Chapter 7: Rejected Mate
Blood dripped from Aria's hands as she dragged Callan's limp body through the forest. The thing that looked like Elira had disappeared when the first rays of dawn broke through the trees, but not before its claws had torn into Callan's chest.
"Stay with me," Aria begged, her arms burning with the effort. "Please, Callan."
His eyelids moved. "Leave me," he mumbled. "Not safe."
"I'm not leaving you," Aria said strongly. The power from Nessa's potion still hummed in her veins, giving her strength she didn't know she had.
The edges of the banned forest finally came into view. Just beyond, she could see the pack grounds. People were gathering in the main clearing, possibly wondering where their Alpha had disappeared to on the night of the blood ceremony.
Aria paused at the tree line. She hadn't been welcome before. Now, carrying their hurt Alpha, covered in his blood—would they blame her?
But Callan needed help. Taking a deep breath, Aria stepped out of the forest.
"Help!" she called. "The Alpha is hurt!"
Heads turned. Gasps and screams filled the air. Within seconds, they were surrounded by pack members. Hands pulled Callan from her grip, carrying him toward the pack house.
Beta Selene pushed through the crowd, her eyes cold as she stared at Aria. "What did you do to him?"
"I didn't—" Aria started, but a powerful voice cut her off.
"Seize her!"
Alpha Malrik stood on the steps of the pack house, his silver hair gleaming in the morning light. His finger pointed straight at Aria. "Lock her up! She tried to kill my son!"
Strong hands grabbed Aria's arms. She didn't fight back as they dragged her toward a small stone house near the edge of the grounds. The pack jail.
"I was saving him!" she cried out, but no one listened.
They threw her into a cold cell and locked the door. Aria sank to the floor, tiredness washing over her. The power from the potion was fading, leaving her weak and shaky.
Hours passed. No one came to check on her. Through the small window high in the wall, Aria watched the sun cross the sky.
Just as darkness began to fall, the cell door swung open. Aria scrambled to her feet, hope rising in her chest. But it wasn't a friendly face that greeted her.
Alpha Malrik stood in the doorway, his face grim. "Come. My son wants to address the pack."
Two guards grabbed Aria's arms and marched her out of the jail. The entire pack had gathered in the main clearing. At the center stood a large stone platform—the Alpha's perch, where important statements were made.
Callan stood on the stage, his chest wrapped in bandages. His face was pale but his eyes burned with ferocity. When he saw Aria, something flashed across his face—pain? Regret? It was gone too quickly for her to tell.
The guards pushed Aria forward until she stood at the base of the stage, facing Callan.
Alpha Malrik took his place beside his son. "Begin," he said softly.
Callan raised his voice, addressing the entire pack. "Last night, I was attacked in the banned forest. I would have died if not for..."
He paused, looking down at Aria. The crowd held its breath.
"If not for Aria," he finished.
Murmurs spread through the crowd. Alpha Malrik's mouth tightened into a thin line.
"For this, I owe her my gratitude," Callan continued. "But I have also come to a decision that affects the future of our pack."
He stepped closer to the edge of the stage, looking directly at Aria now.
"Aria is my true mate."
The words fell like stones into water, sending waves of shock through the crowd. Aria's heart leaped in her chest. After everything they'd been through in the forest, was he finally accepting the bond?
"But I reject the mate bond," Callan announced, his voice echoing across the suddenly silent clearing.
The hope that had bloomed in Aria's chest withered and died. She felt like she'd been slapped.
"The prophecy is clear," Callan went on. "A marked Luna will bring destruction to the packs. I cannot allow that, even if it means ignoring the call of my wolf."
Aria felt the eyes of every pack member on her. Some looked curious, others afraid, a few even sympathetic. But most showed only satisfaction that their Alpha had rejected her.
"As is her right, Aria may remain in the pack as an omega," Callan said. "She will be given basic protection and shelter, but she is not to be treated as Luna."
Alpha Malrik stepped forward, a pleased smile on his face. "My son has made a difficult but wise choice. The pack comes before personal wants. Always."
The crowd nodded in agreement. Aria stood frozen, the rejection cutting deeper than any physical pain ever could.
"Take her to the omega quarters," Callan ordered the guards, not meeting Aria's eyes anymore.
The guards led her away from the platform. As they passed through the crowd, Aria caught sight of a familiar face—Elira, looking normal again, her green eyes no longer glowing with that evil light. She smiled at Aria, but there was no love in it.
"Looks like he chose the pack over you," Elira whispered as Aria passed. "Just like everyone always will."
The omega rooms turned out to be a small, run-down cabin at the far edge of the pack grounds. The guards left Aria there without a word, slamming the door firmly behind them.
Alone, Aria finally let the tears come. She sank onto the dirty bed and sobbed until her throat hurt and her eyes burned.
When night fell, she curled up on the bed, too tired to even pull a blanket over herself. Sleep wouldn't come. Her mind kept repeating Callan's words: "I reject the mate bond."
How could he say that after what they'd shared in the forest? After he'd admitted his wolf wanted her? After she'd saved his life?
A soft tapping sound made Aria lift her head. At first, she thought it was rain on the roof. But the sound came again, more urgent this time. It was coming from the window.
Aria got up and walked to the small, dirty window. Outside, the forest looked dark and mysterious. The tapping came again. A small branch from the nearest tree was hitting the glass, even though there was no wind.
As Aria watched, the branch moved carefully, scratching against the window in a pattern. It took her a moment to realize the branch was writing something in the dirt that had collected on the outside of the glass.
"Come back," it spelled out.
Aria's breath caught in her throat. The forest was calling to her again.
She stepped back from the window, her heart racing. After everything that had happened, was it safe to answer that call?
The branch tapped again, more quickly. Aria paused, then moved closer to the window.
"Help him," the branch wrote now.
"Help who?" Aria whispered.
The branch continued its eerie writing: "Callan dies at midnight."
Aria's blood turned to ice. "What do you mean? How?"
The branch scratched one more word into the dirt: "Poison."
As soon as Aria read the word, the branch went still. In the distance, a wolf howled—a normal wolf howl, not the twisted sound that had come from Elira in the forest.
Aria pressed her hands against the window glass. Callan had refused her, humiliated her in front of the entire pack. He'd chosen the promise over their bond.
But he was still her mate.
If someone had poisoned him, he would die unless she helped. But leaving the omega rooms at night, going against the Alpha's orders—that could get her killed.
The mark on her wrist started to glow softly in the darkness. The forest knew something she didn't. It was warning her, offering her a chance to save Callan despite his refusal.
Aria looked toward the door of the tiny house, then back at the window. She had to make a choice. Stay and let her mate die, or risk everything to save the guy who had just broken her heart.
The clock on the wall showed 11:15 PM. Less than an hour until midnight.
Time was running out.