00; Severing the bond
1171 Words
Draven's pov
The mate bond is the most complicated curse the Moon Goddess ever created. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be fated to my own Beta.
Ivory had always been a friend in every way that didn’t cross the line. We grew up side by side, fought battles together, and bled for this pack together.I had never once allowed myself to see her in a different light.
Not until the matching ceremony.
When I caught her scent from across the forest —sweet and intoxicating, my wolf surged forward instantly, clawing at my control, demanding I mark her.
When I finally found her, everything else faded— including the surroundings. I only had eyes for Ivory.
My Beta became my fated mate. Which was a taboo in my Pack.
My wolf howled, urging me to go to her, to claim her. But the small, rational part of me—the Alpha, the leader—held firm.
That bond was forbidden.
Claiming my beta would not just break tradition—it would destroy the order of my pack. It would make me vulnerable. So I fought my wolf, writhing in pain as if my mind had been sliced into two opposing forces. That was how I finally rejected her. It may be cruel, but it was for our benefit.
I chose Dolores of the Shadowmoon Pack. She was everything a Luna should be—graceful, powerful, and perfect.
At our mating ceremony, after the blood oath taking, I searched for Ivory.
She had been standing at the front of the crowd, now she was gone.
An uneasy feeling settled in my chest.
“I need you to find Ivory,” I muttered to Zane, my gamma.
He nodded and slipped into the crowd.
I pushed the feeling aside.
She would not do anything stupid. She would be fine.
However, I was in my study when someone knocked on the door.
I staggered back with a hiss, clutching my head as something deep inside me twisted violently.
I didn’t need to guess.
Ivory was there.
I yanked the door open.
She stood there, pale and trembling.
Her eyes—glassy and red, were filled with unshed tears. As we locked gazes, my stomach sank. s**t.
“Come with me,” I said quickly, gripping her arm before anyone could see us together in that situation.
I pulled her down the hallway and we stood behind a wall.
The silence that followed was suffocating. I couldn't look in her eyes. I sighed heavily.
“Ivory, I—”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice broken. Her tears spilled uncontrollably, despite her efforts to wipe it.
I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. “Ivory, if you knew, things wouldn’t have gone smoothly.” I spread my hands.
“I thought this through. I did what was best.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, nodding slowly.
“So that’s how you get rid of me.” she shook her head slowly.
“Did you ever stop to think how much this would hurt? Watching you seal your bond with her?”
I fidgeted as my throat tightened.
“I’m sorry—”
“That’s not what I need.” She cut me off, lifting a trembling hand.
“I need you to go out there and tell them the truth. That we’re fated mates. Not her.”
I shook my head immediately. “I can’t reject her, Ivory. The pain alone—” I exhaled, pacing baack and forth.
“It’s not possible.”
Ivory went quiet, stepping back as if struck. She covered her mouth with her trembling hands and a broken sound escaped her lips.
“Ivory…” I reached for her.
She slapped my hand away.
“Since you don’t want me,” she whispered, her voice hollow, “I’ll leave. I’ll resign. I’ll go rogue.”
My brows furrowed. “You want to throw everything away? For a bond that should never have existed?” I asked.
“Think, Ivory. You’re smarter than this.”
“You're rght. Mr. Logic.” She let out a bitter laugh. “It’s forbidden, so what? We could change that! We could fight it!”
Her voice cracked as she stepped closer.
“But you don’t even want to try.” She jabbed a finger toward my chest. “You want her. A stranger.”
“She’s not a stranger,” I snapped. “She’s my mate.”
“Your mate?” Ivory laughed again, but there was no humor in it. “You’ve known her for what—months?”
I clenched my jaw.
“It doesn’t matter.”
She went still.
Then slowly, she folded her arms, staring past me.
“It’s alright, Draven.”
The way she said it made me uneasy.
She turned toward the door.
“Not yet.” I caught her wrist.
She froze.
“We have to break the bond,” I said, forcing the words out. “we have to... erase it.”
Her head snapped toward me. “What?”
“It’s the only way.” I took her hands despite her resistance. “We end this now. Before it destroys everything between us.”
“Please.”
Her face crumpled, pain flashing across it so vividly it made my chest ache.
“Ivory, look at me.”
She shoved me away. There was a hollow in my chest.
“f**k you!” she sobbed. “Why do you have to take everything from me?” She was crying now. Like her all her hopes had been dashed.
“Why, Draven?”
I swallowed hard.
Because I had no choice. Because I was the Alpha and I made tough decisions daily—even if they wrecked me.
I closed my eyes for a brief second, then opened them. I exhaled.
“I, Alpha Draven, reject you, Beta Ivory, as my mate and Luna.”
The words landed like a death sentence.
She staggered back as if struck.
“No…” Her shoulders slumped as she clutched her chest.
I felt the bond between us yank violently.
Ivory dropped to her knees with a strangled cry, clutching her head as her body trembled.
“Ivory—” My voice faltered. I had to live with hurting her — but there was no undoing this.
Blood slid from her nostrils, dripping onto the floor.
“Ivory, say it,” I urged, panic rising. “You have to complete it.”
She shook her head weakly, teeth clenched, fighting it.
“Ivory!” My voice cracked. “Come on, reject me!”
More blood flowed, her breathing turning ragged. s**t. Was she going to die for this? I started pacing again, my brain working overdrive.
However, I noticed movement at the edge of the hallway.
Someone had seen us—seen everything.
And in that moment, I knew that by morning, the entire pack would hear of this secret.
- Writer
