"Mate!"
Celine's voice echoed in my mind, bright and breathless.
My heart soared, my wolf's excitement flooding through me until I couldn't stop the smile spreading across my face.
Fredrick Martin.
The Alpha Prince.
The strongest ruler of the pack.
The man I'd loved for as long as I could remember.
He was my mate.
Joy bubbled up in my chest, too big to contain. After all these years, the Moon Goddess had finally blessed me. We were destined — soulbound.
"Felice, you've been summoned by the Alpha Prince," a maid called through the door.
"Okay!" I chirped, barely able to keep my voice steady.
He must have felt it too. Maybe he wanted to confirm it — to claim me. My heart danced at the thought.
I almost skipped through the halls, but stopped a few steps from the throne room to fix my dress. My hands trembled as I smoothed the fabric, lifted my chin, and stepped forward.
The massive doors opened.
And there he was.
Fredrick sat on the throne, golden light spilling across his sharp features. His presence filled the room — commanding, flawless, divine.
Our eyes met. My heart stumbled.
He looked at me for a long moment, expression unreadable.
Then he spoke.
"Felice."
I smiled nervously. "Yes, Your High—"
"I reject this bond."
The words sliced through the air.
For a heartbeat, I didn't understand. I blinked, staring at him, waiting for a laugh — a cruel joke, a test, something.
But Fredrick's face was cold as stone.
Pain erupted in my chest, sharp and suffocating. Celine howled inside me, the sound of a breaking soul.
"W-what?" I choked out, clutching my chest.
"I said I reject this bond," he repeated, voice flat, final.
The court fell silent, then the whispers began.
"She thought she could have the prince?"
"Pathetic."
"Just a maid…"
Their laughter stung more than any blade.
Fredrick's gaze was distant, detached. "You and I are worlds apart," he said. "You're a servant. I am a prince — the Alpha of the second-largest pack. Get out of my sight."
Each word was poison.
I wanted to cry, to scream, to beg — but I couldn't give them that satisfaction.
So I forced a weak smile, even as my heart cracked open.
"Yes, Alpha," I said softly.
The room blurred. Laughter echoed in my ears as I turned and walked away — one slow, heavy step after another.
Only when the doors closed behind me did I run.
Back to my tiny room.
Back to the silence that had always been my only friend.
I fell to the floor and sobbed until my throat burned. My chest ached so badly I could barely breathe. Inside me, Celine's cries mingled with another voice — cold, impatient.
"Could you stop howling, you mutt? It's not helping," my vampire side, Diaris, hissed.
He was right. Crying wouldn't change anything.
I pressed my palms to my eyes, forcing myself to breathe. "Enough," I whispered.
I was Felice — half-wolf, half-vampire, half-witch. A mistake. A secret. A danger to everyone if they ever found out.
I'd lived eighteen years in this palace — orphaned, unwanted, surviving because Mabel, the maid who raised me, once had a kind heart. But she was gone now.
And so was any reason for me to stay.
That night, I packed the few things I owned, slipped through the underground tunnels, and vanished into the woods.
I didn't look back.
For the first time in my life, I was free — but freedom was cold, and the world was darker than I'd imagined.
By the time I stumbled into a cave, exhaustion pulled me down. I told myself I'd rest, just for a moment.
Then — rustling.
I froze. My heart pounded.
"Who's there?" I whispered, raising my dagger.
Something moved — fast. A force slammed into me. I hit the cave wall hard, pain blooming across my ribs.
Through blurred vision, I saw a flash of silver light drawing near.
And then —
Darkness.