~ Cayden’s POV ~
Impossible.
This is wrong. This should not be right. My heart pounded in my chest, an erratic beat no longer matched my breath or logic. A human can’t be mated to . The gods must have made a mistake.
I rejected her. I said the words. I felt the bond snap sharply, painfully but my wolf didn’t. He hadn’t accepted the rejection. In fact, he had done the opposite. He’d been snarling ever since, clawing at the inside of my chest like he wanted to rip himself out of .
"She’s mine," he kept repeating. Over. And over.
But I refused.
I’d said it once and would say it again—I reject you. I could still see the way her eyes widened when I said those words. The way her lips quivered just before she pressed them shut. She didn’t beg. She didn’t scream. She just stood there and took it.
Like she had taken everything else in her life.
And that—that right there is what shattered .
Caspian had accepted her. Marked her. She left with him, with my uncle, with her father. She had walked out of that hall and out of my life... only not really. Because soon, she would be moving into the High House. As Caspian’s mate. As Beta’s Luna.
And I would see her every day.
Every damn day.
I could already feel the tornt inching closer. My wolf paced, growled, and whimpered when I dared think of her. Hazel. That soft skin. The warm brown eyes that watered but never spilled over. The way she had shivered when I’d pinned her to the wall. Her scent still lingered on my fingers. Her breath still played against my cheek in mory. Her soft breathing pattern... I studied everything.
But I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t.
What would the world say? The Alpha of the great Blue Moon pack... mated to a human? What would the council think? What would our enemies say? I had a duty. A legacy. A bloodline.
I’d saved the pack from scandal by rejecting her—but I’d damned myself in the process.
I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. I sat in the sa spot on my bedroom couch since last night, still in the clothes I’d worn to the mating ceremony. My jaw clenched so tightly it ached. My hands curled into fists until my knuckles turned white. I hated myself for thinking of her. For needing her.
And then—my door creaked open.
I didn’t move.
I didn’t need to turn. I could sll her.
"Cayden," Natasha said softly, stepping into the room. My wolf instantly turned and growled, his hatred for her never hidden. I swallowed it down. I was Alpha. I was in control.
She walked toward , her heels clicking softly against the tile. She didn’t wait for permission. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed herself into . I responded like a machine. I held her. I even closed my eyes. Pretending. Lying. Faking it so hard, I nearly believed it for half a second.
She was supposed to be the one.
The plan had been written since childhood. Our parents agreed. The council approved. Our bloodlines matched. She was noble. Beautiful. Smart.
But she wasn’t Her.
"I heard everything," she whispered, pulling away just enough to et my eyes. "She’s your mate. But you rejected her. And now Caspian’s marked her. You won’t accept her... but I know your wolf hasn’t let her go."
My lips pressed into a thin line. I didn’t answer.
"So what happens now?" she asked, voice sharper now. "Are you going to throw away? Chase after that human girl? Is that what this is?"
My temper flared. I stood up. Towered over her. "Are you listening to yourself?" I snapped. "I would never pick a human. I rejected her publicly—and I’ll do it again if I have to. A thousand tis. It’s supposed to be you."
Her expression didn’t change. If anything, it softened.
"Then make yours," she said. "Make your mistress. Marry . Let her be Beta’s wife if she wants. But you-you will have . I’ll give you children. She can’t. She’s human. She’ll die long before you even turn grey."
My wolf howled at her words. I shoved it down. Buried it deep.
She smiled.
And then, as if that smile were so kind of spell, she started undressing—right there, in front of .
First, her dress slipped down her shoulders, pooling on the floor. Then her bra. Then the rest. Her body, pale and soft, bared to completely. I should’ve felt sothing—desire, relief, clarity.
But all I felt was wrong.
Still, I reached out. chanically. My fingers moved to her waist. She stepped closer. Her hands undid my buttons. My belt. She reached for and I flinched—but let her. She sank to her knees and took into her mouth.
I hissed, eyes falling shut.
But even then—I saw Hazel.
Her eyes. Her lips. Her scent haunted even now.
I bit my tongue, forcing down the moan that nearly escaped.
It was Hazel’s na.
It was always going to be Hazel’s na.
I flipped Natasha over, my body reacting without my mind. I pushed into her. She moaned. My wolf roared. Not in pleasure—but in pain. I kept going anyway, my hands rougher than they should’ve been, my mouth landing on her skin that felt wrong, wrong, wrong.
Then my nose caught a scent—the door clicked open.
And everything stopped.
The room fell into silence so thick it choked . I turned my head.
And there she stood.
Hazel.
Her eyes locked with mine. Wide. Unblinking. Shimring with disbelief. Hurt. Rage. Her lips trembled but she didn’t move. She just stared.
My body froze, still inside another woman. My arms stiffened. Natasha turned slowly, and when she saw Hazel standing there, her smirk only deepened.
But I—I felt cold.
My insides were burning.
The second Hazel stepped through that damn door, Ragnar howled so loud in my skull I nearly fell forward.
Get her! Get her! Mate her! Mine!
His voice clawed against the walls of my mind, wild and desperate and echoing louder than anything I’d ever felt before.
But I didn’t move.
Hazel stood frozen in the doorway, dressed in sothing far too simple for the storm she carried. Her hair was pulled back, but strands were trembling at her temples. She didn’t speak. She just stared.
And then—Natasha shifted.
She hissed, yanking the bedsheet off the bed and wrapping it around herself with a smug little tug. "And what are the ruins of the litter doing here?" she purred.
Hazel didn’t blink. Didn’t flinch.
Didn’t even look at Natasha.
She stepped in, slow and deliberate. Then her eyes turned to —cutting through , through the ss of tangled sheets and my bare chest still heaving from what just happened.
"I want to see the Alpha," she said quietly.
Her tone was flat, but I could see it—her fists clenched tightly by her sides, just like she had done the day before. Her heart was hamring. I could hear it. Her scent was drenched in pain.
And guilt stabbed straight through like a blade.
Natasha turned to with narrowed eyes. "Cayden," she spat, "she says she wants to see you. Please dispose of her."
Ragnar growled. If you send her away again, I swear I will tear you apart from the inside. Let her speak. Let her SPEAK.
I clenched my jaw.
At least let hear her out.
I took Natasha’s hand, cold, too perfect, and gave her a subtle nod to move. She didn’t budge. So I turned to Hazel. "Speak," I said.
Hazel’s voice didn’t crack. "Not in front of her. I want to speak to you. Alone."
Natasha scoffed, stepping forward with that high-and-mighty smirk. "Privately?" she mocked. "Whatever you have to say, say it here. He rejected you, rember? You have no claim on him."
Hazel’s lips curled into sothing almost like a smile. But it was bitter. Fractured. "I’m not sure I ever had a claim," she replied. "I just want to speak. Privately."
That last word landed like thunder.
I turned to Natasha. Please, I thought. Let her say it. Just this once.
She looked ready to snap. Her lips parted, and I could already hear the venom rising—so I did it.
I hit her with my Alpha gift. Just a whisper of power, but it pinned her in place like a knife. Her mouth snapped shut. She knew what that ant.
She stood slowly. But as she passed Hazel, she made sure to bump her shoulder—intentionally, arrogantly.
Hazel didn’t even blink. Didn’t twitch. Didn’t look at her.
She only stared at . And as Natasha left a smirk curved on her lips as she fixed her posture. Head high and released the hem of her gown as if she wasn’t broken fee seconds again.
Feisty girl
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