The Rejected & Claimed

CHAPTER 03: SEVERED BONDS

GLAIVE'S POV

The grand hall pulsed with noise and light, a symphony of laughter and music echoing off high ceilings draped in crimson and gold. Wolves from every pack filled the space, mingling beneath ornate chandeliers. Tonight was the Renewal Treaty, a celebration of another year without bloodshed. A fragile peace, carefully maintained. My father’s voice echoed in my head: “Show strength, Glaive. This event is yours to command.”

So I smiled, I shook hands, I nodded politely. All the while, a dull ache pressed against my ribs like a heartbeat gone wrong.

Something’s off.

My wolf, Conner, paced inside me. Restless. Angry. Snarling low and constant.

“Enough,” I muttered beneath my breath, forcing my jaw to remain slack, my smile intact for the watching Alphas. “You’ve been insufferable all night.”

‘Something is wrong,’ Conner growled, his presence flaring. ‘She’s here.’

I stiffened.

“No,” I whispered. “That’s impossible.”

‘She’s close.’

A burst of guilt stabbed through my gut. I slammed the emotion down.

“You need to focus,” I snapped through the bond. “She is not-”

‘She is ours,’ Conner cut in, his voice ragged. ‘You rejected her. I didn’t.’

I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ached. My gaze swept the room, not looking, but knowing. Feeling.

And suddenly, I did feel her. A thread of power. Familiar. Feral. Beautiful.

“She killed my uncle,” I said aloud, voice like stone.

‘She defended herself,’ Conner snapped. ‘He was trying to force her into shifting. She was just sixteen. He was an Alpha. He would’ve killed her.’

“No one believed her,” I said bitterly. “Not even your Queen.”

‘That’s because they were cowards.’

A flash of her face cut through my thoughts, Nyqxee, standing over her attacker, blood dripping down her temple, defiance in her eyes. Terrified, but alive.

“She’s the strongest wolf I’ve ever known,” I admitted quietly. “Even after everything they did to her… she walks like she owes no one an apology.”

‘Because she doesn’t,’ Conner whispered. ‘She’s a Shadowfang. The last of her line. Do you even remember what that means?’

“She could’ve been our Queen,” I murmured.

‘She was born for it.’

I rubbed a hand over my face, trying to steady my breathing. “It doesn’t matter. My Luna will be Ashina. She’s powerful. Loyal. Her pack is ancient and bound to ours through centuries of alliance. It’s the right match.”

‘It’s the safe match.’

I didn’t answer.

Because he was right.

Ashina was what my pack needed.

Nyqxee was what my soul craved.

And she was here. Somewhere among these wolves, in this sea of silk and teeth and politics… breathing the same air as me again.

My heart twisted.

She was no longer the trembling girl they accused. No longer a victim of that night.

She was surviving.

No, thriving.

And I’d given her up.

‘Not too late,’ Conner whispered.

But we both knew it was.

Ashina is weak. Entitled. A brat who throws tantrums when she doesn’t get her way. But she’s convenient, and that’s all that matters. She’s a good f**k, too, not that she’s the one I picture beneath me when I’m inside her.

No. That image always belongs to Nyqxee.

Even now, standing in the middle of this polished, opulent hall, surrounded by wolves dressed in finery and dripping with status, I can only see her.

Nyqxee Shadowfang.

Her piercing baby-blue eyes. That curtain of silver hair. The way her lips tighten when she’s trying not to cry, when she refuses to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her break. Even when bruised, covered in dirt, and half-starved, she was breathtaking. A warrior molded by fire and agony.

The thought alone makes my c**k twitch against the zipper of my pants. I inhale sharply, jaw locking. f**k.

I need a distraction.

“Excuse me,” I mutter to the nearest noble, faking a polite smile as I slip away from the crowd. I don't care about treaties or peace pacts right now. I need to feel something real, or at least fake something well enough to fool myself.

My steps are heavy and unrelenting as I storm through the corridor. The guards nod respectfully. I ignore them. I slam the office door open, and the Omega stationed nearby jumps at the sound.

She’s pretty. Young. Eager. And already standing straighter the moment I enter, her eyes alight with anticipation.

I snap my fingers.

No words.

She understands.

She scurries inside and shuts the door behind her. In a matter of seconds, she’s on her knees, fumbling with my belt. My d**k is already rock-hard, aching with the frustration I can’t shake.

She wraps her lips around me, and I let out a low growl, my hand tangling in her hair.

But as soon as my eyes close, the fantasy begins.

“More, Nyqxee…” I murmur, my voice hoarse with longing. The Omega doesn’t flinch at the name.

Because this isn’t the first time.

I lose myself in the illusion, Nyqxee kneeling before me, her body trembling with defiance and confusion, her lips wrapped around me not because I forced her, but because she wanted me. Chose me. That part is the lie I like best.

My breathing grows ragged. The illusion overwhelms my senses.

I picture her glaring up at me, furious with herself for craving the taste of me.

That image pushes me over the edge.

With a deep groan, I spill into the Omega’s mouth, my grip tightening as I ride the wave of release. She swallows without hesitation, pulling back with a smirk.

“As always, my Alpha. You are amazing.”

I don’t respond. I don’t even look at her. She’s not her.

I fix my pants, collapse into the chair behind the desk, and stare at the ceiling. The flicker of relief fades almost immediately. Guilt creeps in. Emptiness swells in its place. Nothing changed.

Nothing ever does.

A knock on the door.

I don’t answer.

The Omega lingers, uncertain.

“You can leave,” I say flatly.

She bows quickly and slips out without another word.

Then it hits.

A blinding, soul-ripping pain detonates in my chest. I jolt forward, a strangled gasp escaping as if I’ve been stabbed. My vision tunnels, and I claw at my shirt, struggling to breathe.

My knees hit the floor. Cold tiles bite into my skin as the pain intensifies.

My wolf, Conner, howls in the back of my mind, his agony echoing through our bond.

“What… the f**k… is happening?” I choke out, sweat pouring down my temple.

Conner is thrashing, howling, breaking.

And then his voice comes, broken and weak:

‘She has accepted our rejection.’

Time stops.

The world tilts on its axis.

"No," I breathe.

‘She let go… she let us go,’ he says again, softer this time.

I shake my head. No. No. No.

The room spins violently. My vision blacks out at the edges as my heart cracks wide open.

“No,” I snarl, slamming my fist into the floor.

A primal roar bursts from my lungs, shaking the walls. Glass shatters. Furniture tips. Books and papers fly off the shelves.

But the pain remains.

She’s gone.

The bond, our bond has finally been severed.

And I feel it. Every broken piece. Every echo of her fading from me. She did what I never thought she would.

She chose freedom over me.

“Conner,” I whisper, but he’s silent now. Mourning. Broken. Just like me.

My hands tremble as I stand, stumbling toward the mirror above the fireplace. My reflection looks back at me bloodshot eyes, pale skin, a man crumbling under the weight of his own choices.

Ashina walks in, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. “There you are,” she says, irritation lacing her voice. “I’ve been looking all over for you. The guests are- ”

I turn to her slowly, eyes burning.

She falters. “What… what’s wrong with you?”

“You need to leave,” I say, voice low.

She blinks. “Excuse me?”

“Get out, Ashina,” I growl.

Her expression twists. “Is this because of her? Are you seriously still hung up on that filthy little Shadowfang b***h?”

My hand slams into the wall beside her head before I realize I’ve moved. “Don’t say her name.”

Ashina flinches. “Glaive…”

“She’s gone,” I hiss. “She severed the bond. And it’s your fault.”

Her face crumples with offense. “Mine?! You rejected her!”

I laugh bitterly. “And you encouraged it. You and my father.”

“She killed your uncle- ”

“She survived him,” I snap. “She survived what none of us would have.”

Ashina’s lip curls. “She was beneath you.”

“No,” I whisper, stepping back. “She was everything.”

Ashina stares, and for once, she’s speechless.

“You were just convenient,” I say with venom. “A placeholder. A warm body to lie beside while I pretended to forget her. But I never did. And now I’ve lost her.”

She slaps me.

The sting doesn’t even register.

“Go,” I say again, quieter now. “Before I say worse.”

Ashina storms out, slamming the door.

And I collapse again.

Alone in the silence.

Left with the ghost of a bond I can no longer feel… and the only name that still echoes through the hollow ruins of my chest.

“Nyqxee…”