The pain returned at dawn.
Leila woke with a gasp, clutching her chest as fire tore through the mark on her neck.
It burned.
Not warm.
Not tingling.
Burned.
Like something was rejecting it.
Her wolf howled inside her mind.
Not in distress.
In defiance.
She rolled off the bed, barely steady on her feet. The room spun. The scent of smoke filled her senses — though nothing was burning.
The bond.
Something was wrong with the bond.
A knock sounded at her door.
"Leila?" Kael's voice.
She forced herself upright. "Come in."
Kael entered, already dressed in training leathers. His eyes immediately darkened when he saw her pale face.
"You look weak."
Weak.
The word scraped across her nerves.
"I didn't sleep well."
He stepped closer, inhaling deeply.
Then he froze.
His expression changed.
Subtle.
But she saw it.
"What?" she whispered.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"Your scent."
Her pulse skipped.
"What about it?"
"It's… different."
Ice slid down her spine.
Different.
She felt it too.
Underneath the familiar scent of her pack and mate bond—
There was something else.
Faint.
Wild.
Shadowed.
Dominic.
Kael's eyes flashed with anger.
"You saw him again."
It wasn't a question.
Silence answered him.
The temperature in the room dropped.
"You disobeyed me."
"I did not seek him out."
"But you met him."
The mark on her neck flared again, pain radiating outward like cracking glass.
She winced.
Kael stepped forward and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.
The gesture wasn't violent.
But it wasn't gentle either.
"You are my Luna," he said firmly. "Your scent should not carry another Alpha's shadow."
Shadow.
That was exactly what it felt like.
Before she could respond—
A scream echoed from the clearing.
Both of them turned instantly.
Kael released her and rushed outside.
Leila followed.
And what she saw made her blood run cold.
The Public Break
The entire pack had gathered.
Whispers spread like wildfire.
Elder Mira stood at the center.
Holding something.
A silver bowl filled with sacred water — used only during bond ceremonies.
Leila's stomach dropped.
"What is happening?" she demanded.
Mira's eyes met hers.
Grave.
"We must test the bond."
The clearing fell silent.
Kael stepped forward. "There is no need for this."
"There is every need," Mira said calmly. "The Goddess does not allow instability without reason."
Leila's heart pounded.
No.
Not like this.
Not publicly.
Mira gestured for her to step forward.
Her legs felt heavy.
Every pair of eyes burned into her skin.
Luna.
Leader.
Example.
She could not show weakness.
She stepped into the center.
Kael joined her reluctantly.
Mira dipped her fingers into the sacred water.
"If the bond is sealed," she announced, "the water will glow blue."
Leila swallowed.
"If it is broken or rejected… it will fade."
A pause.
"And if it was never fully sealed…"
The silence stretched.
"It will turn red."
Red.
Her breath caught.
Mira pressed wet fingers gently to the mark on Leila's neck.
The entire pack held its breath.
For one heartbeat—
Nothing happened.
Then—
The water began to glow.
Not blue.
Not clear.
Red.
Gasps erupted across the clearing.
Leila's world tilted.
Kael stepped back as if struck.
"That's impossible," he growled.
But the bowl confirmed it.
The water darkened further — crimson spreading like spilled blood.
Her mark burned violently.
She dropped to her knees.
The bond was not sealed.
It never had been.
Whispers exploded.
"Unblessed…"
"False bond…"
"Does that mean—?"
Kael's aura surged violently, dominance rippling outward.
"Silence!" he roared.
But the damage was done.
Leila looked up at him.
Searching.
Waiting.
For reassurance.
For protection.
For him to step beside her.
Instead—
He looked uncertain.
Hesitant.
Calculating.
That hurt more than the burning.
Elder Mira spoke again.
"There is only one explanation."
No one needed her to finish.
Another bond was forming.
And everyone knew with whom.
The Humiliation
Kael turned slowly toward Leila.
His eyes were no longer soft.
They were cold.
"You allowed this."
Her breath left her lungs.
"What?"
"You let him near you."
"I didn't choose this!"
"You walked toward him."
Anger flared.
"He saved my life!"
"And now he poisons you!"
The word hit her like a slap.
Poison.
The crowd shifted uncomfortably.
This was no longer private.
This was public disgrace.
Kael's voice lowered but carried across the clearing.
"If the Goddess did not seal our bond… then perhaps she questions your loyalty."
Loyalty.
The accusation hung in the air.
Her wolf snarled inside her.
For the first time—
Not at Dominic.
At Kael.
"I have done nothing wrong," she said, her voice shaking but strong.
"Then reject him," Kael demanded.
Her heart stopped.
Reject Dominic?
But there was no bond yet.
Was there?
Kael stepped closer.
"Say it. Reject whatever is forming."
All eyes were on her.
She opened her mouth—
And pain exploded through her body.
A searing, violent surge that forced a scream from her throat.
Her wolf roared inside her mind.
Not in agreement.
In resistance.
She couldn't say the words.
Not because she loved Dominic.
But because something deeper refused.
The clearing trembled slightly.
A gust of wind tore through the trees.
And from the forest beyond the border—
A powerful howl answered.
Deep.
Dominant.
Claiming.
Dominic.
The sound vibrated through her bones.
The mark on her neck—
Cracked.
Gasps filled the clearing.
A faint, dark imprint began to spread over her skin.
Not Kael's mark.
Something else.
Something stronger.
Kael stepped back in horror.
"No."
Leila touched her neck.
Heat.
Power.
And beneath it—
Recognition.
The cursed alpha had answered her pain.
And the Goddess—
Had answered him.
Kael's voice was no longer steady.
"If you cannot reject him… then you cannot stand as my Luna."
The words felt like exile.
Like a blade sliding between her ribs.
"You would cast me out?" she whispered.
His silence was answer enough.
Around them, the pack shifted.
Fear.
Suspicion.
Doubt.
Her perfect life—
Cracking apart in front of everyone.
Another howl echoed from the forest.
Closer this time.
Not threatening.
Calling.
And for the first time—
Leila realized something terrifying.
She was no longer standing between two Alphas.
She was being pulled toward one.
And her pack—
Was already letting her fall.