Shattered Bond: The Rejected Luna Shines Now

Seraphina POV:

I didn't sleep. In the pre-dawn darkness, I pulled a small duffel bag from the back of the closet. I couldn't take anything that belonged to the Kensingtons, only a few old clothes left to me.

Just as I was about to sign the rejection document, the sound of an engine cut through the silence. Harlan's Aston Martin. He was back.

My heart hammered against my ribs-a mix of fear and the undeniable pull of the mate bond. I quickly shoved the bag under the bed and hid the document under my pillow.

The bedroom door was thrown open.

Harlan's tall frame filled the doorway, bringing with him the chill of the night and the overpowering scent of cedar. The jasmine scent was fainter now, but my wolf could still detect its ghost on his skin.

His black hair was slightly messy, his tie loosened. His handsome face was etched with irritation and fatigue. When his dark brown eyes landed on me, they turned sharp and cold.

"You're still awake?" he asked, his voice rough with accusation.

I looked down, not wanting him to see the hatred in my eyes. "I was waiting for you," I lied.

He let out a cold laugh and stalked toward me. The force of his Alpha Dominion pressed down on me, making it hard to breathe. My inner wolf wanted to submit, but it also snarled with rage at his betrayal.

He stopped in front of me, his large body casting me in shadow. "Waiting for me?" He gripped my chin, forcing my head up. "Or planning your next pathetic attempt to play the victim?"

His touch was nauseating, but the mate bond sent a traitorous shiver across my skin. The conflict was a special kind of torture.

Mine... His inner wolf let out a possessive, guttural growl in the back of his mind, a sound that bled through our crumbling link.

But Harlan's own eyes were filled with disgust. He seemed to be tormented by his own instincts, and he blamed me for it.

"I wish the Moon Goddess had never made this mistake," he whispered, each word a new cut on my soul.

Then, he crashed his mouth down on mine.

It wasn't a kiss. It was a punishment. It was filled with anger, possession, and humiliation. His teeth scraped against my lip, and the coppery taste of blood filled my mouth.

I struggled, but his arms were like steel bands, crushing me against him. The kiss amplified the wound in my soul, and black spots danced in my vision.

Just as I thought I would suffocate, a soft, tentative voice echoed in his mind—Cora's.

Harlan, are you back? I'm a little scared by myself.

Harlan froze.

He shoved me away from him as if I were diseased. I stumbled backward, my spine hitting the bedpost with a hard thud. A wave of nausea and pain washed over me.

He didn't even look at me. He straightened his clothes, his face returning to its usual cold mask.

"Don't test my patience again, Seraphina," he said coolly, his attention already focused on soothing Cora through their link.

He turned and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door softly behind him, sealing me off from his world.

I slid to the floor, covering my mouth as a wracking cough tore through me. Blood seeped between my fingers. The double assault on my body and soul left me feeling like I was dying.

I hated him. In that moment, seven years of misplaced love finally crumbled into pure, unadulterated hatred.

I struggled to my feet and pulled the rejection document from under the pillow.

My hand trembled, but my resolve was iron. I dipped my finger into the blood on my lips and, in the space for the signature, I wrote my name: Seraphina Hayes.

Then, I added a single line below it.

"I, Seraphina Hayes, accept your rejection."

I placed the document, stained with my blood, directly in the center of his pillow. It was my final goodbye to him, to this entire sham of a relationship.

I pulled my small bag from under the bed and, without a backward glance, walked out of the gilded cage that had imprisoned me for four years.

The night air was cold. I fled the Kensington estate. Every step sent a jolt of pain through my insides, but I knew I had to live.

I walked along the deserted road, with no destination in mind.

The blood I'd lost was making my vision blur, and strength was draining from my limbs.

Finally, I collapsed at the base of a large oak tree and surrendered to the darkness.