Page 35 of My Fated Mate

Ellie places a hand on my shoulder, her touch surprisingly gentle. "We understand your burdens, Thorne. You may think our pack is too weak to stand beside yours, but we aren’t. We are gifted. This ceremony… It's a celebration of hope, of the strength we find in unity. Perhaps…" she trails off, her gaze flickering towards the hut where Elowen is in the room. “Perhaps it's a chance to celebrate the bonds we forge along the way, even if they are not the ones we wanted."

A chance to celebrate a bond I can't fully claim, a love story destined to remain unfulfilled.

For tonight, at least, I can allow myself a moment of respite, a stolen glance under the moonlight, a shared laugh with the woman who sets my wolf howling, even if the path ahead remains shrouded in uncertainty.

But tonight is all I give myself.

It won’t last more than this night.

The charade can't continue. I have to find a way to break it to Elowen, to explain the truth about the prophecy, about the desperate search for the fated mate.

It will be a painful conversation, a conversation that might shatter the fragile bond we share. But it's a conversation that has to happen for her sake and mine.

Then, as if I called her, Elowen emerges from the hut, blinking in the sunlight.

A gasp ripples through the crowd, followed by a chorus of cheers and congratulations. She's dressed in a simple gown of woven white, her hair adorned with a crown of flowers.

A blush blooms across her cheeks, making her beauty even more breathtaking.

In the pre-mating ceremony, the female is dressed in pure white to show her beauty to the world while her mate watches with pride.

Elowen scans the crowd, her eyes finally locking with mine. A smile, hesitant but hopeful, curves her lips. In that moment, the world around me fades away.

Wow.

There's only her, the woman who makes my wolf howl with desire, and my heart ache with a love that feels forbidden.

But the dream shatters as quickly as it forms.

Elowen isn't the fated mate. She doesn't have the power to stand beside me in the coming battle.

Mating her would be a betrayal, not just of the prophecy, but of her.

Despair claws at me, a relentless beast tearing at the last vestiges of hope. I can't have her, but the thought of someone else claiming her as his mate, of seeing another wolf touch the skin that burns for mine, is torture I can't bear.

As Elowen gets closer, her smile falters under the weight of my heavy gaze.

No, I can’t do this.

With a final, agonizing look at Elowen, I turn and stalk away from the clearing.

As I walk away, my wolf claws and tries to burst out of my chest to mourn. I see Viktor and Bjorn standing in the crowd and watching me with unreadable eyes.

Chapter 10

ELOWEN

A cloak of frustration hangs heavy over me like a storm cloud.

The days since Thorne's injury have been a whirlwind of emotions filled with relief at his recovery, joy at our newfound closeness, and a gnawing sense of confusion.

Thorne.The very name sends a tremor through me, a delicious mix of excitement and unease.

We'd shared a moment, something more significant than a moment. It spoke volumes.

Yet, since then, a wall seems to have descended between us. His once warm touches have become fleeting, his gaze distant and guarded.

Gone are the lingering glances, the whispered caresses.

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