Lycan Kings Dormant Sovereign

Chapter 3:The Rejection

Jianna

The Grand Hall of the Silver Moon Pack was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with pack members, but the hall was so vast that you could still hear a pin drop. That's how big the grand hall was.

Hundreds of pack members stood under the looming shadow of the Alpha’s dais. To my left, my father stood tall, his chest puffed out with pack military pride. Beside him were my twin siblings, my brother Jaden with his broad shoulders and arrogant frame, and my sister Jade looking down her nose at me. Both were radiating the heat of two strong, fully manifested wolves.

And then... there was me.

I kept my hands shoved deep into the front pocket of my dark, oversized hoodie, my eyes flat and unbothered as the whispers rippled through the crowd like a cold breeze.

“Why is the wolfless girl even out here?”

“She’s going to embarrass us in front of the King...”

“Her father should have left her at home.”

I didn’t break my stare. I didn’t flinch. I let their chatter roll right off me like rain on gravel. They thought I was a broken disgrace to this pack. They had absolutely no idea that my hands beneath this worn fleece were wrapped tightly, calloused and hardened from years of brutal conditioning. While they relied on brute werewolf muscle, I had spent my nights mastering joint locks, pressure-point strikes, tactical blade work, and relentless hand-to-hand combat. I didn’t need a wolf to take a man down.

Near the front of the courtyard, standing right beside Alpha Kane, was Kael.

He wore a dark leather jacket over some blackened steel arm guards, silver cuffs glinting at his wrists. His rich brown skin, fresh fade, and sharp features made him look every bit the lethal warrior his father wanted him to be. A volatile aura, hot and crackling like smoky static, radiated off him, carrying that same rich, warm scent of roasted cardamom and sweet sage across the cobblestones.

His striking, cold silver eyes swept over the crowd, searching, until they locked onto mine.

For a split second, the arrogant mask cracked. Panic flickered deep in his silver eyes, and the weak, unnatural tug of our dormant bond gave a subtle twitch at my pulse. I felt his desperation reaching across the distance, the secret coward who spent months begging behind the gym bleachers to make me his hidden mistress so he could keep his precious title.

I gave him a slow, deadpan look. Don’t even try it.

Alpha Kane stepped forward, his voice booming across the silent square. “Members of the Silver Moon Pack! Today, as we await the arrival of our High Sovereign, my son and future Alpha, Kael, stands before the elders to declare his standing and reaffirm his path to the throne!”

Cheers erupted from the crowd as Kael puffed his chest out, soaking in the praise.

“As tradition dictates,” Alpha Aaron continued, “an Alpha heir must clarify all claims, bonds, and ties before the royal court arrives to inspect our lineage. Kael... speak your truth.”

Kael took a step toward the center of the stone platform. His jagged, smoky aura flared, trying to project dominance. But as his cold silver eyes slid back to me, I saw the subtle tremble in his jaw.

He had a choice. He had always had a choice.

And true to his nature, Kael chose cowardice.

He cleared his throat, raising his voice so every elder, warrior, and civilian heard every single word.

“I, Kael, future Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, stand before my people to reject any quiet rumors, false claims, or phantom ties!” He pointed a finger directly at me, drawing every pair of eyes in the square straight to my face. “I publicly renounce and reject Jianna of House Vance! She is wolfless. Broken. A flaw in our pack’s bloodline. I will take no weak mate to my throne, nor will I share my legacy with a female who carries no wolf!”

A sharp, collective gasp echoed through the courtyard, followed by snickers from the pack warriors and disappointed shakes of the head from the elders. My father didn’t defend me. He simply crossed his arms, looking away in quiet disgust, while my sister smirked beside my brother.

Kael stood on that platform, breathing heavily, waiting for me to break. He expected tears. He expected me to scream, to beg, maybe even collapse under the public shame just like a helpless wolfless girl was supposed to.

Instead, I slowly pulled my hands from my hoodie pockets.

I took three deliberate steps forward, stepping out from beside my family and standing alone in the open square. My light brown eyes locked onto Kael’s cold silver pair. My expression didn’t shift. Not a single tear welled up in my eyes. My pulse remained steady, cold, and unbothered.

“I, Jianna of House Vance, accept your rejection,” I said.

My voice wasn’t loud, but in the dead silence of the square, it carried like a steel blade slicing through glass.

Snap.

The air between us fractured, a clean, final severance as the static shock of the phantom bond dissolved into absolute nothingness. Kael stumbled back half a step on the dais, clutching his chest at the physical shock of the bond snapping, his silver eyes wide with confusion. He had expected a scene, an outburst, or broken tears, not a stone-cold, effortless acceptance that treated him like an afterthought.

I didn’t offer another word. I didn’t glance at my father or my smirking siblings.

I simply turned my back on Kael, turned my back on the Silver Moon Pack, and walked straight through the parted crowd.

“Jianna! Stop right there!” my father barked behind me. “You do not walk away from the assembly!”

I didn’t even slow my pace or look back.

I’ll let them keep their proud, status-obsessed pack. I’ll let Kael stand up on that stage with his fragile, cowardly pride. I had spent years surviving in their shadows, sharpening myself into a woman who can be proud and defend herself. They were too blind to see that I didn't need any of them anymore.

I walked toward the treeline, leaving the grand square behind, stepping into the deep dark of the forest. I was done hiding, and I sure as hell was done waiting.

I was walking away for good. I don't need them. Never did, and I never will.