The Rejection

Olivia's POV

"The Moon Goddess must have made a mistake."

For a few seconds, I simply stared at him.

The words hung between us, refusing to make sense. I had heard them clearly enough, yet some stubborn part of me insisted there had to be another explanation. Maybe he was joking. Maybe he was caught off guard and had spoken without thinking. Maybe he was about to say something that would make the knot tightening in my chest disappear.

People didn't say things like that to their mates. At least, they weren't supposed to.

My wolf shifted uneasily inside me. Only moments ago, I had been overwhelmed by the joy of finally feeling her presence after years of waiting. Now her confusion bled into mine, making it difficult to separate what she felt from what I felt.

He's our mate, my wolf insisted.

I knew that. Every instinct inside me knew it. The bond still stretched between us, strong and unmistakable. No matter how much I wished I could deny it, the connection remained.

Across from me, Ryker hadn't moved.

The surprise I'd seen when our eyes first met was still there, but something else had settled over his features. Whatever it was made my stomach tighten.

Around us, the hall remained silent.

The elder stood frozen near the front of the room. The musicians had stopped playing. Hundreds of eyes were fixed on us as though everyone had forgotten how to breathe.

Eventually, someone whispered, and another person answered. Within moments, the silence gave way to a wave of murmurs.

"What is he talking about?"

"Did he really say that?"

"No way."

"She's his mate?"

The disbelief in that last question stung more than an outright insult would have.

I glanced down for the briefest moment and immediately regretted it. Looking away felt too much like surrender, and I was tired of giving people reasons to pity me.

When I lifted my head again, Ryker was still watching me.

For one ridiculous second, I wanted him to explain himself. I wanted him to smile and admit he had spoken badly. I wanted him to laugh and tell everyone they had misunderstood. Instead, he remained silent.

The realization came slowly. The more I looked at him, the clearer it became that he wasn't confused at all. He knew exactly what the bond meant. He just didn't seem happy about it. The bond had chosen me, and he wished it hadn't.

The thought settled heavily in my chest.

Movement to Ryker's left caught my attention.

A woman stepped out of the crowd with the kind of confidence that made people instinctively move aside. I recognized Alessia Moonfang immediately. Everyone did.

She was beautiful in the effortless way people expected future Lunas to be beautiful. Her dark hair fell over one shoulder in glossy waves, and her crimson gown looked as though it had been made specifically for her.

Rumors linking her to Ryker had circulated for months. Some people claimed the Alpha Council wanted them together. Others insisted the arrangement had already been decided. I had never paid much attention to those rumors before. Now I wished I had.

Alessia stopped beside him. She didn't even glance at me at first. Her attention remained fixed on Ryker, and when she finally spoke, her voice carried easily through the hall.

"Ryker, everyone is waiting."

The words sounded harmless enough, but I could feel the shift they caused. The entire room seemed to hold its breath.

Until that moment, there had still been uncertainty. Ryker's comment had been cruel, but it could have been dismissed as shock or poor judgment. Alessia had just forced him to make a choice.

A muscle moved in Ryker's jaw. His hands were clenched at his sides, and for the first time I noticed how tense he looked. He didn't look pleased. That should have made me feel better. Instead, it only left me wondering why he seemed determined to hurt both of us.

My wolf's distress continued to build.

Why isn't he coming to us?

I swallowed hard. Because I didn't have an answer. Or maybe I did. The bond recognized us as mates. That didn't mean he wanted me.

The whispers around us grew louder. Some people looked uncomfortable. Others seemed entertained. A few wore expressions that bordered on sympathy. None of that sympathy was directed at me. It was directed at Ryker. As though he were the one suffering.

I had spent years pretending I didn't care what people thought. Standing there beneath hundreds of staring eyes, I realized that wasn't entirely true. I cared. I just didn't let most people see it.

My fingers tightened around the fabric of my dress. Moments ago, I'd been wondering whether it looked nice. Now I wished I could disappear inside it. Instead, I straightened my shoulders. If this was going to end badly, I wasn't going to make it easier for anyone to watch.

When I looked at Ryker again, something flickered across his expression. Surprise. Maybe he expected me to cry, or maybe he expected me to run. Whatever he had expected, standing my ground clearly wasn't it.

A few seconds later, the elder cleared his throat. The sound seemed unnaturally loud.

"Alpha," he said carefully, "are you certain you wish to proceed?"

A ripple of unease moved through the room. Even the elder looked uncomfortable asking the question. The answer hadn't been given yet, but everyone already knew it.

Ryker's gaze remained fixed on mine. For the briefest moment, I thought I saw regret. Then his expression hardened, and whatever uncertainty had been there vanished.

I knew what was coming before he spoke. Something inside me already knew, and my wolf knew it too. Fear swept through her with such force that it made my eyes sting.

Olivia...

I wished I knew what to tell her. I wished I knew how to prepare either of us for what was about to happen. Instead, I watched the man fate had chosen for me draw a slow breath.

When he finally spoke, his voice carried through the hall with effortless authority.

"I, Alpha Ryker Blackthorn, reject Olivia Hart as my fated mate."

The words hit with devastating force.

Pain tore through my chest so suddenly that my breath caught. It felt as though something had reached inside me and ripped apart a connection I had only just discovered. My knees threatened to give way, and I struggled to remain standing as the bond shuddered violently.

Gasps erupted around the room.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard my father call my name, but the sound seemed far away.

The pain wasn't mine alone. My wolf cried out, and the anguish in that cry cut deeper than the rejection itself. Only minutes ago, she had awakened after years of silence. She had barely existed long enough to experience hope. Now she was experiencing heartbreak.

I pressed a hand against my chest, fighting for breath as the hall blurred around me.

The strangest part was that finding my mate had always been my impossible dream. For years, I had believed that if it ever happened, it would finally prove there wasn't something wrong with me.

Instead, I stood in the middle of a silent hall surrounded by people who had just watched my mate reject me.

And somehow, that hurt far more than all the years I had spent without him.