BOUND BY BROKEN BOUND

LYRA’S POV Mercy is not tolerated in Nightfall Pack, Weakness was not addressed under Alpha Raph's strict reign, it was erased. Little wolves were tossed about, ridiculed, and discarded. Strength determined who led, who ate first, who lived in shackles and who lived with pride. These facts kept reflecting in my head as I turn around to view in awe the enormous hall that stood like a structure made of bones and pride. The chamber was lined with stone pillars draped in wolf skin, each one symbolizing a region claimed by blood, a war won, or the crushing of a rival pack. Finished cleaning, you know what tonight is? That was the command from a senior servant that pulled me back to reality, and my heart skipped a beat. The mating ceremony is tonight and I have always dreaded this day. The moon always seemed to be watching, judging and waiting on ceremony nights, the ground was cooler under my bare feet, torchlight hardly reached the extreme rear of the Sacred Clearing where I always stood. The elites ahead, in the middle are warriors then the omegas, who at least had families standing by their sides. The aroma of pine sap, damp dirt, and expectancy filled the air as the silver oak tree towered over us, its ancient branches winding into the night sky like skeletal fingers. Between the ages of eighteen and twenty five, all of the unmated wolves were standing in line, heads up, shoulders squared. In order to avoid seeing sympathy or worse disdain, I kept my head slightly bent, still there were whispers "Why is she even here?" "She had not even shifted ," "Her lineage ought to have been wiped out years ago." I acted as though I hadn't heard them; I'd mastered that long ago. Strength determined value within the pack, big wolves, dominant blood, powerful shift none of those things applied to me. Even at the age of eighteen, I had not shifted which was not only seen as dishonorable but also as a sign of flaw. My inner wolf had always been a shadow that lingered beneath my skin, unable to emerge and my ancestors were referred to as weak, cursed, slave and flawed for producing small wolves. My father sealed our fate when he charged head-on into a conflict he couldn’t win in an attempt to make up for our weakness and died in the process, my mother was put to death on suspicion of polluting the lineage leaving me to face the title of the family. The loud sound of horn brought the whispers to an end Immediately, Alpha Raph moved closer, his enormous body creating a long shadow in the moonlight, his powerful presence pressing on my lungs, his power radiating absolute and merciless. His boys stood at his side. Karl stood tall With a noble indifference on his face, then I sensed him before I looked, the illegitimate son of Alpha Raph Demon that I often pleasure myself with in the solitude of my room, I let my thoughts drift to Demon often times while the pack sleep and the world was softened by the darkness. My heart would race at the thought of his voice and the way he exuded strength and untouchability. As heat built up deep inside me, my fingers would slowly move over my skin, tracing the roundness of my waist, my hands would slide down my lower body. As I envisioned his hands in place of mine, his body towering over me, his breath warm against my neck, I would gradually move my panties to one side, my breath becoming erratic. Slowly and carefully, the feeling would intensify until I burst out screaming with intense satisfaction shaken and confused by the sensation. I often ask myself, "Why him?" From the back of the crowd, I could feel Demon’s intimidating height, his intense look, calm, natural and his dark hair that was pulled loosely at the nape of his neck, his presence was like a storm waiting for permission to break out. The desire to be with him was more powerful than before. Before I could think, my body responded. My thighs naturally squeezed together, and I didn't even realize it until my hands carefully slid down my panties under her dress. “The Moon Goddess decides tonight,” Alpha Raph's voice vibranted around the clearing and I was pulled back to reality “the ceremony has started”. One by one, bonds snapped, gasps, tears, laughter. I shouldn’t have looked at Demon but I did and as soon as our eyes locked, something inside me snapped It wasn't slow or gentle; rather, it was aggressive. A force that struck my chest so forcefully I lost my breath. The world became blurry as heat shot through my veins, electrifying and blinding, almost causing my knees to buckle, the connection was like a bolt of lightning. Demon went rigid across the clearing, turning his head completely toward me, his wolf rushed forward, savage, In charge, dominant. “Mine….”. He stumbled a little from the power of it. The connection between us was wild and hope blossomed in my chest for a single heartbeat and I finally realized why I have always been drawn to him, he is my mate. I recognized the look in his wolf eyes, unadulterated and unprocessed his wolf desired me The crowd echoed with gasps."No.""It isn't possible, a slave mated to Alpha illegitimate son." My heart pounded loudly and frantically in my ears as the air grew thicker, heavier and oppressive. He walked towards me slowly, taking careful steps.The crowd parted to make room for him, I felt vulnerable standing alone since every eye in Nightfall Pack was suddenly burning into my flesh. This wasn’t how I imagined “me the slave with tainted blood” to meet my mate. He came to a stop a few steps away from me but close enough for me to see the tension in his jaw and something flash in his amber eyes "recognition" his wolf wanted me. Then the air changed, a crushing pressure came down, my throat felt like it was encircled By unseen forces due to dominant and unyielding power radiating from Alpha Raph. For a brief moment, I saw "Conflict" as Demon's shoulders clenched and his fingers curled into fists at his sides. "Please," his chest rising forcefully as if he was battling an invisible force. I wasn't sure if this was a plea from me or him, his eyes shifted from me to his father and then to Kael. Kael had a small smile on his face, it was almost as if he had anticipated it. Demon took a slow breath then the words every wolf dread the most hit me "I, Demon, son of Alpha Raph's reject you as my mate”. Something inside me was destroyed. Pain tore through my chest like claws shredding flesh from bone when the bond snapped forcefully. I scream my lungs out and drop to my knees as every nerve explode with pain.I thought my lungs had given out because my heart felt like it had been torn apart and left exposed under the moonlight. I fought to breathe while my hands clawed at the earth, the crowd became blurry, and the sound faded away. Is this how rejection feels? I asked myself, then—An odd thing occurred.The pain didn't go away, it didn't completely split, I sense a thin thread still burning. The link was still alive but broken, he sensed it as well I could tell from the brief slip in his facial expressions. His hands moved as if he were about to grab me. However, he turned away instead. Whispers broke out, “Disgusting" "A slave?" "He made the right decision." Tears burnt my eyes as I push my palm against my chest in an attempt to calm my racing heartbeat, but I wouldn't let any tears fall, not here and definitely not in front of them. Instead of the usual pale gold, the moonlight overhead appeared brighter and more silver-white. A peculiar feeling that felt ancient started to spread through my veins and weave through the anguish, it felt awake. I have been called weak my entire life, yet the sensation that was rising inside of me at the moment did not feel weak but that of rage. Demon stood coldly next to his father, his jaw was tight, he stared ahead. However, I sensed him...Confusion, rage, and something dangerously close to remorse ran through the broken link. The ceremony finished swiftly as wolves scattered in groups of gossip and judgments. I forced myself up carefully, ignoring my shaking legs since no one could assist me. With every breath I take, the word "Rejected" kept replying in my head, making each step back to the servant quarters feel heavier than the last. Beneath the humiliation, pain, and crushing shame, something else beat within me I could feel it and the moon felt nearer like it was observing me with purpose rather than sympathy. Just before the tree line, I paused and gazed up at the sky. The silver light soaked my skin, and for the first time in my life, I felt like I was being seen—not as a slave or a flaw, but as something completely different.