chapter 2 - Banished under the Red Moon
651 Words
His wolf roared violently inside him.
Because he felt another male touching his mate.
Kael’s eyes turned Under the Blood Moon
The cold rain soaked through my wedding dress as the palace gates spammed shut behind me.
The sound echoed like the end of my life.
I stood there trembling, staring at the massive black gates of the Lycan palace while tears mixed with rain on my cheeks.
Rejected.
By my mate.
By the king.
Kael Draven had destroyed me with only three words.
“I reject her.”
My chest burned violently where the mate bond still pulsed beneath my skin. It should have weakened after the rejection.
Instead…
It hurt more.
I wrapped my arms around myself as thunder cracked across the sky. The guards who had dragged me out were already gone, leaving me alone at the edge of the forbidden forest.
A death sentence.
No rejected female survived the Blood Forest.
Not for long.
I swallowed painfully and began walking barefoot through the mud, my torn wedding dress dragging behind me like a ghost of the woman I used to be.
The future queen.
What a joke.
Branches clawed at my skin as darkness swallowed the path ahead. Every sound made my heart jump.
Growls.
Movement.
Something was out there.
Watching me.
Suddenly—
A sharp pain exploded in my chest.
I gasped and grabbed a tree for support.
The mate bond.
Kael.
Even after humiliating me before the kingdom… I could still feel him.
Angry.
Restless.
Possessive.
“Why?” I whispered brokenly into the rain. “Why did you do this to me?”
No answer came.
Only silence.
Then—
A low growl echoed behind me.
My body froze.
Slowly, I turned around.
Golden eyes glowed from the darkness.
A massive black wolf stepped from the shadows, larger than any wolf I had ever seen before. His fur gleamed beneath the moonlight, muscles rippling dangerously beneath his body.
Predator.
Lycan.
My breathing became uneven.
The beast circled me slowly, studying me with terrifying intelligence.
“You smell like him,” a deep male voice growled.
My pulse stopped.
The wolf shifted.
Bones cracked violently.
Dark smoke wrapped around him until a tall naked man stood before me, rain dripping down his tattooed chest.
Beautiful.
Dangerous.
Deadly.
His silver eyes locked onto mine with dangerous interest.
“You’re the rejected bride,” he murmured.
Humiliation burned through me instantly.
I lifted my chin despite the fear crawling under my skin. “If you’re going to kill me, then do it.”
Instead of attacking, his lips curved slowly.
“Kill you?” He stepped closer. “That would be a waste.”
My breath caught as his gaze traveled over my body—lingering on my exposed shoulder and soaked dress clinging tightly to my curves.
Heat rushed through me despite the cold.
His fingers suddenly touched my chin.
Softly.
Too softly.
“You’re shaking,” he whispered.
I tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip slightly.
“Don’t fear me, little bride.”
Little bride.
The words sent something dangerous through my stomach.
Then suddenly—
Pain tore through my collarbone.
I cried out as a silver mark began glowing beneath my skin.
The stranger’s eyes widened instantly.
Impossible.
“No…” he breathed.
The mark burned brighter.
A mate mark.
My entire body went numb.
“That can’t be possible,” I whispered.
Because fate only gives one mate.
One.
And Kael had already rejected me.
The stranger stared at me like he had just found something priceless.
Something forbidden.
Then his expression darkened possessively.
“You belong to me now.”
Before I could react, he pulled me against his hard body.
And somewhere inside the palace—
Kael Draven pitch black with fury.
“Find her,” he snarled murderously.
“Before I slaughter whoever touched my bride.”
- Writer
