Chapter 2

ELARA'S POV

My body froze immediately. This was supposed to happen at all. What I was feeling wasn’t real. It couldn't be real. From the look on Kaelen's face, I knew he was feeling the same way.

Shock froze his face completely. The entire clearing held its breath. For one impossible moment, happiness bloomed inside my chest so suddenly it almost hurt.

Mate. I had a mate. The Moon Goddess had chosen me. She remembered me again. After all these years, after every whisper, after every humiliation, she had chosen me.

I had a mate and not just anyone. The Alpha Prince. The one man I felt was untouchable by all.

Emotion clogged my throat painfully as Kaelen began walking toward me through the parted crowd.

Every step he took made the bond pulse harder inside my chest. Around us, wolves stared openly now. I saw the confusion and disbelief etched in their faces. Some even looked disgusted.

I barely noticed any of them. Because maybe, just maybe, my life was finally changing. Maybe he would accept me. Maybe he wouldn't care about my status.

Maybe I would have a shot at happiness just once in my life. Kaelen stopped directly in front of me and the hope inside me died instantly.

There was no warmth in his eyes, no happiness or care. There was only fury. Raw and unmistakable. I froze beneath it.

Up close, his Alpha scent crushed against my senses heavily enough to make my weak wolf retreat instinctively.

His jaw clenched hard. Then, very quietly, he asked, “Is this some kind of fucking joke?” The words hit harder than they should have.

My mouth parted slightly. “I… I don’t understand.”

“You expect me to believe this?” he snapped coldly.

The surrounding crowd had gone completely silent now. Every eye in Silvercrest was watching us.

“I didn’t do anything,” I whispered quickly, panic rising inside my chest. “I swear it…I don’t know why the Goddess—”

“The Goddess?” he repeated sharply.

Disgust flashed across his face so openly that heat flooded my skin in humiliation. Behind him, I noticed movement.

Lyra was watching everything and she was smiling. Something cold slid down my spine. This was really really bad. When my eyes met Kaelen’s, I couldn't breathe.

He looked at me like I was something beneath him. Something that wasn't worth his time at all.

Then his voice rang across the sacred grounds loud enough for the entire pack to hear.

“I refuse to accept this bond. There's no way in hell that I'll agree to stay mated to a weakling who doesn't even have her wolf. You're not worthy to be called my Luna.”

His words made my heart ache. Tears gathered in my eyes but I bit my lip to stop myself from crying. Way to crush every last bit of hope I had.

“This isn't my fault…” I started but he held his hands up and the words died in my throat. His eyes were cold as he delivered the final blow.

“I, Kaelen Valerian, future Alpha of Silvercrest…”

My heartbeat stopped. No. “…reject you, Elara Evernight, as my mate.”

The world shattered. Pain ripped through my chest so violently I cried out before I could stop myself. A sharp snapping sensation tore through my body like something sacred had just been ripped apart with bare hands.

I collapsed to my knees immediately, clutching my chest while agony spread through every nerve. Gasps erupted around the clearing. He had rejected and severed the bond.

Tears blurred my vision instantly, but I bit down hard enough on my lip to stop myself from making another sound.

Even now. Even broken open in front of the entire pack, I did not want them seeing me cry. The pain slowly dulled into something hollow and unbearable.

Kaelen stared down at me coldly. There was no regret in his eyes. And somehow that hurt worst of all. “She is unfit to stand beside Silvercrest’s throne,” he announced clearly. “But her existence can still serve a purpose.”

Confusion rippled through the crowd. I looked up slowly through blurred vision. Kaelen’s expression never changed.

“As part of the alliance between Silvercrest and Bloodreaver territory…” he continued, “Elara Evernight will be given in marriage to General Varak.”

Silence. Then horror exploded through the clearing.

“The Bloodreaver?”

“Gods…”

“She’ll die.”

Fear flooded my body instantly. Varak. Everyone knew the stories. The monster of Bloodreaver Fortress. The war general who was covered in scars.

The Alpha whispered to rip enemies apart with his bare hands during battle. Some stories claimed he drank blood. Others claimed he collected skulls.

Either way, nobody spoke his name comfortably. And now, I was being handed to him. “No…” The word slipped from me before I could stop it.

Kaelen didn’t even look affected. “It is already decided, Elara. You can't run from it. My pulse pounded violently.

This couldn’t be happening. First the rejection. Now this. I turned instinctively toward my family standing nearby.

My mother looked relieved. My father looked indifferent. They didn't even care about me one bit. And Lyra looked pleased.

That expression finally forced something terrible into place inside my mind. Even though I wasn't like my sister, I was still their family. How could they watch as I was being handed like a slave?

My stomach twisted violently. Kaelen stepped away from me slowly without another word like I meant nothing.

The sacred grounds buzzed with horrified whispers while I remained kneeling beneath the moonlight struggling to breathe around the ache inside my chest.

The Moon Goddess had chosen me for one beautiful impossible moment only for the entire world to remind me exactly who I was afterward.

An unwanted omega. And now apparently, a sacrifice.

No one stood up for me. No one tried to talk, to plead with me. They all just watched as I stood there.

Then, Kaelen's voice rang out. “Take her to a room and lock her up. She will be sent to him in the morning.”

“No,” I screamed, the word escaping me before I could stop it.