THE AGONY OF REJECTION

Carrie's POV

The atmosphere seemed charged, as though the night was holding its breath in anticipation of a momentous event. Day of graduation. For my pack life as well as for school. To get to this point, I had to train, labor, and shed blood. On a night like this, my pack had a custom of honoring the next generation of leaders. We had grown up from puppies. As wolves, we were prepared to assume our role within the pack.

However, tonight had more significance for me. I was going to meet my friend.

Every she-wolf longs to meet the one person the moon has selected just for them-their destined mate. It was the intense attraction, the spark that ignites when two wolves first lay eyes on one other, that I had been picturing for as long as I could remember. The mating relationship is unbreakable and holy. We have been instructed to do it. I have lived my whole life believing that.

But I couldn't stop the butterflies from running up my spine as I stood there in the moonlight, encircled by my pack in the huge forest that surrounded our little town. What if everything went wrong? What if this is the night I never found him? Even worse, what if I managed to locate him but he rejected me?

I forced myself to swallow hard as I tried to ignore my misgivings. Carrie, keep your optimism up. I tightened the straps on the white dress my mother had chosen. She had added, "You'll look radiant in it, dear." "The ideal Luna."

Moon. The term almost made me giggle. My mother had always thought highly of me and anticipated that I would become the next Luna in our pack. But I was unable to plan that far ahead. I just wanted to experience the pull of the mate connection at that moment.

I cast a quick look at the others. There was much laughing and joy throughout the evening. Elderly wolves gathered in groups, drinking and chatting while the blaze crackled and lit up the area where couples were dancing. Everything was bathed in a silvery radiance as the moon hung full in the sky.

I then noticed her. Sarah. My greatest buddy, the one who had supported me through it all. Tyler, her boyfriend, was dancing with her. As I saw them together, I couldn't help but grin. Samantha, with her vibrant red locks and contagious grin, and Tyler, the rock of our little three, were a wonderful match for one another.

With joy in her eyes, Samantha gestured for me to come closer. "Carrie, hurry up! Be active and social!

Even though my feet were firmly placed toward the edge of the crowd, I yelled back, "I'm not." "I am merely awaiting."

Spinning around in Tyler's arms, she giggled. "You know, waiting for your mate to come along and blow you away?"

I attempted to seem unconcerned as I shrugged, but my heart was racing. "Possibly."

Tyler smiled back at me. "Carrie, you'll locate him this evening. I'm aware of it.

Hopefully, he was correct. My sense of being on the brink of something significant persisted throughout the entire evening, but as the hours went by, that sensation gradually gave way to disappointment. All night long, wolves had been mating, and the aroma of their new mate bonds and their excited gasps filled the air. but not me.

I looked up to see the moon. Was my request unreasonable? Just a single, magical moment?

That's when I realized.

The smell.

It was both cozy and eerie at the same time. Everything about me froze. "Oh, deity." My partner. He was in attendance.

My eyes darted around the throng, desperate to locate the source of that scent, and my heart raced. It was not far for me to look.

Tyler.

Unaware of the shock that was coursing through me, he was just standing there, grinning at Samantha. **Also not. No, no, no. This cannot be taking place.**

"Carrie?" His tone was hesitant, and when we made eye contact, the shock I was experiencing was reflected back in his eyes. He had also experienced it. The link. The drawback. My mate was him.

With my head spinning, I staggered back. Samantha's boyfriend, Tyler. My closest friend's partner.

This was not the intended outcome. Not in this manner.

"Carrie..." He stepped toward me and his voice became quiet, but I stopped him from getting any closer.

I shook my head and muttered, "No." "No, this isn't correct."

Samantha had ceased her dancing, her chuckles diminishing as she glanced between us. "What is happening?" With a look of perplexity on her face, she looked at Tyler and then back at me.

My answer was insufficient. I couldn't even find the right words to describe the destruction that overcame me. The mate bond, the one thing about which I had always dreamed, was becoming my worst nightmare.

Tyler opened his lips, but I already knew what was coming. I saw it in his eyes. The apology. The regret.

"I'm sorry, Carrie," he whispered quietly. "I can't. Samantha has my heart.

I was surprised by how hard the rejection hit me. My lungs were completely knocked out, like a punch to the gut. My inner wolf let out whimpers, lamenting the unfulfilled bond.

Tears stung my eyes, but I forced a smile. "That's alright. It's nothing to worry about. I didn't want him to feel bad, even though my trembling voice revealed how much I was in pain. He did not cause this. This was the cruel prank of fate.

I was able to no longer bear to stay there. Without saying another word, I turned and ran, running from the pain and betrayal, the forest engulfing me whole.

Till I was far into the woods, far from the bonfire, the laughter, and the aroma of friends, I didn't stop. The weight of it all crushed me as I fell to the ground, my chest heaving with sobs.

Tyler wasn't my own. He wouldn't ever be. Now, though... I was devoid of everything.

Under the full moon's light, I sat there feeling more alone than I had ever felt in my life. All that remained to me was the pain of rejection after the mate bond had come and gone.

I pulled myself upright as the moonlight danced through the branches, creating spectral shadows on the ground. I could feel the night getting colder, as though the heartbreak that was still in my chest had caused a shift in the air itself. Taking a deep breath, I tried to center myself.

That's it, I told myself. It is finished.

I was forced to go. There was nothing left for me here. My pack, my friends... they would go on. And so would I.

Maybe tomorrow, I'd have the fortitude to confront them. But for now, I was simply a girl in the woods, escaping from the one thing I believed would bring me happiness.