Elaine believes she has found her fated mate Michael until she learns he chose her sister Kathy and their unborn child instead. Abandoned by her family and pack, she’s forced to watch their mating ceremony. Broken and alone, Elaine must decide: will she accept her fate, or fight back?
Near the window, bathed in the soft glow of morning, stood Kathy. Her hands rested protectively over the gentle swell of her stomach, and though she said nothing, her presence was louder than words. She glowed with pride, secure in her place, carrying the future heir of the pack. And beside her-Michael. Elaine’s heart clenched…
Elaine’s voice rose, sharper now, each question a blade. “Did any of you ever have to sacrifice your mate-your fated-because you were told it might affect the unity and peace of the pack? Did any of you have to sit and watch as the person who was yours held someone else and promised them forever?”…
But she couldn’t-not yet. Too many eyes, too many obligations still bound her to this place. For now, all she could do was escape the pack house. Her footsteps echoed against the polished floors as she moved through the long halls. Members of the pack passed by, their eyes flickering toward her before quickly looking…
Her heart ached, but beneath the pain was something colder-emptiness. The terrifying realization that she had nothing left to give, nothing left to fight with. And if no one would fight for her… then what was she even holding on to anymore? The forest listened. The waterfall raged. And Elaine, let her sorrow consume her…
“You can’t,” she said, her voice trembling. “No one can. Not when it means destroying everything that holds this pack together.” Darius met her gaze, steady and unyielding. “Then let it fall apart,” he said. “Because whatever this is, whatever they’ve done to you, it’s already breaking you. And I…” His voice faltered for just…
The tears slipped free, and with them, the truth she had buried for so long. “Rejected?” Darius echoed, his voice low but sharp, like the word itself cut him. His chest tightened, disbelief flashing in his eyes. “That is… impossible.” No wolf rejected their fated. It was a law older than any written, a truth…
“Are you sure?” She whispered, her voice trembling. “Yes.” His answer came without hesitation, filled with quiet certainty. And for the first time in weeks, maybe months, Elaine smiled. It was fragile, tentative, but it was there, like the first ray of sunlight breaking through endless storm clouds. Hope stirred within her, something she thought…
For the past few days, it felt like her life had been reduced to this single hallway, this single door, this single room where every time she entered, she left more broken than before. The walls of the pack house seemed to close in on her, suffocating her with whispers and judgment she could never…
That promise, that sliver of hope, was the only thing keeping her sane amidst the chaos of this day. Oh, Goddess, how she longed for the pain to end. She whispered it like a prayer, like a plea. Just a little longer, she told herself. All she needed to do was survive this one day.…
She still hadn’t told him the truth-that Michael, the future Alpha, was her Goddess given mate, her fated. That the man walking toward his destiny at the altar had once been promised to her by the Moon Goddess herself. That the woman Michael had chosen instead was her own sister. Why hadn’t she told Darius?…