(Damien's POV)
The sound of my own voice still haunted me. Those cruel words I had spoken in front of the pack echoed in my skull like a curse. I, Alpha Damien Black, reject you as my mate. I could still see the look in Luna's eyes when I said it, shattered, wide with disbelief, and then empty. I thought it would make me stronger to push her away, to bury the bond that threatened to ruin me, but instead it burned me alive from the inside.
I lay awake in my chambers that night, staring at the ceiling, the wolf inside me restless and pacing. He did not agree with my choice. He growled and scratched at my control, demanding I go after her, demanding I take back what I had done. But I shut him out. I had to. There were reasons I could not claim Luna, reasons no one would ever understand. My fate was written long before she walked into my life, and if I let myself give in to her, everything I had tried to bury would surface again.
Yet no matter how I tried to justify it, the emptiness clawed at me. I should have felt relieved. Instead, I felt hollow, as if rejecting her had ripped out more than my heart, it had stolen my very soul. The pack saw me as a cold Alpha, decisive and unshaken, but in truth, I was breaking apart.
The next morning, I forced myself into a routine. I trained with my warriors until sweat drenched me. I sparred harder than usual, letting fists and claws bruise my skin just to feel something other than regret. But even then, her scent lingered in the air. Sweet, warm, unforgettable. No matter how far she ran, I could still feel the bond humming in my chest, stubborn and alive.
When the council gathered, they looked at me with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. Rejecting a mate was not unheard of, but for an Alpha, it was dangerous. An Alpha rejecting a Luna left the pack exposed, unstable. They whispered, questioning if I had lost my mind. I ignored them. I gave my orders, discussed border patrols, and spoke of treaties with nearby packs. But behind every word, my thoughts drifted to her.
Where had she gone? Was she safe? Did she hate me with the same fire that I hated myself?
That night, the dreams began. I saw her running through the forest, her eyes wide, her breath sharp as if something hunted her. I smelled blood and ash. I heard whispers carried by the wind, voices that spoke of curses, of truths that should never be revealed. And always, just before I reached her in the dream, I woke up drenched in sweat, my wolf howling in despair.
I told myself they were only dreams. But deep inside, I knew they were more than that. The bond did not lie. What she felt, I felt. What she suffered, my soul echoed.
Days passed, but the weight only grew heavier. My wolf grew more restless, snapping at anyone who came too close. I lost my temper easily, and even my Beta, Marcus, began to tread carefully around me.
"Alpha," he said one evening as we patrolled the borders together, "this rejection is not sitting well with you. The pack sees it. They feel it. If you do not find balance, the consequences could spread to all of us."
I clenched my jaw, staring at the line of trees ahead. Balance? There was no balance. There was only pain. "It is done," I said sharply. "She is not our concern."
Marcus hesitated. "Maybe not yours, but the bond does not die so easily. You can bury it, but it will keep bleeding through. Everyone sees it."
I growled low in my throat, warning him not to press further. He fell silent, but I could feel his disapproval hanging heavy between us.
When I returned to the packhouse that night, I caught her scent again. It was faint, but it lingered in the wind like a ghost. My chest tightened, and before I knew it, my feet were carrying me toward the forest. I told myself I only wanted to be sure she had truly left our territory, that she had not been caught by rogues. But the truth was simpler: I missed her.
I walked deeper into the woods until the shadows thickened. The night air was cool, the moon half-hidden behind drifting clouds. I should have turned back, but then I heard it. A voice carried on the wind. Not hers- no, it was older, harsher, filled with bitterness.
"She carries the curse," the voice whispered, though no one stood before me. "And you, Alpha, cannot escape it."
My wolf bristled, ears pricked, body tense. I spun in circles, searching the trees. "Who's there?" I demanded, my voice echoing through the silence. "Show yourself!"
No one came. Only the rustle of leaves, the distant cry of an owl. But the words stayed with me, seared into my mind like fire. She carries the curse.
I returned to the packhouse with unease gnawing at my chest. I poured myself a drink, downed it in one swallow, but it did nothing to settle me. What curse? What had Luna become tangled in? My wolf shifted restlessly, growling low, but I forced him down.
Sleep avoided me again, and when it finally came, it brought no peace. This time I dreamed of her standing under the blood moon, her hand over her stomach, tears streaming down her face. And then I saw a child's cry, small and helpless, echoing through the darkness. My heart twisted violently, and I woke up gasping, my hands shaking.
I told myself it was only a dream. Only a cruel trick of my guilty mind. But deep inside, I knew it was more. The bond whispered truths I was not ready to face.
By morning, I was no longer Alpha Damien, calm and controlled. I was a man unraveling. I paced the floor of my office, unable to sit still, unable to shake the feeling that something terrible was coming. I was running from fate, but fate was faster. It was closing in on me with every breath.
I tried to bury myself in duties. I trained harder, pushed the warriors until they dropped from exhaustion. I met with allies, signed agreements, and spoke of the future. But none of it mattered, because every time I closed my eyes, I saw her. Every time I took a breath, I smelled her. Every time my heart beat, it cried out her name.
And then came the breaking point.
One evening, as the sun bled into the horizon, I felt it. A sharp pull in my chest, a surge of panic that was not my own. My wolf snapped his head up, ears alert, his growl vibrating through my body. She was in danger. Luna. Something had found her.
I stumbled to my feet, my heart pounding, my body trembling with the need to run. But I froze. To go after her would mean facing the truth I had tried to deny. To run to her would mean giving in to the bond, surrendering to fate. And I had sworn never to do that.
Yet the pull grew stronger. Her fear wrapped around me like chains, dragging me to the edge of madness. My wolf roared inside me, clawing at my control, demanding we go to her.
I clenched my fists, my breath ragged, my body torn between denial and desperation. But deep down, I knew the truth.
I could not run from her forever. And I could not run from fate.