The town square was packed.
It was high noon, but the sun offered no warmth. Gray, heavy clouds hung low over the Moon Pack, promising a storm. The air was thick with humidity and the murmurs of hundreds of pack members who had gathered to watch the spectacle.
To watch my execution. Not of my body, but of my soul.
I stood on the raised wooden platform, a ruined figure in a ruined dress. I shivered, hugging my arms around my chest, trying to shield my slightly rounded belly from the biting wind.
"Look at her," someone sneered. "She looks like a beggar."
"A liar and a thief," another spat. "She tried to steal Serena's glory. She deserves this."
I kept my head down, biting my lip until I tasted copper. Don't cry, I told myself fiercely. Don't let them see you break. Not yet.
Suddenly, the crowd fell into a deathly hush. They parted like a sea of shadows.
Kael walked through the path. He wore a sharp black suit that emphasized his dominance, looking every inch the Alpha King. But he wasn't alone.
Serena walked beside him, her arm looped through his. Her pristine white dress fluttered like an angel's wings. She played the victim with terrifying perfection, her eyes wide and fearful as they scanned the crowd.
Kael helped her into the VIP seat with a tenderness that twisted the knife in my gut. He whispered something in her ear, and she nodded, casting a small, "pitying" smile toward the platform.
Then, Kael stepped onto the wood.
The platform creaked under his heavy boots. He stopped just a few feet away. His scent—rain and pine—washed over me, triggering my wolf's dying instinct to seek comfort in her mate.
But his eyes were dead.
A flicker of unease passed through him—just for a heartbeat—before he smothered it. He knew what he was doing could kill an Omega, yet the cold decision held.
"Aria," Kael said, his voice amplified by the silence. "Do you have anything to say before we begin?"
I looked up at him. My eyes were dry. "I told you the truth, Kael. I saved you. I have never lied to you."
"Still lying." Kael shook his head, his face hardening into granite. "You leave me no choice."
He turned to the crowd, raising a hand.
"Pack members! Today, we cleanse our pack of deceit! A mate bond is sacred, built on trust. But this woman..." He pointed a finger at me, accusingly. "This woman has poisoned our bond. She is not fit to be a Luna. She is not fit to be mine."
"By the Rite of Severance," he added, his voice reverberating like iron, "reserved for those who betray their Alpha."
"REJECT HER! REJECT HER!"
The chant began—a rhythmic, deafening roar. Kael turned back to me, and the air around him began to distort. The pressure dropped. He was releasing his Alpha Aura like a physical weight.
"Kneel," he commanded.
It wasn't a request. It was an Alpha Command—a biological imperative. A wave of power crashed into me, feeling as if a mountain had been dropped onto my shoulders.
"No," I gritted out. My legs trembled violently. I gripped the railing until my knuckles turned white. I would not kneel to a man who called me a liar. I would not kneel to the man who was murdering our future.
Kael's eyes narrowed, flicking with annoyance at my resistance. For a brief moment, though, I saw it—hesitation. A flicker of doubt. He suppressed it immediately, but I caught it.
"I SAID... KNEEL!"
The Alpha Tone slammed directly into my nervous system.
Crack.
My will snapped. My legs gave out instantly.
Thud.
I fell hard onto my knees. The impact sent a jolt of pain up my spine, jarring my stomach. "Ah!" I gasped, humiliated tears finally spilling over. I was forced into the dirt at his feet, while he towered over me like a vengeful god.
Serena, sitting nearby, covered her mouth with her hand, but I saw it—the subtle twitch of her lips. She was savoring this.
"Good," Kael said coldly.
The atmosphere became heavy with ancient magic. The bond between us—that golden, shimmering thread—began to vibrate violently. It sensed the blade. It screamed in protest.
Kael didn't hesitate.
"I, Kael Blackwood, Alpha of the Moon Pack..."
Please, no. Kael, don't. We have a baby. Please... I wanted to scream, but the Alpha pressure kept my mouth clamped shut.
"...reject you, Aria. As my mate. As my Luna. And as a member of my pack."
The world stopped. Silence for a heartbeat.
Then, the soul-death hit.
It felt as if a giant hand had reached into my chest, grabbed my very essence, and ripped it in half.
"ARGHHHH!"
A scream tore from my throat—a raw, guttural sound of pure agony. The golden thread shattered into a million burning pieces. I convulsed on the floor. My insides were on fire. My wolf howled one last, mournful death-cry in my mind... and then went silent.
Somehow, against all reason, my body trembled—but I remained alive. No Omega had ever survived a rejection like this.
But even in that darkness, a spark of defiance burned in me. I clenched my fists around my belly.
You will not take him. You will not take our baby. I will rise from this.
"Urgh..."
I retched, and a mouthful of dark, hot blood splattered onto the wooden planks. The red stain spread, soaking into the hem of Kael's polished shoes.
Kael took a sharp step back. For a flicker of a second, his mask broke. He gasped, clutching his own chest, his face paling. The phantom pain of the bond snapping—a wound he had inflicted on himself—flashed in his eyes.
Serena rushed onto the platform, grabbing his arm. "Kael! Are you okay? Did it hurt you?"
"I'm fine," Kael said, his voice strained and hollow. He didn't look at me. Only at the blood on his shoes. "It's done."
I lay on my side, gasping for air. The pain was slowly replaced by a cold, absolute numbness. I looked up at Kael one last time.
Minutes ago, my eyes held desperation. Love. Hope.
Now? The rose-tinted glasses were crushed. I saw nothing but a stranger. A cruel, blind man who had just murdered the only person who truly loved him.
My eyes went dead.
Kael met my gaze and flinched. For the first time, a shadow of recognition flickered. He realized he had broken something that could never, ever be repaired.
"Take her to the dungeon," he ordered, turning away abruptly. "We will decide her punishment tomorrow."
Guards rushed forward, grabbing my arms like I was a carcass. I didn't fight. I didn't have the strength. Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision.
But as they dragged me away, my hand drifted down to my abdomen.
The bond was gone. My home was gone. My mate was gone.
But in the wreckage of my life, I felt it. A tiny, defiant flutter.
Baby… I whispered, a single tear sliding through the blood on my cheek. Hold on. Mommy is here.
I will burn this world to the ground to keep you safe.
And then, everything went black.