Chapter 3

It was painful for Ivelle to suppress the feelings in her heart, to deny the haunting truth that her mate had rejected and abandoned her to a fate worse than death.

The denial tore her insides to shreds, and the isolation from the rest of the world only made it worse. Her grandmother had thought it best to keep her away from the pack, to protect her secret until the right time to reveal it came.

In the meantime, her room was filled with an entire library about what it meant to be the Moon's chosen she-wolf. Liya Argent had her studying her new identity and the responsibilities that came with it.

She hadn't been allowed to contact her best friend and had no idea what had happened that fateful day. Whether Kimberly had found a mate or not was a mystery to her.

Ivelle tucked herself into bed, wallowing in her pain. The void in her soul couldn't be filled with the power the moon had bestowed upon her. She could only think of her mate, miss him, and wish she knew why he had left her.

Fate had reduced her to a bystander, watching from a painful distance as her dreams crumbled.

She didn't want to take another breath and live for a world that had shattered her, leaving her heart broken and scattered across the floor.

She replayed the rejection over and over in her mind. Ivelle tried to recognize her mate's voice, comparing it to every member of the pack, but she couldn't pinpoint it to anyone in particular.

Lying in bed gave room for dark thoughts to form. Desperate to fill the void in her heart, she conjured any emotion she could find, anything to help her forget the pain.

Anger began to build within her. All week, she'd been torn between feelings of sadness and a rising fury—at her mate, the moon goddess, and everyone else in the world.

Outside the walls of the Argent house, she could feel others celebrating their blessings from the moon goddess and meeting their mates. Unfortunately, her fate forbade her from joining in the ceremony; she was now a reject.

"Ivie, are you awake?" Liya called softly, bringing a cup of hot chocolate to comfort her.

Ivelle closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. Over the days, her grandmother had sensed something was wrong and bombarded her with questions to uncover the source of her loneliness.

Unable to find the heart to tell her grandmother that her mate had rejected her, Ivelle let Liya believe it was the overwhelming ache from the lightning strikes that kept her down.

Ivelle didn't want to give her pain a voice. It hurt too much, and talking about it would only break her further.

"Dear," Liya said softly, setting the tray of snacks and the hot chocolate down on the bedside table. She massaged Ivelle's hair and sat beside her on the bed. "I know you're going through a lot, and I want to help, but you must let me in first."

Ivelle felt tears stream down her face. Her grandmother was there for her, but she couldn't embrace her warmth.

"May all the stars be on your side, Ivie. Let their light protect you and keep you from falling into the darkness," Liya said, offering her best wishes.

Ivelle gripped the bedsheets tightly, her knuckles whitening. The storm in her mind refused to accept her grandmother's beautiful words, unable to erase the ache of abandonment in her soul.

She longed to shut the world out and retreat into the shadows—a place where she could transform her pain into something else, something that wouldn't hurt so much, and forget the cruel world that had rejected her.

"I know you're awake, dear. Your heartbeat gives you away. Why don't you get up and eat something?"

Ivelle ignored her grandmother's words. Food was the last thing on her mind. She saw no need for it when the nourishment would do nothing to heal her broken heart.

"The harvest is coming up in two days. This is your chance to go out, and we'll use the holy ceremony in the four lands to introduce you to the world. You'll get to see your friends again, I promise," Liya said, assuming that Ivelle's bad mood was due to her isolation from the world outside.

"Al-Alright," Ivelle muttered.

She didn't move an inch to get up and eat. Her mind kept returning to the fateful night and the pain it had brought. Ivelle wanted to burn everything to the ground to quench the thirst in her soul.

The fire inside her burned deeper than hell itself, yet the agony in her heart was colder than the Antarctic.

The glimpse of her once-innocent soul, which had only worried about fitting in, now mocked her new state. Even with the moon's blessings, her mate had made her feel utterly ordinary.

"I'll leave you to study the harvest ceremony," Liya continued, caught up in the thought of revealing Ivelle's identity to the world. "This will raise your standing so high that—"

Her voice trailed off as she imagined the grand picture of her granddaughter's newfound power. Her new status would bring the world to Ivelle's feet. The werewolf communities would worship her, and when they called her goddess, Liya knew Ivelle would honor their wishes and prayers.

"I have faith that you'll do justice to the title, my baby. Just rest now. I'll be back later to check on you," Liya said, stepping away and giving Ivelle space to breathe without her words pressing down on her.

"We're going to lead the harvest ceremony! Wow, what an honor, right, Ivelle?" Marsa spoke up, trying to lighten the mood and cheer her up.

"Yeah, and when they see the moon's jewel without a name on her wrist... I'm sure they'll throw a celebration in honor of me being a reject!" Ivelle spat in anger.

Despite the many silver linings in her life and the blessings that set her apart from others, her curse overshadowed everything else, becoming her obsession.

It made her feel like an impoverished person inside, undeniably worsening her already dour mood.

"Why don't you try looking on the bright side, Ivelle?"

"The bright side won't change the fact that I mean nothing to him!"