the rejected mate: special awakening

---

The grand hall glittered with enchanted chandeliers, floating petals, and enough golden cutlery to blind a small dragon. Every seat was filled with nobility, diplomats, and visiting royals from the Solar Flame Kingdom, all chattering in elegant tones like their lives were a constant tea party.

Felice sat between Liora and a noble girl who wore a hat that looked suspiciously like a fruit basket. She was doing her best to blend in, chew gracefully, and not stab anyone with a fork if they asked the wrong question.

"So…" the fruit-hat girl leaned closer with a curious smile, "which pack are you from, dear?"

Felice froze.

Liora jumped in before she could say something like 'the underground, top-secret, please-don't-kill-me pack'.

"She's from the Moonveil Pack," Liora said casually, sipping her juice. "It's small. Very private. Deep in the Eastern Wastes."

"Oh! I've never heard of it."

"Exactly," Liora said brightly. "They're mysterious and refined."

Felice smiled through clenched teeth. "We're very refined."

Across the table, Lysander watched the entire exchange with a lazy, amused smirk. He didn't say a word, but the look on his face said: You owe me a thank-you gift later.

Just then, the feast's entertainment began: a group of magically enhanced dancers spun through the air, glittering with elemental magic—fire, ice, wind, and light. It was beautiful, dramatic, and—

BOOM!

One of the fireballs went rogue.

Screams erupted as the flame spiraled into the ceiling, bounced off a chandelier, and dove directly toward the table where Felice sat.

She didn't think.

She just moved.

With a flick of her wrist and an instinctive pull from deep within, she caught the fireball mid-air and crushed it into a tiny glowing spark between her fingers.

Silence.

Every eye in the hall turned toward her.

Felice blinked. "Oops?"

The Solar Flame prince raised both brows. "What kind of training do they teach at Moonveil?"

Felice gave her best innocent smile. "Oh, you know… yoga. Fire yoga."

Liora jumped in. "She's very flexible."

Lysander slowly, very softly, facepalmed.

Queen Seraphina stood with a polite but firm smile. "Thank you, everyone, for coming. Let's enjoy the rest of the evening without any more... flare-ups."

The crowd murmured and turned back to their desserts.

As they sat down, Liora whispered to Felice, "That was so cool."

Felice muttered, "That was so suspicious."

Lysander leaned in behind them. "Next time you do something miraculous, maybe wait until dessert is over."

Felice sighed. "Noted."

---