence as the ritual was completed. A silver flame sparked in the air. A confirmation from the Goddess that the bond had been broken.

"Make your declaration" The high priestess screamed. Pointing at Cane. Cane and Seraphina stepped forward.

"In the eyes of the Moon goddess and every living mankind, I declare that Seraphina, daughter of the Alpha king of Greenwood park is my chosen mate. I chose her this day. She is mine and I am hers." cane stated.

Seraphina bowed slightly as Cane kissed her forehead, signifying that she chose him too. The Priestess anointed their foreheads with moonstone oil and whispered the final words.

“In the eyes of the Moon Goddess, you are now bonded. Nothing shall hinder your bond. Your two souls have been made one.”

Cane kissed her. Not a kiss of passion, but a claim. The ritual was complete. It was over. I felt nothing.

I barely had time to rise to my knees when my father stood, his voice echoing across the grounds.

“Now that the formalities are done, let judgment be passed.”

I turned my eyes toward him. For a split second, I searched his face for even a flicker of mercy.

There was none, his mind was made up.

“You dared defy the Alpha of your park and your king,” he said coldly. “You struck your sister, the future Luna of this pack. You humiliated this family, this court, and this sacred ceremony. You are nothing but a disgrace and from this day you are no longer my daughter.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but he raised his hand to silence me. He stood tall, voice booming over the gathering.

“Your sentence is death.”

Gasps filled the air.

“You are to be burnt alive. Death through the fire is the only punishment fit for one who has betrayed her king and cursed her own blood. By the fire you shall be purged of your sins and forgiven for your crimes.”

I couldn’t breathe.

I looked around. No one objected. Not even Cane. Not even Seraphina. Not even the High Priestess.

My legs gave out completely, my heart thudding in horror.

I refused to be a servant anymore. I refused to serve and I slapped my sister and for that my punishment is fire? They were going to burn me alive. For defending myself. For standing up for myself once in my miserable life. For not staying in the dirt where they thought I belonged.

The guards seized me again, but this time, I fought back. My wolf growled, weak but desperate.

“No,” I hissed. “You can’t.....”

“You committed a crime, Thalia,” my father said. “The judgement shall be carried out immediately.”

They dragged me from the sacred circle to the stake. The crowd watched in silence. No one looked away. No one cried for me.

"Father!" I screamed desperately. But he just turned his back and went back to his seat.

I met Seraphina’s eyes one last time. She smiled. She was going to smile and watch them burn me alive. A girl I cared for like my blood. A girl my mother rescued from her dying mother and saved as a baby. I closed my eyes in surrender. This is the highest i can take. I'd rather die than continue like this.