Kael doesn't speak.
The silence stretches. Thin. Sharp. It cuts deeper than a shout ever could.
The drums falter, then stop completely. The chant dies in Elder Morvain's throat like it's been strangled. Every eye in the Circle snaps between Kael and me, back and forth, waiting for the world to make sense again.
My pulse roars. The bond inside my chest burns like it's been yanked half-awake and left screaming.
Say something.
Anything.
Kael turns his head—slow, deliberate—and looks past me.
Not through me.
Past.
Like I'm a stone in the Circle. Like I don't exist.
The bond jerks.
Hard.
I gasp. It feels like someone just grabbed my ribs and twisted.
"Alpha," Morvain says again, sharper now. Not a question. A demand.
Kael finally moves.
He steps forward, boots crunching against the packed earth. His presence still pulls at the pack, still bends the air around him. But something is… off. Like a blade wrapped in cloth.
"There has been no claim," he says.
The words land heavy. Final.
A murmur ripples through the Circle. Confused. Disbelieving.
Selene's nails dig into my arm.
"What?"
I can't answer. My mouth won't work. My lungs are doing this stupid shallow thing, like they forgot how air is supposed to work.
Morvain's eyes narrow.
"Alpha, the Moon—"
"The Moon chose nothing," Kael cuts in.
The bond screams.
Pain blooms behind my eyes, hot and fast. I bite down hard enough that my teeth ache. The taste of blood floods my mouth.
No. That's not—
Kael doesn't look at me. Not once.
"There was a reaction," he continues, voice even, controlled. Too controlled. "A resonance. It happens. Sometimes the Circle amplifies instinct."
That's a lie.
Everyone here knows it.
The Circle amplifies nothing. The Moon doesn't stutter. Bonds don't half snap. They either are, or they aren't.
And this—
This is.
I can feel him like a second shadow under my skin. His presence presses at the edge of my thoughts, unfamiliar and terrifying and intimate in a way that makes my stomach roll.
Morvain studies Kael for a long moment. Then his gaze slides to me. Sharp. Assessing. Calculating.
Low-ranked. Healer's daughter. Late wolf.
Not worth the trouble.
"Very well," Morvain says finally. "If the Alpha declares no bond, we proceed."
Proceed.
Like nothing happened.
Like my chest isn't on fire.
The drums resume, slower than before, uncertain. The chant stumbles back to life, missing beats, like it's limping.
Selene leans in, her voice frantic. "Elara, say something. You have to—"
I shake my head. If I open my mouth, I might scream. Or sob. Or beg.
And I refuse to do any of those in front of him.
Kael steps back into place beside the elders. His shoulders are squared. His face is carved from stone.
But I can feel the tension bleeding through the bond.
Fear.
Sharp. Controlled. Buried under layers of discipline and denial.
Not fear of me.
Fear of what I represent.
The Moon doesn't care about rank. Or politics. Or appearances.
But Kael does.
The bond pulses again, angry now. Unacknowledged. Unanswered. It lashes through me like a whip.
I stagger.
Strong hands catch my elbow before I hit the ground. Selene's face swims into focus, pale and furious.
"This is wrong," she hisses. "This is so wrong."
"I know," I manage.
My voice sounds thin. Breakable.
Around us, the ceremony continues, but the energy is off. People keep glancing my way. Whispering behind hands. Speculating. Wolves don't miss things like this. They smell tension like blood.
Another pair is called. Another bond forms. Softer this time. Careful. Like the Moon is holding its breath.
The bond inside me tightens with every second Kael pretends it doesn't exist.
Heat crawls up my spine. My skin prickles. My vision blurs at the edges.
A rejection without words.
A denial wrapped in authority.
I straighten, even as my knees shake.
Fine.
If he wants silence, I can do that too.
The ceremony drags on. Minutes stretch into something sticky and unreal. I barely register the last blessing, the final beat of the drums.
When it ends, the Circle loosens. People move again. Talk again. Life restarts, awkwardly.
Kael turns and walks away without looking back.
The bond snaps tight in protest.
Pain slices through my chest so sharp I cry out despite myself.
"Elara!" Selene grabs me as I fold forward, breath coming in jagged pulls. "Hey—hey—look at me. Breathe. Just breathe."
"I can't," I gasp. "Something's—wrong."
I can feel it now, clearly. The bond isn't settling. It's not easing into place like it's supposed to.
It's straining.
Like a door forced shut on a living thing.
Elder Morvain approaches, his shadow falling over us. "Take her to the healer," he says, tone brisk, dismissive. "She's overwhelmed."
Overwhelmed.
I laugh weakly. It comes out broken.
As Selene helps me toward the edge of the clearing, I glance back one last time.
Kael stands at the far end, speaking quietly with the elders. His face is calm. Composed. Alpha-perfect.
But his hands—
His hands are clenched so tight his knuckles have gone bone-white.
And through the bond, I feel it.
The lie.
The weight of it.
And the way it's already starting to hurt us both.