Rowena's POV
My body still remembered the cold of stone, but it wasn't only physical pain that tied me to the crypt's cruel solitude. The absence of light tangled itself around my thoughts, and every small sound—the soft drip of water, the faint tremor of air—felt impossibly loud. With each breath, my heart slammed against my ribs, the echo of my own pulse seeming to bounce off the walls.
Somewhere deep inside, my soul rebelled. The pain wasn't confined to my body; my heart and mind burned as memories resurfaced again and again—the scent, the touch, the moment. Every sensation was both sharp and numbing, as if the world pressed itself against my skin, demanding to be felt all at once.
And yet, a fragile, nearly invisible thread tethered me to Selene's presence. It didn't shout or blaze—it simply was: warmth, steadiness, a quiet strength that slowly softened the pain crashing into my chest. A gentle touch. A whispered word. Enough to keep me from being completely lost.
That stillness—this moment—made the pain survivable. Even time seemed to slow, granting us a few stolen seconds before reality returned. The crypt's walls didn't hold only cold and death; they offered a small refuge where my soul could still cling to something.
When I opened my eyes, darkness greeted me. Not complete, but dense enough to tighten my throat. The air was stale and ancient, heavy with centuries of memory. The walls pressed too close, the ceiling weighed down on me, making every breath an effort.
Then it came back.
The scent.
The hand on my shoulder.
The face I'd seen—
and that single sentence.
Hello, mate.
My heart began to race. Panic clawed up my throat as I struggled to sit, but my body protested. Pain ripped through me, every nerve screaming at once.
"Selene…" I whispered, my voice hoarse.
I'm here.
Her voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket on a frozen night.
Don't move. Please.
"Where… where are we?" I asked, though the answer already lurked within me.
A crypt.
The word settled heavily over me.
As safe… as it can be.
Safe. The word felt foreign, misplaced—yet it brought a fragile hint of calm to my chest.
As my eyes adjusted to the dimness, shapes emerged. Marble. Stone. Ancient carvings etched into the walls. Death lingered everywhere, silent and watchful, as though time itself had stopped in this cold hush.
And then the realization struck fully.
"It was him…" My voice trembled. "My mate."
Speaking it hurt—like something tearing into me from the inside, deeper than any wound.
Yes. Selene's voice was softer now. Tense. It's him.
"But…" My throat closed. "He can't—he can't do this. A mate doesn't cause pain. Doesn't hate. Doesn't look at you like that."
Not every bond is born gently, she replied quietly. And not every soul is ready for what the Moon Goddess gives.
Her words were like ice—cold, yet burning.
My body began to shake again, not from the cold. Something collapsed inside my chest. The hope I'd carried instinctively began to crumble into dust.
"He despised me," I whispered. "He was disgusted by me."
I could feel the bond—raw, like an open wound—through which his emotions bled into me. Anger. Rage. Rejection. Clear as if they were my own.
Listen to me, Rowena. Selene's voice grew firm. You cannot reject him.
"How can I not?" I asked, desperation breaking through. "How can I not reject someone who did this to us?"
Our lives depend on it.
Her words were heavy, mercilessly honest.
A white wolf's bond is not like the others. If you reject him now, you won't only lose your mate—you'll lose us. And after what he's done… there's no guarantee he would let you live.
Tears slid down my face. I didn't sob. I had no strength left for that. I simply let them fall, silently. Cold stone beneath me. Pain deep inside.
"Then… what do I do?" I asked, broken.
Survive.
Selene's voice softened. For now, that's enough.
Warmth spread through me—not sudden, not dramatic. A slow, careful touch as Selene's power stirred. The pain dulled. My wounds began to close. The ache eased.
But the emptiness in my chest… remained untouched.
"My soul…" I whispered. "Can't you heal that too?"
No.
There was no cruelty in it. Only truth.
That's something you have to survive yourself.
I lay there for a long time, clinging to Selene's presence, the cold stone beneath me. My heartbeat wove into the silence, my breathing rising and falling like small waves. When I finally spoke again, my voice was barely more than a breath.
"Moon Goddess…" I whispered into the dark. "I'm not asking for much."
I didn't know if She heard. I didn't know if it mattered.
"I don't ask you to take the bond away… just dull it," my voice shook. "Don't let me feel his contempt. His disgust. I can't bear it."
Silence answered. Deep. Heavy. All-encompassing.
And yet… something inside my chest quieted. The pain didn't vanish—but it was no longer unbearable. It simply was. Survivable.
She heard you, Selene said softly.
I closed my eyes. I had no hope. No vision of a future.
The silence deepened, heavier than before. The stone's cold still seeped into my body, but something else lingered too—a hollow, pulling weight in my chest. Each breath, each tiny movement seemed to measure the darkness and despair pressing in on me.
A part of my soul felt as though it had been left behind at the moment we first met—where scent, gaze, and a single quiet word shattered the world I thought I knew. Now, alone, the weight of absence and uncertainty collapsed over me.
And yet… beneath the pain, a fragile spark stirred, whispering: I will survive.
Between the dark walls, there was only me and my thoughts—but the knowledge that someone—or something—was watching, that the bond still existed, began something slow and subtle inside me. Not strength. Not peace.
Waiting.
A strange, quiet hope that told me this story was not yet over.
And in that moment, I knew: the girl who believed a mate would save her was gone forever. In her place remained someone else—someone shaped by shadow and presence, whose world had been irrevocably changed.