The moment I stepped out of the pack house, the night air hit my face—but it didn't calm me.
Nothing could.
My chest burned like something had been ripped out of me.
Because it had.
The mate bond.
I pressed my hand against my heart, gasping as the pain spread through my body. Tears fell freely now, but I didn't bother wiping them.
Behind me, I could still hear whispers.
"She got rejected…"
"I can't believe the Alpha chose her…"
Humiliation wrapped around me like chains.
But beneath the pain… something else stirred.
Anger.
I clenched my fists.
"I will not stay here," I whispered to myself.
"I will not be weak."
If Alpha Kael thought rejecting me would break me.
Then he had no idea who I was becoming.