She didn’t want to feel it. But the pain kept finding her, no matter how hard she tried to push it away.
Sierra was done.
At least, that’s what she kept telling herself. She had made her decision. She had given Rowan a chance to explain, to come clean, to do something, but in the end, it was clear.
He had chosen Isolde.
She was nothing more than an afterthought, a distraction. She had been foolish to think otherwise, foolish to believe that there could be something between them that was real, something that could break through the barriers of their worlds.
The weight of the betrayal sat heavy in her chest, suffocating her with every breath. She wanted to scream, to lash out, but instead, she shut down. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She couldn’t trust him. She couldn’t trust anyone. Not anymore. She had been lied to, tricked into believing in something that was never real. And the worst part? She had let herself fall for it.
Rowan’s voice still echoed in her mind, but she refused to pick up the phone when he called. Refused to acknowledge the messages he left, full of apologies that meant nothing now. They were empty. Just words to make himself feel better, words that would never fix what had been broken. Every time she heard his name, every time she saw a message from him, it was like a dagger in her heart. And she wasn’t ready for that. She wasn’t ready to be hurt again.
She stopped going to the woods. She stopped answering his calls. She avoided him at all costs. It didn’t matter that she could feel the pull between them, the connection that seemed to grow with every secret moment they shared. She couldn’t keep running back to him, couldn’t keep pretending that everything was okay. He had made his choice. And it wasn’t her.
But even as she pushed him away, the truth was hard to ignore. Her wolf, the one thing that had always been there for her, still refused to come forward. The calls to shift, to embrace what she was meant to be, felt distant. Every time she tried to shift, to find the power within herself, it was as though something was holding her back. Something had broken inside her, and she couldn’t fix it. The bond that had once felt so natural now felt like a burden, like she was trapped in her own skin, unable to escape.
Days passed in a haze. The weight of everything, the betrayal, the rejection, was wearing her thin. It felt like she was suffocating, and no matter how hard she tried, the wolf inside her remained silent. It was as if the connection had been severed, the magic inside her had just stopped, and she didn’t know how to get it back.
Then one night, at dinner, it all came crashing down.
Her parents sat at the head of the table, their faces tight with that expression she had seen so many times before, an expression that always meant something was about to be decided. Her mother, who had always been so firm, so insistent on maintaining control, was sitting across from her with a look that made Sierra’s stomach twist.
“We’ve made a decision,” her father said, his voice low, but the words carried a weight that made Sierra’s heart sink. He glanced at her mother, and Sierra’s stomach turned. She knew what was coming. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach. She had felt it all along.
“You’ll be officially bonded to Kellan in one moon cycle,” her mother announced, her tone matter-of-fact, as if this was the only choice. As if she had no say in the matter.
The words hit Sierra like a slap across the face. Her breath caught in her throat, and for a moment, she thought the room would spin out of control. The bond. Kellan. It was all set in stone. They were going to make it official.