Danica’s POV
A short laugh of disbelief left Leah’s mouth.
I glared at her, my eyes burning with warning. This is not a joke.
She swallowed, her amusement vanishing. “You’re kidding, right?”
I crossed my arms, feeling my frustration bubble over. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
Silence stretched between us, heavy and tense. Leah opened her mouth, then closed it, as if searching for the right words.
I didn’t have time for this. Without another word, I turned away, stripping off my tunic and changing into my training gear. The familiar weight of my sword against my back was comforting. If I couldn’t make sense of my emotions, then I would train until my body was too exhausted to feel anything at all.
Just as I reached for the door, Leah suddenly stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“Alpha Nicholas is truly your mate?” she asked, her voice softer this time, as if saying it out loud would make it real.
I exhaled sharply. “Yes, Leah.”
She shook her head, but her next words proved that she understood the gravity of it. “Then if that’s the case, he can’t keep sleeping with those women who come here all the time.” Her voice was laced with concern, her brows knitting together. “I just saw one of them now. Does he know you’re his mate?”
I clenched my fists at the reminder. My heart twisted painfully at the thought of another woman in his bed.
I nodded. “He knows.”
Leah gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. Her eyes widened with alarm. “Danica, you don’t understand. Every time he sleeps with someone else, it weakens your bond. It will break you.”
Her words hit me like a blow. I knew about mate bonds, of course. I knew the pain that came from rejection, the way the soul could wither away if a bond was severed in the wrong way. But I had pushed it aside, refusing to think about what Nicholas’s actions truly meant for me.
“You either make him accept you as his mate…” Leah hesitated, her voice dropping into something almost fearful. “Or you make him reject you.”
I froze.
Reject me?
The thought sent an unexpected pang through my chest. Could I endure that? Could I stand in front of him and demand he cast me aside?
I swallowed hard. “How am I supposed to do that when he told me not to tell anyone what happened between us?” My voice shook slightly, but I masked it with a glare.
Leah looked at me as if she wanted to shake some sense into me. “Danica, if he doesn’t claim you, it will break you. And if he keeps sleeping with other women, it will only get worse.”
A lump formed in my throat. I didn’t want to hear this. I didn’t want to acknowledge the truth in her words. I couldn’t afford to be weak.
Ignoring her, I pushed past her and stormed toward the battlefield. I needed an outlet. I needed to fight.
The training grounds were empty. Good.
I unsheathed my sword and moved into position, my feet digging into the dirt. I ran through drills, each movement precise, each strike sharp and powerful. The wind howled around me as my blade sliced through the air.
What would happen to my reputation if the pack found out?
Would they still see me as a warrior, or would I become nothing more than the Luna, meant to stand by the Alpha’s side instead of fighting beside my brothers and sisters?
I gritted my teeth, swinging my sword harder. I don’t want this.
I don’t need a mate.
But no matter how many times I told myself that, the ache in my chest didn’t fade.
Images of Nicholas flashed in my mind, his hands on my body, the way he looked at me in the dark, the way I let him claim me so easily.
And now, he was already with someone else.
Rage flared inside me, hot and uncontrollable. I moved faster, attacking an invisible enemy, my muscles burning as I pushed myself beyond my limit.
My breath came out ragged, my skin slick with sweat.
Faster. Stronger. More.
I refused to feel weak. I refused to let a mate bond destroy me until a sudden, sharp pain shot through my chest.
I gasped, staggering back. My vision blurred as agony exploded inside me, unlike anything I had ever felt before. It was as if a dagger had been driven into my heart.
What… what is happening?
The pain spread to my stomach, twisting violently. My legs buckled, and my sword slipped from my grasp, clattering against the ground.
A choked sound left my lips as dizziness washed over me.
I couldn’t breathe.
My fingers clawed at my chest, panic surging through me.
This pain… it’s the bond.
Nicholas.
I squeezed my eyes shut as a fresh wave of agony crashed into me. The image of him flashed through my mind, but this time, I wasn’t the one in his arms.
Someone else was. He was with her and the bond was breaking.
“Danica!”
Leah’s scream barely registered as I collapsed onto my knees. My hands trembled as I reached out, grasping at nothing.
I tried to speak, but no words came out. My body was shutting down. My vision darkened at the edges, and just before the world slipped away, I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. Then everything went black.