Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Three years later, after a long.. Lonely day and night. The truth is like a hard slap
Today is the day.
on my face.
The day Ruben Black will stand beside Kaithlin Powel, the Alpha’s daughter, and make vows that were never meant for her.
They were supposedly meant for me.
I stare at my reflection in the small mirror above the basin in the servants‘ quarters, barely recognizing the girl staring back at me.
19 years old girl, just finish high school with a pale skin, hollow eyes, lips pressed tight to keep from trembling.
My hair is braided simply, pulled away from my face the way Maria suggested-“neat, but not too pretty,” she’d said, as if dressing me down would soften the pain.
It doesn’t.
Nothing does.
The packhouse is alive with celebration. Laughter and music filter through the stone walls like cruel reminders of what today means.
Wolves from neighboring territories have arrived, dressed in their finest. It’s a grand affair. After all, the Alpha’s daughter is being mated to the pack’s finest warrior. A political alliance. A love story in the eyes of the crowd.
But a tragedy in mine.
I smooth the front of my plain blue dress and take a shaky breath.
“You don’t have to go” Mika had whispered weakly in my mind this morning.
But I don’t have any choice…
Not because I want to. Goddess, no. But because the Alpha ordered the entire pack to bear witness. No exceptions. Not even for the orphan girl whose
soul is about to be shattered.
My footsteps echo through the hallway as I make my way to the great hall.
Every step feels like a goodbye. A goodbye to hope. To the bond. To the wolf inside me that’s already fading.
When I step into the hall, it takes my breath away–not because of its beauty, but because he’s there.
Ruben…
Standing tall and strong at the front of the room, dressed in ceremonial black with silver embroidery across his chest. His dark hair is swept back, h sharp, eyes calm. Controlled.
And beside him, radiant in ivory and gold, is Kajthlin. Her red curls are braided with pearls, and her smug smile stretches too wide as she clings to his
arm.
She doesn’t even look nervous.
Why would she? She won.
The crowd hushes as the Alpha rises and steps forward to begin the ceremony. I can hardly hear his voice over the roaring in my ears. My hands clench into fists at my sides, and I fight to keep my breathing even.
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Chapter 2
My gaze flicks to Ruben. For one awful second, he looks at me.
And I know he sees me
There’s no flicker of recognition. No apology. Only indifference.
And that hurts more than anything.
He felt the bond. I know he always did.
And still… this is the choice he made.
The Alpha’s voice grows louder, solemn.
“Do you, Ruben Black, accept Kaithlin Powel as your chosen mate, and pledge your life to hers, in strength and in soul?”
A pause….
Please. Please, Goddess, no.
“I do.”
His voice is steady.
The world tilts beneath me.
My knees buckle, but I don’t fall. Not yet.
“And do you, Kaithlin Powel, accept Ruben Black as your chosen mate, and pledge your life to his, in strength and in soul?”
“I do,” she says sweetly.
The Alpha lifts his hands, blessing their union with ancient words in the old tongue.
And that’s when it happens.
Pang!! It felt like I’ve been shot by a gun.
The bond snaps.
There’s no other way to describe it. One moment, it’s there–frayed, weak, but still holding–and the next… it’s gone.
Something rips through me like a blade.
can’t breathe. I can’t think.
My heart shatters in my chest, pieces crashing into my ribs like glass.
Mika screams inside me—a sound of agony so raw and wild, it steals the last of my strength.
She’s gone.
My wolf is gone.
I stumble backward, out of the crowd, unnoticed. Everyone is watching them–applauding, cheering. The union is complete.
I slip through the doors and down the hallway, my vision blurred by tears.
No one calls after me. No one even notices.
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Chapter 2
The cold air hits me as I reach the back door and shove it open.
Trun…
Past the kitchens, the garden, all the way to the edge of the woods where the servants store the empty barrels from the kitchen.
And there, in the shadow of the celebration, I collapse.
The sob that rips from me is not human.
It’s not wolf. It’s something broken. Something dying.
I press my hand to my chest, but it doesn’t help. The pain is inside, tearing me apart from the inside out.
He was supposedly my mate.
He was supposedly choosing me.
But he didn’t…
And now… I have nothing.
“Ellaine…”
The voice is soft, familiar.
Maria, one of the servants, the only one who knows.
She kneels beside me, her arms already around my trembling shoulders.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she whispers, rocking me gently. “I was looking for you.”
“I can’t breathe,” I sob into her chest. “It hurts, Maria. It hurts so much.”
She tightened her arms around me “I know, baby. I know.”
Her fingers stroke my hair as I cry, and for the first time in years, I let someone see the depth of my pain.
“I thought–maybe—I thought he’d change his mind, for years I waited” I whisper. “Even this morning, I hoped. I’m so stupid!”
“No, you’re not,” she says fiercely, cupping my face. “You’re kind. You’re strong. And he’s a fool.”
She helps me sit up and hands me a bottle of water, her warm eyes never leaving mine.
“You don’t belong here, El,” she says softly. “Not anymore.”
I look at her, confused.
She reaches into her apron and pulls out a folded envelope. “This just coming yesterday. Scholarship acceptation. “she presses the envelope into my
hands.
I frown, confused “What? I never….”
“I was the one who send it. We both know how amazing your painting and drawing so it’s not a surprise to know you got in” She smile and I heave a hard
breath.
Yes, Maria know how drawing and painting is my only way to run: To forget. But never thought she’s going to sign me up to art scholarship. She’s the closest person have here like a family.
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Chapter 2
Since my parents died by the rogue when they protect the territory when I am only 7 years old, she’s the one who start helping me with everything
I can’t say how grateful for have her beside me.
“You know, don’t you” I look up and saw her nod in sadness.
I see, so she knows that Ruben will never choose me.
That’s why…
“You can leave… Away from here. I’ve already informed the Alpha about your scholarship in Italy. This is your only way out. And this” She shove me another paper “this is the address of my dear friends Louis and Patricia. They’ll help you settle in.”
Tears well in my eyes again, but this time from something else. Gratitude. Relief.
“I don’t know if I can” I whisper.
“I know you can” she says gently but firmly. “Because you’re not meant to stay here and wither. You’re meant to grow. To thrive. To live.”
I nod slowly, clutching the envelope like it’s a lifeline,
Her words lift me.
Maybe it is.
“Maria…” I murmur, voice shaking. “Mika is gone. I can’t feel her anymore.”
She cups my face with both hands. “Then you’ll heal. And she’ll come back. When the time is right.”
I want to believe her.
I really do.
But tonight, I’m nothing but hollow.
Still, I whisper, “Thank you. For everything.”
She hugs me tight one last time, then stands, brushing the dirt from her apron. “You have one night left, El. Pack your things. Rest. And don’t you dare look back when you’re gone.”
I watch her walk away, disappearing into the light of the celebration.
I stay behind in the dark, the cold wrapping around me like grief.
But even in the darkness… a spark remains.
Tomorrow, Heave this place.
Tomorrow, I start again.
And maybe one day, I’ll be whole again too.”
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Chapter 3
