I woke up choking on pain.
It sat heavy in my chest, sharp and relentless, like claws raking the inside of my ribs. My lungs burned as I sucked in air, each breath shallow and shaky.
The first thing I noticed was the smell.
Damp stone. Old herbs. Blood.
My eyes fluttered open to darkness broken only by the faint glow of a single lantern hanging from the low ceiling. Shadows danced along rough stone walls, unfamiliar and cold.
The holding chambers.
Not the infirmary.
That realization hurt more than the rejection itself.
I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. A wave of agony rolled through me, forcing a broken gasp from my lips as my body collapsed back onto the thin mattress beneath me.
My chest felt… wrong.
Hollow.
Like something vital had been torn out and left a jagged wound behind.
The mate bond.
Or what was left of it.
A rejected bond didn't disappear cleanly. It festered. It left scars mental and physical that could take years to heal. Some never did.
My hands trembled as I pressed my palm over my heart.
It still hurt.
But beneath the pain was something else.
Heat.
A strange, simmering warmth pulsed deep inside me, steady and contained, like molten metal sealed beneath stone.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
You felt that too, the calm voice murmured in my mind.
Stop pretending you didn't.
I swallowed hard.
"I didn't ask for you," I whispered hoarsely into the empty chamber.
No, the voice replied coolly. But you needed me.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor before I could respond. Slow. Deliberate. Multiple.
I stiffened.
The iron door creaked open, letting in a sliver of brighter light and three figures.
Lena came first.
Tall. Perfect posture. Long blonde hair braided in the traditional style of high-ranking females. She'd been born beta, rose to Gamma through skill and ambition, and had never let anyone forget it.
Behind her were two other females. Pack loyalists. The kind who enjoyed enforcing hierarchy.
Lena's eyes flicked over me with thinly veiled satisfaction.
"So," she said lightly, stepping inside. "You survived."
I said nothing.
Speaking took energy I couldn't spare.
She smiled. "Pity."
One of the girls snickered.
Lena circled the narrow room slowly, heels clicking against stone. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing tonight was for the pack?" she continued. "An omega daring to stand before the Alpha King as his mate."
Her gaze snapped to mine. "You should've known your place."
I forced myself to meet her eyes.
"I did," I said quietly.
The words surprised even me.
Lena stopped walking.
Her smile tightened. "Is that so?"
"Yes."
Silence stretched.
Then she laughed sharp and cruel. "You really are pathetic. Even after being rejected, you still pretend you belong here."
One of the girls stepped forward and kicked the edge of the mattress. "Say it. Say you're nothing."
My fingers curled into the fabric beneath me.
I'd said those words before.
Countless times.
They'd tasted like ash every time.
But now… something inside me shifted.
Not violently.
Not explosively.
Just… firmly.
"I won't," I said.
The room went quiet.
Lena's eyes darkened. "What did you say?"
"I said I won't," I repeated, my voice steadier than I felt. "If you're here to punish me, then do it. But I won't beg."
For a split second, uncertainty flickered across her face.
Then anger took over.
"Hold her," Lena snapped.
Hands grabbed my arms, yanking me upright. Pain screamed through my body, but I clenched my jaw and refused to cry out.
Lena stepped close, her face inches from mine.
"You think rejection makes you special?" she hissed. "It makes you disposable."
She raised her hand.
The slap echoed loudly in the chamber.
My head snapped to the side, vision blurring. Blood filled my mouth where my lip split.
Before I could recover, something inside me surged.
Heat flared violently beneath my skin.
The lantern above flickered.
The girls froze.
Lena staggered back a step, eyes wide. "What"
The pressure rolled outward in a controlled wave.
Not dominance.
Not submission.
Something older.
Deeper.
The hands holding me loosened involuntarily.
I straightened slowly, my body moving on instinct rather than pain.
The voice inside me spoke again, firmer now.
Enough.
The air felt charged, humming faintly, like a storm gathering just beneath the surface.
I inhaled sharply, forcing myself to focus.
No.
Not here.
Not yet.
The pressure receded as quickly as it came, leaving stunned silence in its wake.
The girls stared at me like they didn't recognize what they were seeing.
Lena recovered first.
Her face twisted in anger and fear.
"Get out," she snapped at the others. "Now."
They hesitated but obeyed, rushing from the chamber.
Lena stayed behind, eyes locked on me.
"What are you?" she whispered.
I wiped the blood from my lip with the back of my hand.
"Nothing," I said softly.
But my eyes betrayed the lie.
She backed away slowly, then turned and left without another word, slamming the door behind her.
The moment the lock clicked, my legs gave out.
I collapsed onto the mattress, shaking violently as the heat inside me surged again stronger this time, fighting against invisible chains.
You're running out of time, the voice warned. The seal is weakening.
"I know," I whispered.
Tears slid silently down my temples, soaking into the thin pillow beneath my head.
I didn't cry for Kael.
I didn't cry for the bond.
I cried for the truth I could no longer deny.
Hiding was becoming impossible.
And when the seal finally broke…
The pack wouldn't survive my awakening.
Somewhere above me, the moon burned bright and unyielding.
And far across the pack grounds, Alpha King Kael Draven stood alone on his balcony, one hand pressed against his chest as an unfamiliar unease twisted violently in his gut.
Something was wrong.
Something he had rejected was still calling to him.
And for the first time in his life…
The Alpha King felt fear.