The Broken Bond
852 Words
Pain.
It consumed her.
Maris couldn't breathe.
It felt as though invisible claws were ripping through her chest, tearing apart every piece of her soul. Her scream echoed across the Alpha Grounds before her body collapsed onto the cold stone floor.
The world spun around her.
Voices faded in and out.
"...She's dying!"
"...I've never seen a rejection like this."
"...Look at the moon!"
She tried to lift her head, but her body refused to obey.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she reached toward the broken silver threads still fading into the night sky.
Why...?
Why did he reject me?
She had dreamed of meeting her mate for years.
She had imagined smiling.
Laughing.
Building a home together.
Instead...
Everything had ended before it had even begun.
A sharp gasp escaped her lips as another wave of agony crashed through her body.
She curled into herself.
Her wolf whimpered inside her mind.
Then...
Silence.
Complete silence.
Maris froze.
Her eyes widened.
"No..."
She searched for the familiar presence she had known since childhood.
The soft voice.
The warm comfort.
Nothing.
"My wolf..."
Her whisper trembled.
"...Where are you?"
No answer came.
Panic seized her heart.
Around her, wolves watched in stunned silence.
One of the elders slowly shook his head.
"The rejection killed her wolf."
Another elder sighed.
"Poor child..."
"So young..."
Whispers spread like wildfire.
"A wolf without her wolf..."
"She's as good as human."
"What Alpha would ever accept her now?"
Maris heard every word.
Each one cut deeper than the last.
Livia rushed through the crowd and fell to her knees beside her.
"Maris!"
She gently lifted Maris's head onto her lap.
"I'm here."
"It's okay."
"No..."
Maris whispered weakly.
"It isn't."
Livia looked toward the Alpha's platform with tears burning in her eyes.
"Why?"
Her voice cracked.
"Why would you do this?"
Alpha Kaelan stood motionless.
His expression remained unreadable.
Only his tightly clenched fists betrayed the storm raging beneath his calm exterior.
Beta Tristan stepped closer.
"My Alpha..."
Kaelan raised one hand.
Silence.
He did not look at Maris.
He did not look at anyone.
"The ceremony is over."
His cold voice echoed across the courtyard.
The words stunned everyone.
"Return to your homes."
No explanation.
No apology.
No mercy.
He turned and walked away.
Maris watched him disappear into the darkness.
Each step he took felt like another piece of her heart breaking.
The Moon Priest suddenly stumbled backward.
His face had turned deathly pale.
"No..."
He stared at the moon as though he had seen a ghost.
"This... this cannot be..."
Elder Orion hurried to his side.
"What did you see?"
The old priest remained frozen.
His trembling hands reached toward the heavens.
"The moon..."
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"...it answered."
The elder frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
But before the Moon Priest could respond...
The full moon dimmed.
Not completely.
Just enough for every wolf present to notice.
A cold wind swept across the Alpha Grounds.
Every torch flickered.
The temperature dropped so suddenly that several children clung to their parents.
Even the wolves growled uneasily.
Far beyond the kingdom walls...
Deep within the Forbidden Forest...
Something stirred.
Golden eyes slowly opened in the darkness.
An ancient presence awakened from a sleep that had lasted centuries.
It lifted its head.
As if listening.
As if answering a call only it could hear.
Back in the courtyard, Maris struggled to remain conscious.
Everything around her was fading.
Livia squeezed her hand.
"You'll be alright."
"We'll figure this out."
Maris managed a weak smile.
"I don't... think... I belong here anymore."
"Don't say that."
"I'm serious."
Her voice was barely audible.
"My mate rejected me."
"My wolf is gone."
"What place do I have in this kingdom now?"
Livia couldn't answer.
Because deep down...
She feared Maris was right.
At the edge of the crowd, two hooded strangers watched everything in silence.
One spoke first.
"So..."
"The seal has begun to crack."
The other nodded.
"It seems the prophecy wasn't a lie after all."
"Should we tell him?"
The older figure stared toward the distant forest.
"No."
"Not yet."
"If she truly is the one..."
"He already knows."
The two figures disappeared before anyone noticed they had ever been there.
Maris's eyelids grew heavier.
Darkness pulled at her.
Just before she lost consciousness...
She heard it.
Not with her ears.
But inside her mind.
A woman's gentle voice.
Ancient.
Soft.
Filled with sorrow.
"Come to me..."
Maris's eyes flew open.
She looked around wildly.
No one had spoken.
Livia was still holding her hand.
The crowd was still whispering.
Yet the voice came again.
Clearer this time.
"Find me..."
A single silver tear slipped down Maris's cheek.
Then everything went black.
Miles away...
In a hidden kingdom no ordinary wolf had ever entered...
A man dressed in black slowly opened his crimson eyes.
He had not moved from his throne in decades.
Yet tonight...
For the first time in centuries...
He smiled.
"The moon..."
he murmured.
"...has awakened."
And somewhere beneath the same full moon...
Destiny quietly took its first breath.
- Writer
