CHAPTER 217: WRONG CHOICE.

Hazel’s POV

"Leon, reject her now!" Cayden snapped as he finally stepped forward. Leon turned to him, fear flickering in his eyes.

Caspian added, his tone firm, "Reject her now, because there’s no way we’re allowing a prisoner among us."

"No—no, Leon, you can’t!" Sophia cried, clinging desperately to him. "You can’t reject me. My life has been hell, Leon. Please, save me. The Moon Goddess must have sent you to help me... and my family." She pointed toward her sisters and stepmother. "You can’t leave me like this. If you reject me, my life will be over."

I glanced at Aurora—she was frozen, too stunned to speak. Her eyes were fixed on Leon, silently pleading for him to do the right thing: reject Sophia and choose her.

"An Alpha can cut off a bond, right?" Cayden asked, turning to Elder Gina. She nodded slowly.

"If it’s a forbidden bond," she said, "then yes, an Alpha has the right to end it."

"Then I hereby decline this mating bond," Caspian declared loudly.

But something in my chest twisted. It didn’t feel right. Caspian turned to me.

"Hazel, do you testify? Do you agree to the declination of this bond?"

I swallowed. "I don’t think it’s up to us," I said, and all eyes turned to me. "It’s not our decision to make."

"But Hazel, she’s a prisoner," Caspian said gently.

"Yes, she is," I agreed. "But still, it should be Leon’s choice. If he truly loves Aurora, he’ll reject Sophia. If not—then that’s his burden to carry."

I turned to Leon. "It’s not up to us Alphas to decide what’s right or wrong for him. Leon, make your choice. Do you want this bond or not?"

Leon stammered, his eyes darting between Sophia and Aurora. He looked utterly lost. Why was he hesitating? He and Aurora had waited for this moment—when their love could finally be accepted. I was Alpha now. Even if Caspian wanted to reject the bond, I could overrule it. Their love should have triumphed.

So why was he struggling to speak? Why was he looking at Sophia like that?

And then he said it.

"I accept her."

Aurora’s knees buckled, and she fainted.

"Aurora!" I shouted, rushing to her side. Cayden was already beside her. Fury surged through me, and before I realized it, I’d given Leon three heavy blows.

"Please, don’t hurt him!" Sophia screamed, throwing herself in front of him. Leon’s lip was bleeding. My hands trembled with rage as I turned to Aurora’s limp body.

"What are you doing, Leon? What have you done?" I spat.

Leon wiped the blood from his mouth and stared down at Aurora, guilt and defiance warring in his eyes.

"She’s my mate," he said quietly. "Didn’t you all say it’s wrong to reject your mate?"

"Not when the mate is a prisoner," Cayden growled.

Leon snapped his gaze at him. "Didn’t you reject Hazel?" he shot back. "She was human. You rejected her—and then went crawling back. I won’t make that mistake. I don’t want a back-and-forth bond. I’ll just accept her once and for all."

His jaw tightened. "She’s my mate, and I can feel it in my blood, whether I like it or not. And if accepting Sophia means losing my Beta title, then so be it."

The entire room froze.

"I’ll drop my title," Leon continued, "but I won’t let her rot in that damn prison another day."

That was it. I lost control. I stormed toward him and slapped him across the face—once, twice, three times.

Sophia lunged at me, but I caught her wrist midair, squeezing it hard. "Listen here, girl," I hissed. "I’m not that human girl you once tried to torture. I could end your life in seconds."

I shoved her hard, sending her sprawling to the floor. Leon’s growl ripped through the air.

"Don’t touch my mate."

"Do not raise your voice above mine," Caspian growled, losing his composure as he finally stepped forward. He looked ready to attack, but I caught his arm.

"This isn’t Leon," I said sharply. "This cannot be him."

I turned to Leon. "What about Aurora?" I said her name loudly, not caring about the consequences.

"I don’t care about her," he said flatly, and my heart cracked open.

I wasn’t even Aurora, and yet I could feel a stabbing ache tearing through my chest. I couldn’t imagine what Aurora would feel if she were awake to hear that. Thank the goddess she wasn’t conscious.

"What do you mean, Leon? Aurora—this is Aurora we’re talking about."

"I have my mate, Hazel," he said coldly. "Whatever I had with Aurora was nothing. I cannot be romantically involved with a witch. Yes, I was young and foolish—but I’ve grown. And the first decision I’ll make as a man is to make Sophia my mate."

"You are banned," Caspian thundered.

"No!" I cut in before he could finish. "No, he’s not. He’s still a Beta of this pack. You can’t just strip him of that—"

"He’s no longer a Beta," Caspian snapped back.

"Caspian, no!" I shouted, stepping between them. "Leon, do you even realize what you’re saying right now?"

He met my gaze, his expression firm—unyielding. "Yes, I do. Sophia will become my mate today. And I don’t care what happens after."

"Are you aware she was a prisoner?" I demanded.

"I’m very aware," he said evenly. "But she participated in the mating hunt, didn’t she? The goddess always finds a way to bring destined souls together."

He turned toward Sophia, and she smiled sweetly at him—triumphantly.

And that’s when it hit me.

I shouldn’t have brought my stepmother and stepsisters here for Marcus’s burial. I thought I was being kind. I didn’t know Celine would twist the opportunity—release Sophia, let her enter the hunt, and manipulate fate itself.

Now Sophia had found her mate. And Leon, blinded by destiny, stood by her side.

My knees nearly buckled, but I forced myself to speak. "The council will determine your fate, Leon," I said tightly. "You’ve chosen a prisoner as your mate. The council will decide what happens next."

I turned to Caspian. "What are you doing?" I asked sharply as his jaw tightened.

He spat at the ground, furious. "We can’t make this decision in haste," he said. "This is Leon we’re talking about—and Aurora’s heart is at stake. The council must rule. We won’t condemn him on impulse, no matter how wrong his choice is."