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He settled into the foot of his bed, pulling my chair around and bringing me face-to-face with him.

“There’s something I should let you know, Mira.”

I didn’t think a name would sound better than it already was, but the way mine rolled out of his lips like smooth butter set out goosebumps across my skin. It was my turn to clear my throat.

“What is that?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, his eyes stayed glued to my face. Every second that passed added to the growing tension in the air. I decided to break the silence before I choked on the thick air, but he beat me to it, shattering the moment with his words.

“I’m engaged, Mira.”

The words reverberated in my head like a faraway explosion before it transitioned into a low repeating loop. My heart slowed down, and cold sweat washed over me. What did he mean he was engaged? Didn’t he bring me here to mate with me? It didn’t make sense. Even the word left a bitter taste on my tongue.

“How?” I croaked out, the raw sound of my voice taking me by surprise.

“Her name is Lilith, and we’re to get married soon.”

The words cut through me like a blunt, jagged knife, tugging at my nerves and ending with every slide. “But I’m your mate. We are meant to be together. The moon goddess herself paired us, and we all know she doesn’t make mistakes.Surely—”

“Mira.” his voice came out strained. “I’m a prince. I have responsibilities and goals—ones that trump the wishes of a deceptive goddess and her obsession with meddling in our lives. I’ve known Lilith all my life, and I’ve grown to love her. She supports my dreams for a reformed world for our people.” He drew in a deep breath. “It’s the same spirit I saw in you with your confidence and ability to stand against the corrupt system even though you had no one backing you and were at risk of the worst form of punishment. Your strength is admirable, Mira. It’s why I brought you here. Your courage is what our world needs, and I couldn’t stand and watch them do that to you.”

My heart was falling apart with every word he said. I watched my childlike dreams of a magical life once I found my mate falling to pieces before me. Why couldn’t I have this one? He is supposed to be my only chance at true love and happiness. Why can’t he stay? Why does everything have to be taken away from me?

“Mira?” Griffin’s voice floated into my thoughts, returning me to reality and the pains that came with it. “Did you hear a word of anything I’ve said?”

I nodded wordlessly, not trusting my voice to not break if I spoke.

His eyes softened.

“I know this is not what you were expecting, but I hope you understand. For me, duty must come before anything, and I hope to have your support in my fight against the system. I’ll be needing it.”

I felt my wolf whimper inside me, refusing to accept her mate’s subtle rejection and urging me to make him see us as a worthy partner, but I held back, fighting back at her desperate need to connect to him. I mustered every bit of strength to look into his blue eyes.

“I support your desire to reform our world, and I’ll try my best to be of help in any way I can.”

I mentally patted myself for coughing out the words without my voice breaking.

Griffin thanked me for understanding and insisted on folding the rest of his laundry himself. I can’t remember walking through the halls or descending the stairs, but I was in my room in a flash. I locked the door behind me, shutting me away from the world, and I finally let it all out.

My shoulders shook with the weight of unshed tears, and every part of me hurt. This pain was a lot different from the strokes of the cane or the aches in my muscles from working. It was raw and unfiltered, and it settled deep in my bones, seeping into my blood and spreading to every part of me. But it wasn’t physical.

I couldn’t soothe it by running my hands through it. Not even my healing abilities could alleviate it. It persisted and intensified with every breath I took. I felt my wolf retreat into herself, but that did nothing to soothe the pain. I retired into a self-dug hole of pain, loathing myself for not being enough for the one person who should love me unconditionally and feeling anger at the moon goddess for cursing me with life as miserable as this.

Dawn found me curled up on the cold, hard floor. My body ached from the pain of spending the night on the floor, but it was nothing compared to the ache in my chest.

I pulled through. The world has broken me enough, and I didn’t make it this far by tucking my tail and hiding away. So, I crawled my way out of my pity hole and got ready for the day. Thankfully, there was no sign of Griffin in the palace, and I was able to get through the day without dealing with the awkwardness and pain that would come from running into him.

The next couple of days followed a similar pattern: wake up, breakfast, morning duties, lunch, afternoon duties, dinner, and bedtime.

Except for the one time I ran into Griffin at the library and the tension that made it too uncomfortable to have a proper conversation, I never saw or sensed him close to me, not even when I cleaned his room.

There were little moments when my emotions got the best of me, and I found myself spending extra time in his room just to feel close to him and hoping to run into him. But he seemed intent on avoiding me. Maybe it was for the best.

My wolf had yet to say a word to me. She was obviously mad that I didn’t fight to claim our mate, but she wouldn’t understand that things were more complicated for me than for her. Regardless, I let her take her time. This was probably harder for her than it was for me, and she needed more time before she was ready to confront our new reality.

In my second week, I was on my way to the laundry when I heard soft whimpers coming from the storage room. I rushed to the sound and found a girl being shoved around by a group of girls about the same age as us.

I had made a resolve to keep to myself throughout my stay in the palace till I figured out a way forward, but the little girl in me who grew up a subject of countless shoves and a few punches couldn’t look away.