Charlotte POV:
The words hung in the air, heavy and final.
Rejection is not just words. It is a metaphysical severing. It is tearing a soul in half.
Bryant staggered back as if I had physically punched him. He clutched his chest, his face turning pale.
"No..." he whispered. "You can't."
"I can," I said coldly. "And I do."
I felt a sharp pain in my own chest, like a rubber band snapping, but then... relief. The constant, aching pull toward him was gone. The muddy scent that had plagued me for years vanished, replaced entirely by the crisp, electric scent of the man beside me.
Bryant fell to his knees. He gasped for air, sweat pouring down his face. The pain of being rejected by a Fated Mate is excruciating-it feels like your wolf is dying.
"Why?" he wheezed, looking up at me with bloodshot eyes. "I am your Alpha!"
"You were never my Alpha," I said. "An Alpha protects. You destroyed."
I stepped forward, pulling down the collar of my dress to reveal the angry red scars on my neck and shoulder. The crowd gasped.
"These are burns from a silver cage," I announced, my voice trembling with suppressed rage. "Bryant Barnes locked me, his mate, in a cell coated with silver because his mistress wanted a spa day."
Murmurs erupted in the hall. Locking a pack member in silver without trial is a violation of the Great Covenant. Doing it to a mate is blasphemy.
"Lies!" Old Alpha Barnes, Bryant's father, rushed the stage. "She's a liar! She's mentally unstable!"
He raised his hand to strike me.
A low growl vibrated through the floorboards.
Jaden didn't move a muscle, but a wave of pure kinetic force slammed into the Old Alpha. The old man flew backward, pinning him against the wall.
"Touch her," Jaden said, his voice calm but terrifying, "and I will erase your bloodline from history."
He stepped up beside me, placing a possessive hand on my waist. The sparks flew again, visible to everyone.
"She is my mate," Jaden announced to the room. "My chosen. My second chance. And the future Queen of all Lycans."
The crowd went wild. A Second Chance Mate for the King? It was the stuff of legends.
Bryant looked up, tears streaming down his face. The realization was finally hitting him. He hadn't just lost a girl. He had lost the Queen. He had thrown away a diamond to play with a piece of glass.
"I... I accept your rejection," he choked out. He had no choice. The pain wouldn't stop until he accepted it.
The moment he said the words, the bond shattered completely.
I felt light. I felt free.
Jaden turned to the crowd.
"The Barnes Pack is under investigation for crimes against the Crown," he declared. "Until further notice, their Alpha status is suspended."
He looked at me. "What is your will, my Queen?"
I looked at Bryant, huddled on the floor, and Kalia, who was trying to sneak out the back door.
"Get them out of my sight," I said.
"Guards!" Jaden barked.
Royal enforcers swarmed the room. They grabbed Bryant and his father.
As they dragged Bryant away, he looked back at me. His eyes were empty. He looked at Jaden standing beside me, radiating power and love, and then he looked at himself.
"Charlotte!" he screamed, a sound of pure regret.
I turned my back on him.
I looked up at Jaden. His golden eyes were warm, full of a promise that terrified and thrilled me.
"Let's go home," he whispered.
I nodded.
As we walked out of the ballroom, leaving the ruins of the Barnes dynasty behind us, I felt something stir deep inside me.
My wolf.
She didn't just howl this time. She stretched. She growled. And for the first time in my life, I felt her claws prick the back of my mind, ready to break free.
The White Wolf was waking up.
