He was looking at me in a way I’d never seen before, as though he could burn a hole in me with his eyes. His fists were clenched, the tautness of his muscles showing through his shirt.

He shoved me back. Hard. A broken pipe drenched me in an icy deluge and I gasped, soaked, freezing. Then he slammed me up against the wall and kissed me.

It was so intense that I nearly came apart. I was freezing and burning at the same time.  I was on fire, clutching at his wet shirt, his hands gripping my waist. The icy trickles got down under my shirt and I gasped, shivered, pressing closer to Ronan. My arms came up around his neck, my fingers twining in his hair. I was dazed, overwhelmed. 

My heart was hammering fit to burst. He kissed me harder, one hand fisting in the tangles of my hair. His mouth was fierce on mine, his fingers biting into my hip. I made a strangled sound, feeling like I was pulling apart. One more touch and I would die: I would never survive this.

But then he stopped.

I felt his grip ease, fingers slipping away from my waist like I was something fragile he didn’t know what to do with. My heart sank before I even opened my eyes. And when I did, he was gone. Just a few steps away, but it felt like miles.

His eyes were glowing, he didn’t say anything, and I saw him wrench back control from his wolf. It was almost like a physical struggle, but he managed to do so.

His gaze burned on mine for a moment. ‘That was a mistake.” he snapped, “Don’t ever try that again.”

And just like that, he walked away, leaving me soaked, shivering, and emptier than I’d ever felt in my life

As soon as I was sure he had left, my knees gave out and I collapsed to the floor, a bitter laugh slipping from my lips. I rested my head against the wall,  tears silently streaming down my face.

How did it come to this? When had my life become so pathetic that not even my own fated mate wanted me?

Now I’m here, alone in my room, replaying it over and over like a fool.

What the hell was I thinking?

He kissed me like he meant it... then vanished like it never happened. What am I supposed to do with that?

–

While it had always seemed easy for someone to say, “Don’t give up,” I doubted they ever truly understood what that meant especially in a situation like mine. 

Being rejected by your fated mate wasn’t just painful and heartbreaking, it was utterly humiliating. Not giving up would’ve meant crawling back to him, swallowing what little dignity I had left, and pleading for a second chance like some desperate fool.

My pride was one of the last things I still held onto, would have been crushed if I had to ask Ronan to reconsider. Just imagining it made my stomach turn. But beneath all that pain and shame, something else had started to stir.

Anger.

So, I gave it a few days, allowing my fury to build and fester until I was confident enough to face the man who had rejected me so brutally.

I gave it three days.

Not because I was waiting for him to come to his senses. Not because I thought he’d come crawling with some weak apology.

I needed time.

Time to swallow the pain and wear something stronger on my face. Time to remind myself that I agreed to this. That I walked into this with my eyes open.

When I came back to the packhouse, I didn’t even glance in the mirror. What was the point? I already knew what I looked like; tired, puffy-eyed, barely keeping it together.

I spotted Ronan before he saw me. He was laughing. Actually laughing, like he hadn’t shoved me into a wall and kissed me like he meant it, only to walk away like I was a damn disease.

He was surrounded by a few pack members. I started walking in the opposite direction with my head down, but something made me glance back.

And there he was.

Looking right at me.

Our eyes met, and for a second, I swear he forgot how to breathe. Or maybe I did. I couldn’t tell anymore. He didn’t smile. He didn’t nod. He just stared like he didn’t know what the hell he was looking at. Then I blinked, and it was over. He turned away like I hadn’t existed.

That night, the pack was hosting a gathering to welcome their new Luna.

The moment I walked into the courtyard, I felt it. I could feel gazes on me. I straightened the strap of my dress, the one that still felt like someone else’s skin. I wasn’t used to this kind of fabric, this kind of attention. It clung too tightly in all the wrong places.

That was when I spotted Ronan, and besides him was Krystal sitting next to him like she belonged there, her hand on his thigh, laughing like they were already mated. She looked beautiful in the way women do when they know they’re being watched. And he let her. 

I felt something crack in my chest.

And then, as if he knew I was watching, he turned. Our eyes locked again, but it didn’t matter. Because a second later, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. Slowly. Intentionally.

It felt like a slap.

I swallowed the lump rising in my throat, forced my hands to stay at my sides even though they wanted to tremble. It’s only a year, I reminded myself. Just twelve months. You agreed. You said yes.

My wolf stirred inside me, wounded, but silent. We both knew we had no right to expect more.

From behind me, a tray passed. I reached out and took it before the server could blink.

“Luna,” she said softly. Lyra. She used to serve beside me, before everything changed.

“You don’t need to call me that,” I murmured, not unkindly. “I’m still me.”

But I wasn’t.

Not really.

I turned toward the head table, the tray balanced in my hand, and forced myself to walk.

If I was going to be humiliated on my own day, I might as well do it right.