BONDBREAKER

Chapter 1: The Breaking Judith's POV The full moon hangs heavy over the sacred clearing and I want to disappear into the shadows where I belong. My hands shake as I stand at the back of the gathered pack, watching Alpha Franklin raise his arms to bless the bonding ceremony between his son Benjamin and Sandra, Matthew's daughter. Everyone else looks happy or at least properly solemn, but I just feel empty and wrong like I always do at these ceremonies. Eden squeezes my hand and whispers that it will be over soon, but she does not understand that every bonding ceremony reminds me of what I lack. I have never felt the pull that other wolves describe when they talk about mates, never experienced the desperate need to find my other half, and in a society where the mate bond is everything, that makes me broken. I learned years ago to keep quiet about the emptiness inside me because wolves who cannot bond are considered cursed. Benjamin and Sandra step forward and clasp hands, and I notice that neither of them looks particularly joyful. Sandra's smile seems forced and Benjamin's jaw is tight with what looks like duty rather than love, but arranged bonds are common enough for Alpha families. Franklin begins the ritual words about destiny and completion while my wolf stirs restlessly inside me, uncomfortable in ways I cannot name. When Franklin calls for witnesses to approach and bless the bond, pack members line up eagerly but I try to make myself smaller and invisible. My hands have been tingling strangely all morning, a warmth that comes and goes, and I just want this ceremony to end so I can return to Claire's cottage and the healing work that makes sense to me. But Beatrice's sharp voice cuts through the clearing and she points directly at me, announcing loudly that the omega girl is refusing to witness, and suddenly everyone is staring. Franklin's eyes find me and his voice is stern as he orders me forward, reminding the pack that all members must participate in sacred ceremonies. Refusing to witness is seen as challenging pack unity and I cannot afford to draw more attention to my strangeness, so I force my legs to move even though my heart pounds with anxiety. The crowd parts as I approach Benjamin and Sandra, and I can feel dozens of eyes judging me, whispering about the weird omega who never talks about finding her mate. I reach the Alpha's son and his intended, and Sandra gives me a small encouraging smile that makes me feel worse because she is kind and does not deserve what is about to happen. Benjamin barely glances at me, focused on the ritual, and Franklin nods for me to place my hand over their clasped fingers like all the other witnesses have done. I hesitate because the tingling in my palms has become almost painful, but there is no way to refuse without causing a scene that will make my life even harder. The moment my skin touches theirs, the world explodes into blinding white light and I feel power surge from somewhere deep inside me, wild and uncontrollable and terrifying. Energy rips through the clearing like a shockwave and wolves are thrown backwards, and I hear screaming but cannot tell if it is coming from others or from my own throat. The light is so bright that I cannot see anything and the power keeps pouring out of me like a dam has broken, and I do not know how to stop it. When the light finally fades and my vision clears, the sacred clearing is in chaos and Sandra is sobbing on the ground while Benjamin stares at his hands like they belong to a stranger. The bond between them is gone, I can sense its absence like a missing piece of the world, and I know with horrible certainty that I have done this. My power, whatever it is, has broken what was supposed to be unbreakable, and the shocked silence that falls over the pack is worse than any screaming. Franklin's face is white with rage and disbelief as he demands to know what I have done, but I have no answers because I did not even know I could do this. Benjamin's eyes lock on mine and the intensity in his gaze makes my blood run cold, and I see something dangerous awakening in his expression. He steps toward me and his voice is rough as he says my name, and I realize with sinking dread that breaking his bond has not freed me from his attention. It has made me the center of it, and my quiet invisible life is over.