The Rejected Mate (Elaine and Michael) novel Chapter 129

Kathy watched Michael’s resting face in the dim quiet of the infirmary, illuminated only by the soft, pulsing glow of the soft light in the ceiling. He looked peaceful now—or as peaceful as someone with a wounded wolf could. His chest rose and fell evenly, his muscles no longer trembling beneath the weight of a fractured spirit.

His wolf had finally… rested.

Not healed. Not whole. But no longer fighting the impossible battle of clinging to a life that was never his to reclaim. He had accepted—however reluctantly—what was, instead of drowning in the ghost of what was supposed to be.

Kathy pressed a hand over her own heart. She could feel it. The faint spiritual tug through an unfulfilled mate bond. A dull ache. A hollow place carved into her chest where something soft and warm should have thrived eternally.

This was the pain of an incomplete soul.

She felt it now, deep within her being.

The agony of losing a mate, even when that mate still drew breath. The sorrow of knowing that she would never be whole, never experience that divine connection, that profound warmth that bound wolves together. A realization dawned on her: for the rest of their lives, she and Michael would carry this emptiness, a void that would forever linger in their spirits. A cold, dark corner where light ought to shine.

They were destined to bear this burden for eternity.

The Moon Goddess, in her infinite wisdom, rarely granted second chances to those who had shattered their first. Not when the bond had been denied. Not when the sacred thread had been severed by their own choices.

Kathy let out a shaky breath.

In the months that had passed, she had learned to navigate through this grief. Each morning, she swallowed down the sorrow, donning a mask of strength for the world to see. She smiled for Leo, their son, and walked beside Michael in her role as Luna, even when the title felt as if it weighed heavily on her shoulders—far too heavy compared to how it had fit Elaine.

And now, it was Michael’s turn to grapple with that same emptiness.

What choice did they really have?

Their future—the life they could have crafted together—had been sealed three years prior. It was the day Alpha Efrein had issued his decree, when fear overpowered fate. The day when she and Michael had exchanged glances, realizing they were too young, too afraid, and too bound by duty to fight for what the Goddess had intended for them.

Now, all that remained was the life they had painstakingly constructed from the ashes of the one they had destroyed.

And Leo.

Sweet, innocent Leo.

He was the only unblemished aspect of the life they had forced themselves into. Their son. Their reason to persist.

Kathy inhaled deeply, turning her attention to the woman who stood silently behind her.

Elaine.

Luna of Crescent Moon. The true mate of Darius. The very woman Michael was destined for. The sister with whom Kathy had once shared whispered secrets beneath the moonlight. The sister she had abandoned in her moment of greatest need.

Kathy’s throat constricted painfully.

“Thank you for doing this, Luna Elaine,” she spoke softly, her tone formal yet laced with sincerity.

Elaine’s expression remained unchanged, a mask of stoicism. “I didn’t do it for you. Or for Michael.” Her eyes flickered momentarily to the still figure on the bed. “I did it for your son, Leo.”

Kathy nodded, accepting the truth without resentment. “I know. But I still thank you.” Her gaze fell, her voice trembling. “After everything we did… the pain we caused you… you still chose to show mercy. You still thought of my son.”

Elaine’s eyes held a calmness that was guarded, but beneath it, Kathy sensed something flicker—an old wound that had yet to heal.

With determination, Kathy forced herself to meet her sister’s gaze fully.

“When I chose to follow Efrein’s orders,” she whispered, her voice barely above a breath, “I didn’t comprehend what we were taking from you. What you were losing. I didn’t understand the anguish of losing a mate—the feeling of a piece of your soul being ripped away. At that moment, I begged for your forgiveness. I pleaded for your understanding. But I didn’t deserve it.”

Her voice cracked under the weight of her confession.

“I’m so sorry… sister.”

The word lingered in the air, delicate and fragile.

Elaine inhaled sharply, her composure wavering for the first time.

Her lips parted, perhaps in surprise or pain. The years that had stretched between them pressed in from all sides, heavy with unspoken words.

“You found your mate,” Elaine finally said, not as a question but as a statement of fact.

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