Whispers of the night

per of the wind seemed to vanish, leaving only the thunderous pounding of her heart in her ears. Kael Thorne. The name itself was a whisper of power, a name that

dropped. She had heard of rejections before, whispered stories shared in quiet moments around the campfire. But to hear the words from her own mate's mouth-before she'd even had a chance to understand what was happening-was a blow she wasn't prepared for. "What are you saying?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. Kael stepped closer, close enough now that she could feel the power rolling off him in waves, a suffocating presence that only magnified the knot tightening in her chest. His eyes darkened, his expression hardening into something that resembled irritation-or perhaps indifference. "I'm saying that I don't need a mate. I have no use for the bond, nor do I have time to entertain whatever fantasies you might have about what this means," he said, his words striking her like icy blades. "I'm not here to coddle some pack wolf with delusions of grandeur." Elara's breath caught in her throat. She had known Kael by reputation, had heard the stories of his cruelty, his distant nature, his focus on power above all else. But nothing had prepared her for the harsh reality of his rejection, the way he dismissed her as though she were nothing more than an inconvenience. Her wolf howled within her, the bond stretching thin, aching with the weight of his words. But she couldn't show weakness, not now, not in front of him. She refused to let him see how deeply his rejection cut. "I'm not asking for anything," she said, forcing steel into her voice. "But the bond is real. You can't just ignore it." Kael's jaw clenched, and for a moment, a flash of something-anger, perhaps-flickered in his eyes. But it was gone as quickly as it had come, replaced once more by that cold, calculating gaze. "I *choose* to ignore it," he said, his voice like ice. "I won't let some ancient bond dictate my choices. I don't need a mate to rule. I certainly don't need *you*." The finality in his words hit her like a punch to the gut. She felt the mate bond recoil, the pain radiating through her chest, a physical ache that threatened to tear her apart from the inside. But Elara stood