Chapter 2 – The Cold Alpha
639 Words
Lucien Gray stood rooted to the spot long after Aurora disappeared into the trees.
Around him, the pack buzzed with whispers.
“Did you see her face?”
“Alpha Lucien rejected his fated mate?”
“She’s just an omega. What did she expect?”
He heard every word—and ignored them all.
Inside, his wolf, Kael, howled with fury. Mate! he growled, clawing at the inside of Lucien’s mind. Ours. You rejected ours! What have you done?
Lucien shut him out with a forceful growl.
He had no time for weakness. No time for fate.
No time for… her.
The next morning, Lucien stood on the balcony of the Alpha’s mansion, arms crossed, staring out at the pack grounds. The sky was overcast, a storm threatening to break loose—fitting for the tension gripping his chest.
Beta Rowan, his childhood friend and right hand, approached cautiously.
“She hasn’t returned,” Rowan said, brows drawn low. “The scouts didn’t find any trace of her past the western border.”
Lucien said nothing.
“You really think she’s dead?”
“She went into the Forbidden Forest. It’s suicide.” His tone was flat, final.
Rowan studied him for a long moment. “You don’t seem relieved.”
Lucien’s jaw ticked. “I did what I had to do.”
“She was your mate.”
“She was a mistake.”
Rowan scoffed. “The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes.”
Lucien’s eyes flicked to him, sharp and warning. “Don’t question my decisions.”
But inside, something dark and hollow echoed through him. The look in Aurora’s eyes—pure devastation—haunted him. The bond he severed still itched like a phantom wound.
He should’ve felt stronger. Freer. But instead…
He felt like something inside him had died with her.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Aurora stumbled through the underbrush. Her feet were raw, her dress torn. Her heart ached so deeply it felt like it bled with every step.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered. “Why would he reject me?”
Because he’s cruel, Nyra finally spoke, her voice hoarse with grief. Because he doesn’t see you.
“I felt the bond. I felt it. It was real.”
It was, her wolf whispered. But it wasn’t enough for him.
Tears slid down Aurora’s cheeks. “Then I’ll never be enough.”
A low growl in the distance stopped her in her tracks.
Her breath caught.
A pair of glowing red eyes emerged from the shadows.
Rogues.
Three of them. Wild, unclaimed, feral. Foam at their mouths, claws already bared.
Aurora backed away, her limbs trembling, her wolf too weak to shift.
“No… no, please…”
The first one lunged.
Back at the pack house, Lucien gripped the banister as pain—searing, violent pain—ripped through his chest.
He gasped, falling to one knee.
“What is it?!” Rowan rushed forward.
“I don’t—” Lucien’s breath caught as the sensation intensified. It felt like his soul was being shredded from the inside out.
Then…
Silence.
The bond was… gone.
Completely, irreversibly severed.
Rowan's face paled. “She’s really dead.”
Lucien said nothing, but the cold emptiness inside him said it all.
Kael, his wolf, let out a mournful, soul-shattering howl.
Back in the forest, Aurora lay bleeding, barely conscious as the rogues circled her.
But just as the final blow was about to strike, something inside her broke free.
A burst of silver-blue light erupted from her body, throwing the rogues back like ragdolls.
The ground trembled beneath her. Her eyes flew open—glowing violet.
Nyra roared from within.
“You are not nothing. You are Nightbane.”
Then Aurora passed out, the ancient name echoing through her soul.
- Writer
