Chapter 2
Three years later, Victor became Alpha, but I was still hidden away in his private wing. I was nothing more than a secret he kept out of sight.
He visited less and less. At first, he came every day, then every week, and finally, only once a month.
Whenever he showed up, he was in a hurry. He'd say, "I've been busy," and then turn around and leave.
I told myself that he was the Alpha now. He had an entire pack to run. Of course, he was busy.
Then the invitations for the Mating Ball went out across the pack, and everything changed.
The night before the ball, he came to see me.
I could barely contain my excitement. I put on the dress he'd given me last time and stood by the courtyard gate, waiting for him.
The moonlight washed over me, and I smiled the way I'd practiced hundreds of times in front of my cracked mirror.
When he walked in, his face was grim.
"Cynthia," he said, his voice heavy, "tomorrow at the Mating Ball, I'm going to announce who my fated mate is."
My heart pounded so hard that I thought it might burst.
"You need to accept it," he added.
"I will," I blurted out, nodding hard.
My eyes stung with tears. "Of course, I will."
He gave me a look, so brief that I almost thought I'd imagined it.
Then he patted my head and said, "Good girl," before turning around and walking away.
I was too excited to sleep that night.
Around midnight, I couldn't hold back anymore. I slipped out of my room and went to find him, hoping to ask what color I should wear to the ball.
But as I turned the corner, I heard him talking to Marcus Allison, his trusted Beta.
"Alpha," Marcus said, "what are you going to do about Cynthia?"
"What am I supposed to do?" Victor's voice was cold. "You actually expect me to marry a wolfless loser?"
"But she's your fated mate."
"My fated mate?" Victor laughed, but there was no warmth in it. "This pack doesn't care about fate, Marcus.
"And I care about power. Serena comes from a powerful background. Marrying her locks in my position as Alpha. As for Cynthia? She's just something to keep me entertained."
I stood frozen in the hallway, gripping the hem of my dress so hard that my knuckles went white.
"Then why did you keep her hidden for three years?" Marcus asked.
"Because I was bored," Victor said. "She's like a trained pet, something to play with when I feel like it."
Marcus fell silent.
I leaned against the wall and dug my nails into my palms.
I didn't cry.
Crying wouldn't change anything.
*****
The Mating Ball took place the following evening.
I was locked inside Victor's private wing.
Through the broken window, I could see a long carpet stretching from the High Seat all the way to the altar.
Serena walked down the corridor with Victor on her arm. She wore a dress that seemed to glow in the moonlight, and a diamond crown sat on her head.
The entire pack dropped to their knees. The cheers were so loud that they echoed through the night sky.
Victor stood at the altar, and his voice carried across the valley, deep and commanding.
"I, Victor Hebert, Alpha of this pack, stand before the Moon Goddess and declare Serena Blackwood as my fated mate," he announced.
Fireworks exploded overhead.
I sat curled up in the corner of his private wing, feeling like someone had shoved a dull knife into my chest and was twisting it slowly.
That was the backlash. That was what happened when a bond got rejected.
My inner wolf should have been thrashing inside me, howling, and clawing at my heart.
But I didn't have an inner wolf.
I was wolfless.
I didn't get to feel the pain the way other wolves did. All I had was grief, endless and suffocating, swallowing me alive.
After the ball ended, Victor came to see me.
He'd changed into a black suit. I could smell whiskey on his breath, along with the faint trace of Serena's perfume.
He pushed the door open, spotted me huddled in the corner, and frowned.
"Cynthia, don't make this difficult," he said. "You can stay right here. I'll make sure you're taken care of."
"Stay here?" I repeated.
I lifted my head, my throat burning. "So you want me to be your secret?"
"You're a wolfless outcast. Where would you go without me?" He crouched down and reached for my face. "Be a good girl. I've been more than fair to you."
I turned my head away from his hand.
He froze for a second, and then his eyes turned cold.
"I'm leaving," I said.
"Leaving?" He stood up and looked down at me. "You're in my territory. If I say you're mine, then you're mine."
Tears rolled down my cheeks, but I laughed anyway.
"You made me feel like an idiot for three years, Victor," I said.
Something shifted in his eyes for a second.
"But I'm done being your idiot," I continued, forcing myself to my feet. My legs were shaking, but I held my back straight. "I don't want you anymore."
As soon as those words came out, a sharp pain ripped through my chest.
The backlash hit me like a freight train. I doubled over and coughed blood onto the floor.
Victor let out a low groan and clutched his chest. His face turned pale as a ghost.
He stared at me, and for the first time, I saw something different in his expression.
It was shock and fear.
"You..." he murmured.
"I reject your bond," I said, wiping the blood off my lips.
I lifted my chin and met his eyes. "I'm never your pet."