Chapter 002
979 Words
Mira’s POV
Time stopped.
The cemetery filled without me noticing, wolves drawn in by instinct, by the shock of an Alpha claiming his mate. They formed a loose ring around us. Elders in ceremonial sashes, visiting Alphas in tailored suits. Omegas, gammas, pack members I didn’t recognize.
All watching and waiting for my response.
Asher’s hand was still on my jaw, quite warm and sure of a certain outcome. The bond howled inside me, demanding I lean in, demanding I finish what the Moon Goddess had started. My wolf clawed at my insides, frantic, desperate, furious.
He killed our father, I reminded her.
He destroyed us.
The bond didn’t care. It only knew the urge to crave Asher.
“Say it,” Asher murmured, low enough that only I could hear. His pale brown eyes searched mine. For half a second, just a flicker and I saw something close to pleading. “Accept the bond, Mira. End this.”
I opened my mouth to speak, and I was ten years old again.
I remembered the great hall glittered with black and silver streamers. Tables sagged under food. The pack’s elite filled the room, dressed in their best. I hid behind my mother’s skirts, peeking out.
Asher Creed sat at the head table, he was thirteen years old, wearing his prince crown. Already wearing the weight of the future Alpha.
His father stood and raised a glass.
“Today, my son becomes a man. And to mark this transition, we deliver justice.”
Guards dragged someone forward, it was my father.
He was clearly beaten to the point where he was bleeding all over, rendering him almost unrecognizable. He could barely stand on his feet.
My mother clamped a hand over my mouth.
“Darius Kenwood stands accused of treason,” the Alpha announced. “The sentence is death.”
“I’m innocent,” my father cried. “I swear on the Moon Goddess—”
“The boy Alpha has decided,” the Alpha said, smiling. “Haven’t you, son?”
Asher stared at my father, pale and shaking like he might throw up.
“Haven’t you?” his father snapped.
Asher swallowed.
“Yes.”
And instantly the axe fell.
My father’s head hit a silver platter. Blood splashed across the cake. Someone screamed. Maybe my mother, maybe me.
Asher looked at me with a smug expression, and from that moment I hated him with every of my being.
I blinked.
The cemetery snapped back into place. The air became colder, and reekek of fresh dirt. My mother’s grave beneath my feet. Asher’s hand was still on my face.
The bond pulled harder, desperate to drown me.
No.
“Mira,” Asher said, warning in his voice. “Don’t.”
More memories crashed in, our home torn apart, guards dragging us out, doors slammed in our faces. Years of hunger. Fear. My mother worked herself into the grave. Sending me away to save me, and then dying alone.
All because of him.
All because he said yes.
Something inside me finally broke.
I ripped my face from Asher’s grip.
“I reject you.”
The words rang out, clear and sharp. Pain tore through my chest as the bond screamed in protest.
“I reject you, Alpha Asher Creed, as my fated mate and soulmate.”
Silence followed, and then chaos.
Gasps ripped through the crowd. Someone swore. An elderly woman staggered. One of the visiting Alphas actually stepped back.
“That’s impossible—”
“She can’t—”
“No one has ever—”
Elder Rothman shoved forward, face purple. “Miss Kenwood, you don’t understand what you’ve done. Rejecting an Alpha—”
“I don’t care.” My eyes never left Asher. “I don’t care about the consequences. Or our tradition. Or the f*****g Moon Goddess.”
Asher stood perfectly still. His face was unreadable. His eyes burned.
The bond twisted violently. Pain spread through my limbs. My wolf howled, shattered. I know what this meant, but I didn't care, rejection sickness was worth it. I will never accept Asher.
“My father was innocent,” I said, my voice shaking but loud enough. “You knew it. And you killed him anyway. Served his head at your birthday feast while I watched.”
Murmurs spread. First came confusion and then recognition. Some had forgotten, while the others had pretended it didn't happen.
Asher’s jaw tightened. “Mira—”
“I was ten.” My voice cracked. “My mother never recovered. She died alone because I had to run to survive. And you think I’d accept you? Bind myself to the man who destroyed everything I loved?”
Tears burned, but I didn’t let them fall.
“So yes, Alpha Creed,” I said, spitting the title. “I reject you completely. I would rather die unmated than spend one second bound to you.”
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Something flickered across Asher’s face, pain, maybe. Or understanding.
Then it vanished.
His expression went from smooth to cold, and then dangerous.
He stepped closer. I didn’t move, but I felt the whole pack freaze.
Asher leaned in, his mouth brushing my ear.
“You’ll regret this, Mira,” he whispered. “I promise.”
Then he straightened and walked away.
I expected an argument, a command, or some show of force. But he didn't any of that which left me wondering what he is thinking.
The crowd parted instinctively as he disappeared into the trees.
Only then did my legs give out.
I collapsed onto my mother’s grave, crushing the white lily beneath me. Pain hit all at once, bond, grief, fury, loss. My wolf whimpered, broken.
What have we done?
I didn’t answer, but one thing was certain, I don't want anything to do with Asher Creed.
- Writer
