3

Scarlett’s POV

The morning sun pierced through my closed eyelids, awakening me with a pleasant ache in my muscles from last night’s passion. A smile crept onto my lips as I reached for his warmth on the silk sheets. I curled closer to him, feeling my heart race in the peaceful afterglow, his alpha presence making my omega instincts purr. The memory of his touch still lingered on my skin. The places he kissed and the fiery trails his touch left across every inch of me still made my wolf purr.

It was real. I had finally found my mate. Someone who could love, cherish, and stand beside me. Someone who could save me from my agony and straighten my omega wolf. I had found that person.

He was mine. My fated mate.

The memory of meeting him last night was still vivid. The way he gazed at me across the ballroom, the instant connection that sparked between us. We didn’t even need formal introductions before our wolves recognized each other. Mate. The attraction was undeniable.

His scent lingered—pine, smoke, and something so purely alpha it made my omega hum. I lay still, afraid to shatter the fragile peace between us.

He stirred. I smiled, watching his perfect, handsome face, feeling incredibly lucky.

“Did I wake you?” I asked softly. My heart fluttered when his deep blue ocean eyes opened, gazing at me as if searching for something.

The warmth in his expression faded as soon as his hand brushed the scar on my collarbone. His muscles tensed, and I felt him stiffen. From the way his arm tensed and his breath hitched, I knew it wasn’t desire he was feeling but regret.

“You’re an omega.” The disbelief in his voice twisted my stomach into knots.

My throat constricted painfully, but I nodded. “Yes.” The word barely left my lips before his expression darkened.

I felt a sudden wave of reality hit me as he stood up and distanced himself from me, as if I were something repulsive, something unworthy. Panic flooded through me, sharp and suffocating. As he turned away, my heart sank, the fleeting warmth we had shared fading away like mist in the morning sun.

“The lowest rank in the pack,” he muttered, his voice laced with venom. “And you think you’re fit to stand beside me?”

Does he truly think of me that way? My thoughts spiraled into a chaotic mess. How can he look at me and only see my rank? What about last night? What about the way our wolves connected?

“Wait,” I whispered, reaching for him. “Please, just listen—”

He shoved my hand aside, the rejection more painful than any physical blow. How did it come to this? I could feel the heat of humiliation creeping up my neck, but I fought to hold it back. I should feel anger, but instead, I feel… small. So small.

“You thought I would make an omega my Luna?” His words cut like a sharp knife, piercing my heart. Each insult dug deeper, reminding me of my place and the shame I had fought so hard to overcome. What did I expect? He’s an alpha, belonging to a world where I don’t belong. “You must be more delusional than I thought.”

His words poisoned the bond, twisting it until it barely held. The fated bond I’d believed sacred, unbreakable, was unraveling before my eyes. Being with an omega was worse than defying the Goddess herself.

“We’re destined. We’re fated,” I whispered, desperate. “That has to mean something. I know it does.”

His cold, empty laugh echoed in the room. “Fate?” he spat. “Do you think fate means anything in this world?” He stood and began to dress, each movement deliberate and dismissive. “Politics, power—that’s what matters. And you, little wolf, have neither.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I pushed them back, resisting the overwhelming emotions. Crying wouldn’t make a difference. It never had. I clung to the faint bond that still lingered between us, desperately hoping it wouldn’t break entirely. Please, don’t let it fall apart.

He stood at the edge of the bed, his sharp gaze locking onto mine. Instead of warmth, all I saw was suspicion and disdain.

“Who are you, really?” he asked, his voice cold, stripping away the last remnants of our shared intimacy.

“Scarlett. I told you last—”

He cut me off. “Your last name.”

The moment I had dreaded had finally arrived. My father’s name hung on my tongue like a curse, one I had tried hard to keep buried until now. Would he hate me for it when he knew my last name? Would he see me as my father’s daughter, and nothing more?

“My father…” My voice trembled as I swallowed hard. How can I explain that I never asked for this? “My father is Alaric Blackstone.”

His whole body tensed up, the name landing between us like a thunderclap. I caught a glimpse of betrayal and disbelief in his eyes for a moment, but it quickly turned into intense anger.

“Blackstone.” He said the name like it was a vile thing, something that had crawled from the depths of hell. His eyes burned with intense hatred.

“You’re his daughter?”

I flinched at the venom in his voice. This is it. This is where it ends. Before I could respond, he grabbed my arm, yanking me close, his breath scorching against my skin.

“You’re the spawn of the man who ruined my family. And you think I’d take you as my Luna?”

His grip tightened, and the anger radiating from him scorched the bond between us. The warmth we shared was gone, replaced with ice. How can this be happening?

I tried to pull away, but his grip only tightened.

“I’d rather reject the bond and tear it to shreds than let Blackstone’s daughter stand by my side,” he snarled, his voice filled with venom. “Last night was a mistake, omega. Nothing more.”

It wasn’t a mistake. I felt it! My heart raced, but my voice betrayed me, cracking under the weight of my despair. “We slept together?”

He scoffed, his eyes filled with loathing. “Save it. Last night was a mistake. One that won’t be repeated. You are not my Luna, and you never will be. I reject the mate bond.”

“You took everything from me. You made me into a woman.”

“So?” he shot back. “Do you think if I’d known you were Blackstone’s daughter, I could touch you?”

“But—” My voice cracked. “We—”

“There is no we.” He let go of me like I was poison, stepping back as if my touch disgusted him. “You were nothing more than a body. That’s all you’ll ever be.”

My heart shattered as his words crashed over me like waves of pain. He’s throwing away everything we could have had. Everything I believed in.

“Please,” I begged, knowing his rejection could kill me—and my wolf. “Don’t do this.”

“I, Finn Foster, reject you, Scarlett Blackstone, as my mate and Luna.”

The bond snapped, leaving me gasping, each breath a struggle against the searing agony. It felt like a piece of my soul had been torn away. Clutching my chest, I fought to breathe, but he was already walking away.

“You can see yourself out,” he said coldly, moving toward the door. “And Scarlett? If I ever see you again, I won’t be so gentle.”

He didn’t look back.

The door slammed shut behind him, shattering the future I had imagined. I sat frozen, clutching the sheets that still smelled of what could have been the beginning of our life together. Instead, it was the end.

Inside me, my wolf howled, lost in the agony of rejection. The bond was gone. He was gone. My fated mate, the one person who was supposed to see past everything else and love me for who I was, had rejected me because of a name. Because of blood I’d never asked for.

I didn’t know how long I cried, but when I finally gathered my senses, the sun was rising. I wiped my tears with trembling hands, forcing myself to stand.

The bond throbbed like an open wound, but I gathered my clothes, erasing every trace that I’d ever been there.