Alexandra's POV
Just say it
My heart's hammering; each beat reminds me I shouldn't be here. Not like this, in front of everyone. But I am. Some part of me still hopes.
Ethan Sinclair's standing there, my supposed mate. His eyes are dark, hard to read. He's the Alpha of the most powerful pack around. The guy I've dreamed about, wanted. Now he's about to crush me.
He breathes out, like he's getting ready. I, Ethan Sinclair, reject you, Alexandra Hayes, as my mate and Luna.
Those words hit me hard, stealing my breath. People around me gasp. My knees wobble, but I stand tall. If I'm going to break, it won't be here, not for them, and sure as hell not for him.
My chest aches like something inside is getting ripped apart. The mate bond—sacred, unbreakable—is breaking. And it stinks.
Ethan's looking right at me. His face is like stone, so cold. But his hands are clenched, the only sign this is getting to him.
Say it back, Alexandra, he tells me, his voice rough. It's an order, not a request, because Ethan Sinclair doesn't beg.
I swallow hard, forcing myself to do it. I, Alexandra Hayes, accept your rejection.
As soon as I say it, the pain gets worse. My chest feels like it's gonna cave in. For a second, I think I'm gonna faint, but I don't. I won't.
Everything goes silent. Everyone's watching me, waiting for me to fall apart. I look back at them with a strength I don't feel.
I won't give them what they want.
I turn away, my eyes blurry, but I won't blink or cry.
Someone behind me scoffs. A woman, amused. She thought she actuallyhad a shot.
People laugh, quiet and mean. My stomach tightens, and I clench my fists. But I keep walking. I keep going. If I stop, I'll never get back up.
That was a mistake, Sinclair.
The voice is smooth, sure, and sounds like someone's laughing. Adrian Wolfe, the rival Alpha. A guy who loves a good fight.
I stop, but I don't turn yet.
Stay out of this, Wolfe, Ethan snaps.
Adrian chuckles. You just dumped the strongest woman in this room, for what? Some stupid duty? A curse? He pauses. Or are you just chicken?
I gasp. The air is thick with tension.
Ethan moves fast. One second he's standing there, the next, you hear a crack as a fist hits someone. Then someone falls. People gasp.
I finally turn around. Adrian's on one knee, his mouth bleeding. But he's smiling.
Hit a nerve? he asks, wiping the blood. His gray eyes look right at me, like he knows something I don't. Walk away now, Alexandra, and you let him win. You let fate win.
I look back, my heart's going crazy.
I have a choice. I can walk away like I planned, or I can turn around and face the music.
My hands are shaking. My heart hurts.
Then, I make a choice.
I take a step back toward them.
Ethan's eyes darken. Adrian smirks. The crowd whispers.
I don't care one bit.
I'm done with being weak.
I'm done getting dumped.
If fate thinks it can mess with me, it's got another thing coming.
I didn't stop, even though my lungs burned and my legs ached. The place was dense, so the moonlight barely peeked through the branches. Every step forward was a getaway, a turn down of the pain clawing at my chest.
Ethan Sinclair had broken me tonight. Or at least, he thought he had.
Fated mates. What a lame joke. An illusion wrapped in destiny's chains.
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. The rejection still pulsed through me like venom, but I refused to be a victim of it. I refused to be another she-wolf, another discarded mate left to wither.
A rustle in the trees stopped me instantly.
My heartbeat went crazy, and I turned, my senses sharpening. I was ready to fight a bear at that point.
And then, a figure stepped from the shadows.
Adrian Wolfe.
He leaned against a tree, arms crossed, his piercing gray eyes watching me like a predator that had just found its prize. Unlike Ethan, who always carried the weight of his duty, Adrian had never cared about rules. He was what defiance was, no fear over what fate could do.
"If I didn't know you better I'd say you're actually running, aren't you?" His voice was smooth, taunting. "Doesn't seem like you."
I inhaled sharply with a little bit of attitude. "And what do you want, Adrian? Come to make fun of me and rub it in?"
"Rub it in?" He laughed, low and dark. "I'm here to offer you something way better."
I narrowed my eyes. "I don't need a knight in shining armor, a savior."
"All the better," he said, pushing off the tree and closing the gap between us. "Because I'm here for is making sure you don't waste your fire crying over a man who's a fool."
I wanted to step back, but I held my ground. "And you see yourself as someone who I'm better off with? How?"
His smirk widened. "I think fate's stupid. And I don't believe in playing by its rules."
A rush of wind blew through the trees, carrying his scent—smoky, sharp, a rebel without a cause.
For a moment, I hated how calm he stood, how unaffected he seemed by the storm inside me.
But then, he reached out—not to touch, not to comfort, but to challenge, pushing me.
"Forget him, Alexandra." He lowered his voice, the words curling around me like a forbidden thought. "There's a whole world of different ways to live that life has to offer."
I could go down a different road.
What he asked lingered in the space between us, tempting.
I wasn't sure what was more terrifying—taking his hand, or the part of me that wanted to.