[Elara's POV]
Kaelen's threat was a blade of pure ice, shattering the last vestiges of love I held for him.
Hatred.
I clutched my parents' cold Spirit Stones as my inner wolf whimpered in pain. The agony pulsing through our mate bond suddenly felt distant, insignificant. I looked at this man, my mind flashing back three years to a young, embattled Alpha. In his darkest hour, I had accepted this sacred bond, witnessed by the Moon Goddess herself. On the day I learned of my parents' sacrifice, when grief had threatened to swallow me whole, he had sat with me, wiping away my tears. I thought he was my anchor in a world where I had lost everything.
For him, I had unsealed my parents' vault—a treasury with enough resources to rebuild an entire pack—and gave it all to him without a second thought.
Now, he was the most formidable Alpha in the eastern forests.
And he wouldn't even grant my heroic parents' spirits entry into his home.
The sheer, soul-crushing irony of it all was my awakening. I had mated the wrong wolf.
"Fine. I'll go," I said, lifting my chin, my spine a rod of steel. I would not let them see me cry. My blood could be spilled for honor, but my tears would never be shed for a man who had none.
I turned and walked away without a backward glance.
"She… she just left?" Giselle sounded almost surprised.
"Hmph. A lone wolf with no clan to back her. What did you expect her to do, declare war?" Adelina was still muttering curses behind me.
Kaelen watched me leave, his silence heavy. I could feel the chaos churning within him through our bond, but it no longer mattered to me.
I brought my parents' Spirit Stones to the Hall of Heroes within the Elder Council's Sanctum. This was where the spirits of all the great heroes who had served wolf-kind were enshrined. It was the only fitting home for them.
The Great Elder himself presided over the placement ceremony. "This will always be their home, child. And yours," he said, his voice a comforting balm.
I nodded, solemnly draping the Moon Goddess's Banner over the obsidian box. "Father, Mother, just wait a little longer," I murmured to them. "I will find my brother. I promise. I'll bring him here to see you. I know he's still alive."
My brother, an exceptional warrior, had vanished five years ago during a covert mission. With my parents settled, finding him was my next purpose.
When I left the Hall of Heroes, a light rain had begun to fall. I walked alone along the outer colonnade of the Sanctum, finding my way to the Silent Falls, a secluded, tranquil spot where many came to honor their dead.
The drizzle soaked my silver hair, but I barely noticed the chill.
It was then that I felt it—a presence so powerful it was suffocating.
My head snapped around. A man stood beneath the falls, not far from me. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, his frame long and elegant. He was almost inhumanly beautiful, with a mane of long, black hair falling over his shoulders, rainwater dripping from the ends. He held no umbrella, letting the cold rain drench him completely.
His eyes were a deep, fathomless violet, and they held a terrifying stillness—the calm of a dead sea, empty of any ripple of emotion. It was as if the world around him simply failed to register. He just stood there, exuding an aura of absolute detachment and pure, untamed madness.
This man is dangerous. The thought screamed through my mind.
Just then, his gaze shifted and met mine. Our eyes locked across the misty air.
In those dead-sea eyes, something flickered. It was like a stone dropped into a still lake, creating a single, almost imperceptible ripple.
An old man in a butler's uniform respectfully opened an umbrella over his head. "My King, it is time for us to leave."
King?
My heart lurched. The Lycan King, Malachi. The one whispered about in terrified tones—the mad king who had slaughtered his entire royal family to seize the throne. What was he doing here?
Malachi ignored his butler, his eyes fixed on me with a flicker of predatory interest. A slow, chilling smile that held no warmth touched his lips.
"Little wolf," his voice was a low baritone, as resonant as a cello string. "You are proving to be far more interesting than the rumors suggested."
I didn't reply, simply holding his gaze.
After a moment, he looked away and walked past me, so close I could feel the chill radiating from him. It wasn't until his silhouette had vanished into the rain that I realized my palms were slick with cold sweat.
I pulled out my communication crystal and saw a message from Kaelen.
"My mother and Giselle have left. Once you've settled your parents' Spirit Stones, come back. We need to talk."
I stared at the message, my expression cold as stone, and began the walk back to the Alpha's House.
It was time to end this.
When I returned, Kaelen was waiting for me on the sofa in the great hall. He rose the moment he saw me. "Are your parents' Spirit Stones settled?"
"Yes," I answered curtly.
"My mother... she's from an older generation. She has certain… traditional views. She didn't mean to attack you personally." He reached out, his hands gently pulling me into an embrace. "Elara, I'm sorry. I know you were hurt today. I'll make it up to you," he murmured into my hair.
Make it up to me?
A wave of profound, weary sorrow washed over me. His embrace, once a warmth I craved, now felt like a cage of ice. The false apology in his scent, mingled with the lingering perfume of Seraphina, made my inner wolf recoil.
The ones truly wronged today were not me, but my parents. Heroes whose spirits were denied entry into their own daughter's home. What could he possibly offer to compensate for that?
I no longer needed his hollow warmth.
With all my strength, I shoved him away.
He stared at me, stunned by the force of it.
I lifted my head, my gaze firm and glacial, and looked at the man I had once loved with my entire soul.
Then, clearly, and with each word a hammer blow against the bond that tied us, I spoke the vow that could shatter a soul.
"Alpha Kaelen Blackwood," I said, my voice ringing with finality. "I, Elara Silvermoon, hereby reject you."