Chloe POV
The next morning, the corridors of the Pack Hospital were buzzing with loud whispers.
I was sorting dried chamomile in the dispensary, preparing the only herbal blend that could quiet the chronic throbbing behind Jaxon's temples, when two healers walked past the open door.
"Did you hear?" one of them gossiped, her voice full of excitement.
"A warrior went into a frenzy from the pain and pushed Serena. The Alpha was so worried he carried her to the VIP ward himself!"
My hands stopped moving.
Even though I had initiated the Rejection, the bond was not fully severed until he accepted it.
A strange, old instinct flared in my chest.
When we were pups, Serena used to stand up for me when the older kids pushed me into the mud.
My body moved before my brain could stop it.
A healer's hands were their most precious tools. If Serena's hands were injured, she could never use her healing magic again.
I hurried down the hallway, my soft shoes making no sound on the white tiles.
I pushed open the heavy oak door of the VIP ward.
Serena was sitting on the edge of a luxurious bed, her eyes red and watery.
I rushed to her side, my eyes scanning her arms and hands.
"Are you hurt? Let me see your hands," I said, my voice laced with genuine panic.
Serena sniffled and pointed to her foot. "It's just a minor sprained ankle, Chloe."
I let out a long, shaky breath, feeling a massive weight lift off my shoulders.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up," a cold, mocking voice echoed from the corner of the room.
Jaxon stepped out of the shadows, his arms crossed over his broad chest.
His eyes were hard, filled with a freezing judgment.
"This is your fault, Chloe," he stated, his voice dripping with venom.
I blinked, my mind unable to follow his logic. "My fault?"
"Serena was distracted today," Jaxon stepped closer, his tall frame towering over me.
"She was worried sick about you because of your ridiculous Rejection stunt yesterday. That is why she didn't dodge the warrior. You almost got her killed."
I was nailed to the floor, paralyzed by his twisted logic.
Serena reached out and gently grabbed Jaxon's sleeve.
"Jaxon, don't yell at her. She is just jealous. It's my fault for making her feel insecure," Serena said softly.
Her words sounded kind, but they were poison.
She was confirming his belief that I was a jealous, wicked Omega.
Jaxon's jaw tightened. He released a heavy wave of his Alpha aura, making the air in the room hard to breathe.
"You always demand that everyone cater to your feelings," he scolded me, looking down his nose at me.
"You have a severe case of Omega entitlement. You are spoiled, Chloe."
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
Deep inside my mind, my inner wolf stopped crying.
She stood up, baring her teeth, and began to violently reject the scent of the Alpha in front of us.
Jaxon noticed the shift in my scent. His eyes flickered with a sudden, strange panic.
He reached out, his large hand moving to wipe the unshed tears from my cheeks.
"Take back that ridiculous Rejection, Chloe," he commanded, his voice dropping to a softer, dangerous rumble.
I turned my head sharply, dodging his hand.
His fingers brushed empty air.
I took three large steps backward, putting a safe distance between us.
"The Rejection is real, Alpha Jaxon," I said, my voice steady and cold.
"And I suggest you cease using your rank to address me."
Jaxon's eyes widened in fury. A low growl ripped from his throat.
Serena looked at me from the bed, her eyes full of harsh disapproval.
I looked at the two of them, finally seeing them for what they truly were.
They were cowards who could never face their own ugly truths.
A dry, mocking smile spread across my lips.
I turned on my heel and walked out of the room, leaving the door wide open.
*The girl who once defended me in the mud was no longer in that room. Perhaps she had been gone for years. Perhaps I was only now willing to see it. *
For the next half month, Jaxon started a brutal, one-sided cold war.
He completely ignored my existence in the hospital.
The pack was full of rumors.
Everyone whispered about how the Alpha hunted a rare shadow-deer just to feed Serena.
They talked about how the Alpha and the Beta spent every evening perfecting the pack's magical defense barriers.
I heard it all, but my heart remained perfectly still.
*Each day, I rose before dawn, dragged my hollowed-out body to the dispensary, and worked until my vision blurred. My hands kept moving even when my soul begged to stop—because stopping meant feeling the full weight of the bond tearing slowly inside me. The work was the only thing holding me together. *
One afternoon, I was walking down the main corridor with a basket of bandages.
Serena stepped out of a doorway, blocking my path.
"Chloe, let's talk," she said, reaching out to grab my arm. "I can help you apologize to Jaxon. I can be the peacemaker."
I looked down at her hand, and then up at her face.
I felt no anger, no sadness.
I felt only a profound and freezing distance, as if I were looking at them through a thick pane of ice.
*And behind that ice, something I could not yet name was waiting. *
