Chapter 3 No hesitation
Theodore’s POV
For a moment… I thought I’d misheard her.The words didn’t fit Nyra. At least not the girl I knew.
She was the kind of girl who used to glare at the world and fuck it, head on—an absolute shrew.
Something felt off about this sudden surrender. It felt too easy even though I was the one imposing this devastation on her.
My chest tightened.An unfamiliar unease crept in.My gaze locked onto her, searching—maybe demanding—some explanation, or hatred. But what I found instead…was calm.Cold, detached calm.
And that unsettled me more than anything she had said or done in the recent past
“You’re wrong.” The voice hit me so suddenly, I nearly staggered.It was my wolf.He had been silent ever since that night… For two whole years.
“…What?” I muttered under my breath, my fingers curling instinctively.Honestly, I was mad at him too. He abandoned me on my wedding night, he abandoned me on my coronation day, he was nowhere when I needed him…even on the most crucial territorial decision making days.
“You’re making the same mistake again,” he growled.His presence in my mind was faint but unmistakable. “Don’t let her go like this.”
A flicker of irritation sparked through me. “Now you decide to speak?” I thought back bitterly. “Where were you when it actually mattered?”
“I fought,” he snapped. “You decided to ignore me.”
My jaw tightened. Ignored him?No! I made a choice.A necessary one.Didn’t I?
My eyes drifted back to Nyra.
She stood there, chained, bruised, half-starved… yet somehow still looking like she was the one in control.
Just like—two years ago.
—
I found her near the training grounds that day.Nyra had never been one to hide and sulk. She would rather take out her frustration on a poor sand bag.
She stood in the open field, sleeves rolled up, hands wrapped in worn cloth, striking a wooden post again and again…almost like she was trying to break it… or herself.
Her knuckles were already bleeding.I knew she heard my footsteps if not sniffed my scent.
But she didn’t stop.
“Nyra.”
She didn’t turn. “Go away, Theodore,” she said flatly, landing another strike.
I frowned, stepping closer. “We need to talk.”
“That sounds serious.” Another hit. “Should I be scared?”
There was something off about her tone.Too…calm.Too controlled.It irritated me.
“I’m not joking.”
“Neither am I.” Finally, she stopped.Slowly, she turned.And for a second—just a second—I forgot what I came there to do.
She looked the same.And at the same time not at all.The same girl I remembered who used to look at me like I was her entire world.
This Nyra?She looked at me like I was just… there.Insignificant.
Something in my chest twisted.I pushed it down.“I found out,I mean,I decided something…” I said, my voice more clipped than I intended. “...about our bond…and the problems it might incur…”
Her expression didn’t change.“I know,” she replied.
That threw me off.“You… know?”
She nodded once, unbothered.Silence stretched between us.This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
She was supposed to react.Ask questions. Get emotional. Demand answers.Instead—She just stood there.As if waiting.
Impatience flickered through me. “Nyra, this changes things.”
“Does it?” Her gaze held mine, steady, unreadable.
My wolf stirred violently.“She’s our mate.Don't do this!”
I clenched my jaw. “You don’t understand the situation.”
Her calm, that… distance.Something about it felt like a challenge.
“I’m the Alpha heir and you know the situation of my pack,” I proclaimed rather too loud. “My marriage isn’t just about me. It’s about alliances. Power. Stability.”
“And?”
“And—” I exhaled, forcing the words out. “You don’t even have a wolf.”
The moment the words left my mouth, something inside me recoiled.But I didn’t take them back.
Her gaze flickered for the first time.Like I’d confirmed something she already knew.
“You didn't seem to have a problem with my wolflessness till father was alive!?Right! You were engaged to my father's name, not this female orphan,” she said quietly.
That was definitely not the reaction I expected. “I’m serious, Nyra,” I pressed. “This bond, this engagement—this… thing between us—it complicates everything.”
“And what do you want to do about it?” she asked.Straight to the point.No hesitation.No emotion.
It irritated me more than if she’d screamed.
“I—,” The words got stuck.For a split second, doubt crept in.Then I forced myself to think about everything at stake—my position,my future,the power I’d worked for.
I hardened my expression.“I’m going to reject—”
“I,Nyra Hawkstone,reject you Alpha-heir Theodore MoonClaw.”
The words hit like a blade straight through my chest.My wolf roared in my head. “Noooo!”
Silence devoured my senses.I stared at her. “…What?”
Her expression didn’t waver. “I said, I reject you, Theodore.Now, you are a free man.”
Pain exploded through me, as I staggered forward. “That’s not—” I stepped forward, fury rising. “That’s not how this works.”
She tilted her head slightly. “Isn’t it?”
“You don’t get to—” My voice cracked with something dangerously close to panic. “You don’t get to decide this...”
“And you do?” she shot back, finally a flicker of something igniting in her eyes.There it was.Fire! But it wasn’t for me.
It was against me.
“I was going to explain—” I ground out.
“And I saved you the trouble,” she cut in smoothly.
My hands clenched at my sides.“This isn’t a game, Nyra.”
“I know.” Her voice softened—just a little. “That’s why I’m ending it.”
The bond snapped.It tore agonizingly.Too violent even for an Alpha heir like me.
My wolf howled, thrashing, fighting—yet failing miserably.I staggered back,almost losing my balance,breath uneven, chest hollow in a way I couldn’t explain.
“You…” I stared at her, disbelief morphing into something darker. “You think you can just walk away?”
She held my gaze.So steady.Absolutely unshaken. “Can't I, Theodore?Watch me.”
She turned.Just like that.No hesitation.No looking back.No sign of any physical or emotional pain…as if our relationship and its sweetness or agony…none of it had ever mattered.
Something inside me flipped that day… flipped and cracked hard.Not just the bond.I felt something uglier.In that moment, it didn’t feel like I had lost a mate.
I felt like I had been dismissed.
Like I had never been enough to begin with.
—
“Take her away.” My own voice pulled me back to the present.
Nyra didn’t react.Just like that day.The same look in her eyes.The same indifference.And just like before—It burned.
“You’ll regret this,” I told her, my tone was clearly edged.
Her lips curved faintly.“Maybe,” she said. “But at least it’ll be the regret I chose!”
My chest tightened again.I ignored it.
“Prepare her,” I ordered, turning away. “She leaves tomorrow morning,after day breaks.”
My wolf stirred weakly. “You’re doing it again…” I shut him out,didn’t look back.Because I already knew,if I did…I might hesitate.
And an Alpha wasn't meant to hesitate after taking a decision.
