Chapter 3: Withdrawn
1061 Words
Kael POV
That night had been handled like a decision already written in stone. I didn't want to admit it but a part of me felt pressured to do it. Yes, she was an Omega. There was absolutely nothing that was going
I had stood before the pack again, under torchlight instead of ceremony fire, knowing every eye had been fixed on me. I could feel their scrutiny on my skin. To them I had done no wrong. My decision was accepted.
But they weren't satisfied. How could they be? I was still without a Luna and worst of all life only gave me one mate. The possibility of finding another mate was impossible.
“What do you want me to do? I have pleased you. I rejected her? Isn't that enough?”
My voice thundered as I spoke. I searched their faces but I saw the look in their eyes, obviously. They weren't satisfied.
The rejection earlier had not been enough. Not for the elders. Not for the old fears that had crawled out of the ground the moment
The mate bond had awakened. They needed certainty. They needed proof that I was still in control and nothing would drag us together again.
“It wasn't easy to make that decision. I had to deny my wolf its desires. What do you want from me?”
My wolf wailed in misery the moment I had to turn her away. It was like a whip on my back and now they wanted something else.
So I gave it to them. Right there in the middle of the chaos I chose another Luna for their pleasure. I denied my wolf's pleasure and gave in to theirs. I was their alpha after all.
I barely looked at whoever she was as I had chosen another she-wolf, I could hear my wolf wailing and crying within me.
She had fit the script they expected of Luna who was supposed to stand, not me. She was strong, acceptable and everything my mate wasn't. I had barely known her but she couldn't be my Luna no matter the circumstances.
This Luna they had chosen was someone the pack already approved of. Someone with no dangerous bloodline, no whispered history, no name that made the elders tense. She was a safe choice to them.
When I had pulled her close, I had felt nothing where the bond should have been. No pull. No heat. No answering instinct. It had been hollow, like pressing my hand against stone and waiting for it to breathe.
The pack had not cared about my wolf. My desires, It was simply duty and nothing more.
The more I looked at her, the more the wolf wailed in pain. She did nothing for me but this was not about me. It was about the pack and what they wanted.
“This is your new Luna”
I announced as she took my side. They all rotated and howled with joy. Finally a mate they accepted. I could feel my wolf wailing within me. The bond was strong, it took a greater will to turn away.
They had watched closely as I marked her, not as a private act, but as a statement. The elders nodded.
Betas had lowered their heads. The chosen she-wolf had stood tall, pride and nerves shaking through her body as she was named Luna in front of everyone.
I had heard myself say it clearly, loudly, so there would be no room for doubt.
“This is my Luna.”
The words had landed heavy and final. I did not look for Averia. I told myself it was finished.
***
Later, when the pack dispersed, I had returned to my quarters with the new Luna at my side. She had spoken softly, careful not to overstep, fully aware of the circumstances that had brought her into my life.
“You did the right thing,”
She had said, like it was something she needed me to believe. Or she needed herself to believe.
I nodded once.But my wolf had been restless, pacing, snarling low in my chest. It was not celebrated. It had not settled, it was hurting.
Far from the fires and noise, Averia had been left alone. I had not seen it, but I had felt it.
The bond had not vanished. It had recoiled. Instead of breaking clean, it had pulled inward, burying itself deep, like a wounded thing refusing to die.
My wolf had flinched hard, sharp pain cutting through me for a brief moment, enough to make my breath hitch. I had clenched my fists, grounding myself.
Taking a deep breath. I was aware of how messy this entire situation was but I had to convince myself that I had done the right thing.
“Now, let's have a little fun”
The new Luna whispered in my ears as her hands stripped me of my clothes. I didn't know how to tell her that I wasn't interested.
My wolf wasn't moved in the slightest and neither was I.
**”
By dawn, the pack had woken to quiet. Too quiet. Word had spread quickly. Averia Noctyne had gone. I had tried to look for her with my wolf but I couldn't find her. The elders had dismissed it easily, good riddance they all probably assumed.
“She ran,” o
One of them had said.
“An omega leaving proves she was weak,”
Another, had said. No one had called her name. They treated her absence like confirmation that she had never mattered.
But my wolf and the pack had told a different story. The air along the eastern boundary had felt wrong.
The trees nearest to the border had gone still, their leaves dull and heavy. Even the wolves had moved quieter than usual, like something had been taken without permission. I knew it was her.
My wolf had gone silent. Not calm, just silent. That scared me more than anger.
I told myself the pack was safe. I told myself order had been preserved. I told myself the threat was gone. I had made the right decision rejecting her. I reminded myself but deep inside, something had shifted.
The bond had not died. It had withdrawn. And for the first time since becoming Alpha, I had understood something too late.
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