Mated to a Visual impaired Alpha
like war drums, echoing from
orn-or broken. Fire pits crackled on either side, casting gold and amber light that danced across the crowd. Every member o
anted m
Rhett!
ike it wanted out, but I stood still. I had trained for this moment since I could walk. I had trained harder than anyone. I had
strongest young Alpha ou
r silver gown shimmered like water under moonlight, each movement a ripple of grace. Her long, silver h
. My promised.
s the beginnin
like the groan of the earth itself. A slow drumbeat followed, steady and strong, echoing like a heartbeat across the va
above, full
en-it
wed. No
xplo
around me like a shroud of stars, warm and blinding. I gasped as it pressed against my skin, sank deep into my
gh the crowd. Even
ce-Lyra's-soft, shar
as when th
d on it. My legs locked. The world tilted beneath me. I staggered, the platfo
ing-everythi
Not shado
again. Like someone had taken the stars and crushed the
lin
n
ic
l no
lor. Just black. E
sounded small. Fragile. Like i
too fast, too uneven, like it couldn't remember how to breathe. Panic clawed up my throat like a living thing. I pr
l no
The words came out hoarse. H
Silence dropped heavy over us, pressing against my skin like wet cloth. I heard someone whisper a prayer-quiet and
d had no direction anymore. No shape. No edges to hold onto. Just sound and stilln
ed sharper now-no longer warm, no longer kind. There w
shook my head, the motion desperate, because it was all I could do. "
tched on, long and taut, like a rope pulled too tight-wait
ng through the stillness, colder n
lump in my throat was thick a
back. It wasn't loud, but it was unmistakable. Her presence, once so solid, pulled away from me, leaving nothin
for her voice, for the warmth that had once wrapped me in comfort-but she didn't
ttle. "You were supposed to rise tonight. You were
e words spilling out, wild and unrestr
n the way the space between us grew sharper, more defined. Her scent, once sweet like wild orchids, had change
on his own?" she hissed, the words sharp like a blade. "Wh
-they cut deep, carving int
lin
e didn
el, final. The words landed with the weight of a death s
in different orbits, pulled apart by an unseen force. Her betrayal-no, her rej
lt it in my bones, in the hollow space she left behind. Each step
n she s
gagement
sps. No questions. They just
me like I was already gone
rpness in my chest. Blood dripped from my torn palms, staining the ground beneath me, but I didn't even know when it had started. I didn't care. T
ry. I didn
, breathing thro
. Ragge
en, th
whis
e cur
gods re
s lying the
is is pun
t. They didn't care if I heard them. They didn't care if it cut deeper. In fact, they wanted me to hear it. Wanted me
t. I wouldn't let their whispers take
Slow.
but I pushed through it, through the pain, through the exh
in
stan
m the pack. Away from the dream they had all cheered for until i
I w
ross the ground, each step heavier than t
where the path
dn't
s bl
on
s still
had to