Chapter 2

“Don’t go,” he said, voice hoarse, cracking. “Please… just listen to me.”

She blinked at him, confused. His words sounded strange in the air, like a foreign language. Pleading, gentle, almost desperate.

“Just… come back with me,” he said. “I’ll fix it. I swear. Things will change. I..... I didn’t know it would go this far. Please. I know I was a monster. I’ll change. I promise I’ll protect you. You can’t survive out there alone, Anaya. You don’t have a wolf.”

She stared at him like he was mad. Once, she had begged the Moon Goddess to hear those words. She would’ve cried in joy, believing him, forgiving him.

But that girl died the day he mated with other she-wolves.

 “You should’ve said those words months ago,” she whispered, voice flat. “Back when I still believed you were capable of love.”

His jaw tensed. “I didn’t know how to....”

“Stop”, her voice cut him off like a blade to the throat. “I don’t want your apologies. I don’t want your mercy. Accept my rejection, Venu. I’ll stay for that or nothing else.”

He stiffened. The words hit like a punch to the gut. He took a step forward. He is not afraid of rejecting her but he is afraid of the aftermath.

She has to be here. Alpha Arjun would kill me, he thought.

He didn’t love her, and he certainly wished he hadn't obeyed Arjun’s command to torture and humiliate her these past months. He hated the things he had done, but he had no choice. Arjun specifically instructed him not to reject her but to go on with his playboy spirit.

 A lycan mating with anyone other than their fated mate after finding them will put the mate into agony of pain. Also, Venu’s wolf was against him in this from the very beginning. He is giving him hell. Even now, his wolf wants to claim Anaya and protect her with all his might. But Venu was not ready to accept a wolfless mate.

Also, Arjun’s grip was absolute; disobeying him meant the death of not just him, but his entire family. He couldn't tell Anaya any of this, but he had to make her stay, or he would be executed. Arjun has said everything will end today, as Venu is not aware of his plan, he is sure it will not end well for Anaya. He felt sorry for her. But if he let her go now, no one will be there to help him. He can’t let her go.

“Wait. We can figure something out......”

“ACCEPT IT.”

Her tone left no room for negotiation. No space for manipulation. Something in her gaze told him she was beyond reach now. She had detached from him in every way that mattered. With a shaking sigh, he finally gave in, clinging to the slim hope that the bond-break would keep her in place. He nodded miserably. “Alright, I agree. Just… stay.”

Anaya drew a deep, cleansing breath. She had won the ultimate freedom.

“I, Anaya from Red Moon Pack, reject you, Venu, as my true mate. Now accept it."

The effect was instantaneous and devastating. The bond that had linked them snapped like a tortured wire. Venu gasped, a choked, guttural sound, and collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest as a wave of immense, visceral agony washed over him. “I, Venu, accept your rejection," he said while gritting his teeth.

The moment he accepted her rejection, they both felt the disappearance of their bond. Once again, pain washed over him. His wolf howled in pain and went into silence. He looked up at Anaya standing tall without a single strand of pain.

Anaya felt nothing. Anaya stood tall, calm, and cold.

No tremble.

No tears.

No pain.

They had already burned all the emotion out of her. She took a deep breath, lifted her chin, and said the words that would sever her final tie.

 “I, Anaya, reject the Red Moon Pack as my home, and claim myself as a rogue.”

Venu lifted his head, tears of physical pain streaming from his eyes, now wide with a shock that transcended his own suffering. Breaking the mate bond was one thing; breaking the pack bond was an act of final, unforgivable betrayal.

Anaya understood his horror. She offered him a small, chilling smile, the first true smile she'd worn in months, though it held no warmth. “Yes, Venu. I betrayed you. Just like you betrayed me. We are even now."

She turned and ran.

Finally stepping over the boundary, she charged down the winding path that led away from the foothills and toward the distant, unseen city. Behind her, Venu fought through the crushing pain, managing to mind-link the pack warriors. "Find Anaya, bring her back!" he ordered, before the sheer force of the rejection.

But Anaya was already gone. She reached the edge of the forest where trees thinned into wild fields and a cracked road. Her body swayed. Her vision blurred. She stumbled into the middle of the road, knees buckling, heart slowing.

Her body couldn’t take more. She collapsed, facing towards the sky. Darkness swirled in. Tires screeched. Someone was running toward her. In her last moment of fading awareness, her lips moved in a silent prayer. “Please… don’t let it be them”. Then the world went dark.

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