Chapter 7 Nicolai's Betrayal

• I had heard of fated mates. Of course, I had. Everyone in the pack had heard of them. It was the bond that transcended time, the connection between two wolves that could not be broken, a deep, instinctual pull that united two people in a way that couldn’t be explained with words. The bond was sacred. It was supposed to be something to cherish, to protect.
• But me? I didn’t believe in that kind of magic. Not for someone like me. Someone who hadn’t even shifted yet.
• Still, when the pull first came, I couldn’t ignore it. It was subtle at first — a whisper of recognition in the back of my mind, a tug on my soul that made my heart race. I’d felt it before, but I had no idea what it meant. I thought maybe it was just my imagination running wild, like the other girls in the pack who talked about the future and their mates as if they were already real. But I wasn’t like them. I didn’t fit in anywhere, not in the way they did.
• Then, it happened again. Stronger. Clearer. The pull, like an invisible thread, tugged at my chest, urging me to seek out the one who called to me.
• That’s when I saw him.
• Nicolai.
• The last person I ever expected. The last person I would have chosen.
• He was standing across the training field, looking as arrogant and untouchable as ever, his dark hair falling just slightly over his forehead, his jaw set in that infuriatingly perfect line. He didn’t see me, not at first. But I saw him.
• My heart pounded, erratic and desperate, as if it recognized something in him that I couldn’t yet comprehend. It was like all the walls I’d built up for the past year crumbled, and in their place stood this... this connection. The realization slammed into me like a wave, sweeping me off my feet.
• He’s my mate.
• The world tilted. My pulse raced. And just as quickly, the exhilaration I felt was replaced by an overwhelming sense of dread. Nicolai. My fated mate was Nicolai. The same Nicolai who had tormented me for months, who had made me feel worthless. Who had spread rumors about me, called me weak, mocked me for not shifting.
• I didn’t know what to do with that kind of information. The pull toward him was undeniable, but the idea of being tied to him in such an intimate way, of belonging to him... it made my stomach twist. I didn’t want this. I couldn’t want this.
• But there was no escaping it. The bond was there, undeniable and powerful.
• “Amelia,” a voice broke through my thoughts.
• I turned quickly, almost relieved to see Bea standing there, her face filled with concern. “Are you okay?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked toward Nicolai, who was still talking to a group of his friends. He hadn’t noticed me yet, but that didn’t stop the dread from creeping up my spine.
• “I’m fine,” I lied, forcing a smile that felt like it would crack at the edges. “Just... tired.”
• Bea raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. She’d always known me too well, and she could sense that something was wrong. But before she could press, the sound of footsteps reached us.
• It was Nicolai. He approached with his usual confident swagger, his eyes glinting as he looked down at me, that familiar sneer forming on his lips. My heart thudded in my chest, the pull of the bond too strong to ignore, but I hated myself for feeling it.
• “Amelia,” he said, his voice smooth but tinged with something I couldn’t place. He nodded at Bea as if she weren’t even there, dismissing her with a glance. “What’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
• I swallowed hard, trying to hide the shaking in my hands. “Nothing,” I muttered. “Just... just tired.”
• He studied me for a moment, his gaze narrowing as if he could see right through me. “Right.” He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push further, turning his attention back to me.
• Then, without warning, the bond flared. I felt it rush through me like an electric current, sharp and wild. My heart skipped a beat, and I couldn’t breathe for a moment. Nicolai shifted slightly, his posture changing, and I realized with a shock that he felt it too. The bond.
• The fated mate bond.
• His eyes flickered to mine, and for a brief second, I saw something in them that I didn’t expect — something that looked almost... conflicted. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by the usual arrogance that he wore like armor.
• “I know what you’re thinking,” Nicolai said, his voice low and almost... knowing. “You can feel it too, can’t you?”
• I froze. My breath hitched, but I managed to nod. “I don’t... I don’t understand,” I whispered, the words slipping out before I could stop them. “How is this... possible?”
• Nicolai’s gaze hardened, his lips curling into that familiar, mocking smile. But there was something dark in his eyes, something cold. “It’s not something we can control. It’s the way the world works.” He stepped closer, and I instinctively took a step back, uncomfortable with how close he was now. “But that doesn’t mean we have to like it.”
• “Like it?” I repeated, feeling the ground beneath me shift. “You’re my mate. We’re... We’re supposed to—”
• “I, future Alpha of the Wood Mist pack, Nicolai Green, reject you, Amelia White, as my mate and my future Luna of the Wood Mist pack!” he said with authority.
• I stood there, frozen, as Nicolai's words hit me like a slap to the face. The world seemed to tilt, and I felt the bond between us crack like fragile glass. My heart pounded, but I couldn’t breathe. Not because of the bond, but because of the sheer weight of his rejection.
• “Amelia! Accept it now! Stop your crying because I will never accept you as my mate!”
• I couldn’t speak. My lips trembled, and I felt a familiar sting in my eyes—the one I’d been fighting for so long. I wanted to scream, to demand answers, but the words wouldn’t come. I was suffocating, drowning in my own emotions.
• “But... but we’re mates,” I finally managed, my voice barely above a whisper.
• Nicolai scoffed, taking a step back, his eyes narrowing. "Mates? That doesn't mean anything to me. I didn’t ask for this connection. I didn’t ask for you.” His words stung more than I could’ve imagined. “Accept the rejection now!”
• “I-I, A-Amelia White of W-Wood Mist pack.” I stopped and sniffed. “A-Accept your rejection as your mate and your f-future Luna,” I finally said while stuttering.
• The bond, the one that had pulled me to him since I was a little girl, now felt like a curse. I wanted to rip it from my heart, to erase the ache that gnawed at me with every breath. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t escape it. I couldn’t escape him.
• “I don't want this? You think I want to be tied to you? To her—the girl who can’t even shift? You’re nothing but a disappointment. A reminder of everything I don’t want.”
• His words were like a slap in the face, each one worse than the last. I could feel the bond pulsing, aching with every rejection, every cruel word. It was like my soul was being torn apart.
• I took a step back, my chest tightening, my heart breaking. “I-I don’t understand... Why? Why are you doing this?”
• Nicolai’s expression darkened, his jaw clenched tightly. He looked almost... disgusted. I wanted to shrink away from him, to disappear into the shadows, but I couldn’t move. Not when my whole world felt like it was crashing down around me.
• “It’s simple, Amelia,” he said, his voice low, the coldness lacing every word. “You’re nothing. I’m not going to pretend like I care about this bond. You’re not worth it. You’re nothing but a mistake I have to live with.”
• The pain was unbearable. It was as if my heart had been ripped out, shredded and left to rot on the cold ground beneath me. My knees buckled, and I stumbled, but Nicolai didn’t move. He didn’t care.
• I wanted to run. I wanted to get as far away from him as I possibly could, but my feet felt rooted to the ground, like the bond between us had tied me to this very spot. I couldn’t move, couldn’t escape, not even from his hateful words.
• “Nicolai...” I whispered, my voice breaking, my eyes filling with tears I couldn’t hold back anymore. “Please, don’t do this. I’m your mate. You don’t have to be like this.”
• He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowing. “I said no, Amelia. Don’t you get it? I don’t want you. You’re weak. I’m not going to let this... this bond ruin my life. So, I’m telling you now, before it gets any worse—stay away from me. Pretend this never happened. This bond? It’s nothing.”
• Each word felt like a death sentence. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.
• He wasn’t just rejecting me—he was rejecting us. The bond. The future we were supposed to have. All of it.
• And there I stood, helpless, shaking with the weight of his betrayal. My heart screamed for him, but my head—my head knew better. He didn’t want me. He never did.
• I had never felt so small. So worthless.
• Nicolai took one last look at me, his gaze cold and distant, before he turned his back and walked away. He didn’t even glance over his shoulder. As if I was nothing more than a fleeting memory to him.
• I felt the bond waver, a crack running through it like an earthquake splitting the earth in two. I reached out instinctively, but it was gone. The connection I had felt—this invisible, unbreakable thread that had pulled me to him all these years—was severed.
• I didn’t know how long I stood there, staring at the spot where he had been. My body trembled uncontrollably, and the tears I had been holding back for so long now poured freely down my face. The pain was unbearable, but in the midst of it, I realized something.
• I was alone.
• For so long, I had believed that the bond between us would protect me, would give me a place to belong. I thought that Nicolai would be the one to show me the way, to accept me for who I was. But now, I know the truth. He didn’t want me. He never would.
• And in that moment, everything I had ever known, everything I had ever believed in, shattered. ---
• I don’t know how long I stood there, lost in my grief, until I heard a voice break through the fog of my thoughts.
• “Amelia?”
• It was Bea. She had been watching from a distance, no doubt seeing the whole thing. Her voice was filled with concern, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. Not yet. “Amelia, what happened? Are you okay?”
• I shook my head, my chest heaving as I tried to steady my breath. “He... he rejected me,” I whispered, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. “He doesn’t want me. He never did.”
• Bea’s face softened with sympathy as she
• stepped closer, her arms wrapping around me. I let her hold me as I broke down, the pain pouring out of me in sobs I couldn’t control.
• I didn’t know what the future held. I didn’t know how I would move on from this. But at that mome
• nt, I knew one thing for sure.
• Nicolai had shattered something inside of me. Something I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to fix.
• And all I could do was try to survive the aftermath.