Chapter 2 Shattered bonds

Anastasia's POV

"I, Alpha Victor Blackwood, reject you, Anastasia Elliot, as my mate."

His voice was cold, emotionless and yet, it shattered me.

Pain lanced through my chest, sharp and unbearable. My knees buckled, but I forced myself to stay standing.

"No... Victor, you can't do this to me!" I cried, stumbling toward him, needing to touch him, to understand. But he yanked himself away with so much force, I flew back and crashed hard onto the ground. Gasps erupted from the crowd.

"I don't want a weakling for a Luna," he spat. "And I sure as hell don't want you as my mate."

My heart squeezed, but I pushed myself up slowly. I clenched my fists, trying to steady my voice even as it shook with grief and fury.

"Well, I don't accept your rejection," I said, meeting his eyes. "I won't."

The whispers around me grew louder. Some were full of pity. Others? Contempt. Like I was something dirty. A disgrace.

These were the same people who once sang my praises. Who smiled at me. Now their eyes burned with disgust.

Victor sneered. "It's not up to you whether you accept it or not. I already have." Then, without warning, he turned and stepped aside.

A beautiful woman emerged from the crowd stunning, with a smug smile painted on her face. She wrapped her arm around Victor like she already owned him.

"This is Alicia Blossom, your future Luna," he declared. "She is my chosen mate, with the Moon Goddess as my witness."

The pain in my chest twisted like a blade. I couldn't breathe. I clawed at my chest, gasping as something inside me shifted changed. My aura surged without warning, rising like a storm. Even I could feel the weight of it.

I glanced around and saw confusion in the eyes of the pack. They felt it too.

"You've made a grave mistake, Victor," I said through gritted teeth. "I just hope you won't regret it."

The pain overwhelmed me. I couldn't stay. My legs felt heavy, but I forced myself to move, pushing through the crowd. My heart thudded painfully with each step.

Laughter followed me.

"She really thought the Alpha would choose her," one woman snickered. "Pathetic."

Someone shoved me, and I stumbled. Another woman spat near my feet. "Omega trash. What did you expect? That he'd take one look at you and fall at your feet?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't. My throat burned from holding back tears.

"You dressed up like some desperate seductress thinking he'd want you," another one sneered, grabbing my dress and ripping it. The fabric tore like paper, and suddenly I was standing in rags, exposed and humiliated.

A roar of mocking laughter exploded around me.

I caught sight of a group of men heading my way. Their eyes gleamed not with concern, but with hunger.

"She's all alone now, boys," one of them called. "How about a taste of this little reject?"

"Stay away from me!" I screamed.

Something inside me snapped. Power exploded through my veins, wild and unfamiliar. My skin burned, and my head throbbed. The pain from the rejection was unbearable and yet, something else was rising, something I didn't understand.

One of the men reached for me and then, out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning cracked from the sky, striking the ground right in front of him.

The crowd gasped.

Dark clouds swirled above us, and rain began to pour, hard and violent. A storm was brewing, and I was the eye of it.

Then I saw her Alicia. Her hand rose slowly into the air, and just like that, the storm calmed. The skies cleared as if nothing had happened.

She looked at me with something dark in her eyes. Hatred.

I turned and ran. Into the woods. Away from the whispers and eyes and pain. My body felt like it was on fire, like it wasn't even mine anymore. My wolf growled inside me, restless and angry. My chest heaved, heavy with the weight of betrayal.

Then I screamed.

A scream so loud and piercing it ripped through the forest. Trees bent and wind howled around me. Power I didn't recognize surged outward like a tidal wave.

I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a puddle my eyes were no longer mine. They glowed ocean-blue.

Then everything went black.

Alicia's POV

She's been hiding right under my nose this whole time.

Now that Victor's mine, I need to play this carefully. If I make a move on her now, it'll raise questions. Suspicion. But I won't wait long. She cannot be allowed to awaken her full power.

"Babe, I'm tired. Can we go back to the packhouse?" I purred, clinging to Victor's arm.

Like the fool he is, he swept me up and rushed us home in his wolf form.

Once inside, I closed my eyes and began to meditate.

In an instant, I was submerged in water, standing before her, my mother.

"Mother," I bowed low.

"The Great Tritand glowed deep blue tonight," she said, voice heavy with warning. "Every mermaid felt it. They know their princess lives. They'll rise if she survives."

Her eyes narrowed. "Did you find her?"

"She's just a girl, weak and inexperienced," I said. "But she's started to awaken. I'll send the shadows after her before she understands what she truly is."

Mother stood, her presence fierce and regal.

"She must die tonight. If you fail... I'll send Agatha. And name her my new heir."

I clenched my jaw. "I won't fail you, Queen of the Seven Seas."

The vision faded. My eyes opened.

I walked into the bathroom, slipped into the tub, and let the water take me.

My legs vanished replaced by shimmering purple scales.

"Shadows, far and near, come to me," I whispered. "Find her. The last blood of the ocean. And destroy her."

The water around me darkened. Shadows slithered from the depths and rose before me, awaiting their orders.

Using this power would drain me but I didn't care. I would use everything I had to kill her.

Because if she lives... everything I've built crumbles.