The applause hit harder than any rejection ever could.
Nyra stood frozen in the middle of the ceremonial grounds while hundreds of hands clapped all around her. The sound swept through the clearing, a storm of noise that grew and pressed in, curling around her throat, making it hard to breathe.
Just a minute ago, she’d still held on to hope.
She was still waiting for answers that would never come.
But what Ryker gave her—what her Alpha gave her—was so simple it almost hurt.
Cruel. Final.
Weak.
That’s all she was to him.
Weak.
The word echoed in her head long after his voice stopped.
All around her, the crowd cheered while her world fell apart.
Torches flickered, casting gold light on faces she’d known her whole life. Faces that should have shown sympathy, or at least shock.
But
