He Denied Our Bond so I Ended It Myself

Two years. That's how long I was gone. I volunteered for the Northern territory. And at my welcome home party, the “Truth or Dare” challenge was about him. Jaxon. My mate. The pack was howling with laughter, teasing smirks all around. “Alora, spill a secret! How’d Alpha Jaxon get that nick in his left ear? What’s his favorite food? And how long does he last during his Rut?” I answered each one. “A rock shard from an avalanche. Venison with moonpetal. And in bed… exactly one hundred and eight minutes.” Fifty questions about him. I nailed every single one. Clara, the pureblood she-wolf always at his side, propped her chin on her hand. “You sound just like his mate, don’t you?” Someone else jumped in. “She wishes! She only ran off to that wasteland because Clara got the exchange spot at the Council’s Advanced Warrior Academy.” “And don’t forget who cast the deciding vote for Clara—Alpha Jaxon himself!” “Five years of chasing him and still no public mating ceremony. Pathetic.” Jaxon lounged on the sofa. His voice was ice. “The Moon Goddess binds souls, but she doesn’t command my heart. She is not my mate.” I raised my glass and took a small sip. “And now, I never will be.” Jaxon actually laughed, his voice dripping with arrogance. “What, finally giving up?” I looked at him. There was no sting. No pain. I realized I hadn't lost to anyone. I just… didn't love him anymore. This bond between us? I’d be the one to sever it. Chapter 1 The party went on. The air was thick and heavy. “You’ve been gone two years, Alora. You probably don’t know,” a Beta sidled up to me, his eyes flicking between me and the couch. “Those two are the Council’s golden couple now. No Goddess-fated bullshit. Just real love.” “Don’t be silly.” Clara blushed, giving him a light tap. “We’re not mates.” As she said it, Jaxon’s hand was resting on the small of her back. His hand tightened, fingers pressing into the fabric of her dress, pulling her that half-inch closer into his side. A silent, public claim. She didn’t push him away. “It’s just a matter of time, right?” someone else jeered. Jaxon didn’t deny it. His fingers tightened again. I stood by the bar, my fingertips cold against the glass. My eyes landed just below Clara’s collarbone. A moonstone. A silver wolf’s head. And on the clasp, a tiny, old scratch. My mother's moonstone. The only thing I had left of her. Two years ago, when I asked him to make us public, he tore it from my neck in front of half the pack. My rogue-born blood was a stain to the Elders. And Jaxon needed the elite families' support to win his Alpha Council seat. The chain broke the skin. Blood dripped into the hollow of my collarbone. He said he was keeping it until I learned my place. And now, Clara was wearing it. “Alora.” Clara walked over with two glasses, her eyes glistening. “I’ve always wanted to clear the air. That spot at the academy… I didn’t steal it. It was the Elders’ vote. If I had known you wanted it so badly…” “I’m not drinking.” Her hand froze mid-air. Her eyes turned red on cue. “…Did I do something to offend you? I just want to make things right.” “Clara, don’t beg.” Jaxon frowned. “She’s been in the North too long. She’s gone feral.” A burly wolf slammed his glass on the table. “Cut the crap, Alora! Everyone knows you’re obsessed with Alpha Jaxon! You think crawling into his bed during his Rut five years ago makes you special?” The room went dead silent. Everyone waited for the punchline to my joke of a life. No one here knew. No one knew I was his true mate. He thought it was too much trouble. He let them all believe it was just a cheap one-night stand. I stared straight at Jaxon. Just one word from him. Just one single shred of defense. But he gave me nothing. Jaxon released Clara. He grabbed his whiskey, walked over, and tapped his glass against the guy's. Clink. “You’re right,” Jaxon said. A cruel smile on his lips. I knew he was punishing me. Two years of my silence from the North had bruised his Alpha ego. He wanted to see my eyes fill with tears. He wanted me to break, to beg for his affection like I used to. But those two words… “You’re right.” They sliced right through the bond that had ached for five long years. I remembered him calling the mating ceremony I craved “meaningless.” So this is what we were. Not even a joke. I stood up and walked to the door. I didn’t look back. Two a.m. Thunderstorm. The wind threw icy rain against the steps. I pulled out my phone. Called an Uber. Heavy footsteps behind me. The scent of cedar and musk hit me like a wall. His Alpha presence, closing in. “I’ll take you home,” Jaxon’s voice was ice in the thunder. It wasn’t a question. It was a command. “Not necessary,” I said, my face blank. He took a step closer, his presence suffocating. Cedar and musk. Two years ago, that scent would have made my knees weak. “Alora, cut the attitude. How long are you going to keep this up?” A black SUV cut through the rain, stopping at the bottom of the steps. I didn’t hesitate. I pulled open the back door and slid inside. Jaxon’s face darkened. He didn’t stop me. He didn’t follow. He just stood there. So sure I’d break. So sure I’d roll down the window, crying, giving in, just like I always had for the last five years. I met his arrogant gaze. And pressed the button for the window. The glass slid up, silent and smooth. It sealed his arrogant face, and the entire storm, completely out of my world. The car drove off into the night. In the past, I would have looked back. This time, I didn't. Chapter 2 That night, the strained fated mate bond sent me to the pack clinic. “Alora, the bond-strain is making your wolf frantic. Your muscles are so tense I can’t even get the needle in. Try to relax.” As the nurse tried for the third time to inject the heavy wolfsbane sedative, I squeezed my eyes shut. In the darkness, I felt a hand cover them. Seventeen years old. My first shift. My wolf tearing me apart from the inside, the pain so bad I bit through my lip. Jaxon covered my eyes from behind, his palm scorching hot. “Don’t look,” he’d said. “I’m here.” He held me all night, his warmth pulling me back from the edge, inch by inch. “All done,” the nurse said, patting my hand. I opened my eyes. And he was there. Jaxon. Standing at the end of the hall. Black shirt, shoulders tense, his face a thundercloud. He was staring at the arm they’d just injected. My heart skipped. Five years, and I was still this pathetic. He felt my pain through the bond. He’d left his meeting and come for me. “Jaxon, I’m a little cold.” Clara peeked out from behind him. Her voice was a sickeningly sweet whimper. Jaxon’s eyes had been locked on my pale face. At her voice, he frowned. But he still pulled off his jacket. He wrapped it around her, tucking it in at her collar. That jacket was drenched in his scent. The most intimate way a wolf marks what’s his. I watched them. A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Of course. I was the warrior who clawed her way through the Northern ice and snow. But Clara, the weak orphan, would die from a gust of wind. He loved me, but he always thought I could take the pain. Clara couldn’t. The Jaxon from my memories was long dead. “Bond-sickness again?” He finally walked over, looking down at me. There was hidden pain in his eyes, but his voice was hard enough to cut glass. “Two years, Alora, and you’re still pulling the same tricks.” “What tricks?” “Playing sick,” he said, his tone light. “You used to do this when you wanted me to stay the night.” The clinic was warm. His scent—cedar and musk—drifted over. It used to make me weak. Now it just made me want to puke. “You’re imagining things,” I said. “I’m waiting for the sedative to finish.” “Alora.” Clara peeked out from his jacket. “Don’t be mad… We were just here for a follow-up. My wolf was injured in the last hunt. Jaxon was worried.” “Right,” I said, not looking up. The IV bag emptied. The nurse pulled the needle. I stood to get dressed. My old, army-green jacket was draped over the chair. Jaxon had left it at my place two years ago. It was thick and warm. I’d worn it through the rain tonight. I had just slid one arm into the sleeve. “Alora.” Jaxon suddenly reached out. His hand gently stopped me. I looked up. He stood in front of me, frowning, and spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Give this to Clara. Her wolf is injured, she can’t get cold again. You’re a Northern warrior. You’re tougher than her.” “I’m wearing this.” “Alora,” his voice dropped. “Don’t be petty. Clara’s an orphan. Her wolf is weak. If I don’t take care of her, she won’t survive.” “And why should I—?” Before I could finish, he gently pulled the jacket from my hand. It wasn't rough, just the undeniable force of an Alpha. He turned, draped the jacket over Clara’s shoulders, and guided her out into the rain with one arm around her back. I’d watched that back for five years. It was just never protecting me. Two years ago, my mother was attacked by three rogue wolves. Her shoulder was torn open. Silver toxicity burned through her veins. She lay in the North’s critical ward for seven days. In those seven days, I made fifty emergency calls to him. The first forty-nine went unanswered. The fiftieth was picked up. It was Clara’s voice. “The Alpha is in a meeting for his Council seat. The Elders are all here. He can’t be disturbed. Can you call back later?” Then his voice, cold and distant. “Alora, stop it. Learn to be independent. Don’t be so needy at a time like this.” The line went dead. A year before that, the exchange spot for the Warrior Academy. The Elders’ vote was a five-to-five tie. The last vote was Jaxon’s. He gave it to Clara. I walked out of the clinic. The rain was still coming down. Headlights flashed. A black sports car reversed back to the steps. The passenger window rolled down. “Get in,” Jaxon said. “Where’s Clara?” “I took her home.” His fingers tapped the steering wheel. “Alora, you’ve been nothing but thorns since tonight. Are you still bitter about the academy spot?” I didn’t answer. “She’s an orphan,” his tone was flat. “She needed that spot to survive. I need her family's backing for the Council election. It's politics, Alora. You’re strong. You have me. You don’t need charity.” “I have you,” I repeated his words back to him. “Isn’t that enough?” Rain dripped from my chin. “Jaxon,” I looked at him. “I never asked you to play favorites. I just wanted my mate on my side. Just once. When the whole pack was tearing me apart.” “Just once,” I whispered. “Once in five years.” He laughed. “You put too much damn stock in this mate bond,” he said. “The Moon Goddess tied a knot in our souls, Alora. It’s not a leash. You were born to love me. It’s your instinct. It’s not a debt I owe you. Once I secure my Alpha Council seat, once I have the Elders in my pocket, I will give you the Luna title. You just need to be patient now.” Standing there in the rain, it all finally clicked. “Right,” I said. “So for five years, I loved you with everything I had—” “—and to you, I was just a burden.” Chapter 3 Jaxon laughed. A humorless, angry sound. “You take this damn bond way too seriously.” He flicked the ash from a cigarette, his tone dismissive. “Stop obsessing over meaningless things.” I stared at him. The last ember of hope inside me finally extinguished. No more arguing. I held out my hand, my voice ice cold. “Give me back the moonstone charm my mother gave me.” It was the last thing she gave me before she died. A pure, raw stone with the power to soothe a wolf’s spirit. He had taken it from me two years ago, refusing to give it back. He'd worn it ever since. I used to think it was a sign he accepted me, his only comfort when his Alpha rage took over. Jaxon’s face went dark. “What did you say?” he growled. “You really want to sever ties with me?” I met his glare, rain dripping from my fingertips. “Give it back.” He stared. Pure Alpha fury burned in his eyes. His chest heaved. His fingers were white from clenching them so hard. But in the end, he ripped the leather cord from his neck. He threw it at my feet, right into a dirty puddle. “Fine, Alora! Throw your tantrum. But I’m not going to keep coddling you!” The pendant hit the stone with a dull, sickening crack. I didn’t look at him. I just slowly bent down and picked the moonstone—now with a sharp, ugly crack across its surface—out of the cold rainwater. The last piece of my mother’s love. The next day, at Pack Headquarters. I pushed open the door to find Jaxon leaning over his desk, trapping Clara between it and his body. The space between them was electric. His Alpha scent completely enveloped her. I ignored them and walked straight to my security locker. It was empty. I turned my head. My Northern Defense Strategy Journal—six months of my life—was in Clara’s hands. The pages were a mess of red ink. Half of them had been brutally torn out. “Who told you you could touch that?” I strode towards them. Clara flinched and shrank back, right into Jaxon’s chest. “Jaxon, I was just trying to learn…” Her eyes filled with tears, her voice trembling. Jaxon frowned, his large hand protectively on her waist. “You went to the North. This was just collecting dust here,” he accused me, as if I were the one in the wrong. “Clara is up for a Council seat next week. She needs achievements on her record. She just borrowed it. Stop being so petty.” My life's work, trampled. And he called me petty. I let out a cold laugh. I snatched the ruined journal from her, and right in front of them, tore the remaining half to shreds. I shoved it into the paper shredder. The machine shrieked. Clara gasped, tears streaming down her face. Jaxon’s Alpha presence exploded. He took a step forward. He didn’t touch me, but the crushing weight of his command slammed down, pinning me to the spot. The overpowering scent of cedar suffocated me. He loomed over me, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him. It was an act of pure possession. “Getting a temper, are we?” His thumb brushed over my pale lips. His eyes were dark and cruel. “Don’t use the bond to threaten me, Alora. We both know who begged who during your Heat. Know your place.” My most private pain, ripped open for everyone to see. My fingers trembled. I bit my lip until I tasted blood, forcing the tears back. I shoved him away and stormed out. That night, the pack’s anonymous forum exploded. A post was pinned to the top: Disgusting Ways to Trap an Alpha. The author used the vilest words to spread a rumor that I had used illegal drugs to seduce Jaxon. The comments were a cesspool of filth. Jaxon’s Beta second-in-command posted a reply: “A desperate bitch nobody wants.” And right below that comment, a system notification glowed like a brand: Liked by Alpha Jaxon. My heart turned to ice. I bypassed the forum's security and traced the IP. Clara. I took screenshots, compiled the evidence, and posted a clarification under my real name. A second later, the post was deleted by the system. I threw open my door and ran out of my dorm. The door was covered in foul-smelling red paint. That afternoon at the training grounds, someone deliberately slammed their shoulder into me, calling me a slut. I ignored the blooming bruise on my shoulder and shoved open the door to Jaxon’s study. “You deleted the post.” I slapped the IP screenshots on his desk. Jaxon sat in his massive leather chair. Clara was leaning against him, her eyes red. When he saw me, Jaxon pulled Clara even tighter. He didn't even bother to look up. “I did,” he admitted, without a hint of shame. “Clara has her evaluation with the Elders next week. A scandal like this would destroy her reputation.” “And what about my reputation?” I pointed at the door, my voice shaking. “I was cornered in the training yard. My door was vandalized. The entire pack is calling me a whore! Does that not matter?” Jaxon’s brow furrowed in annoyance. He looked at me like I was a hysterical child. “You’re a head warrior who fought in the North. Who could actually hurt you? You’re strong. What are a few rumors to you?” His tone was dismissive. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing. I’ve already suppressed the post. Don’t make this ugly.” He took a jacket from the sofa and draped it over a trembling Clara. Then he bent down, cupped her face in his hands, and whispered. His voice was soft enough to melt stone. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.” I just stood there. Watching them. And I finally understood. Those words, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here,” were words he never, ever intended to say to me. Chapter 4 Every scar was a reminder of one single fact: Jaxon was never on my side. The next day was the pack’s annual Gala. It wasn't just a party. It was Jaxon's main event to secure his position as the Council's top Alpha. He had promised me he would quietly make things right tonight. I wore the ceremonial black gown embroidered with wolf teeth. The medals I had bled for in the North were pinned to my chest. Five minutes until showtime. In the backstage hallway, a powerful Alpha presence rushed towards me. Jaxon strode in. When he saw me in my formal attire, he stopped short. A flash of raw admiration hit his eyes. But he quickly regained his composure. He walked right up to me and spoke in a tone that tolerated no argument. “Alora, you can’t stand with me on stage tonight.” I stared at him in disbelief. “Jaxon! Are you insane? The ceremony is about to start!” “Clara has dreamed of being on the main stage as a core representative since she was a pup. I promised I would make it happen for her.” He reached out. His grip on my shoulder was heavy, a mix of placating and forceful. “The Elders just pressured me. She walks the red carpet with me, or they pull their votes.” A sharp pain twisted in my chest. I could taste blood. “So I stay hidden? Like a dirty secret? You're stripping my rank so she can have her debut?!” I practically spat the words. “The exchange program! The online slander! And now you’re stealing my honors too?!” The hallway was silent for a beat. “Alora, you already have enough. Missing one moment in the spotlight won't kill you. You’re strong. You don’t need this vanity to prove yourself. Clara does.” He lowered his voice, thick with impatience. “Stop making a scene. When this is all settled, I’ll make it up to you.” Then, he used it. The Alpha Tone. His powerful will slammed into my wolf, pinning me to the shadows. I couldn’t move an inch. His footsteps faded away. Without mercy. I slid down the cold wall until I was crumpled on the floor. Minutes later, the announcer’s voice boomed through the venue. “Tonight, standing beside me, is our most outstanding she-wolf, Clara.” It was Jaxon’s deep, magnetic voice. The one that could make a crowd roar. “Thank you, Alpha Jaxon, for this opportunity…” Clara’s voice was sweet and timid. The applause was deafening. In front of thousands, she stood in my place. I sat in the darkness backstage. I covered my eyes. Tears fell, hot and silent, onto the back of my hands. I had waited five years. I had come back with one last, dying ember of hope. And for what? To be imprisoned in the dark by his command. Just so he could make someone else’s dream come true. Two hours later. The Gala ended. The Alpha Command lifted. Jaxon rushed back. A bouquet of moonpetals—a pathetic peace offering—was in his hand. When he saw my swollen eyes, his gaze faltered. A flicker of panic crossed his face. He reached for me. “Alora, the ceremony is over. You…” Beep-beep— His private ringtone. Clara. Jaxon’s hand froze in mid-air. He snatched it back and answered the call, his voice instantly gentle. “Too many people? Don’t be scared. I’m coming right now.” He hung up and looked at me. His expression was once again one of condescending charity. He tossed the flowers into my lap. “I’ve already cleared my schedule. We’ll go see your mother in a few days. And when we get back, we’ll make it public. Stop sulking.” Public. The word I had begged to hear for four years. Now it just sounded like a joke. “Don’t bother,” I said, getting to my feet. My voice was eerily calm. “My mother doesn’t need you anymore.” My tone enraged him. His Alpha power flared out of control. “Alora! What the hell do you want from me?! You were the one who ran off to the North, and now you’re playing the victim? Do you even have a heart?!” His comm vibrated again. Violently. He didn’t even look at me. He just spat, “I don’t have time for your drama. Clara’s waiting for me,” and stormed away. This time, I didn’t cry. I went back to my room and pulled out the suitcase I had already packed. Two hours later, I was sitting in the airport lounge, waiting for a flight to the North. If he thought going public was a gift, then I would help him out. I logged into the Pack-link. I uploaded every private photo of me and Jaxon from the last five years. The ones of him kissing my earlobe. The ones from my Heat when he had me pinned to the bed. The ones showing the bite marks on my neck. I didn’t write a long, pathetic essay. I just typed one line: [About me and Jaxon. My Alpha.] Click. Send. The carefully crafted lie of his “pure, unattached future mate” was shattered. Next, I packaged the proof—the server logs of Clara hiring people to run the slander campaign—and sent it directly to the Council of Elders. Finally, I submitted my formal transfer request. I was going back to the North. For good. I left the cracked moonstone on his desk. Right on top of the Northern Territory Defense Map. On top of the map, I left a note: [Here’s the bargaining chip you wanted for your Council chairmanship. But Alpha Jaxon, you have lost your Luna.] As I finished, my screen lit up. A message from Jaxon: [I’m outside your door. Open it. We need to talk.] I looked at the words. A cold smile touched my lips. I turned off the screen, snapped the SIM card in half, and dropped it in the trash. The boarding call announced my flight. I stared out the window. I took a deep breath. And I severed the bond. "I, Alora, reject you, Alpha Jaxon, as my mate." Then I slung my bag over my shoulder. I walked onto the plane to the North without looking back.