The Rejected Mate (Elaine and Michael) novel Chapter 68

Darius found her in one of the side gardens, her figure hunched on a stone bench beneath the glow of the moonlight. The delicate flowers that lined the path swayed in the cool night breeze, their fragrance soft and calming, but Roselyn sat rigid and trembling, her arms. wrapped tightly around herself. Her wolf’s sorrow rolled off her in waves that made his own chest ache.

“Roselyn,” Darius said gently, approaching but careful not to crowd her.

She didn’t look at him. Her eyes stayed fixed on the fountain ahead, water trickling in the silence. “Why did you make me come here?” Her voice was raw, broken, more accusation than question.

Darius exhaled slowly, guilt pricking at him. “Because you’ve been hiding from the world. From life. From the bond you were destined to find.” He lowered himself onto the bench beside her, though he left enough space to give her breathing room. “I wanted you to have a chance at happiness, even if you didn’t believe you are not ready yet.”

Her head snapped toward him, eyes glistening, anger cutting through her tears. “Happiness? With him? Do you even realize who my mate is, Darius? Do you understand what kind of cruel joke the Goddess has played on me?”

He met her gaze steadily. “I do. Have you forgotten that my chosen mate is Elaine and I was here when this pack and everyone in it betrayed and abandoned her?.”

“Then you know why I can’t do this.” Her voice cracked, her wolf whimpering in her tone. “He’s part of the pack that destroyed Elaine. That left her broken and alone. How could the Moon Goddess tie me to someone who stood by and did nothing while she suffered?”

Darius clenched his jaw, the protective part of him bristling. “I don’t have an answer for that. But I know this, Roselyn–mate bonds are never a mistake. They are tests. Trials. Sometimes the Goddess ties us to those who will change us–or those we must change.”

She shook her head violently, clutching her chest as if trying to rip the bond out of her heart.” I don’t want him, Darius. I don’t want anything from Silverblade. Not after what Elaine went through.”

“Elaine is my sister maybe not in blood but in here, in my heart. She is my best friend and your chosen mate Darius.” Roselyn continues

“Yes, Elaine is my chosen mate. Chosen not just me but my wolf as well” Darius reminded softly, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. “And I hate what happened to her. But Roselyn… her story isn’t yours. This bond is yours. And no matter how much you want to deny it, you can’t run from it forever.”

Tears finally spilled down Roselyn’s cheeks. “I don’t want to betray her. How can I look Elaine in the eye and say the Moon Goddess gave me a mate from the same pack that abandoned her?”

Darius’s heart twisted at her words. He pulled her gently into his arms, holding her as he had when they were children. “You won’t betray her,” he murmured into her hair. “Because whatever choice you make, it will be yours. No one else’s. Not Calvin’s. Not Silverblade’s. Not even mine.”

She clung to him, trembling. For a moment, she allowed herself to lean into the safety of her brother’s embrace.

“I can’t do this, Darius,” she whispered. “I don’t have the strength.”

“Yes, you do,” Darius said firmly, pulling back just enough to look into her tear–streaked face. You are Roselyn of Crescent Moon pack and my sister. You have the strength to face this, even if it means rejecting him. Or… if it means finding a way to accept him despite everything.

Her lips trembled, her eyes searching his. “But what if I can’t forgive him? What if I can’t forgive any of them for what they did?”

“Then you don’t,” Darius said simply. “Forgiveness is not a command–it’s a choice. And it’s yours to make when, and if, you are ready. Until then, I will protect you from anyone who tries to force this bond upon you. Even Calvin. But you have to remember, the choice has to be yours. If you are hesitating because of Elaine, don’t. You know that Elaine respect the mate bond. She will never ask you to sacrifice your mate bond because of her”

Roselyn sagged against him, relief and grief mingling in the heavy silence. The bond tugged at her relentlessly, her wolf crying for her mate, but Darius’s steady presence anchored her.

The Moonlight shimmered across the garden, silvering her tears as she whispered into the night, “Why would the Goddess do this to me?”

Darius tightened his hold on her, his jaw hardening with resolve. Because the Goddess never gives easy paths, he thought grimly. Only the ones were strong enough to walk.

“I will call Elaine and let her know what happened here,” Darius said, his voice steady but gentle as he kept his arm around Roselyn’s shoulders. “Expect a call from her, Roselyn. Don’t make any rash decisions until you’ve spoken with her.”

Roselyn’s head snapped up at his words, her tear–streaked face twisted with fear. “Will she hate me, Darius?” she whispered, her voice barely audible, as though the very thought of it might shatter her.

Darius’s heart clenched at the anguish in her eyes. He reached up, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, the way he had done since she was little. “You know she will not hate. you, Roselyn,” he said firmly, his tone carrying the weight of an alpha’s certainty.

“But-” Roselyn’s voice cracked, her wolf whimpering inside her, torn between joy at finding her mate and despair at who he was. “After everything she went through, after all the nights she cried in my arms, how can I tell her that the Moon Goddess tied me to one of them? To him? She’ll see it as betrayal, Darius. She’ll think I chose him over her.”

Darius’s expression softened, though his jaw was tight with the burden of truth. “Listen to me, little sister,” he said, his thumb gently wiping away one of her tears. “You do not have any control over who your mate is. None of us do. It is the Goddess who designs the threads that bind us, and no wolf has ever been able to change that. Elaine knows this. She more than anyone understands the cruelty and the blessing of the mate bond. Don’t let the pain and confusion you’re feeling right now make you believe something that isn’t true.”

Roselyn looked down at her hands, clenching them tightly in her lap. “But I feel like I’m betraying her. Like I’m taking something from her that she should have had but was denied.” Her voice broke again, heavy with guilt.

Darius shook his head slowly, his eyes burning with conviction. “Elaine will never hate you for something that is not your choice. That is not who she is. You know her heart, Roselyn. She is strong, she is forgiving, and she loves you like a sister. She would never lay blame on you for the bond the Goddess gave you. Never.”

Roselyn’s lip trembled, her tears falling freely now. “But what if she looks at me differently? What if every time she sees me, she remembers what Silverblade did to her?”

“She might,” Darius admitted, his honesty cutting but necessary. “But she will never look at you as the enemy. She knows you stood by her when no one else did. You carried her through her darkest nights. You were her family when her mate and her pack turned away. That kind of loyalty doesn’t break, Roselyn. Not even the Moon Goddess herself could sever that bond between you two.”

Roselyn Inhaled sharply, clinging to his words as though they were the only thing keeping her afloat. Her wolf was restless, pacing inside her, torn between the bond’s call and her loyalty to Elaine.

Darius squeezed her hand. “Talk to Elaine. Let her remind you of who you are–and who she is. Don’t make decisions in the heat of this pain. Give yourself the chance to see clearly.”

Roselyn nodded slowly, though uncertainty still lingered in her eyes. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough for this, Darius.”

His voice hardened, but only with love. “You are my sister. You are Roselyn of Crescent Moon Pack. You are strong enough to carry this burden, no matter how heavy it feels right now. And until you decide what to do, I will stand between you and anyone who dares to push you- including your mate.”

Her eyes widened slightly, a mix of fear and gratitude crossing her face. For a moment, she leaned against him again, letting her brother’s strength shield her from the storm inside her.

Above them, the moon shone full and bright, silent witness to the tangled threads of fate the Goddess had woven.