Chapter 6: The Public Rejection
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Chapter 6: The Public Rejection
Lyra's point of view
The clearing was silent..
Too silent.
Everyone stared at me like I had turned into a monster. My chest was tight, my breath came in short, sharp bursts, and my legs shook so hard I could barely stand. The night air felt cold, colder than anything I'd ever felt.
I waited for Raine to speak.
To deny it.
To defend me.
To say something, anything, that would make the fear stop creeping up my spine.
But he didn't move.
His jaw was tight, and his eyes were dark and unreadable as they locked on mine. It felt like the world was holding its breath between us.
Selene stepped closer, and her smile was sharp like a blade. "Tell them," she said again, her voice dripping with poison. "Tell them that the little slave girl is your fate."
My heart pounded painfully. I wanted to scream. To run. To disappear. But my feet were rooted to the ground. My wolf trembled inside me, confused and scared.
Raine inhaled deeply.
His chest rose.
Fell.
And then he looked away from me.
Something broke inside me.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Some looked shocked, others angry, others disgusted. Mira covered her mouth with her hands, eyes wide and wet.
I swallowed hard, my throat burning.
A warrior with a scar across his cheek said, "Alpha Raine," from the crowd. "Is it true?"
Raine slowly lifted his head, as if the answer was a heavy stone pulling him down. He looked around the pack before looking back at me.
And for a brief moment—just one—pain flashed in his gaze.
Then it vanished.
His voice came out cold. Flat. Sharp enough to cut skin.
"It means nothing."
My stomach dropped.
Another warrior spoke. "The mate bond—"
"I reject it."
The words hit me like a punch.
He took a step forward, his face hard, and his voice echoed through the clearing so that every wolf could hear it.
"I reject her."
My breath froze.
Beside me, Mira let out a small cry.
Raine's eyes burned bitter and angry. "I don't mate with slaves."
My knees buckled.
In one clean break, my heart shattered.
The pack erupted in loud whispers, gasps, murmurs. Some nodded as if they know knew this would happen. Some watched with pity. Others smirked.
Selene smiled like she had been waiting for this moment.
The world around me became blurry.
I felt sick. Broken. Empty. My wolf wailed inside me, a painful, heartbreaking sound that echoed through my soul. The rejection hit her harder than it hit me. She stumbled, fell, curled into herself, sobbing in my chest.
I couldn't breathe.
I pressed my hands against my stomach to try to keep myself together, but nothing worked. The pain kept tearing through me, and I thought I might pass out.
Selene said, "I told you," in a way that everyone could hear. "He would never chose someone like you."
The crowd stared.
Some laughed under their breath.
Some whispered words like omega, slave, weak, worthless.
My ears hurt. My throat got so tight that I could hardly breathe. There were tears in my eyes, but I fought them. I didn't want to cry in front of them. Not in front of him.
Not after what he said.
Raine don't look away. He watched me with his jaw clenched, his face cold, and his hands tight at his sides.
Like he was forcing himself not to feel anything.
Like hurting me was easier than the truth.
No one moved.
No one helped.
Not even him.
And that's when something inside me snapped.
My voice came out small, shaky. “You… you didn’t have to say that.”
He didn't move a muscle. "It's better this way."
Better?
For who?
My heart twisted. This man—this Alpha—whose touch made my wolf tremble, whose voice made my heart skip, whose eyes made me feel something I didn’t explain…
He just crushed me like I was nothing.
I stepped back.
Then again.
Tears blurred my vision, but I didn’t care. The pack felt too big, too loud, too dangerous. I couldn’t stay. Not after this. Not after the whole world watched my soul break.
I needed to breathe. I needed to escape. I needed—
To run.
So I did.
I turned around and ran through the clearing, ignoring the shocked screams behind me. As I pushed through the trees, branches hit my arms and my feet stumbled over dirt and roots. I kept running even though my lungs hurt.
Away from the whispers.
Away from the pain.
Away from him.
I ran until the voices faded. Until the trees covered the path. Until my legs were shaking so much that I couldn't run anymore.
I collapsed near a fallen log, gasping for air.
The woods were quiet, dark, and cold.
Finally, my tears fell, hot and heavy. I put my hands on my face and cried. At first, it was quiet, but as the pain got worse, I cried louder.
My wolf cried with me, but her voice was weak and broken.
He rejected us.
He called us worthless.
He chose pride over us
I wrapped my arms around myself, shaking. “Why?” I whispered into the darkness. “Why would he say that? Why would he—”
A twig snapped behind me.
My breathe caught.
I froze.
Another snap.
Then another.
My heart pounded painfully. The woods were too quite. Too still. The air smelled wrong—dirty, sharp, like old blood and wet mud.
My head lifted slowly.
The bushes behind me rustled.
Something moved.
It's too big to be a deer.
Too quite to be a pack wolf.
A low growl rolled through the darkness, deep and hungry.
My blood froze.
I scrambled backward, heart racing. The growl grew louder, closer, like it was circling me. My wolf whimpered weakly.
Then—
Between the trees, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared.
Not yellow.
Not golden.
Red.
My breath hitched.
Rogues.
Too many footsteps.
Too many shadows.
They were surrounding me.
I pushed myself up, legs shaking, breath trembling. I didn’t know where to run. I didn’t know if I could run. Panic pressed against my chest like a heavy hand.
Another growl echoed.
Then another.
My eyes widened as a huge rogue wolf stepped into the c
learing, teeth bared, saliva dripping, claws digging into the dirt.
He stared straight at me.
My body froze.
My mouth went dry.
His snarl grew louder—
And he lunged.
Straight at me.
Before I could even scream.
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