The Bond That Felt Like A Curse
693 Words
The silence after the ceremony was heavier than any sound Aria had ever heard.
The Moon Temple, once filled with whispers and anticipation, had become a place of judgment. Every gaze that landed on her carried a different kind of pain—some filled with pity, others with satisfaction.
Aria had spent her entire life being overlooked. She knew what it felt like to be invisible.But this was different. This was being seen and still being unwanted.
The mark on her skin burned beneath her sleeve, a cruel reminder of what the Moon Goddess had chosen. The mate bond was supposed to be the greatest blessing a wolf could receive. A connection written by fate itself. Yet fate had never felt so much like punishment.
Across the temple, Kael Draven stood motionless. The Lycan King. The most feared Alpha in every territory. The man whose name alone could silence entire rooms.
Aria had heard countless stories about him. She had heard that he was ruthless in battle, that enemies trembled when they faced him, that he carried the weight of an entire kingdom on his shoulders.
But she had never imagined that the person destined to complete her would be the same person who could break her.
His eyes met hers again.
For a brief moment, something unreadable crossed his face. Something close to conflict. But it disappeared quickly.
“You cannot be serious.”
The words were quiet, but they struck harder than a scream. The temple went completely still. Aria felt her fingers tighten around the fabric of her dress.
“What?” she whispered.
Kael’s expression hardened.
“This bond.”
He looked at the mark on her wrist as if it offended him.
“The Moon Goddess cannot have chosen you.”
A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd. Aria felt the heat rise behind her eyes, but she refused to let the tears fall. Not here. Not in front of them.
“I did not choose this either,” she replied softly. It was the first time she had spoken to him without lowering her head.
For a second, Kael looked surprised. Then his face became cold again.
“You are an omega.”
The way he said the word made it sound like a weakness. Like a flaw.
Aria swallowed.
“Yes.”
“And I am the Lycan King.”
The difference between them was obvious. She knew that. Everyone knew that. But she had hoped the bond would mean something more than status. She had hoped the Moon Goddess had seen something in her that everyone else had missed. Maybe she had been wrong.
Kael stepped closer, and the pressure of his aura filled the temple. Many wolves lowered their heads instinctively.
Aria forced herself to remain standing.
“You expect me to believe that fate would pair me with someone like you?” he asked. The question hurt more because she had asked herself the same thing. Someone like her. The unwanted daughter. The omega everyone ignored. The girl who had spent years proving she deserved the smallest place in the pack. Her voice came out quieter than she wanted.
“No.”
Kael frowned slightly.
“No?”
Aria looked at him, and for the first time that night, she allowed herself to feel something other than fear. Pain.
“You’re right,” she said. “Someone like you should never have been given someone like me.”
The words surprised even her. But once they left her mouth, she could not take them back.
The crowd became silent.
Kael’s expression shifted. Not anger. Something else. Something she could not understand. Before he could respond, Aria turned away.
Every step she took away from him felt like tearing a piece of herself apart. But she refused to let him see her break. She refused to give them the satisfaction. Because if the Moon Goddess had truly made a mistake…Then Aria Nightshade would spend the rest of her life proving that they were wrong.
And one day, the same people who looked down on her would have no choice but to look up.
- Writer
