A heavy metal cage was dragged into the courtyard, rusted and worn, its bars lined with dried blood from past occupants. My heart pounded wildly as they forced me inside, slamming the door shut behind me. The clang of metal rang out like a death knell.
The crowd roared again as the cage was lifted onto a wagon. I gripped the bars so tightly that my knuckles turned white, my breath coming in panicked gasps.
Then—
“Wait.”
Owen’s voice sliced through the chaos, silencing the crowd. The wagon came to a jarring halt. A cold wave of dread crashed over me.
What more could he possibly want?
He stepped forward, his gaze locked onto mine. “There’s still something missing,” he mused, his voice dripping with cruelty.
I swallowed hard, my pulse hammering.
Owen stopped directly in front of the cage, his expression eerily calm. Then he said the word that sent ice through my veins.
“Rejection.”
My entire body stiffened.
The bond. The sacred mate bond.
Rejection wasn’t just a severance—it was torture. A brutal, agonizing torment that could break even the strongest wolves.