Chapter 4 Shattered Bonds

Elara's POV

I couldn’t move. My feet felt nailed to the ground in front of the altar while the entire pack stared at me. The silence after Thorne’s announcement lasted only a few seconds before the whispers started. Then the laughter. Soft at first, then louder.

“Did you see her face?” someone said behind me.

“Poor thing actually thought she could be our Luna.”

I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole. Tears burned hot down my cheeks, but I couldn’t wipe them away. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Thorne stood beside Selene now, his arm around her waist like it belonged there. She looked radiant in that red dress, one hand resting on her stomach as if to remind everyone what she carried inside her. My twin. My own sister.

“Elara,” my mother’s voice hissed near my ear. She grabbed my arm tightly and pulled me away from the altar. “Stop making a scene. You’re embarrassing all of us.”

“Mother…” My voice broke. “He rejected me. In front of everyone. He chose her.”

Father stood a few steps away, his face pale and tight. He wouldn’t even look at me. “This is what happens when you’re too weak,” he said quietly. “You should have prepared better. Selene has always been the stronger one.”

Their words cut deeper than Thorne’s rejection. These were the people who were supposed to protect me. My own parents.

The pack elders murmured among themselves. A few younger wolves openly laughed. One of them, a beta girl who had always hated me, called out, “Better luck next lifetime, barren girl!”

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold what was left of my dignity. The white bonding dress that had made me feel beautiful earlier now felt like a cruel joke. A costume for a role I was never meant to play.

Selene walked over slowly, still smiling that sweet, poisonous smile. Thorne stayed back, watching us with a strange look on his face. Almost like guilt. But he didn’t speak.

“Come with me for a moment, sister,” Selene said softly, taking my elbow and leading me behind the altar where the trees gave us some privacy. The moment we were out of direct sight, her expression changed.

She leaned in close. “You really thought he would choose you? Months, Elara. I’ve been fucking him for months while you waited like a pathetic little puppy for your bonding day.”

I stared at her, feeling like someone had punched me in the stomach. “What?”

“Oh, don’t look so shocked,” she laughed quietly. “He came to me almost every night. He needed a real woman, not someone who can barely shift without crying. I’m carrying his heir, and he loves it. He loves how strong I am. How wet I get for him. How I can take his knot without breaking.”

“Stop,” I whispered, covering my ears. “Please stop.”

But she didn’t. “He told me how disappointed he was when the Goddess marked you. He only went along with the ceremony because of tradition. But tonight he finally listened to what his wolf really wanted. Me.”

I felt sick. The images flooded my mind unwanted. Thorne and Selene together. The secret touches. The lies. All while I had been dreaming about our future.

“Why?” I asked, my voice barely audible. “We’re sisters.”

Selene shrugged. “Because I deserve to be Luna. Not you. You’ve always been in my shadow. Now it’s my turn to shine.” She touched my cheek almost gently. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Thorne. And the pack.”

Before I could say anything else, Thorne appeared behind her. His face looked conflicted. For a second, I saw the man I thought I knew. The one who had smiled at me during walks in the forest.

“Elara…” he started, his voice low. “I didn’t want it to happen like this. You have to understand. The pack needs strength. I need strength. You’re… you’re just not built for this life.”

I looked at him through my tears. “You marked her already, didn’t you? While I was preparing my dress and dreaming about us.”

He didn’t deny it. He just looked away. “I’m sorry. But this is for the best.”

“Sorry?” My voice rose. “You destroyed me in front of everyone and you’re sorry?”

Thorne’s jaw tightened. The brief guilt I saw vanished. “You’re banished from Moonshadow territory. Leave tonight. Don’t come back. If you do, we’ll treat you as a rogue.”

My mother and father stood nearby but said nothing to defend me. No one did.

I took one last look at all of them. My family. My mate. My pack. Then I turned and ran.

I didn’t stop running until the sacred clearing was far behind me. The forest grew darker and thicker as I entered the neutral zone between packs. Branches scratched my arms and tore at my beautiful white dress. I didn’t care. I just kept moving, sobbing so hard my chest hurt.

How could everything fall apart so fast? This morning I had been nervous but hopeful. Tonight I was nothing. Less than nothing.

My legs burned but I pushed forward. The night air grew colder. Strange sounds echoed between the trees. Growls. Twigs snapping. I wasn’t alone.

I slowed down, trying to listen. That’s when I heard them. Heavy footsteps. Multiple sets. Rogues.

“Fresh meat,” one of them growled from the shadows. “And she smells like a rejected little omega. Easy prey.”

I started running again, but my body was exhausted from crying and shock. They were faster. Stronger. Three of them emerged from the trees, eyes glowing with hunger. Their clothes were ragged, bodies scarred from fights. Real monsters.

“Please,” I begged, backing up against a thick tree. “Just let me go.”

One of them laughed. “No chance, sweetheart. You’re trespassing. And you look tasty.”

He lunged at me. I screamed and tried to dodge, but another grabbed my arm and threw me to the ground. Pain exploded in my shoulder as I hit the dirt. They circled me, laughing and taunting.

That’s when the pendant around my neck started burning. Hotter and hotter against my skin. The heat spread through my chest, into my blood, like fire waking up something ancient inside me.

My vision blurred. For a moment the crushing despair mixed with something else. Something powerful. Angry. It felt like my wolf was screaming to be let out, but bigger than my wolf. Much bigger.

One rogue grabbed my hair and yanked my head back. “Time to play.”

The pendant burned even hotter.

Then a voice, ancient and female, whispered directly into my mind.

“Awaken, Fenrir’s daughter.”