REJECTED TWICE: CHOSEN BY FATE

CHAPTER 4

Asha's pov

The moon was high, at a heightening position in the sky, casting down a soft glow over the revelry. The air buzzed with excitement as the pack came together, saluting the victors of the competition. I knew I wasn't one of them, but deep down, part of me still yearned to belong, to feel like this was my place. But tonight wasn't about me, and it was tonight, with all of them present and finally being able to laugh together and have fun, that I felt that pang of loneliness.

I stood all the same near the edge of the crowd, while my stepsister Lilith glittered with attention. She was radiant in a shiny black dress, enhancing every single feature of her body. She was bright with confidence and would have eyes turning towards her wherever she passed. And she loved the attention, more than that, knowing I was on the sidelines, watching as she took her place at the center of it all.

I tried not to let it bother me, but now and then, my gaze strayed back to her, to the way that everybody around her seemed to look upon her in such an unquestioning manner. It was as though the whole pack had become blind to the cruel side of her that I knew so well.

And in that instant, something impossible happened. A feeling, this deep magnetic pull, tore at me and jettisoned my heartbeat. It was an unaccountable thing, some kind of connection I had never felt. I looked around, frantically scanning the darkness until I saw him.

Caelum. He loomed on the periphery of the celebration, tall and strong, smoldering silver eyes holding secrets of the ages in their depths. And our gazes met. It was one of those moments when nothing else mattered. My breath hitched, a fire spreading through me, my body calling out to him, that invisible bond we pulled taut between us. What I had always been looking for, and somehow, he dragged me into his vortex.

It was a storm coming right out of the blue, finally hitting me. This was a mate bond; Caelum was my mate.

My heart was racing, all at once excited and fearful. It was that moment I had always wished would come along, that moment finally when I would be seen, valued, loved. I took a deep breath to muster my courage and stepped forward, preparing to tell him about the bond between us.

But I wove through the crowd, dodging people, and I froze. There, in the shadows, was Caelum-and he wasn't alone. He was with Lilith, and close, too close. I watched with horror as she leaned up, pressing her lips against his in a way that was much too intimate. Caelum wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, returning her kiss with a passion that made my heart shatter.

It was as if the ground beneath gave way, and my whole world fell apart. A minute ago, I felt that feeling of connection, that bond that so filled me with hope; it was a cruel joke. How could he? Hadn't he felt the same pull, the same bond that I did? Or did he simply not care?

I took a step back, my heart crashing, the sting of betrayal hitting hard. Caelum glanced up, his eyes meeting mine over Lilith's shoulder. I felt a flicker in them, but then they hardened, their gaze cold and unfeeling.

"Caelum." I breathed, my voice barely above audible. "We're. We're mates. Don't you feel it?

Lilith drew back, stretching her face in a smug smile. She looked from me to Caelum, and then she laughed at a cruel, mocking sound that echoed across the night.

"Mates?" she scorned, the word slithering out in her scorn. "Oh, Asha, that's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard. Why would Caelum ever be bonded to someone like you?"

My cheeks burned from the shame, yet I kept my head up to look Caelum in the eyes. "Caelum… please, tell me you feel it too," I pleaded, hoping he'd understand that he'd see what I saw.

Caelum did not display emotion; his face was cold and impassive. "You are crazy, Asha," he said directly and without pity. "There is nothing between us. Whatever you think that you feel, it is in your head. I would never be bound to someone as weak as you.".

His words felt like a knife, one that cut through my skin with each sharper word. My heart was breaking, the pain burning down my chest and taking my breath away. The hope that had been in me just a second before was well and truly gone, replaced by a deep pain at the very core of my soul. I wanted to scream, to run, to disappear from this place and never look back.

Lilith stepped forward, a triumphant glint in her eye. "See, Asha?" she jeered. "You're nothing. You don't deserve to be here and don't deserve any person like Caelum. You are just the daughter of an Omega, and that is all you will ever be.".

The only silence in the air was that of a staring crowd my way. I could almost feel the judgment in their eyes, their pity, their disdain at me. And I was utterly exposed, more humiliated than at any time in my life so far.

I firmed my fists as the welling in my eyes started to overflow. I didn't want to give them such satisfaction by breaking into tears. Again, I swung towards Caelum for one last time, hoping that at least there was some semblance of mercy and comprehension within his gaze. Again, it was nothing; he was cold as ice, an expression that had absolutely no regard for my existence.

"Fine," I said, my voice shaking but firm. "If that is the way it is, then I would not be wasting another minute on you. I might be a daughter of an Omega, but at least I am brave enough to face reality. And I don't need you, Caelum. Neither now nor ever."

With that, I turned and walked away, my steps heavier with each move. The eyes of the pack still echoed in my ears: the low whispers, the loud laughter. Still, the pain was not something that should ever be let out in front of them; thus, I kept my head high.

As I walked away from the party, the cool night air against my skin, I let go. Silent tears fell, incessant, while I desperately stumbled through the forest, trying to get as far away from the place that had only ever caused me agony.

It was like an icy, razor-sharp, bitter weight settling inside of me as the reality set in. I had no one pack, no family, not even a mate who was supposed to be eternally connected with me by fate. I was alone, truly, finally.

But that loneliness planted its roots in the fertile ground of a new determination. If they did not want me, very well; I did not want them either. I would make my road and forge my future in which I would never be dependent upon the whims of people's thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

Rejected, broken, cast away perhaps. But that was not going to be the end of my story. I'd rise from this pain stronger than ever.

I turned away from them and ran into the woods, the cool air biting at my skin as I fled, desperate to escape the weight of it all. My heart hammered in my chest, each step a mix of fury and anguish, the world around me a blur. But as I rounded a bend in the path, something caught my attention—movement, a shadow against the trees.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

There, standing between the trees, was Rylan.

His piercing gaze locked onto mine, his expression unreadable. For a moment, the world seemed to pause.

And then, in a voice laced with something darker than I'd ever heard from him before, he spoke.

"You think you're alone, Asha?" he said, his tone sending a chill down my spine. "You're not."

I took a step back, but he quickly caught up with me, his presence looming over me.

"You have no idea what you've just unleashed,” he growled, his breath making my skin feel tingly and hot.