THE REJECTION

The Moonrise Festival was supposed to be a night of celebration. The entire pack had gathered in the clearing, where the soft glow of the full moon bathed everything in a silvery light. Bonfires crackled and danced, sending sparks up into the star-studded sky. Laughter and music filled the air, blending with the distant howls of wolves.

Catherine stood at the edge of the gathering, her heart pounding. Tonight was the night she had dreamed of her entire life — the night she would find her mate.

Anticipation thrummed through her veins. Her hands trembled as she smoothed down her simple blue dress, made especially by her mother for this occasion. For years, she had lingered on the periphery of the pack, unnoticed and unremarkable. But tonight, everything was supposed to change.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, searching for any sign of him — her mate. She didn’t know who he was, but the moment their eyes met, she would feel it. The bond would pull them together, as her mother had always promised. That magical moment when time would stop, and nothing else in the world would matter.

Her breath hitched when she spotted Kieran, the Alpha’s son, across the clearing. He was everything she wasn’t — tall, confident, and powerful, with an easy smile that seemed to captivate everyone around him. His dark hair fell in waves around his sharp, handsome features, and his amber eyes glowed like embers in the moonlight.

For a fleeting moment, their eyes met, and Catherine felt a jolt deep within her. Her heart raced. Could it be him?

Her pulse quickened as her feet moved without thinking, drawn to him by something primal. She had admired Kieran from afar for years — his strength, his leadership, the way he seemed to command every room he entered. He was everything she had ever dreamed her mate would be.

But as she drew closer, the warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by something cold and unfeeling. His expression darkened, and a flicker of cruelty passed over his face. Catherine’s heart lurched, but she kept walking, determined to reach him.

She was just a few steps away when Kieran finally turned to face her, his expression unreadable. The crowd seemed to quiet, as if sensing the tension.

“Kieran,” she began, her voice barely above a whisper, “I think… I think we’re mates.”

For a split second, the world hung in the balance.

Then Kieran laughed. A cold, mocking sound that shattered the moment and sent a ripple through the crowd. Heads turned, eyes focused on them.

“You think what, Catherine?” he sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. “That you’re my mate?”

Catherine’s cheeks flushed with humiliation as the pack’s eyes bore into her. “I… I felt the bond,” she stammered, her voice faltering.

Kieran took a step closer, his lips curling into a cruel smile. “You felt wrong,” he said, his voice cold and cutting. “There is no bond between us. You’re nothing to me — just a low-born wolf with ridiculous fantasies.”

The murmurs from the crowd grew louder, and Catherine felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. Her entire world was collapsing around her. This couldn’t be happening.

“Kieran, please,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I know you felt it too.”

But he only laughed again, louder this time. “The only thing I feel is pity for you,” he spat. “You’ll never be worthy of someone like me. You’re nothing.”

Tears welled up in Catherine’s eyes as the weight of his rejection settled over her, suffocating her. The whispers of the pack sliced through her like knives. She had dreamed of this moment her entire life, and now it had become her worst nightmare.

Without another word, Kieran turned his back on her and walked away, leaving her standing there in the clearing, utterly broken. The crowd slowly dispersed, their whispered judgments trailing behind them, and Catherine was left standing alone, her heart in pieces.

Unable to bear it any longer, she turned and ran, fleeing the scene of her public humiliation. She ran blindly through the forest, the pain and rejection coursing through her like a poison. Her feet pounded against the earth as tears blurred her vision, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop.

She didn’t stop running until the sounds of the festival were nothing but a distant echo, until the only sound was her own ragged breathing.

Finally, she collapsed to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably, her hands digging into the dirt as her entire world crumbled around her. How could the bond be wrong? How could she be so wrong? Was she truly so worthless, so undeserving of love?

The rejection cut deeper than anything she had ever known.

For hours, she stayed there, lost in the storm of her emotions. When the tears finally dried, she wiped her face and stood on shaky legs. She couldn’t go back to the pack. Not now. Not after this.

With a final glance back toward the distant lights of the festival, Catherine made her decision. She would leave. She had no idea where she would go, but she couldn’t stay here. She had to find a way to heal. A way to start over.

And so, she turned and walked into the darkness, alone but determined to find her own path, she had a goal now, which was to discover herself and train to her fullest potential so everyone could stop looking down on her as a low ranking wolf.