Tethered By Fate

Chapter Two

Avoiding someone is a skill. A talent. An Olympic sport, even. And today? I’m going for gold.

After the...incident this morning, I made sure to duck behind a stack of fertilizer bags (tragically scented) when I saw Beta Chris pass by the tool shed. I spent an unnecessary fifteen minutes reorganizing seed trays in the furthest greenhouse. I even volunteered to dig compost pits, which in any sane scenario is the worst possible chore. But desperate times call for decomposing measures.

Every time I heard footsteps or even caught a whiff of Chris’s cedar-and-smoke scent, I practically buried myself in whatever task I was doing. My wolf, Laura, was…quiet. Which was unusual. Usually, she’d be all huffy and moon-eyed, but now she was curled up in the corner of my mind, silent. I think she knew. She knew what was coming.

As night crept in and the moon peeked over the horizon, I pulled over my hoodie and wandered toward the tree line. I’ve always liked walking under the stars, with less pressure and fewer eyes. The darkness doesn’t ask you questions you don’t wanna answer.

But of course, fate had other plans because as soon as I reached the clearing past the herb patch, I felt it–him.

Chris

I didn’t turn around. He didn’t say anything for a moment, just stood behind me with that presence of his, all weighty and solemn. Like a storm that hasn’t hit yet but makes the air too still.

Then finally, softly, “You felt it too.” I nodded once. Quiet. Not daring to breathe too loudly.

“I wish you hadn’t,” he said, voice tight. “I wish I hadn’t.”

And there it was.

I looked up at the moon because if I looked at him, I might cry.

“I’m with Kayla,” he continued, voice firmer now like he was building a wall between us with every word. “She’s…She’s everything I want and you–” he stopped. “You don’t know the first thing about being a beta female.”

Ouch

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. Still, I didn’t speak. What was there to say? He wasn’t wrong. I wasn’t trained, I wasn’t respected, I wasn’t even considered anything beyond the omega girl with dirt under her nails and compost in her hair. Hell, I didn’t know how to host tea ceremonies or negotiate land deals.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“I know,’’ I replied. And I meant it. I did know. I just wish I didn’t.

“I, Chris Collen, reject you, Lily Ashwood of the Moon Crescent pack, as my mate.”

I stood there numb. My wolf whimpered inside, curling in on herself like a flame snuffed out. If I cried I would fall apart, if I screamed it might never stop.

“I, Lily Ashwood of the Moon Crescent pack, accept your rejection.”

I turned around and bolted, I didn’t care how pathetic I looked because all I cared about was not letting him see me break.

The next day was a masterclass in emotional suppression. At lunch, I took my usual seat at the table. From there, I had a great view of Chris laughing with Kayla, who looked like a walking ad for sporty perfection.. Long blond curls cascaded down her petite curvy figure, freshly manicured nails because she doesn’t do any work, topped with a fresh lip tint. She fed him a grape.

I wish it was poisoned.

Not seriously…okay maybe just a little

I chomped down on my bread trying hard not to think about the fact that my soulmate was giggling over shared grapes with someone else. I wonder if he felt it too, the pain from the rejection.

Laura whimpered inside me but stayed curled up, grieving in silence.

Days passed. The sting didn’t go away, but it became bearable. Like a paper cut that stopped bleeding but still screamed when you used hand sanitizer.

Eventually, I stopped flinching when I saw them together. I even started to smirk again at Kayla’s dramatic laugh. (It sounded like a squirrel being strangled by an opera singer. No offense Kayla)

That evening at the park’s communal gathering in the training arena, Alpha Killan announced that the annual Harvest Convergence is coming up.

“This Harvest Convergence will be the largest yet. Every allied pack within the country has been invited. We will host a traditional feast and a ball.”

Yay. A ball.

Because that is exactly what I needed. Because nothing screams “healing” like watching your ex-mate waltz with his girlfriend while your heart folds itself into origami pain.

Still, I smiled. I smiled through the announcements. I clapped when expected and even helped string up lanterns at Kayla’s request.

But inside? Inside, I was drowning. Every laugh was a lie, every breath a performance. My chest felt tight more often than not, and sometimes I had to step into the greenhouse just to cry in the humidity. Plants are excellent secret keepers.