Lahat ng Kabanata ng Rejected by my Mate, Chosen by his Enemy: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 16

HaydeeI heard the horns before anyone told me what they meant.Two short blasts from Nightfall's outer wall. Not alarm, but announcement. Something significant at the gate. I was in the courtyard with my soup bowl from yesterday still sitting on the south bench, which made me feel slightly guilty. Around me Nightfall wolves were moving with a purpose that told me this was not routine.Bastian, Hunter’s Beta, appeared at my elbow."You may want to come with me," he said."What is it?"He regarded me with professional patience. "Who do you think just showed up?"***They put me on the balcony overlooking the outer gate.I understood, standing there, that this had been planned. The position was too deliberate: high enough to see everything, visible enough to be seen. Hunter had not told me what he intended. He had simply had someone bring me a clean Nightfall tunic and trousers that morning, dark

HaydeeThe courtyard waited.Every wolf in it understood the mechanics. A withdrawn rejection required acceptance to take effect. The bond could not be rebuilt unilaterally, meaning Cole could not simply decide to reclaim what he had thrown away. Haydee Raine had to choose.I understood the mechanics too.I stood in the middle of Nightfall's courtyard with the bond pulling at my sternum like something with fingers, with Cole's raw and broken four words still hanging in the air, with Hunter at my left and Tara-Lee at Cole's right and every warrior from both packs watching me, and I understood exactly what was being asked and what it would cost either way.I had loved Cole Shade for four years.I had watched him lead the pack with a steadfast hand, unwavering authority, and the kind of command that deepened my love for him the more I was exposed to it. Day after day, for four years. Never once did he look my way.

HaydeeA month ago I would have stood in the doorway and counted exits.My gaze would have gone first to the edges of the room. The servants’ corner, the shadowed space where I could stand quietly and draw no attention. Four years at Silvercrest had carved the habit into me so deeply that I only noticed it now, when I no longer needed it.Tonight I walked through the door.The gown was deep blue, almost black, with a high neck and a fitted waist and sleeves that ended at my wrists. Nightfall's tailor had made it without being asked. Not out of charity. It had been delivered to my room three days ago with a note in Hunter's handwriting that said simply: for the Blood Moon gathering. It fit as though it had been made for me, because it had been.I had stood in front of the mirror for a long time.The gathering hall was enormous. Torchlit, high-ceilinged, full of wolves from packs I was still learning to name.