REJECTED BY MY MATE BETRAYED BY MY BLOOD

Chapter 2

I do not remember how I left the clearing.

One moment I was standing there, everyone watching me like I had just humiliated myself on purpose.

The next, I was walking.

Or maybe stumbling.

I am not sure.

The noise of the celebration followed me at first. Laughter, music, voices rising like nothing had happened.

Like I had not just been rejected in front of the entire pack.

Like I did not exist.

My chest still hurt, but not in the same sharp way as before. It felt deeper now. Heavier. Like something had settled there and refused to move.

I pressed a hand against it as I kept walking.

The bond was still there.

That was the part that did not make sense.

He rejected me.

I heard him.

Everyone heard him.

So why did I still feel it?

The question kept circling in my head, over and over again, until it started to feel pointless.

There were no answers.

Only that feeling. Faint now, but real.

I stopped walking when I reached the edge of the forest.

The trees stood dark and quiet, a sharp contrast to the light and noise behind me. For a second, I just stood there, staring into it.

I should go back.

That was what a normal person would do.

Go back. Pretend nothing happened. Endure the looks. The whispers.

I let out a quiet breath.

I could not do that.

Not tonight.

So I stepped into the forest instead.

The air felt cooler immediately. The sounds of the celebration faded with every step until it was just silence and the faint rustle of leaves.

It should have been calming.

It was not.

My thoughts were too loud.

His voice kept replaying in my head.

There is no bond between us.

You are mistaken.

I stopped walking again and squeezed my eyes shut.

“Then what is this?” I whispered, pressing my hand harder against my chest.

The faint pull answered me.

Still there.

Still wrong.

Still unfinished.

A branch snapped somewhere behind me.

I turned quickly, my body tensing.

Nothing.

Just shadows between the trees.

I exhaled slowly, shaking my head at myself. Of course. I was alone.

No one would follow me out here.

Why would they?

I took another step forward, then another, not really paying attention to where I was going anymore.

I just needed distance.

From the pack.

From them.

From everything that had just happened.

Time passed. I could not tell how much.

The forest grew thicker the deeper I went. The moonlight barely reached the ground now, broken by branches and leaves.

I should have stopped.

I knew that.

There were parts of the forest we were told to avoid. Places even the warriors did not patrol often.

But I kept walking anyway.

It felt easier than thinking.

It was only when I noticed how quiet everything had become that I finally slowed down.

Too quiet.

Even the insects had gone silent.

A chill ran down my spine.

My wolf stirred uneasily under my skin.

I looked around, my senses suddenly sharper.

Something was wrong.

I could feel it.

Not the bond.

Something else.

Watching.

The feeling was subtle, but it was there. A pressure in the air that had not been there before.

I turned slowly, scanning the darkness between the trees.

“Hello?” My voice sounded small, even to me.

No answer.

Of course not.

I swallowed, trying to steady myself.

You are imagining things.

That was the logical explanation.

You just went through something humiliating. Your mind is playing tricks on you.

I nodded to myself, even though the unease did not go away.

I took a step back.

Then another.

Maybe it was time to go back after all.

I turned around and started walking in the direction I thought I came from.

After a few steps, I stopped.

Frowned.

This was not right.

The path behind me did not look familiar.

The trees looked the same. The shadows felt deeper.

I turned again, slowly this time.

Nothing looked familiar.

My chest tightened.

I had not been paying attention.

I had just been walking.

And now I was lost.

A soft sound echoed somewhere to my left.

Not a branch this time.

Something else.

Something deliberate.

My heart started beating faster again.

“Who is there?” I called out, louder now.

Silence answered me.

But the feeling did not leave.

If anything, it grew stronger.

My wolf shifted restlessly, alert, tense.

I took a slow step back, then another.

Every instinct I had was telling me the same thing.

Leave.

Now.

I turned quickly and started walking faster, no longer trying to stay calm.

The trees seemed closer now. The darkness thicker.

Another sound. Closer this time.

My breath quickened.

I broke into a run.

Branches brushed against my arms as I pushed through them, my thoughts racing as fast as my heartbeat.

This was a mistake.

I should not have come this far.

I should not have left.

A sudden force slammed into me from the side.

I hit the ground hard, the air knocked out of my lungs.

Pain shot through my shoulder as I struggled to breathe.

For a second, I could not move.

Then instinct kicked in.

I pushed myself up quickly, turning to face whatever had hit me.

Nothing.

My eyes scanned the darkness wildly.

“Show yourself,” I said, my voice shaking despite my effort to sound steady.

A low sound answered me.

Not a growl.

Not exactly.

Something deeper.

My blood ran cold.

That was not a wolf.

I took a step back.

Then another.

My heart pounded so loudly I could hear it in my ears.

“What are you?” I whispered.

The shadows shifted.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

And then I saw it.

Not clearly.

Not fully.

But enough to know one thing.

Whatever was watching me…

It was not supposed to be here.

And somehow…

It had been waiting.