Chapter 4 Shattered
ELIAS’ POV
Sunlight sliced through the cracked blinds and stabbed straight into my eyes. I woke up alone on the narrow cot with the thin blanket twisted around my bare legs and the room reeking of sweat sex and cedar.
My body ached in places I never knew could ache. Heat flushed my face the second the memories last night crashed back. I pressed both palms to my face hard trying to shove the images away but they stuck like wet tar.
Last night felt good, too good, and that scared me more than anything. I always told myself I liked girls even though I’d only dated a few, I’d kissed them but it didn’t feel special like kissing Kai felt. Maybe I wasn’t as straight as I pretended. The thought made my stomach roll with fresh shame because the guy who unlocked that truth was the same one who spent years making my life hell.
I sat up fast ignoring the twinge between my legs and scanned the empty room. Kai was gone, there was no note, no lingering scent, just cold air and silence. Relief and hurt twisted together until I couldn’t tell which hurt worse. I yanked on yesterday’s clothes wincing at every pull of fabric against bruised skin then slipped out the side door before anyone could spot me sneaking from the alpha’s private crash spot.
The walk home stretched forever as snow crunched under my boots and wind bit my cheeks. Every step replayed his words ‘I’m not rejecting you I’m keeping you’ and stupid hope flickered alive in my chest. Maybe he meant it, maybe the bond changed everything and he actually wanted me despite the hate.
I pushed through the front door expecting the usual barrage of questions or insults but the foyer stayed quiet. Lydia glanced up from her phone, rolled her eyes and went back to scrolling. Father didn’t even lift his head from the newspaper, he just grunted once like my existence was registered as a background noise. No one asked where I spent the night, no one cared.
I climbed the stairs slowly, keeping my face blank, hiding every wince every flush that might give me away. In my room I locked the door, stripped down and stood under the shower until the water ran cold. I scrubbed my skin hard as if I was trying to erase the faint traces of him. When I was done I cleaned up and put on fresh clothes. I grabbed my school bag as I headed downstairs because I was late for school.
On my way out I paused at the top of the stairs as their voices drifted up from the dining room clear and excited.
“…tonight’s the night,” Marcus said with his mouth full of toast. “Kai’s finally announcing his mate in front of the whole pack.”
Lydia laughed light and sharp. “Seraphina must be thrilled. She’s such a perfect match for the future alpha.”
Father hummed in approval. “I’m glad we have Kai. He knows his duty to the pack.”
I gripped the banister as my knuckles whitened. Seraphina Hayes. The name landed like a punch but still hope flared anyway because Kai told me last night that he wouldn’t reject me because I was his.
Maybe the announcement was a lie, it had to be a lie.
The thought kept me moving out the door and toward school with my heart hammering too loud in my ears.
The hallways buzzed louder than usual as clusters of students whispered with their heads together as excitement crackled in the air.
“Did you hear? Kai’s finally picking his mate tonight.”
“I can’t wait to see who she is.”
“Rumors say it’s Seraphina Hayes.”
I kept my head down with my shoulders hunched as I tried to disappear into the crowd. I searched for Kai to answer the many questions in my head but there was no sign of him in the corridor. His absence gnawed at me worse than any shove because I kept waiting for him to appear and pull me aside to explain.
Night fell fast as the moon appeared fat, shining its silver light. The pack house filled quickly with torches blazing along the edges and bonfires roaring. I hung at the back near the tree line with my arms wrapped tight around myself as I blended into the shadows while every other person settled on their chairs and the elders took their places on the raised platform.
Kai appeared last, striding through the crowd in a black coat that made him look even taller, broader, and untouchable. My breath caught as that stupid hope surged again. He climbed the steps as he took the microphone from his father and scanned the sea of faces.
The pack quieted.
“Silverfang,” Kai’s voice rolled out deep and steady. “Tonight I claim the mate chosen for me by blood and alliance. Seraphina Hayes, step forward.”
A tall girl with sleek blonde hair and a confident smile walked up the steps with her head high. Kai took her hand as he lifted it high and the crowd erupted with cheers, whistles, and howls shaking the ground. He pulled her close and kissed her temple then looked straight out over the faces searching until his gaze locked on me.
Cold. Empty. Like I was a stranger.
The world tilted. My knees buckled as I grabbed the nearest tree trunk to stay upright. He lied. Last night he lied. He made me believe that our bond meant something to him and now he’s standing over there with another like I never existed.
I turned and pushed through the people at the back as my legs trembled and my chest tightened. Tears burned but I refused to let them fall, at least not here, not in front of them. I made it to the edge of the clearing almost free when a hand clamped my shoulder and spun me around.
Kai.
He stood there alone now with an open coat and his eyes hard as stone. The cheers still echoed behind us but here in the dim space between trees it felt like we were the only two left alive.
“How could you?” The words tore out of me.
He tilted his head as he gave me a blank expression. “How could I do what?”
“After last night.” My voice shook harder. “You should have just rejected me when I asked. Why lie?”
Kai glanced over his shoulder as if he was checking for watchers, then he stepped closer, his voice dropping low. “Last night was fun, Elias. You enjoyed it didn’t you? Don’t pretend you didn’t.”
The words hit like a slap stripping everything bare and reducing me to a quick fuck, a secret he could discard. Heat flooded my face as shame and rage mixed until I couldn’t breathe.
“Kai…” I whispered.
He straightened his shoulders like he was stepping onto a battlefield.
“I Alpha Kai Blackwood, the future Alpha of the Silverfang pack, reject you Elias Thorne as my mate.”
Pain ripped through me white-hot and blinding like someone tore a live wire straight out of my chest. The bond snapped clean and sudden leaving a gaping hole where warmth used to live. My legs gave out and I dropped to my knees with my hands clawing dirt.
“Ahhh!”
The scream ripped from my throat raw and animal. Tears spilled hot down my cheeks and I couldn’t stop them. I could hear t
he confused murmurs and the voices of the people overlapping.
“What’s happening?”
