The night arrived faster than I would have liked.
Dressed in an elegant black dress, adorned with silver thread embroidery—a choice courtesy of Lucrecia, sent along with an ambiguous note that could be read either as support… or as a reminder of whom I owed allegiance—I got into the black car sent by the Council.
The Grand Hall of the Cedar Shadows welcomed us with its solemn grandeur. Dark marble, towering windows through which the harsh light of the full moon filtered, and dim lighting designed to reinforce the aura of power that hovered in the air. Wolves from all packs glided through the place, exchanging strategic greetings, practiced smiles… and sharp looks.
And then, I saw him.
Gabriel.
Standing among a group of young alphas, dressed in an impeccable black suit. Taller, colder. More distant than ever.
And next to him, a young woman with ash-blonde hair, porcelain-clear skin, and eyes the color of ice. She looked like a sleeping queen to be there.
I didn't need confirmation.
His future mate.
"That's Elianne," someone whispered behind me. From the Silver Mist pack. The Council announced their engagement with Gabriel this week.
Don't turn your head. It wasn't necessary.
Laisa stayed silent. Hurt, yes… but dignified.
I didn't know what hurt more: that he hid it from me, or that he didn't have the courage to warn me. Not a letter. Not a word.
And yet, there she was. Smiling out of obligation. Pretending. While I… tried not to break down in front of everyone.
But this time I would be different. I wasn't going to run.
I was going to stay. To hold my gaze. Because even if it cost me, I was no longer the wounded wolf he rejected.
The music floated in the air like a soft fog, vainly trying to soften the tension pulsing among the attendees. Conversations, forced laughter, and formal toasts filled the hall. But for me, it was all distant noise.
From the other side of the room, Gabriel moved as if everything were calm. Next to him, Elianne spoke fluently, with the confidence of someone already accepted. He seemed comfortable and impeccable.
And then, our eyes met. Just for a second.
Gabriel excused himself with a slight gesture and began walking toward me. Each step restrained, measured, as if fighting against something he shouldn't feel.
When he stopped in front of me, I looked at him without smiling.
"Sofía," he said, in a low voice, heavy with an emotion that no longer belonged to him.
"Gabriel," I replied, calm on the outside. Inside, my chest beat like a war drum.
The silence between us fell like a curtain. Heavy.
"I didn't think you would come," he murmured.
"I had no choice. I'm an alpha's daughter, did you forget?"
He nodded. His eyes dropped for a moment, as if my presence weighed on him… or hurt him.
"The engagement… wasn't my decision."
"Neither was your rejection," I answered. Without resentment, but without softening the edge of my words.
Gabriel took a deep breath.
"There were things I couldn't tell you. Things that…"
"You chose not to tell me," I interrupted firmly. "And you also chose not to choose me."
My voice was louder than I expected. Firmer. As if, finally, the version of me that had been hidden all this time was speaking.
He blinked. Hurt. Not by my anger, but by my calm.
"I never stopped thinking about you," he whispered.
"I did," I lied. Or almost. But I saw in his face that he didn't believe me. Especially because the unconsummated, yet not fully broken, mate bond pulsed strongly when we were near each other.
Gabriel took a step closer. I could smell his essence: wood, smoke, and contained fire. Laisa stirred inside me, alert but with repressed need. She needed Gabriel's wolf too. But we had been rejected.
"Don't do this," I said, barely a whisper. "Don't come close if you're just going to leave again. I'm not the same anymore."
His brows furrowed, and for a moment, he seemed like he wanted to say more. But he didn't. Only nodded. As if he understood that his words could no longer change anything. Besides, Elianne was looking in our direction.
"I'm sorry, Sofía," he said before turning away.
I watched him leave, return to Elianne, disappear among greetings and bows.
And I stayed there, upright, holding my composure as if it were my only armor.
I didn't cry. I swore I wouldn't.
Because now I knew the bravest thing isn't always fighting for what you love, but stopping begging for someone who never stayed.