Chapter 2 A Fate Worse Than Death

Lisa's POV

A flicker of hope bloomed in my chest.

This was the moment I had been waiting for. Maybe Roman would accept me, see me for who I was, and we could rise above the cruel whispers of the pack.

But as I stepped closer, Roman's expression twisted into something dark, something furious. His grey eyes, which had held a brief moment of shock, now blazed with anger.

He took a step forward, and my heart began to flutter.

"Hi, Alpha Roman," I beamed him a shy smile.

"No," he growled in response. "This can't be right."

My blood turned to ice in my veins. "Alpha Roman..."

I tried to reach out to him, but the words caught in my throat.

"You?" he spat with disgust. "The Moon Goddess paired me with you?"

He dragged his eyes from mine down to my feet and up again, as if he could barely stand the sight of me. "This has to be a mistake."

My heart shattered into a thousand pieces. The warm sensation of the bond had been comforting, now it feels like a chill in my spine.

"I won't accept this," Alpha Roman declared loudly, turning towards the gathered pack.

"I - I don't understand," I stammered in a weak voice. "I'm your mate."

"No! I, Alpha Roman, reject you, Lisa. You're nothing but a weak omega, and you'll never be my mate!"

The words hit me like a physical blow, knocking the breath out of my lungs. The crowd erupted in shocked murmurs, but there was an underlying note of satisfaction in the air, as if they'd been waiting for this moment.

"I can't believe the Moon Goddess would pair an Alpha with an Omega like her," someone muttered.

"She's always been pathetic," another voice added.

I stood frozen in place, my heart pounding in my chest as the words of rejection echoed in my ears.

"I, Alpha Roman, reject you, as my mate and Luna to my Pack," his voice repeated in my mind, the words replaying over and over. The air around me felt thick, suffocating, as if the entire world had closed in on me.

Roman's face remained hard, his disgust evident as he turned away from me as if I were something dirty that I couldn't bear to look at.

"You're nothing but a weak omega," he had declared to the crowd, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. The public humiliation was unbearable, and the eyes of the entire pack were on me, waiting to see how I would react.

"You're not fit to stand by my side," Roman's voice cut through me again, though now he wasn't looking at me. He was focused on someone else.

Tears spilled down my cheeks when I turned my head slightly to see who Roman was speaking to. And there, standing at his side with a smug smile, was my stepsister, Brenda.

Brenda, who had spent years tormenting me, laughing at my weakness, now stood beside Roman, her eyes gleaming with triumph. The realization hit me like a punch in the gut. Roman had chosen Brenda.

"I chose Brenda as my mate!" Roman announced in a loud voice.

The crowd gasped and my heart clenched painfully in my chest.

Brenda stepped forward with a smirk, her arm wrapping possessively around Roman's.

She turned to me, her smile widening as she relished the pain on my face.

"Looks like I win, Lisa," She said with a mocking glare. "The Moon Goddess may have chosen you for Roman, but clearly, even she doesn't know what's best."

I couldn't respond when my voice was trapped in my throat. The betrayal, the rejection, the public humiliation. It was all too much. My legs felt weak, barely able to hold my weight as I struggled to remain standing. I wanted to disappear, to melt into the earth beneath my feet, to be anywhere but here.

Brenda leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper as though it was meant only for my ears. "You thought you had a chance, didn't you? Poor Little Lisa, always dreaming of something she could never have. It's pathetic."

I blinked rapidly, trying to push back to the tears threatening to spill down my cheeks.

"Go on, cry," Brenda continued, her voice low and cruel. "It's what you're best at. Everyone knows it's the only thing you're good for."

A ripple of laughter spread through the crowd, joining Brenda's cruel taunts.

Roman stood tall beside Brenda, his expression indifferent as the crowd laughed and jeered. To him, this was nothing more than a necessary act. He had rejected his fated mate in front of everyone and chosen someone more "worthy" of his position as Alpha. To him, I didn't matter. I never had.

Suddenly, a female voice called out. I let it all go to hell. The tears slipped down my cheeks when I saw it was Luna Bella, Roman's mother. She was seated among the pack elders with a smug look on her face.

Her beautiful face contorted in a mocking sneer as she stared at me. "Is she going to run away? Aww, the poor little omega can't take it."

Another voice chimed in. It was my step mother, Jeanine. "No wonder the Alpha rejected her. Who would want a mate like that?"

"Tell me about it." Even my father snorted a laugh.

The laughter grew louder, and I felt myself shrinking further into myself, trying to block out her mocking voices. I had been through so much, endured 18 years of being ridiculed, but this was different. This was worse. This was a rejection not just from a potential mate, but from my entire pack, from the life I had tried so hard to find my place in.

My breath hitched, the tears I had fought so hard to keep back now spilled down my cheeks. I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand here any longer, couldn't face their jeers and cruel words. My vision blurred as I turned in my heels, the sound of Brenda's triumphant laughter ringing in my ears.

"Run away, Lisa!" Roman called behind me, his voice carrying above the crowd. "Go cry in the woods where you belong!"

I didn't look back. I couldn't. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, pushing through the trees that lined the clearing.

The branches scratched at my skin, but I didn't care. All I wanted was to be far away from the pack, from the pain, from the humiliation that clung to me like a suffocating fog.

My breath came in ragged gasps as I stumbled deeper into the forest, the cool night air biting at my skin. The full moon hung high above me, casting long shadows across the first floor, but even its light felt cold and distant.

In a loud voice, I screamed at it, hoping the Moon Goddess would hear it. "It should've been a night of joy! You should've made it a night of celebration but you made it into my worst nightmare! Why!"

My response was my own echo and it infuriated me the most.

I continued my walk.

After what felt like hours, my legs finally gave out and I collapsed on the floor, my chest heaving with sobs.

I buried my face in my hands, the tears flowing feeling now, soaking the earth beneath me.

"How could this happen? Why would you do this to me?" I whispered to no one in my breaking voice.

"I had always believed in you, believed that you had a plan for every wolf. But now, it feels like you have something against me. Why would you pair me with someone who would reject me so brutally? Why would you let Brenda, my cruelest tormentor, win?!"

The sound of my screams filled the empty forest, the only company I had left.

I remained on the forest floor, crying until I had no more tears left.

The cold air chilled me to the bone. I had to find shelter real fast. I remembered there was a bar up ahead.

I got off the floor and dusted my gown, trudging slowly in the direction of the bar.

There was no point in me returning to the pack. I had nothing left. No pack, mate, no future. Maybe, the bar wouldn't make me feel lonely.