Whispers of Fate

The Rejection

Chapter 2: The Rejection

POV: Kael Blackthorn

The second that her fingers came in contact with the Moonstone, I felt a sharp churn in my stomach. I could feel the bond. It felt so real. I couldn’t deny it.

My breathing ceased for a minute. I couldn’t think straight. All I could see was her — standing there under the silver light, her face pale with shock, her hand trembling at her side.

No. No, no, no.

This wasn't meant to happen.

Selene was supposed to be chosen. Everyone expected it. I expected it.

Not... Alina Winter.

The girl everyone considered as an outcast. The girl whose name was dragged through mud and blood.

A heavy silence crushed the hall. All eyes turned to me.

They were expecting me to say something...to satisfy their curiosity.

Instead, the only voice I could hear in the midst of the chaos was my father's. I could hear it deeply from the shadows of my mind.

"Weakness is death, Kael. The Pack does not follow a heart. It follows strength. No matter what happens, choose power."

I clenched my fists at my sides. My palms burned with the urge to tear the bond apart, to deny what fate had just carved into my soul.

Before I could move, Selene appeared at my side. Her voice buzzed into my ears like an aggressive one.

“She’s a stain,” she whispered. “If you mark her as your mate, you'll be putting us all into shame. She’s a nobody. Worse — she’s a traitor’s daughter.”

I didn't look at her. I didn’t have to. I knew what she was. I could sense the smug look on her face,the desperation in her voice. Selene didn’t love me. She wanted the title. She wanted the throne beside mine.

I didn't have a choice other than to want that too.

For the good of the Pack. For the future. For everything I had worked for.

I stepped forward. My shoes clamp heavily against the tiled floors. Everywhere became instantly quiet. I looked up to see Alina's eyes on me. They had the looks of hope, fear and anxiety in them.

Instantly, our bond came to life, reaching for me.

I crushed the feeling ruthlessly.

“No!”

My voice coldly blared through the hall in a brutal manner.

A ripple of shock tore through the crowd. Mira, standing not far from Alina, gasped, covering her mouth.

I clenched my jaw and hardened my face.

“I reject the bond,” I said in a louder tone. Every word tasted like ash. “Alina Winter is unworthy of the title of Luna.”

Alina flinched as if I had struck her. Her shoulders curled inward and her breathing seemed to suddenly become painful.

Her fingers aimlessly twisted the hem of her simple dress.

Immediately, I felt the bond between us shake, like a wounded wolf.

“Good,” I told myself. “This is good. You’re protecting the Pack. You’re protecting everyone. You did the right thing.”

But nothing about it felt right.

The High Priestess’s face darkened, but she said nothing. Tradition allowed a rejection. Even if the Moonstone chose, the heart could still deny.

Alina opened her mouth, closed it. Her lower lip trembled for half a heartbeat before she set her jaw tight. She didn’t cry. She didn’t beg.

That somehow made it worse.

Around us, the room cracked open — some people cheering, others murmuring in horror. Whispers and loud murmurs could be heard from every corner of the hall.

“She should have known better than coming here in the first place.”

“Who does she think she is?”

“Poor thing. Poor stupid thing.”

Alina turned, stumbling down the steps of the dais. The light of the Moonstone faded behind her, cold and empty.

She ran through the hall, past the thousands of eyes that were gawking at her, into the dark woods.

My hands were shaking.

With a loud smirk, Selene slipped her arm through mine, her painted, long nails slightly brushing my skin.

“Well done,” she purred. “The Pack will remember your strength.”

I didn’t answer her. I couldn’t.

Instead, I looked out at the woods where Alina had vanished, her figure swallowed by shadows and silence.

I felt a part of me scream in pain. I bit the inside of my cheeks and tore my gaze away.

The Pack gathered around me, some were showering praises on me while the others remained silent, trying to process the whole situation.

Despite the fact that I had rejected the bond, it thrashed so weakly, broken but not dead. I had a strange feeling that the bond wouldn't die so easily.

Then a memory from my past came into my head. It was when I was a boy. After a sparring I was kneeling before my father, blood running down his split lips.

"Pain is not your enemy," my father had said. "Feeling is."

"Learn to kill it, or it will kill you."

But standing there,watching the crowd jeer at Alina, felt like I had killed something inside of me that cannot be brought back to life.