Dante’s POV

The air was thick with her scent, it was a mixture of wild roses, delicate, and maddeningly intoxicating. My wolf, Saint, stirred violently within me, wanting to break free and pin her against a tree. I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists as I stalked closer through the balcony until I stood behind her, Aurora.

The way she smiled beautifully, running outside of the place when she got the call had piqued my interest. A phone was pressed to her ear, and the voice on the other end belonged to a man. A male werewolf.

I hated that she had to leave the room just to come make a call with a man when she had just found out I was her mate.

She is not mine. She will never be worthy to be called my ‘moon goddess’

Saint paced restlessly inside me, his fury burning through my veins.

“She’s ours. Who the hell is she talking to?”

I clenched my fists, ignoring him.

My vision blurred for a split second. The bond, the one I was about to break, tightened around me, fighting against the inevitable.

She doesn’t belong to you, I reminded myself bitterly and Saint whimpered.

“ Liar”.

The moment Aurora hung up, she turned to face me.

Her golden-brown eyes locked onto mine, unreadable, as if she had already braced herself for whatever was about to come.

I spoke first, my voice sharp and cold.

“Hope I am not intruding?”

“No…ummhn…. Yes.” She stuttered, giving me a sharp shocking glare.

“There is no possibility between us.” I said without giving it much thought

Aurora blinked once, staring into my eyeballs and for a minute, I thought I saw a disappointed gaze. Then, to my absolute shock, she nodded.

“I completely agree.”

The air around us stilled.

A sharp, unfamiliar sensation twisted in my gut.

I expected resistance. Anger. Maybe even desperation. But she gave me nothing.

Saint snarled.

“Why isn’t she fighting for us?”

I stiffened. “I already know enough,” I said, my words biting and precise. “Elara has told me everything I need to know about you.”

For the first time, a crack appeared in her mask. Her lips parted slightly, but whatever she was about to say, she swallowed it down.

Saint lunged forward in my mind, his rage blistering.

“You fool! You don’t know her at all! You have probably met her at a tight spot.”

I gritted my teeth, ignoring him.

“I, Dante Alderic,” I forced the words through my teeth, “reject you as my mate.”

The instant the words left my lips, searing pain tore through my chest. My vision darkened at the edges, my body shaking from the force of the bond shattering.

Saint howled in agony.

I fought to stay upright, swallowing back the urge to double over.

I expected Aurora to waver. To stagger. To feel it as deeply as I did.

But she didn’t.

She remained still, her face unreadable, her golden-brown eyes dull, as if the rejection meant nothing.

Suddenly she blurted

“I accept.”

The pain doubled.

Saint let out a wounded roar, the kind that should have shaken her, should have broken her.

But she only nodded, as if this was just a business arrangement, as if I hadn’t just ripped our fate apart.

I could barely breathe, my lungs burning from the inside out, but Aurora… She was fine.

“Why isn’t she in pain?”

Saint was trembling, fury and heartbreak lacing his every word.

“Why is she so unaffected?”

I had no answer.

I turned abruptly, my feet moving before my mind could catch up. I needed to get away from her.

The moment I stepped back inside, the warmth of the house clashed with the cold still clinging to my skin.

Elara and her mother were still at the dining table, chatting, oblivious to the war raging inside me.

I forced myself to focus on Elara.

She was the one I had chosen, she was the one I would love.

Yet… my gaze flickered toward the hallway where Aurora had disappeared.

She was more beautiful than Elara.

I hated myself for noticing, for the way my gaze kept drifting toward her.

Elara was refined, delicate but Aurora was effortless. The kind of beauty that didn’t need enhancement, impossible to ignore.

Golden-brown eyes like molten amber, dark waves framing her sharp cheekbones and full lips. A lean, feminine frame. Graceful yet strong, moving with quiet control, yet untamed.

She didn’t seek admiration. She commanded it.

Saint growled lowly.

“You will regret this, Dante”.

I ignored him.

Elara had told me so much about Aurora’s past.

She had changed after their father’s death. She dropped out of school. Distanced herself from their mother. Treated everyone like a burden.

“She doesn’t care about anyone but herself,” Elara had told me.

That should have been enough.

So why was I still thinking about her?

I forced my feet forward and sat beside Elara, resting a hand on her shoulder.

“We should have your mother stay with us until the engagement ceremony is over,” I said smoothly.

Both Elara and her mother looked up, their eyes widening in surprise before delight spread across their faces.

“Oh, Dante, that’s a wonderful idea!” Elara beamed, throwing her arms around me.

Saint was losing control, his rage pulsing through me like wildfire. His growls echoed in my head, relentless, furious, pleading.

“You’re making a mistake. A terrible, unforgivable mistake”.

I gritted my teeth, pushing him down, but he fought harder, clawing at my mind.

“She is ours, Dante!”

His voice was raw, breaking with the force of his agony.

“You feel it, don’t you? The pain. The emptiness. It’s not supposed to be like this!”

Pain still burned in my chest, sharp and unyielding, the broken bond tearing at my insides like a wound that refused to close.

I clenched my fists, exhaling slowly, grounding myself.

No. This is right. I consoled myself.

Elara is my choice. The one the pack accepts. The one who will bring unity.

The one I can love.

Saint let out a wounded snarl, pacing, his frustration vibrating through my bones.

“The goddess gave us Aurora. Not Elara. You’re going against fate”.

Fate can be rewritten.

Saint’s growl was low, dangerous.

“But not without consequences”.

My throat tightened, but I shoved him deeper into my subconscious, locking him away. When the bond is completely severed, you’ll understand. You’ll see that this is the right choice for both me and the pack.

Saint let out one last, mournful howl before falling silent.

I exhaled, pressing a hand to my chest where the ache still lingered.

It was done, It had to be done.

Because there was no going back.