The Severed Bond
943 Words
"No," Julian said again.
The word hung in the air. It was heavy. It was a stone dropped into a quiet lake.
Sienna stood frozen. Her hand was half-raised toward him. She could still smell the rain and pine scent of him. It wrapped around her throat like a lover’s hand. But his eyes were not looking at her with love.
They were looking at her with horror.
"Julian?" Sienna whispered. Her voice broke on his name. "I am..."
"Silence," he hissed.
The cruelty in his voice slapped her. It was sharper than Lydia’s heel.
The crowd began to murmur. The music had stopped completely. Hundreds of eyes turned toward the dark corner where the Alpha Heir stood over the servant girl.
Lydia appeared at Julian’s elbow. Her face was twisted in confusion. She looked from Julian to Sienna. She saw the silver dress. She saw the way Sienna’s chest was heaving.
Then she sniffed the air.
Lydia’s eyes went wide. She smelled it too. She smelled the bond.
"You have got to be joking," Lydia laughed. It was a shrill, nervous sound. "Her? The mute? The faint-blood?"
Julian flinched. He looked up.
He looked at the balcony above the dance floor. His father, Alpha Thorne, stood there. Next to him was Councilman Vance. They were watching. Their faces were grim.
Sienna saw the moment Julian made his choice.
She saw the light die in his eyes. She saw the golden fire turn to ash. He straightened his spine. He locked his jaw. He put on the mask of the Alpha.
He was not choosing the girl. He was choosing the crown.
"Security," Julian barked.
Two large guards stepped out of the shadows. They moved toward Sienna.
"Wait," Sienna gasped. She took a step back. "Julian, please. I am your..."
"You are nothing," Julian cut her off. His voice boomed across the silent ballroom. "You are a genetic mistake. You are a curse on this bloodline."
The words hit Sienna like physical blows. She staggered back. The room spun.
Julian did not stop. He stepped up onto the small platform where the band had been playing. He grabbed the microphone. He wanted everyone to hear. He wanted to make sure there was no mistake.
He looked down at her. For a split second, his hand trembled. A flash of regret flickered in his eyes. But it was gone as fast as it came.
"I, Julian Thorne," he began. His voice was steady. It was cold steel. "Alpha Heir of the Obsidian Ridge Pack."
Sienna shook her head. Tears blurred her vision. Don't say it. Please don't say it.
"I reject you, Sienna," he declared. "I reject you as my mate."
The pain was immediate.
It was not emotional pain. It was physical. It felt like a rib snapped inside her chest.
Sienna screamed. She fell to her knees. She clutched her heart. The bond that had just formed was being ripped out by the roots. It burned. It felt like her veins were filled with acid.
The crowd gasped. Some looked away. Rejection was a brutal thing to witness. It was violence against the soul.
Julian did not look away. He watched her fall. He watched her crumble onto the floor in her silver dress.
"I declare you unfit," Julian continued. He was twisting the knife. "You are weak. You are broken. You are not worthy of this pack."
He turned to Lydia. He held out his hand.
"Lydia Vance," he said. His voice softened, but it was fake. "I claim you as my intended. I claim you as my future Luna."
Lydia beamed. She practically ran up the steps. She grabbed his hand. She looked down at Sienna with triumph in her eyes. She had won.
Sienna gasped for air on the floor. The bond was gone. It left a gaping, bleeding hole in her chest. She felt cold. So cold.
"Get her out of here," Julian commanded. He gestured to the guards. "She is banished. If she is found on pack lands by sunrise, kill her."
The guards grabbed Sienna by the arms. They hauled her up. Her legs were useless. She dragged her feet.
She looked at Julian one last time.
He was standing under the chandelier. He looked perfect. He looked powerful. He had his arm around the beautiful girl.
But as the guards dragged Sienna toward the back exit, she saw his hand.
His hand was clenched into a fist at his side. He was gripping his tuxedo pants so hard that his knuckles were white. A single drop of blood dripped from his palm where his nails had dug into the skin.
He was hurting too.
But it didn't matter. He had broken her.
The guards shoved the doors open. The cold night air hit Sienna’s face.
"Move," the guard grunted. He shoved her forward.
Sienna stumbled down the stone steps. She fell into the dirt. The door slammed shut behind her. The music inside started up again.
She was alone. She was rejected. And she was exiled.
Sienna looked at the dark tree line of the Forbidden Forest. The wind howled through the branches. It sounded like a warning.
She had nowhere else to go.
She stood up. Her silver dress was stained with mud. She wiped her tears.
"Fine," she whispered to the closed doors. "You want me gone? I am gone."
She turned her back on the castle. She turned her back on Julian. She walked into the darkness of the trees.
She went to find a place to die. She did not know she was walking straight into the arms of the devil.
- Writer
