Chapter 5 I Can't Accept You

Both my mother, Liora, and father, Thorne, stood motionless, their faces carved from stone, their eyes dull and distant.

But the look they reserved for me-it wasn't disappointment or even sorrow. It was... disdain.

As if I were some stain that marred their perfect lives.

At last, Ronan's gaze drifted away from Talia Montgomery and landed on me. His jaw twitched, the lines of his face tight with tension.

His fingers coiled possessively around Talia's hand, and the longer he held on, the more constricted my chest felt.

It was as though each second of that grip stole the air from my lungs.

"This... this isn't going to work," he said suddenly, his voice quiet but sharp enough to slice through my heart like a blade.

The words weren't loud, yet they crashed into me with brutal force. I felt my entire world tilt.

My balance faltered, but I couldn't look away. I wouldn't. Not even as agony coiled like barbed wire inside my chest.

My breath shuddered as I swallowed, willing the tears not to fall, though they threatened to spill at any moment.

My vision blurred as they gathered, forming a glistening film over my eyes.

"I can't accept you, Kaia," he continued, this time louder, clearer-each word saturated with finality. "And I never will."

I froze, unable to speak. The sound of his rejection played over and over in my head.

A cruel mantra. Every syllable etched itself into my soul, branding me with the reality of his disgust. I couldn't breathe.

My lungs refused to obey. The heaviness in my chest became unbearable, and swallowing my pain felt like swallowing shards of glass.

My eyes darted around, searching the room, desperate for someone-anyone-to step forward and defend me.

But no one moved. No one even looked at me with compassion. They had all chosen their side.

I was utterly, devastatingly alone.

The silence stretched on. It was suffocating, louder than any scream.

The disbelief on my face was mirrored by the numbness creeping into my limbs.

And then I looked at my parents-my own flesh and blood-and found nothing. No anger. No fury. No heartbreak. Just... detachment.

Their expressions remained eerily blank, indifferent to the fact that their daughter had just been rejected by her fated mate.

Thorne, Beta of the Duskwind Pack, should have been outraged.

His position meant loyalty and fierce protection of his family, especially his daughter.

But instead, he looked almost relieved, as though a burden had been lifted.

As though Ronan had done him a favor by choosing my sister over me.

The weight of that realization crushed me. I felt like I was being dragged down into a bottomless ocean, bound by chains no one bothered to break.

They simply stood there on the shore, watching me sink deeper and deeper, indifferent to my struggle.

This isn't going to work.

I can't accept you, Kaia.

I never will.

I shook my head, silently denying the words now playing on a loop inside my mind. He couldn't mean it.

A wolf wouldn't-couldn't-reject their mate so callously.

The Moon Goddess had chosen us for a reason. Surely he didn't truly believe what he was saying.

Clinging to that fragile hope, I looked up, searching his eyes for hesitation-for any flicker of doubt.

Just a sliver of something. Anything. But instead of remorse or conflict, I found only pity.

The kind of pity that made me feel small. Worthless. His expression was unreadable, but the message was unmistakable.

He felt sorry for me. Not because he loved me. But because he regretted being tied to me.

My heart, already splintered, broke anew. Maybe he would've done the same to anyone, no matter who the Moon Goddess paired him with.

But even that thought offered no comfort.

Because I wasn't just anyone. I was Kaia. His mate. And he hadn't even given me a chance.

He had decided long before the bond ever awakened that no matter who it was, he wouldn't accept her if it wasn't Talia.

But I still pleaded. I still hoped.

"Ronan, please... I'm your mate. The Moon Goddess gave us this bond. Don't throw it away. Please, don't do this," I begged, my voice trembling, cracking under the weight of my desperation.

I stumbled forward, reaching for him through the tears now freely falling from my eyes.

His figure was blurred, but unmistakable. His dark hair, tousled in that familiar way from running his fingers through it-something he always did when frustrated or unsure.

I managed to touch his arm, but he yanked it back as if my skin burned him.

His jaw clenched as he stared down at me, the revulsion in his eyes unmistakable.

His next step placed more distance between us, shielding Talia, who hadn't said a single word through all of this.

Her eyes remained lowered, but I saw her grip tighten on Ronan's sleeve. Her fingers trembled.

"Kaia, stop this," he snapped. "You're humiliating yourself. Out of respect for Talia, I'll ignore this disrespect-but don't push me further."

The words hit harder than any physical blow.

He wasn't holding back for me. He wasn't sparing me from shame or pain. He was doing it for her.

Because she was the one he wanted to protect. Not me. Never me.

He didn't even chastise me for my supposed disrespect out of concern for my feelings-but because he didn't want to hurt Talia's sister. It was all about her. Always her.