Silence.
It stretched across the hall like a noose.
Every eye was on her. Every breath suspended.
Kyran's voice had cut through the ritual like a dagger. Not whispered. Not uncertain. Not confused.
"No."
Everly couldn't move.
Couldn't think.
The air was too loud. The pressure too thick. The bond had snapped into place just moments ago, raw and pure and now, it was tearing.
Selene's howl echoed inside her, muffled, choked.
"Mate," Selene whimpered. "He..he's ours…"
"No," Kyran repeated, louder now. "It's a mistake. That's not my mate. She's a…..she's nothing."
Everly felt her heart crack open.
She couldn't speak.
Couldn't cry.
Her mouth was dry. Her throat, burning. Her feet locked to the polished stone.
Whispers flared through the crowd.
"That girl?"
"Is she even a wolf?"
"She doesn't smell like anything."
"Impossible….he must be wrong."
The seer, still standing at the altar, tilted her head slowly. Though blindfolded, her presence was immense.
"The bond is real," she said simply. "The Moon does not lie."
Kyran flinched.
Kalia stepped forward, sharp and smiling. "Then maybe the Moon made a mistake."
A few nervous chuckles rippled. No one laughed too loud.
Kyran stormed forward, pointing directly at Everly. "I refuse her."
Gasps exploded.
You don't refuse the Moon.
You don't reject fate.
But he had.
And the Moon did not blink.
"I reject this bond," Kyran growled. "I reject her. There's no way someone like that…" his voice shook with disgust "is meant for me."
Everly stood still.
The rejection hit her like a punch to the soul.
It wasn't just words. It was magic. A tearing of something that had only just begun to exist.
Selene cried out from within, wounded.
Everly's body swayed.
Pain erupted in her chest. Her skin prickled. Her blood ran cold and hot all at once. Her heart felt as though it had been clawed open.
And yet, no one moved to help her.
Not the Luna.
Not the seer.
Not even the servants.
She stumbled backward, hitting the curtain behind her.
Kyran turned away.
As if she had already vanished.
And maybe she had.
Maybe the girl who'd survived the cellars, who'd scrubbed blood from floors and hidden her wolf in silence, maybe she couldn't survive this.
Maybe this was the one thing too much.
She turned and ran.
---
The cold night air hit her like a slap.
She didn't know where her legs were taking her. Down the servants' stairs. Through the rear gates. Into the pines.
Branches sliced her arms. Roots tugged at her feet.
Still she ran.
Until the estate lights were gone. Until all that was left was the dark.
Until the weight of it broke her.
She fell to her knees.
Then to her side.
The dirt was damp beneath her. The leaves cold against her cheek.
And she wept.
Not loud.
Not broken.
Silent.
Because she couldn't afford to fall apart.
Because no one would catch her.
---
Inside her mind, Selene trembled.
"I'm sorry," the wolf whispered. "I'm sorry, Everly…"
"I shouldn't have hoped," Everly murmured, her voice small. "I should've known."
They lay there, girl and wolf, beneath the branches, the moon overhead.
And Everly wept.
Her eyes burned. Her breath slowed. The sobs faded to nothing.
And then, finally, Everly gave in.
To the dark.
To the silence.
To sleep that didn't feel like rest.