Chapter 4 Chapter Four

####Sincerely

Time stopped.

Or perhaps it was only my heart that had forgotten how to beat.

Alpha Roland stared at me. I stared back. Everything else, the lanterns, the roses, the hundreds of wolves faded into a distant blur.

My wolf purred happily inside me, filling every cracked corner of my body with a warmth I had never known. We found him.

A trembling smile touched my lips. After twenty-one years of loneliness, after every cruel word, every empty birthday, every night I begged the Moon Goddess not to forget me… she hadn’t. Now everyone who mocked me would bow before me as their Luna.

I took another hesitant step toward him, tears burning my eyes.

“Alpha…” I whispered.

“No.”

The word slipped from him so quietly I almost convinced myself I had imagined it.

One of the elders leaned closer. “Alpha Roland?”

He didn’t answer. His gaze dragged slowly over me, from my tangled curls to the faded purple dress that clung to every curve I had spent years trying to hide. His jaw tightened with visible disgust.

“No.”

This time everyone heard him.

The murmurs died. Hundreds of eyes turned toward us.

He took one deliberate step backward away from me.

It felt like a knife twisting deep into my chest. My smile shattered.

The Head Elder frowned. “Alpha…”

Roland dragged a hand through his dark hair and let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “This isn’t possible.”

“The Moon Goddess does not make mistakes,” the elder said solemnly.

Roland’s eyes snapped to him. “Doesn’t she?”

A ripple of unease spread through the crowd. Bianca pushed forward until she stood close enough to drink in every word.

“So…” she whispered, eyes bright. “The Alpha found his mate?”

Her friends exchanged excited glances. “Who is she?”

They followed Roland’s gaze and when their eyes landed on me, their face drained of color. “Oh…”

That single syllable was all it took.

One by one, the crowd turned. Recognition spread like poison.

“The fat girl?”

“She’s his mate?”

“The Alpha?”

Someone laughed. Then another. Soon the entire pavilion buzzed with cruel disbelief.

Roland closed his eyes for a brief second. When he opened them again, there was nothing soft left in them. Only disgust.

“You,” he said, voice cold. “You expect me to believe this?”

He swept an arm toward me. “The Moon Goddess sure has a cruel sense of humor.”

The Head Elder stepped forward. “Alpha Roland, she is your fated mate.”

“I have eyes.” Roland’s voice rose. “You expect me to make her my Luna? Look at her.”

My cheeks burned with shame so deep I wanted the marble floor to swallow me whole.

“You expect this pack to bow before… that?”

Tears blurred my vision. “I never asked for this,” I whispered.

For one fleeting second, something almost like hesitation crossed his face. Then it hardened into stone.

“Neither did I.”

He turned to address the entire gathering, voice carrying like thunder. “I’ve spent years protecting this pack. Sacrificing for these people. And now I’m expected to spend the rest of my life with a woman who is thrice my size?”

Laughter rippled through the crowd—sharp, mocking, unstoppable. Each sound carved another wound into me.

“I…” My voice broke completely.

Roland looked straight into my tear-filled eyes. “I, Alpha Roland Ashbourne, reject you, Sincerely Ashford, as my fated mate. This union is not happening.”

The bond snapped immediately.

Pain exploded through my chest like fire. A scream tore from my throat as I crumpled to the cold marble floor, coughing up blood. It felt as though someone had reached inside me and ripped my soul in half.

My wolf howled in agony, a grief so raw it threatened to drown me.

Through the haze of pain and tears, I accepted the rejection.

Relief spread through the crowd.

“Thank the Moon Goddess!”

“Our Alpha deserves better.”

“I almost felt sorry for him.”

Bianca crouched beside me, her glittering silver gown pooling around her like moonlight. She brushed a strand of hair from my face with shocking gentleness.

“Oh, Sincerely…”

For one foolish heartbeat, I thought I saw real sympathy in her eyes.

Then she leaned closer, voice dropping to a venomous whisper only I could hear. “You really thought our Alpha would pair with a worthless nobody like you just because the goddess said so?”

The fake warmth vanished. Her familiar smug smile returned.

“You actually made things easier for me. Watch me rise where you fall.”

She stood gracefully and turned toward Roland, cheeks flushed with perfect embarrassment. “I’m truly sorry for my sister’s behavior, Alpha. She has always dreamed of becoming Luna. I suppose there was some confusion with the mate bond. Please don’t hold it against her.”

The crowd murmured approval at how compassionate she was.

Bianca lowered herself into a deep, respectful curtsy, head bowed. “I’ll take her home. She just needs time to accept reality.”

Roland’s gaze lingered on her. The ice in his expression thawed slightly.

The Head Elder cleared his throat. “According to pack law, an Alpha who refuses the mate bond must still name a Luna tonight.”

Roland’s bitter laugh echoed across the pavilion. “Good.”

He descended the platform and began walking slowly through the unmated women. Hopeful faces lit up around him.

Bianca straightened, smoothing her gown and lifting her chin.

He stopped directly in front of her.

Her breath caught.

“If I must choose a Luna…” Roland extended his hand. “I choose you.”