Chapter 3: I Reject Her

**Eirian's Pov**

I gripped the fabric of my worn dress so tightly until my knuckles hurt, staring at Thalorion across the space and silently praying to the Goddess who had never seemed to hear me before.

Please, Goddess. Let this be real. Let this finally be mine.

Thalorion was motionless. The firelight highlighted the sharp angles of his face and the crease on his brow. For a brief moment, I convinced myself he was simply stunned, just like I was. After all, he didn't expect it, right? 

Maybe this was only the pause before everything changed.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't warm or happy. It was short, harsh, and mocking. He shook his head as if the situation itself was ridiculous.

"No," he said in a deadly tone. "There has to be a mistake," he continued, louder now, directing his words to the Council of Elders and the entire pack. "Look at her. Look at what you're asking me to accept as my mate. My Luna."

A low murmur rolled through the crowd, causing me to bend my head to hide the shame and humiliation I felt. If only the ground would open and swallow me right now, that was the only thought in my head.

“My lord," the Moon Guardian said carefully from her place beside the altar. "The moonstone does not make mistakes. The bond has already started to form. Rejecting it before witnesses carries serious consequences.”

“I don’t care!” he shouted, his handsome face twisting into something ugly. "I am the future Alpha of this pack. I will not be chained to a fat, mute, wolfless omega who can't even say her own name."

My head snapped up to meet his burning gaze. I was used to being called fat and mute, but Wolfless?

It was the cruelest insult because, in a way, it was true. The wolf everyone else possessed openly had never shown herself to me. Instead, I carried something dangerous inside me that I had spent eleven years burying.

"She is not fit to become my Luna." He continued coldly, his gaze travelling over my body. I felt exposed. Judged. As though everyone could see every flaw they believed I carried.

"I reject her. Before the Moon Goddess and before this pack, I reject Eirian Hale as my mate."

Pain exploded inside my chest. It was like an invisible thread that had connected us had just been sliced apart by someone. A gasp escaped me as my hand flew to my chest as if I could somehow hold myself together. Then my knees gave way. I caught myself against the nearest tree as the world blurred.

Then I heard laughter, loud, cruel laughter behind me.

"Did you see her face? She actually thought he wanted her."

“She's so pathetic.”

"As if the Alpha would ever choose that."

I dragged my gaze towards my parents. My mother stared at the ground, avoiding my gaze, her shoulders tense. My father had shifted a little to the side, creating a few inches of distance, as if that distance could separate him from the shame he felt.

Clearly, they weren't ashamed for me. They were ashamed of me. 

That hurt more than the rejection itself.

My eyes found Serelith. She stood with her arms crossed loosely. When our gazes met, a relieved and satisfied smile curved her lips as if a mistake had finally been corrected.

The pain in my chest deepened and instantly melted into anger. 

I was fuming from it. So much that I felt words rising in my throat. I wanted to speak. I wanted them to feel every ounce of pain they had given me, multiplied, returned to them tenfold. I wanted their laughter to die in their mouths. I wanted them to suffer.

My hands balled into tight fists, with my fingernails digging deep into my palms. My lips trembled as I opened my mouth for the words to come out, but Thalorion let out a shrill scream.

He grabbed his forearm and ripped back the sleeve of his ceremonial coat. A mark blazed on his skin, a bright, silver crescent moon wrapped in thorns. It glowed with the same light that had cracked the moonstone. The mark looked alive and was burning him from the inside.

"What is this?" he roared, staggering backward into his warriors. "Get it off me! Get it off!”

The Moon Guardian's face went pale. She struggled to her feet, clutching her staff. "The Moon Goddess has refused the rejection," she announced, her voice trembling. "She has marked him. This has not happened in three generations.”

Shock swept through the crowd. The Elders immediately began whispering among themselves.

"This cannot be undone," Elder Magnus said.

"We must inform the King at once," Elder Aldric replied.

I watched Thalorion struggle against a punishment I had never asked for. I almost smiled; a small part of me felt satisfied. For once, the world had decided to be fair to me.

Then the air shifted completely, giving way to a heavy, commanding presence that walked into the clearing before anyone even realized someone was approaching. 

Conversations of earlier died mid-sentence. Even Prince Thalorion's piercing cries faded. Every head turned toward the direction of the Southern treeline, as a deep, calm voice broke the silence. 

"Since my nephew refuses his blessing," the voice said, "I will decide what becomes of her.”

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs. Slowly, I turned.

And for the first time in my life, I saw the most feared Lycan King in existence. 

Lycan Vorath Kane.