Rejected at the River, Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 01

Rejected at the River, Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 01

Every bride in Moonbrook Pack had to follow one rule.

She had to lie in a rowboat covered in fresh flowers while her groom pulled her across the river.

If not, she’d have to marry the rumored savage Lycan King and never leave that desolate palace for the rest of her life.

My fated mate, Alpha Cillian, had trained for three years just for this ceremony. He’d worn his hands raw, building calluses thick enough to pull a three-hundred-pound boat.

I was thrilled, waiting in the pack house.

When it was time, I lay quietly in the flower boat, praying everything would go smoothly.

Then a random phone call shattered everything.

“Elowen, there’s an emergency at the pack. I have to go deal with it right now. Let’s push the mating ceremony back.”

The second he finished speaking, Cillian let go of the rope.

The river current reversed, and my flower boat drifted slowly back to the starting point.

Elder Aldwin watched, then slammed his cane on the ground with a dull thud.

“Elowen, you know the rules of our Moonbrook Pack.”

“The groom has to pull the bride across the river before the song ends for the ceremony to be complete.”

“If the ceremony gets interrupted, you’ll have to marry the Lycan King and stay trapped in that maze of a palace forever. No way out.”

“But I’ve known you since you were a little girl.”

He let out a long sigh.

“Tell you what. If Cillian can come back and get you before the countdown ends, I’ll pretend none of this ever happened.”

I stared at Cillian’s retreating back, frozen, my whole body cold.

My grandmother grabbed my phone and dialed Cillian over and over again.

Four minutes and three seconds. Dozens of calls.

No one answered.

The moment the last call ended automatically, the melody reached its end and fell silent.

My grandmother’s face went pale, her hands trembling.

“No. My Elowen, this is it. This is really it.”

Her eyes dazed, she stepped forward to beg for mercy.

I held her back and looked at Aldwin first.

“Elder Aldwin, I accept.”

I’d already made up my mind before deciding to continue the ceremony.

“I’ll go back to school and handle my withdrawal.”

I changed out of my white wedding dress and took a car to the airport alone.

Cillian hadn’t boarded yet.

When he saw me walking toward him, guilt flashed through his eyes.

“Elowen, you know how important Blackthorn Pack is to me.”

“Yeah.”

I answered softly.

But my chest felt blocked, aching.

The only flight between Moonbrook Pack and Blackthorn Pack was once a day.

He still had two hours before boarding. Why couldn’t he finish pulling the boat first?

It would’ve only taken five minutes…

But Cillian didn’t notice the unspoken words in my eyes.

Like every time he left before, he reached for my hand and laced his fingers through mine.

The matching couple rings we’d worn for years gleamed painfully bright under the lights.

“If you knew leaving halfway would break our mate bond completely, would you regret it?” I asked quietly.

He pulled out his earbuds and looked at me blankly. “What did you say?”

He was on the phone. And on the other end was Hazel, the beta he’d taken in.

“Nothing.”

It didn’t matter anymore anyway.

I pulled my hand back without a word and watched him stay on the phone with Hazel the whole time. I didn’t say another word.

When the plane landed, I got off first.

Hazel saw me and walked over with a smile.

“Elowen, I only called Cillian away for something important. You’re not mad, are you?”

She stuck out her tongue playfully, looking innocent and cute.

“Of course she’s not mad.”

Cillian walked up beside her, a smile creeping into his expression without him realizing it.

“Elowen, go home by yourself. I’ll be back later.”

I watched them leave.

I called a rideshare and was about to give the address.

But instead, the words came out differently. “Follow that car.”

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped.

I stood across from Mate Registry, my scarf whipping loud in the wind.

I could feel something inside me snap.