The lycan king's Greatest Regret

Chapter 2 The Bond Shattered

"I reject you."

The four words echoed through the Great Hall long after Ronan's lips stopped moving.

For a heartbeat, no one breathed.

No one moved.

No one dared to look away.

I stared at him, waiting for him to smile and tell everyone it was some cruel joke.

He didn't.

Instead, he looked at me with a face so empty that I barely recognized the man who had once held my hand beneath the moon and promised we would rule together.

"I..." My voice cracked. "Ronan..."

He looked away.

That hurt more than the words.

"No," I whispered, taking an unsteady step forward. "Look at me."

He remained silent.

The High Elder frowned.

"Alpha Ronan," he said cautiously. "A public rejection requires your final declaration."

My heart slammed against my ribs.

No...

Please...

Don't do this.

Ronan inhaled deeply.

Then his cold green eyes met mine.

"I, Alpha Ronan Ashcroft of Silver Hollow Pack, reject Lyra Everhart as my fated mate."

Every word struck like a blade.

"I renounce the bond blessed by the Moon Goddess."

Pain exploded through my chest.

I screamed.

It felt as though invisible claws had sunk into my heart and were ripping it apart.

I collapsed onto the stone floor, unable to breathe.

My wolf howled inside my mind.

A broken, agonizing cry that made tears stream uncontrollably down my face.

Lyra...

She sounded frightened.

It hurts...

"I know," I sobbed.

"I know..."

The silver thread that had connected our souls began to unravel.

I couldn't see it with my eyes.

But I felt it.

Every memory.

Every promise.

Every dream.

It was all being torn away.

Gasps spread through the hall.

Some wolves looked away.

Others watched with cruel fascination.

Not one of them stepped forward.

"Accept the rejection," the High Elder said quietly.

"I..."

My lips trembled.

If I refused...

The pain would never end.

"I..." Tears blurred my vision. "I accept."

The moment the words left my mouth, something inside me shattered.

A force knocked me backward.

My body hit the cold marble with a sickening thud.

Silence.

The bond was gone.

My wolf curled into herself, whimpering softly before her voice disappeared completely.

"Nova?"

Nothing.

Panic clawed at my throat.

"Nova!"

Still nothing.

The silence inside my mind was worse than the pain.

It was like losing half of my soul.

Someone laughed.

I lifted my tear-filled eyes.

Iris.

She stood proudly beside Ronan, her fingers wrapped around his arm as though she had already won.

Maybe she had.

Ronan never looked at me again.

"Take her away," Luna Mara said with obvious disgust.

"We can't have a rejected she-wolf ruining today's celebration."

Two warriors stepped toward me.

One grabbed my arm so roughly that I cried out.

"Get up."

"I..."

My legs refused to obey.

The warrior sighed impatiently.

"Pathetic."

Before he could drag me across the floor—

Boom.

The massive doors of the Great Hall burst open.

A powerful gust of wind swept through the chamber, extinguishing half the candles in an instant.

Every head turned.

An unfamiliar scent filled the air.

Ancient forests.

Rain-soaked earth.

And something impossibly powerful.

The warriors beside me froze.

One after another...

Every Alpha in the hall stood.

Then bowed.

Confusion rippled through the crowd.

The High Elder's face drained of color.

"He..." he whispered.

"It can't be..."

Heavy footsteps echoed across the marble floor.

Slow.

Steady.

Each one carried enough authority to make the walls seem to tremble.

I forced myself to look up through my tears.

A tall man dressed entirely in black entered the hall.

His long coat brushed the floor behind him.

A silver crown rested upon dark hair.

His expression was unreadable.

Cold.

Ancient.

Terrifying.

The room fell so silent that I could hear my own heartbeat.

Even Ronan lowered his head.

"The Lycan King..."

Someone whispered the title with reverence.

King Kael Draven.

The ruler no Alpha dared challenge.

The man who almost never left the Lycan Empire.

Why was he here?

Kael ignored the bows.

Ignored the throne.

Ignored Ronan completely.

Instead...

His golden eyes settled on me.

The moment they did—

A sharp pulse shot through my chest.

The strange ache left by the broken mate bond flared once before something else answered it.

Not a bond.

Not attraction.

Recognition.

His expression changed ever so slightly.

Not surprise.

Shock.

As though he had found something he had spent centuries searching for.

Then, for the first time since entering the hall...

The Lycan King spoke.

"Who," he asked, his deep voice echoing through the silent chamber, "laid seals upon that girl's soul?"