Lyra didn't remember how she got home.
One moment she was walking out of the Moon Ceremony, her dignity barely holding together, and the next she was standing inside her small room, staring at the closed door like it had followed her there.
The silence was deafening.
Her chest rose and fell unevenly as she pressed a trembling hand against her heart.
It still hurt.
Sharp. Raw. Alive.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was—
He was still there.
Lyra squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers digging into her chest as if she could tear the feeling out.
But she couldn't.
Because the bond was still there.
Faint… but unbroken.
"I don't understand…" she whispered.
That wasn't how it was supposed to work.
When a mate rejects you, the bond snaps. It disappears. It leaves nothing behind but emptiness.
But this?
This was something else.
Something wrong.
Her wolf stirred weakly inside her, restless, confused.
Mate…
The word came again, softer this time. Hurt.
Lyra's throat tightened.
"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "He rejected us."
Silence.
Then a faint pulse.
Like a heartbeat that refused to die.
Tears burned her eyes, but she forced them back.
Crying wouldn't change anything.
Crying wouldn't erase the humiliation.
Crying wouldn't make him take it back.
Her hands curled into fists.
"Fine," she said aloud, her voice steadier than she felt. "If he doesn't want me… then I don't need him."
The words sounded strong.
Convincing.
But the ache in her chest betrayed her.
Because the truth was—
She had never wanted anything more.
Miles away, inside the Nightfall Pack's Alpha house, Kael Draven stood alone on the balcony, his hands gripping the stone railing so tightly it cracked beneath his strength.
His breathing was uneven.
Controlled.
Barely.
The night air did nothing to cool the fire raging inside him.
Because he could still feel her.
Lyra.
Her pain.
Her confusion.
Her heartbreak.
It slammed into him through the bond like a relentless storm, each wave sharper than the last.
His jaw clenched.
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
The bond was supposed to break.
That was how rejection worked.
That was how it had always worked.
So why—
Why could he still feel her?
Kael dragged a hand through his hair, pacing the length of the balcony.
His wolf growled inside him, restless, furious.
Mate.
The word echoed through his mind, heavy with possessiveness.
Mine.
Kael stopped abruptly.
"No," he said sharply.
His voice cut through the silence like a blade.
"We don't get to have her."
His wolf snarled in protest, pushing against him, demanding, relentless.
She is ours.
The bond flared again, stronger this time, as if agreeing.
Kael's chest tightened painfully.
For a split second, an image flashed in his mind—
Lyra standing in the moonlight.
Looking at him like he was something good.
Something worth loving.
His grip tightened on the railing until the stone crumbled beneath his fingers.
He forced the image away.
Forced the feeling down.
He didn't deserve that look.
Not from her.
Not when he knew what would happen if he gave in.
A heavy silence settled around him.
Then—
Footsteps.
"Alpha."
Kael didn't turn.
He didn't need to.
"Ronan," he said flatly.
The Beta stepped onto the balcony, his presence calm but tense.
"I assume it's done," Ronan said carefully.
Kael let out a humorless laugh.
"Does it look done to you?"
Ronan frowned slightly, stepping closer. "What do you mean?"
Kael finally turned, his dark eyes sharp.
"The bond didn't break."
Ronan's expression changed instantly.
Shock.
"That's… not possible," he said slowly.
"I'm aware," Kael replied coldly.
"But it didn't."
Silence stretched between them.
Ronan ran a hand over his jaw, thinking. "Maybe it's delayed," he suggested. "Sometimes strong bonds take time to—"
"It's not weakening," Kael cut in.
"It's getting stronger."
That shut Ronan up.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Ronan's voice dropped.
"The prophecy…"
Kael's gaze darkened.
"Don't."
"But Alpha—"
"I said don't."
The force behind his words was enough to make the air feel heavy.
Ronan held his gaze for a second longer, then exhaled slowly.
"Fine," he said. "Then let's talk about the other problem."
Kael's expression didn't change.
But something in his eyes sharpened.
"She's vulnerable now," Ronan continued. "Rejected. Alone. If anyone finds out she's your mate—"
"They won't."
Kael's voice was firm.
Certain.
Because they couldn't.
They couldn't know.
If they did—
Everything would fall apart.
Ronan studied him. "You're sure about that?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
Because he wasn't sure.
Not anymore.
The bond refusing to break changed everything.
It made things unpredictable.
Dangerous.
And unpredictability was something he couldn't afford.
Not with the curse hanging over his head.
Not with the lives of his entire pack at stake.
"We keep her out of it," Kael said finally. "She stays away from the pack. From me."
"And if she doesn't?" Ronan asked quietly.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"She will."
He had made sure of that.
The rejection had been brutal enough.
Cruel enough.
She wouldn't come back.
She couldn't.
Ronan didn't look convinced.
"And if someone else finds her first?" he pressed. "If the other packs hear rumors—"
"They won't," Kael repeated, though this time there was less certainty in his voice.
Because deep down, he knew the truth.
Secrets didn't stay hidden forever.
Especially not ones like this.
The wind picked up, rustling through the trees below.
Kael's gaze drifted toward the forest.
Toward the direction Lyra had gone.
His chest tightened again.
"She needs protection," Ronan said after a moment.
Kael's expression hardened instantly.
"No."
Ronan frowned. "Alpha—"
"She stays away from us," Kael said sharply. "That's how we protect her."
Ronan held his gaze. "Or we protect ourselves."
The words hung heavy in the air.
Because they were true.
Kael looked away, his jaw clenched.
For a moment, silence stretched between them.
Then—
A sharp, sudden pain shot through his chest.
Kael stiffened.
His breath caught.
"What is it?" Ronan asked immediately.
Kael didn't answer.
Because he couldn't.
All he could feel was—
Her.
Fear.
Raw. Intense. Rising fast.
Lyra.
His eyes snapped toward the forest, his entire body going rigid.
She wasn't just hurt.
She was in danger.
Now.
Kael didn't think.
Didn't hesitate.
He moved.
One second he was on the balcony.
The next he was gone, shifting mid-air, his massive black wolf hitting the ground at full speed.
Ronan cursed behind him, but Kael didn't slow down.
Couldn't.
Because the bond was screaming now.
Pulsing with panic.
With fear.
With something far worse.
And one thought echoed in his mind as he tore through the forest at impossible speed—
He had rejected her.
But fate clearly wasn't done with them yet.