Shattered Bonds
1818 Words
I woke with a start, my breath catching as a strange, charged energy hummed beneath my skin. For a moment, I couldn’t tell if I was still dreaming. The room felt hazy at the edges, as if the world itself were holding its breath.
"Good morning, Seryna."
The voice wasn’t just a sound—it was a sensation. Deep, comforting, whimsical and warm. Like the brush of moonlight over still water.
I sat up slowly, eyes darting around the room. "Who—?" I whispered, heart thudding.
"I’m Rose," the voice said gently. “Your wolf. I’m finally here.”
Something bloomed inside me. A warmth in my chest, golden and steady, as if a piece of me had been missing all my life and now, suddenly, I was whole.
"You’re real," I breathed, wonder threading through the words.
"And you’re ready," she replied. "But we can’t shift until high moon—when the Moon Goddess gives her blessing. Tonight."
I sat there, staring at the soft light filtering through my window, trying to process the enormity of it.
My wolf was here.
Everything was about to change.
I dressed with quiet care, brushing each wrinkle from my clothes like it might somehow change the way the world saw me.
A soft blue blouse. Clean jeans. A birthday gift from Maria, wrapped in twine and lavender last week with a note that simply read, “For the day everything begins.” My fingers, still aching from yesterday, fumbled a bit with the buttons, but I didn’t let them slow me. I braided my black hair into a single neat plait and tucked a daisy behind my ear.
I looked at myself in the cracked hallway mirror—fair skin, long black braid, hazel eyes that looked too tired for eighteen, and a slim, curved figure I wasn’t sure how to carry.
“Well,” I whispered to the girl staring back at me, “happy birthday.”
I didn’t usually care what the villagers thought. But today… today, I might meet him.
My mate.
And I wanted to make the best impression I could. I imagined a soft smile. A warm hand reaching for mine. Someone who saw me—really saw me—and chose me, just like the Moon Goddess promised.
Maybe then, all of this would be worth it.
I stepped into the living room. My mother was passed out on the couch, an empty bottle tipped on its side beside her. No breakfast. No smile. No birthday wish.
I hadn’t expected one.
So I slipped out the door, heart full of hope and nerves, and walked to school beneath a sky too bright for what was coming.
The school corridors buzzed with the usual morning noise—laughter, the shuffle of boots, slamming lockers—but the moment I stepped inside, it all shifted.
Silence bloomed around me like a ripple in still water.
Heads turned. Whispers followed, soft and sharp as needles.
But I walked straighter, chin high. Today was different. Today, I might meet him.
This was it—the moment I’d spent years dreaming of.
I would find him. I would be loved. I would be safe.
He would never let anyone hurt me again. I was sure of it.
Then it hit me.
A scent, wild and electric, surged through the air like a living thing—storm-soaked pine and rich, sun-warmed earth. It crashed into me like a wave, stole my breath, tugged something deep in my chest.
Rose gasped inside me. “Mate.”
The word was sacred. Final. Her voice shook with wonder.
I barely noticed my feet moving, driven by instinct. Drawn by need.
The scent flooded my senses, fogged my mind until nothing else mattered but following it—finding him. My pulse thundered in my ears as I passed classrooms, turned corners, the world narrowing to a single golden thread.
It led me to the gym.
And there he was.
Ezekial Thorne.
My breath caught. My stomach turned.
“No,” I whispered, horror creeping in as my wolf whimpered inside me.
A crowd had already gathered—students packed in near the bleachers, whispering excitedly, their eyes bright with cruel anticipation. They knew. Somehow, they’d all known before I did.
Dorian, the Alpha’s second son, lounged near the back like a vulture in silk. He didn’t join in, but his smirk said enough. He loved to watch Ezekial make me squirm.
Ezekial turned, as if on cue. His ice-blue eyes locked on mine. That wicked grin.
“Yes,” he said smoothly.
“Mate,” Rose whispered, her voice cracking.
“No,” I breathed again. “It can’t be.”
He stepped closer, every movement deliberate, rehearsed.
“I, Ezekial Thorne, future Beta of the Blue Coral Pack,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “reject you, Seryna Vale, as my mate and life’s partner.”
The words struck like a blade, sharp and cold.
My knees buckled, but I didn’t fall.
Something inside me—some invisible bond—snapped. A phantom string pulled taut through my chest tore free, and the breath left my lungs in a rush.
Rose howled in agony, the sound echoing in my bones.
I staggered but caught myself. My heart felt like it might shatter—not just from the pain, but from the death of every hope I had ever placed upon the shoulders of the man I thought fate would give me.
He stood tall and proud, grinning. This had been his plan. A performance. As if his daily cruelty hadn’t been enough, he wanted to humiliate me in front of everyone.
My hands trembled. My throat burned. But I lifted my chin.
“I, Seryna Vale,” I said, voice steady despite everything inside me breaking, “accept your rejection.”
A hush fell over the room.
Ezekial flinched. His breath caught, like my words had struck harder than he expected. His body jerked, just slightly, as if something invisible had recoiled from him.
His friends moved toward him, fussing, whispering—covering for the moment of weakness.
But I didn’t stay to watch.
I walked out.
My head throbbed. My vision blurred. The rest of the day passed like a smear of color and noise.
Inside, Rose wept.
“He knew,” she said through her sobs. “He hated us because he knew we were his.”
The sun had dipped low by the time I trudged home, painting Coral Hollow in long shadows and burnt orange light.
I stepped inside quietly, hoping for just a moment to breathe. To gather my thoughts. To forget.
But her voice cut through the silence like a blade.
“Where’s the money from the herbs? Maria pay you or not?”
I blinked, still reeling from earlier. “I didn’t sell them,” I said softly. “I never made it. Something happened.”
She stood up fast, her movements sharp. Her eyes were narrowed, glassy. “Don’t tell me you lost those herbs. Those were worth something, you useless girl.”
I clenched my fists, the pain in my fingers flaring. “I met my mate today,” I said, my voice low. “He rejected me. Right there. In front of everyone.”
She stared at me for a beat. Then scoffed.
“So what? That’s no excuse for not pulling your weight.”
“I just need a little more time,” I said, my voice shaking. “I’ll go back out. I’ll gather more—”
She cut me off with a wave of her hand. Her words were cold, precise, unfeeling.
“No. You’re eighteen now. Not my problem anymore. You want pity? Go cry to someone else.”
She pointed toward the door.
“Get out.”
I stood frozen. This house, as broken as it was, was still my home. The only one I’d ever known.
I wanted to beg her. To ask for one more day. Just one.
But I stopped myself.
“Where will I go?” I asked, voice barely above a whisper.
“Figure it out,” she said, already turning away. “Take your crap and don’t come back.”
The silence that followed was colder than any slap.
I didn’t argue. I didn’t cry.
I left.
That had always been the plan—I had just hoped I could leave with more money in my pocket and a place to land.
Instead, all I had was pain.
And one name echoing in my heart.
Maria.
By the time I reached Maria’s clinic, the sky had turned to ink.
The moment I stepped inside, warmth wrapped around me—the soft glow of lanternlight, the scent of sage and lavender, the gentle clink of potion bottles in their shelves.
Maria looked up from the front desk, and her eyes lit up.
“Happy birthday!” she chirped.
I couldn’t speak.
She stepped forward, arms open, and I walked straight into them. Her embrace was firm and familiar, and the dam inside me broke.
Tears spilled down my cheeks—hot, silent, unstoppable.
She held me tighter, one hand stroking my braid, the other gently wiping the tears from my face.
“What happened?” she whispered.
“He was my mate,” I choked out. “Ezekial. He rejected me. And my mother… she kicked me out. I have nowhere else to go.”
Maria pulled back just enough to meet my eyes. Her expression darkened.
“That arrogant little—” she hissed, then caught herself. She exhaled and pressed her forehead to mine. “Come on. Let’s get you some tea.”
She led me into the back and placed a warm mug of chamomile in my hands, her fingers lingering to make sure mine weren’t trembling too badly.
“You stay here,” she said firmly. “With me. For as long as you want. This is your home now.”
I looked up, throat tight. “Why?”
She hesitated, a flicker of sorrow softening her gaze.
“Because when I was your age, my mother told me I was worthless too. She chose her pride over me. I’ve walked that road—the lonely one—and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
She reached out and cupped my cheek.
“And because years ago, I saw a little girl standing outside the school, hungry and forgotten. No one else noticed her. But I did. And she gave me something I thought I’d never have again—a daughter.”
The tears returned, but this time… they weren’t from pain.
They were from love.
I didn’t find my mate today—but maybe I found something even deeper:
A soul who felt like home,
and a place where I could finally belong.
- Writer
