Chapter 3

Layla's POV: Alpha Griffin walked toward me, and the very air grew heavy with his approach. As the dreaded supreme Alpha of the Shadow Wolves, he had nonetheless been my silent guardian for ten years. He had known I was his fated mate since the first stirrings of girlhood, yet he had honored my choice, letting me attend the academy and live the life of an ordinary person. He had waited in the shadows all this time, never once pressing me for an answer.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and gave him a slow, steady nod.

I was ready to accept the bond between us.

Griffin's eyes darkened. In the space of a heartbeat he crossed the distance between us and crushed me against his broad, solid chest. The instant our skin touched, a violent current shot through my whole body, igniting every nerve. An unprecedented peace washed over me like a tide. At last, I had found where my soul belonged.

Griffin buried his face in the curve of my neck and drew a deep breath. "I'm taking my Luna home," he murmured, his rich voice making my collarbone tingle.

I pulled back slightly and gazed up at his handsome face.

"Give me five minutes," I said softly.

I slipped into the quiet lounge beside the hotel entrance and took out my phone. Opening the mountain campground's management app, I pulled up the reservation under my name and canceled the booking with a few crisp taps. Then I dialed the campground manager's direct line.

"This is Layla," I said, flat and distant. "I've just canceled the mountain campsite. Gather up every last thing belonging to Caleb and Selena, and toss those heavy suitcases straight into the trash bins by the dirt road. If anything of theirs is left lying in the mud, burn it on the spot."

"At once, miss!" the manager stammered, plainly rattled by the cold authority in my voice.

On my way back to Griffin, my phone began buzzing furiously. A message from a friend at the academy: "Layla! What on earth is going on?! Look at this!" She sent a screenshot from the alumni social feed—Caleb's profile page.

He had published a nine-photo post.

Dead center was a high-resolution contract certificate issued by the temple priests.

The other eight were all intimate selfies of him and Selena kissing and entangled in the energy suite.

The caption read: "Lucky day. Picked up a top-grade Omega. Blessings to the Moon Goddess."

I opened the app to search his account. A notice popped up: This user has blocked you.

A scornful smile curled my lips.

Caleb had always refused to make our relationship public, claiming he feared other Alphas would set their sights on me.

Ridiculous. He'd simply wanted to keep his eligible-bachelor image intact.

I fired back a quick reply to my friend:

"Caleb? I'm done with him. Threw him out with the trash."

My friend instantly bombarded me with a string of furious voice messages, cursing Caleb and Selena for their shamelessness and their desecration of the Moon Goddess.

Then a text message from Caleb popped up on my screen.

A location pin—a cheap barbecue joint near the temple.

When I didn't reply, my phone rang off the hook. Caller ID: Caleb.

I answered and held the phone to my ear.

"Where the hell did you die?" Caleb barked down the line. "Get over here now! Selena's pre-heat symptoms are kicking in and she's starving!"

"Do you have any idea how far away I am right now?" I asked, my voice calm to the point of danger.

"Don't start trouble with me!" Caleb snapped. "Acting like a whiny, drama-queen Omega all day long!"

In the background came Selena's simpering giggle and the sound of Caleb's hand slapping playfully at her thigh.

They were flirting right in my ear. Utterly shameless.

I looked up at Griffin. His face was dark, his gaze fixed on me, killing intent and protectiveness warring in his eyes.

Caleb had made himself pitiable and laughable beyond all measure.

I drew a deep breath and spoke the vow of the ancient Rite of Rejection.

We had never formally bonded, so this was only the dissolution of a mundane partnership—but under the old law, a mating claim alone made us mates in fact, no mark required, and the vow lost none of its weight.

"I, Layla, hereby declare my rejection of you—Caleb—as my mate." My voice rang through the hotel lobby, clear and cold as ice.