Chapter 2: After the Rejection
841 Words
The night I was rejected did not end when the ceremony did.
Pain didn’t obey time. It followed me.
I walked through the forest alone, barefoot, my dress clutched in trembling fingers as branches scraped against my skin. Every step felt unreal, as though my body had been left behind in that clearing beneath the blood moon kneeling, humiliated and rejected.
The bond Liam had shattered still burned in my chest.
It was not gone.
It was bleeding.
I pressed my palm against my heart and staggered to a stop beside an ancient oak tree. My silver-grey eyes blurred with tears I had been holding back for too long. I refused to cry in front of the pack. I refused to let Selena see me break.
But here, alone, the pain finally won.
I slid down the rough bark and curled into myself as a sob tore free.
“I loved you,” I whispered into the darkness, my voice cracking. “I loved you quietly. Faithfully. How could that be so unforgivable?”
The wind answered with silence.
I stayed there for a long time, long enough for the cheers of celebration to fade into the distance. Long enough for the ache in my chest to grow heavy, dull, constant. The bond pulsed weakly now, like a wounded animal struggling to breathe.
Rejected mates were supposed to feel relief once the bond was broken.
I felt only emptiness.
Eventually, I forced myself to stand. I couldn’t stay out here. If the guards found me, word would spread quickly. The pack already saw me as pitiful, I wouldn’t give them any more reason to whisper.
The omega quarters were quiet when I returned. Too quiet.
I slipped inside and closed the door behind me, leaning against it as my legs finally gave way. The small room smelled faintly of lavender and worn wood. Nothing had changed… and yet everything felt different.
This room no longer felt like refuge.
I barely had time to light the lantern when footsteps approached outside.
My body stiffened.
The door opened without a knock.
Selena stepped inside.
She wore ceremonial white, her hair untouched, glowing with triumph. Two guards lingered behind her, their expressions stiff, obedient.
“So this is where you hide,” she said softly, her eyes sweeping over the small room with clear disdain.
My fingers curled into fists. “Get out.”
She laughed a light, cruel sound. “Still so bold, even after humiliation. Admirable. Foolish, but admirable.”
I stood slowly, lifting my chin. “Why are you here?”
She approached, stopping just close enough to make my skin crawl. “To remind you of your place.”
Her gaze dropped to my chest, where the faint ache of the bond still throbbed. Her smile sharpened.
“You felt it, didn’t you?” she murmured. “The bond snapping. Alpha Liam choosing me.”
I said nothing.
She leaned closer. “Do you know what he told me after rejecting you?”
My heart tightened despite myself.
“That it was unfortunate,” Selena continued smoothly, “but necessary. The pack needs strength. Not a fragile omega with sad eyes and impossible dreams.”
Her words sliced deep because some part of me feared they were true.
Then her hand lashed out.
Pain exploded across my cheek.
I stumbled back, shock roaring through me louder than the sting.
“Remember this feeling,” Selena said coldly. “Because if I ever catch you looking at my Alpha again, if you so much as think of him, I will make your life a living nightmare.”
She turned and left just as quickly as she had come, the guards following without a word.
The door clicked shut.
I did not cry.
I stood there, trembling, staring at the empty space she had occupied. My cheek throbbed, but the pain only sharpened something inside me something dangerous.
Weakness had protected me for years.
Silence had earned me nothing.
No more.
I moved to the small mirror hanging on the wall and looked at myself. My silver-grey eyes stared back clearer than ever, brighter, almost glowing in the dim lantern light.
For the first time, I didn’t recognize the girl staring back.
I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, forcing calm.
And then,
Something answered.
A strange warmth unfurled inside my chest, spreading through my veins like slow-burning fire. I gasped, clutching the edge of the table as my knees buckled.
This wasn’t pain.
This was power.
Faint, restrained… but undeniably there.
My breath came shakily as the sensation faded, leaving behind an echo that made my skin hum.
“What… was that?” I whispered.
I had lived nineteen years believing I was weak.
I was wrong.
Outside, distant howls pierced the night, long and restless.
Somewhere across the pack lands, Alpha Liam lifted his head abruptly, an ache gripping his chest without warning.
And for the first time since the rejection, my cracked bond pulsed
Not with pain.
But with awakening.
- Writer
