Chapter 3: The Rejection

The office fell into a suffocating silence.

Lyra struggled to steady her breathing, one trembling hand pressed against her chest where the strange pain had vanished as quickly as it had come.

Kael stood several feet away, his golden eyes fixed on her.

The vision...

The silver-robed woman.

The burning kingdom.

The child with silver eyes.

It felt impossibly real.

Yet Kael had learned long ago never to trust visions. They were often tricks of witches or remnants of ancient curses.

Still...

His wolf refused to calm.

"She is our mate."

Kael clenched his fists.

"Enough."

"You know it's true."

"She's an omega."

"She's ours."

A low growl escaped his throat before he could stop it.

Lyra instinctively took a step back.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Alpha."

Her apology only irritated him further.

Why was she apologising?

She had done nothing wrong.

A knock interrupted the tense silence.

"My Alpha."

"Enter."

The heavy doors opened, revealing Rowan Blackthorn, Kael's Beta.

Tall and broad-shouldered, Rowan had fought beside Kael for over a decade.

His sharp blue eyes immediately landed on Lyra.

Then on the broken crystal glass.

Then on Kael.

Something was wrong.

"I apologise for interrupting," Rowan said carefully.

"The Council Elders have arrived. They request your presence immediately."

Kael's expression hardened.

"They can wait."

Rowan blinked.

The Alpha King had never made the elders wait.

Ever.

"My Alpha... they insist it concerns the succession ceremony."

Kael remained silent for several moments before speaking.

"Fine."

His gaze shifted to Lyra.

"Take her back to the servants' quarters."

Rowan frowned.

"The omega?"

"Now."

"Yes, Alpha."

As Lyra followed Rowan through the corridors, neither spoke.

Finally, Rowan broke the silence.

"What happened in there?"

Lyra lowered her head.

"I don't know."

He studied her for a moment.

She didn't smell like fear anymore.

She smelled...

Different.

Almost like fresh rain beneath a full moon.

Strange.

"I've never seen the Alpha lose control."

Lyra looked at him.

"He didn't lose control."

"He shattered a crystal goblet with his bare hand."

"...Oh."

____

Meanwhile...

Inside the council chamber...

Seven elders stood around a circular stone table.

Each wore silver robes embroidered with ancient pack symbols.

Kael entered without greeting them.

"You asked for me."

The eldest stepped forward.

"Eastern rogues have begun gathering again."

"I eliminated them."

"So we believed."

Another elder placed a bloodstained map onto the table.

"They've united."

Kael's eyes narrowed.

"Under whom?"

The room fell silent.

Finally...

"The Shadow King."

Every candle flickered.

Even Kael's expression changed.

"The Shadow King is dead."

"So history claims."

____

Elsewhere...

Deep within the servants' quarters...

Lyra sat quietly beside her small window.

The moon hung low over the forest.

She couldn't stop thinking about the voice.

"Mine."

Had she imagined it?

She closed her eyes.

Silence.

Nothing.

Just as she sighed—

A whisper echoed inside her mind.

Soft.

Gentle.

Almost like a lullaby.

"Do not fear..."

Lyra froze.

"...Who's there?"

No answer.

Only silence.

Then—

A faint silver glow spread beneath the skin of her wrist.

She quickly covered it with her sleeve.

No one could see.

No one.

____

Later that night...

Kael stood alone on the balcony outside his chambers.

Snow fell quietly around him.

His wolf remained restless.

"You're making a mistake."

Kael stared into the darkness.

"I've spent my life protecting this kingdom."

"Then protect her."

"My Luna must stand beside me."

"She can."

"She cannot."

"You're lying to yourself."

Kael closed his eyes.

He had seen kingdoms fall because Alphas allowed emotion to cloud judgment.

He wouldn't become one of them.

No matter what fate demanded.

___

The next morning...

The entire Black Crescent Pack gathered in the central courtyard.

News had spread overnight.

The Alpha King had made an announcement.

Every warrior.

Every elder.

Every servant.

Every omega.

All stood waiting.

Lyra remained at the very back of the crowd.

Confused.

Nervous.

Kael stepped onto the stone platform overlooking the pack.

The crowd immediately fell silent.

His voice echoed across the courtyard.

"Yesterday..."

"I discovered something unexpected."

His golden eyes found Lyra.

She felt hundreds of gazes turn toward her.

"My wolf recognised someone as my fated mate."

Gasps erupted throughout the crowd.

Excited whispers spread instantly.

Who was she?

Which noble Alpha daughter?

Which powerful Luna?

Kael's face remained cold.

"But wolves can be mistaken."

The whispers stopped.

"I refuse to accept a mate unworthy of the Black Crescent throne."

Lyra's heart sank.

She already knew.

Before he spoke the next words...

She knew.

Kael looked directly into her silver eyes.

"In the presence of my pack..."

"I reject Lyra Ashwood as my mate."

The world seemed to stop.

An invisible force slammed into Lyra's chest.

Pain unlike anything she had ever experienced tore through her heart.

She collapsed onto the frozen ground, unable to breathe.

The crowd erupted.

"The Alpha rejected her!"

"She really was his mate!"

"An omega?"

"A wolfless omega?"

Laughter.

Shock.

Disgust.

Pity.

It all blurred together.

Lyra pressed a hand against her chest as tears streamed silently down her face.

She had never asked for this.

Never wanted this.

Yet somehow...

It hurt more than anything she had ever endured.

Kael turned away without another word.

But as he walked back toward the manor, his wolf released a deafening roar inside his mind.

"You have doomed us all."

Far away...

Beneath the blood-red moon...

A hooded figure smiled.

"The bond has been broken..."

"Now the Moonborn belongs to no Alpha."

The hunt had begun.