"Alpha Jasper, please accept my rejection."
Jasmine's voice cracked on the final word, splintering into the cold air between them like broken glass.
She knelt on the hard ground, her knees pressing into the dirt, one hand clutched desperately over her chest as if she could physically tear out the agony living inside her.
It clawed through her heart, through her soul, savage and unending. Every breath felt like swallowing shattered pieces of herself. Every heartbeat punished her for the crime of rejecting her fated mate.
Jasper went rigid. His hands trembled at his sides, fingers curling and uncurling as he fought the overwhelming urge to reach for her, to pull her into his arms and promise her everything would be alright.
He had waited so long for this moment. A time when the moon goddess would bless him with a fated mate after finding out that Seraphine was already married.
