Chapter 3 The Break

The air in the woods behind the estate was thick with pine and silence. Not even the birds dared to sing. I'd been summoned after dusk, a folded note slipped under the door of the linen closet where I'd been scrubbing floors on my knees. No signature. Just a place. A time. And the command to come alone.

I knew it was him.

And I went.

Not because I owed Damon Spears anything.

But because some part of me-small, spiteful, aching-needed to look him in the eye.

The clearing he'd chosen was deep enough to be out of sight of the pack's houses, but close enough to feel the weight of Silver Hollow pressing in on all sides. Moonlight broke through the trees in thin ribbons, lighting his silhouette like something carved from shadow.

He didn't turn when I stepped into view.

I didn't speak.

For a moment, we stood there like ghosts. Like strangers.

Then his voice cut the stillness.

"You came."

It wasn't a question. It wasn't warm.

I swallowed. "You summoned me."

Damon turned then, and for a second ,just a second ,his expression betrayed him. He looked tired. Not physically. Not in the way warriors wore exhaustion. This was deeper. Like his soul had been wrung dry.

But then it was gone, tucked behind the cold steel of his Alpha mask.

"I thought it best we speak where no one could listen in."

"Because humiliating me in public wasn't enough?" I said, sharper than I meant to. The bite surprised even me.

His jaw twitched. "That wasn't my intention."

"You rejected me in front of the entire pack."

"No," he said, voice low. "I didn't. Not fully."

I stared at him. "Then why am I here?"

He looked at me then, and it wasn't cold-it was worse.

Detached.

Like I was a problem he needed to solve. A puzzle that didn't fit into the picture he'd planned for his life.

"You need to reject the bond."

I blinked.

For a second, the wind died. Or maybe it was just something inside me that stopped.

"You want me to do it?"

"Yes."

"Because you can't?"

He didn't answer. Which was answer enough.

I laughed once, hollow. "Coward."

Damon's eyes flashed, the faintest glint of gold beneath the blue. "You think I'm enjoying this? You think I haven't torn myself apart since the moment that bond snapped into place?"

"Then why-"

"Because it wasn't supposed to be you!" he snarled.

The forest held its breath.

I flinched like he'd struck me, but he kept going, words tumbling out like poison he couldn't hold back any longer.

"I've trained my whole life to lead Silver Hollow. Every decision I've made, every sacrifice-it was all for this. And then the Goddess ties me to an omega? A servant?"

"I didn't ask for this either"

"No," he said. "But you should've walked away the moment you felt it."

My throat burned. "You don't walk away from the bond. You know that. You feel it. It owns you."

He looked away.

And that hurt more than anything.

"I'm not who they wanted for you," I whispered. "I'm not even who I wanted to be. But I didn't make this choice. Neither did you. So don't stand there pretending like I lured you into it."

His fists clenched at his sides. "Do you think I don't know how they look at you now? How they talk? They'll never accept you. Not as Luna. Not as anything."

I swallowed hard. "Then maybe you should've stood by me instead of letting them tear me apart."

The words hung between us, and for once, Damon didn't have a reply.

The wind picked up, rustling through the trees. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled.

"I'm giving you an out," he said finally. "I'm trying to spare you from what comes next."

"Or you're sparing yourself."

His eyes flicked to mine-sharp, furious. "You think this is easy for me?"

"No. I think it's easy to let someone else carry the burden," I said, stepping closer. "You want me to be the one who breaks it. You want me to be the traitor to the bond so you can stay blameless in the eyes of the Goddess."

"You don't understand what's at stake."

"Then explain it."

But he didn't.

Because he couldn't.

Because the truth wasn't about strategy or politics.

It was fear.

Damon Spears, Alpha heir, ruthless warrior, powerful male... was afraid.

Afraid of what it would mean to be mated to someone like me. Afraid of what the others would say. Afraid to admit he wanted something the pack would never understand.

And I... I was tired of being afraid.

"I won't do it," I said softly.

His eyes darkened. "Ava-"

"You want it broken? Do it yourself. Say the words. Sever the bond. Look me in the eye and reject what the Moon Goddess gave us."

He looked away again.

I almost laughed.

Coward, my wolf whispered.

Then he stepped toward me.

Slow. Measured. Every inch of him coiled, restrained.

He stopped just shy of touching me.

I felt the bond between us hum-torn, frayed, but not dead.

"Don't make me do this," he said. And for the first time, there was a crack in his voice.

I hated that it softened something in me.

I hated that I still felt him.

"Why not?" I asked, almost a whisper. "You've already broken everything else."

He closed his eyes. For one brief moment, he let the wall fall. I saw it then-the war inside him. The ache. The conflict.

"I smell you in every room I walk into," he said, voice hoarse. "I hear you in my dreams. Even now, I can feel your pain like it's my own."

Tears burned behind my eyes. I refused to let them fall.

"But I can't protect you," he went on. "Not from them. Not from the weight of what being mine would mean. They'd destroy you. And I'd let them."

He opened his eyes.

And they were filled with something dangerously close to regret.

"You deserve better than that."

I hated that I believed him.

I hated him for being right.

Slowly, I took his hand.

He flinched but didn't pull away.

And then I said it.

"I, Ava Lennox, reject this bond."

My chest clenched. My wolf screamed.

Damon's breath caught.

But I wasn't done.

"I reject you, Damon Spears, as my mate. And I release you from what the Moon Goddess has tied between us."

The forest went silent.

The bond snapped.

Like a string pulled too tight.

Like a bone breaking under pressure.

I staggered back a step. Cold washed over me.

Damon didn't move.

He looked at me like I'd gutted him.

Maybe I had.

But he'd asked for it.

"I hope you get the Luna you want," I said, voice shaking.

He didn't reply.

I turned.

And this time, he didn't stop me.

I walked away from the clearing, from the man fate had cursed me with.

I didn't cry.

Not until I reached the edge of the trees.

Not until I was sure he couldn't hear me.

And even then, the sob that broke free wasn't just grief.

It was rage.

Rage at the Moon Goddess.

At Damon.

At myself.

But beneath the fury, beneath the ache, something else stirred.

Freedom.

Painful. Hollow. But real.

The bond was gone.

And all that remained was me.

Bruised.

But unbroken.