REJECTED BY THE ROGUE PRINCE

Banquet Of Shame

The Great Hall was silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Every single member of the Silvercrest Pack sat at long wooden tables, their plates full of untouched food. The wedding feast had been prepared. Roasted pheasant, honeyed bread, and candied fruits. Everything is going to waste.

I stood at the front of the hall, still in my wedding dress. My father had insisted I be the one to make the announcement. "You will face them with dignity," he had said through gritted teeth.

Easy for him to say.

Alpha Marcus Silvercrest sat at the high table, his silver hair catching the torchlight. Beside him was his wife, Luna Catherine. They had known. They must have known what their son planned to do.

I cleared my throat. "Thank you all for coming to celebrate what was meant to be my wedding day. Unfortunately, there will be no wedding."

Whispers erupted immediately.

"Prince Aldric has discovered his fated mate," I continued. "Lady Helena Fairfax. As we all know, the mate bond blessed by the Moon Goddess takes precedence over all earthly contracts. Therefore, the betrothal between House Blackwater and House Silvercrest is dissolved."

More whispers. Some people looked sympathetic. Others looked gleeful at the scandal.

Lady Helena entered the hall at that moment. She had changed into a beautiful blue gown, and her hand was firmly clasped in Prince Aldric's. They looked perfect together.

I wanted to look away, but forced myself to watch as they approached the high table.

"Father," Aldric said, bowing to the Alpha. "I apologize for the disruption. But Helena and I felt the mate bond yesterday. You know such a bond cannot be ignored."

Alpha Marcus studied his son for a long moment. Then he looked at me.

"Lady Rowena," the Alpha said. "My son has acted dishonorably. But he is correct that the mate bond is sacred. I hope you can understand."

Understand. That word again.

"I understand perfectly, Your Grace," I said. "I wish Prince Aldric and Lady Helena every happiness."

It was the right thing to say. But even as the words left my mouth, I saw Helena smile. A small smile that was barely there.

She had won, and she knew it.

"The feast will continue," Alpha Marcus announced. "Let us celebrate the prince's good fortune in finding his mate."

Just like that, my humiliation was complete. The wedding feast became Helena's engagement celebration. The guests began talking and eating. Laughter filled the hall.

I stood there, invisible, while everyone else moved on.

"Come, daughter," my father said stiffly, appearing at my elbow. "We are leaving."

Outside the castle, our carriage waited. We rode in silence for the first hour.

"You embarrassed me," my father finally said.

I turned to look at him, stunned. "I embarrassed you? Father, I was the one left waiting!"

"You should have handled it better. You stood there like a wounded animal." He looked out the window. "A true lady would have smiled through it."

Rage flared in my chest. "What would you have had me do? Laugh? Dance?"

"I would have had you show some dignity!"

"I showed plenty of dignity!"

Thomas put a hand on my arm. "Rowena, Father, please. Fighting helps nothing."

But our father was not finished. "This disaster reflects on our entire house. Do you know how many alliances depended on your marriage?"

"I know," I said quietly. "Believe me, I know exactly what I have cost us."

"And yet you just stood there. You let that Fairfax girl parade in like she had won some grand prize." He shook his head. "I thought I raised you to be stronger."

Something inside me snapped. "What would you have me do, Father? Challenge her to combat? I have no wolf! I cannot shift, I cannot access the pack's strength, I cannot do any of the things that make a person powerful!"

"Then perhaps you should have tried harder to awaken your wolf," he said coldly.

The carriage fell silent.

Even Thomas looked shocked.

"You think I have not tried?" My voice came out barely above a whisper. "You think I have not prayed to the Moon Goddess every night? That I have not consulted every healer, tried every ritual?"

My father said nothing.

"I have done everything possible. Everything. So forgive me, Father, if I cannot simply will my wolf into existence to make your political alliances more convenient."

I turned away from him, looking out into the dark woods. Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

The rest of the journey passed in heavy silence. When we finally reached Blackwater Manor, I fled to my room.

Cecily helped me out of the wedding dress, unlacing the back with gentle fingers. "He should not have said those things to you, my lady. None of this is your fault."

"Is it not?" I sat on my bed in just my shift. "Perhaps if I was not broken, none of this would have happened."

"You are not broken." Cecily knelt in front of me. "You are different, yes. But different does not mean less."

I wanted to believe her.

A knock at the door made us both jump. Thomas peeked his head in.

"May I come in?" he asked.

I nodded.

He sat beside me on the bed. For a moment, we just existed in silence together.

"Father is wrong," Thomas said finally. "You know that, right?"

"Is he?" I pulled my knees up to my chest. "Think about it, Thomas. What use is a wolfless daughter? I cannot strengthen the pack through combat. I cannot bear children with powerful wolf blood. What good am I to anyone?"

"You are my sister," he said fiercely. "That is what you are to me. And you are smart, and kind, and brave. That takes more strength than any wolf could give you."

His words made the tears finally spill over.

"I just wanted to be normal," I whispered. "Is that so much to ask?"

Thomas put his arm around my shoulders. "Sometimes the Moon Goddess has different plans for us. Maybe you were meant for something other than being a prince's bride."

"Like what?"

He hesitated, then reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a folded piece of paper, yellowed with age.

"I found this in Mother's things after she died," he said. "I never showed it to Father because I knew he would burn it. But I think you should have it now."

I unfolded the paper carefully. The ink had faded, but I could still make out the words written in my mother's elegant handwriting.

"My dearest Rowena," I read aloud. "If you are reading this, it means your wolf has not awakened as others' have. Do not despair, my darling. There are older powers in this world than the Moon Goddess. Powers that run in our bloodline, buried deep but not forgotten. Seek out the Thornwood Coven in the Northern Reaches. Tell them you are Elara Blackwater's daughter. They will help you find what you have lost. All my love, Mother."

My hands shook as I held the letter. "A coven? Mother knew witches?"

"Apparently." Thomas looked uncomfortable. "I always thought it was just a desperate letter from a dying woman. But after today, I thought maybe you should know about it."

Witches. The wolves distrusted them, but they were real and powerful.

"The Northern Reaches are weeks away," I said. "Father would never allow it."

"Father does not have to know." Thomas stood up. "I will help you. We can say you are visiting Mother's family in the east. By the time he realizes where you really went, you will already be there."

Hope sparked in my chest. "You would do that for me?"

"You are my sister," he said again. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow night. Pack light."

After he left, I sat alone with my mother's letter. Outside my window, the moon rose full and bright.

I folded the letter carefully and tucked it under my pillow. Tomorrow night, my new life would begin.

Sleep did not come easily. But when it did, I dreamed of my mother's face and the promise of something more.