The mate bond didn't creep in slowly.
It slammed into me.
One second I was standing near the back of the pack hall, half-listening to the elders argue about borders and patrols, and the next my chest seized so hard I nearly dropped to my knees.
Heat tore through my veins. My breath caught painfully in my throat.
No.
No, no, no.
The air shifted, heavy with dominance, and instinct screamed even before I saw him.
Alpha Kael had entered the hall.
Conversations died instantly. Wolves straightened, shoulders squaring, heads bowing as he walked past. Power rolled off him in controlled waves—calculated, restrained, terrifying.
And then my wolf—silent my entire life—stirred.
Mate.
The word echoed inside me, foreign and overwhelming. My heart pounded wildly as the truth settled, sharp and cruel.
The Alpha of Nightclaw Pack was my mate.
This wasn't possible. I was an omega. Barely ranked. Easily overlooked. I cleaned, assisted, stayed quiet. I survived by not being noticed.
And Alpha Kael… he was everything I was not.
Tall, broad-shouldered, his dark hair tied back at his nape. His expression was cold, unreadable, eyes scanning the room with the practiced authority of someone used to obedience.
I felt the bond pull again, stronger this time. Pain laced through it, like my body already knew how this would end.
"Are you alright?" Lina whispered urgently, gripping my arm.
I nodded too quickly. "I'm fine."
I wasn't.
Beside her, Sera leaned closer, her brow furrowed. "You look pale."
Before I could answer, the elders called for silence. Kael stopped at the front of the hall, his presence filling every corner of the space.
And still—he didn't look at me.
Not once.
The bond throbbed violently, confused and desperate. I pressed my fingers into my palm, grounding myself in the sting.
He has to feel it too, I thought.
But Kael's face remained calm. Controlled. Untouched.
Lina shifted beside me. "You should take him a drink," she whispered. "You're on service tonight anyway."
My stomach dropped.
I wanted to refuse. Every instinct screamed at me to stay hidden. But refusing would draw attention, and attention was dangerous.
I picked up a glass with shaking hands and crossed the hall.
Each step felt heavier than the last. Whispers followed me. Curious glances. Speculation.
I placed the glass on the table before him.
"Alpha," I said softly.
Kael finally looked at me.
His gaze was sharp, assessing—and dismissive.
"I don't accept drinks from omegas trying to gain favor," he said coolly.
Laughter erupted.
It wasn't loud, but it was enough.
Heat flooded my face as humiliation crashed into me. I stepped back, heart pounding so hard it hurt.
Lina was there instantly, pulling me away. "Ignore him," she muttered fiercely. "He's being cruel."
Sera's fingers tightened around my sleeve. "This is bad," she whispered. "This is really bad."
She was right.
The bond twisted painfully, screaming for recognition that wasn't coming.
Then Kael stood.
Silence slammed down over the hall.
"You," he said, his gaze locking onto mine. "Step forward."
My body moved before my fear could stop it.
I felt Lina's grip slip from my hand. Sera wouldn't meet my eyes.
They couldn't help me. Not now.
I stopped a few feet from him, my knees trembling.
"You feel it," Kael said flatly.
"Yes," I whispered.
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
"I, Alpha Kael of the Nightclaw Pack," he announced, voice carrying effortlessly, "reject you as my mate."
The words shattered something inside me.
Pain exploded through my chest, so sharp I cried out as my legs gave way. I collapsed onto the stone floor, gasping, my wolf screaming in agony.
"I will not take an omega as my Luna," he continued, unmoved. "This bond ends here."
The world blurred. Tears burned down my cheeks, but I couldn't stop them.
"I release you."
The bond snapped—not cleanly, not completely—but enough to leave devastation behind.
When I looked up, Kael had already turned away.
As if I meant nothing.
Lina rushed forward instinctively—but an elder's glare stopped her cold. Sera clutched her arm, shaking her head through tears.
They were afraid.
And for the first time, I understood why.
I lay there on the cold floor, surrounded by wolves who refused to meet my eyes, my heart broken in front of the entire pack.
The Alpha who rejected me walked away untouched.
And something deep inside me whispered a terrible truth:
This wasn't the end.
It was the beginning.
The hall didn't return to normal after that.
Wolves whispered openly now, their voices sharp with curiosity and judgment. I pushed myself up slowly, ignoring the way my hands shook, the way my chest still burned where the bond had torn. No one helped me. No one spoke my name.
I forced myself to walk.
Each step across the stone floor felt like a test. My legs wanted to give out, my wolf curled in on herself, wounded and confused. But stopping would have been worse.
I made it halfway across the hall before someone stepped into my path.
Not Kael.
A stranger.
He was tall, dressed in dark travel leathers dusted with road grime, his presence different from the restless energy of Nightclaw. Calm. Controlled. His silver eyes studied me with unsettling focus.
An Alpha.
Not ours.
Our gazes locked, and something strange stirred inside me—not pain, not the violent pull of the mate bond, but awareness. Sharp and steady.
He said nothing. Simply inclined his head once, as if acknowledging something only the two of us could sense.
A warning prickled along my spine.
Behind me, I felt Kael's attention snap back, sudden and intense. The air shifted, dominance flaring in response to the other Alpha's presence.
The stranger's lips curved slightly. Not a smile. More like interest.
Then he stepped aside, clearing my path.
I didn't look back again.
I walked out of the pack hall alone, the night air cool against my flushed skin, my heart racing for reasons I didn't yet understand.
Somewhere behind me, two Alphas watched me leave.
And for the first time since the rejection, I felt something other than pain.
I felt change coming.