Chapter 3 Mate's Rejection!

Valeria's POV

2 Years later...

I couldn't stop crying. My hands gripped the sheet so tightly my knuckles ached, but nothing could hide the bruises-or the shame consuming me from the inside out.

"Don't cry like I forced you," Arkell said, his cynical voice cutting through the silence as he dressed at the foot of the bed. His eyes, cold and filled with contempt, bore into me.

"You came to my bed willingly."

"Stop playing the martyr. You're getting on my nerves," he added with a sneer.

I struggled to speak, my voice catching in my throat. "But... my sister... You promised to set her free..."

I wiped at my tears, though they wouldn't stop. The lump in my throat made it almost impossible to breathe, let alone speak.

"We'll see about that later," he replied with a casual shrug, as if my pain meant nothing. This-after he'd promised not to offer her up if I gave in.

"Not later, Alpha," I pleaded, rising unsteadily, clutching the sheet to my chest. "You said you'd take Summer out of the selection if I... if I surrendered to you. How can you go back on your word now?"

Every step toward him was laced with pain, but what hurt most wasn't physical-it was my soul, my pride, my dignity.

"Go back on my word?" he snapped, turning to me with fury in his eyes. "Watch your tone. I'm your Alpha."

His words struck like a whip.

"I said I'd consider it if you did a good job and satisfied me. I never guaranteed anything. And let's be honest-do you really think you did well?"

He scoffed, his gaze raking over me in disgust. "I knew you were a whore, but lying there like a stiff doll doesn't satisfy any man, Valeria."

The bile rose in my throat, thick and burning.

"Maybe next time you'll do better," he said, smirking. "I expect you here tomorrow. Depending on your performance, maybe your precious sister will be spared."

He reached out to stroke my cheek. I flinched away, my stomach churning violently.

"That look right there?" he said, lowering his hand. "That's the first thing you need to change. Tomorrow, come willingly-or face the consequences."

"I'll let it slide this time, only because of your inexperience. But next time? You'd better shape up... or say goodbye to your little sister."

He turned to leave, then paused at the door.

"Oh-and clean up the mess on the bed. I'm not sleeping in blood and semen," he spat before slamming the door behind him.

I collapsed to my knees, sobbing as though my soul had been torn from my body. I pressed my trembling hands to my face, feeling the weight of it all-the filth, the shame, the loss.

What was I thinking... agreeing to this blackmail?

After what felt like centuries, I forced myself to stand, leaning on the wall as I stumbled toward the bathroom. When I looked into the mirror, the stranger staring back shattered something inside me.

My light brown hair was a tangled mess. My honey-colored eyes were red and swollen from crying. My lips were raw and bleeding. A dark bruise bloomed on my neck. My entire body was littered with bite marks, handprints, bruises, and scratches.

Then I dared to look between my legs.

So much blood. Murky white fluid.

I vomited instantly.

I clutched the sink, one hand gripping my churning stomach as I retched, my back arching. I threw up everything-food, bile, even the pieces of myself I didn't know could break.

Now only a yellowish substance came out, but still, I couldn't stop. My sobs came in waves between dry heaves.

Today, I lost my pride in the vilest, most disgusting way-at the hands of a man who was supposed to protect his pack. Instead, he used his power to prey on the weak... like me.

I had resisted for so long.

And in the end, I was still nothing more than a puppet of fate.

***

My name is Valeria Ruffin, and I was saved by the Alpha of this pack of werewolves named Ironclaw Pack when I was a baby.

That alpha father, whom I always considered a father with all my heart, offered me a home with a mother and a younger sister.

My early years weren't bad, and although it took some effort for the pack to accept me, being an outsider, out of respect for my father, no one opposed me, and with time, I went unnoticed.

But everything changed the day my father bound me to that bastard, Zarek. He wasn't my fated mate-far from it.

It was love once.

Or at least, I believed it was.

I loved him with a heart too naive to see the storm beneath his smile. I gave him everything-my trust, my loyalty, even the pieces of me I never meant to share.

But that love... it didn't save me.

It led to betrayal.

It led to blood.

It led to death.

Love, in the end, became the very weapon he used to destroy everything I held dear.

Everything went downhill in my life since then.

Two years ago, Summer and I ran away from Zarek-the man I was once promised to marry. But Zarek wasn't just a rejected suitor; he had a dark plan for revenge against our pack. He led a brutal massacre that wiped out nearly everyone I loved. My entire pack-Ironclaw-was slaughtered, including my father, the Alpha.

Somehow, by what I can only call a miracle, my mother survived. An ancient pack healer found her amidst the chaos and saved her life.

After escaping that bloodbath, Summer and I were lost in the wild forests for days, hungry and terrified. That's when we met Arkell, the one they call the Wild Alpha. At first, he treated us kindly. His pack of feral wolves took us in, sheltered us, fed us. For the first time since the massacre, I felt a flicker of hope.

After living with them for 2 years, I finally told Arkell everything-about Zarek, about the betrayal, about the blood spilled in the name of vengeance. And the one who stood by my side through it all... was Declan-one of the elite warriors of the Wild Pack led by Wild Alpha Arkell.

Declan wasn't just a fighter. He was my shield, my shadow in the dark, the only one who saw the truth when everyone else turned away. He looked me in the eyes and promised me retribution. He swore he would restore my honor... and give me back what I'd lost.

And he did.

I didn't know what Declan discussed with Alpha Arkell, but by the end of that single night, he and Arkell's Elite Wild Wolves had wiped out Zarek and his entire bloodline.

Declan seized control of the eastern territory, claiming it in my name-or so he said. Now the entire eastern territory controlled by Arkell.

Shortly after, Arkell sent him away on an important mission, one he never told me anything about.

But now... look at what's happening.

That same Alpha who avenged my pack is blackmailing me. He's demanding that I send my adoptive sister-sweet, innocent Summer-as a tribute to the tyrant Alpha King. And without a powerful alliance to protect us and without Declan, Arkell didn't even hesitate. He chose her-my sister-as part of the Alpha King's slave selection.

No matter how much we begged, he showed no compassion and only used my desperation to blackmail me into giving in to his sick entertainment.

The Alpha King was a complete tyrant. Whenever it pleased him, he demanded tributes from other packs-whether strong warriors or young women, preferably virgins, to warm his bed. And when he grew bored of them, he tossed them to his soldiers or other vassals, treating them as nothing more than disposable entertainment.

That life of slavery was worse than death itself. I did everything I could to save my sister, even selling myself to the Alpha of the pack as if I were nothing-just another nobody.

After washing off the remnants of my humiliation and gathering the bedding that bore the evidence of my shame, I left the Alpha's room. I moved quietly, careful to avoid being seen.

Werewolves have incredibly sharp senses, so if I encountered anyone, they would immediately know what had happened. The knowledge of how far I had fallen in life was a punishment in itself.

I overheard some women heading to the kitchen in the pack's main house and quickly slipped out through a back door, feeling like a criminal as I ran with all my strength into the forest.

My wolf, Nyra, growled in annoyance, her presence newly awakened since I had turned 20 just a few weeks ago.

Of course, I hadn't agreed to the Alpha's blackmail. I never had, but there was nothing else I could do.

I let Nyra take control. Her fur covered my body, and soon, my two legs transformed into four paws. I didn't want to think anymore; the pain in my chest was unbearable. I just wanted to escape into my wolf's world, but I knew the Goddess wouldn't be so kind to me.

I don't know how long I wandered through the lands surrounding the pack, letting Nyra do as she pleased-hunting, running, trying to escape my sorrowful reality. But then, a powerful scent suddenly pulled me out of my self-pity.

It was delicious, and it drew us toward the edge of the immense lake that bordered our pack.

There, a man stood washing his hands in the crystal-clear water. As we drew closer, he lifted his head and sniffed the air.

My heart began to race, and a wave of joy swept through me. It was him-Declan. He had returned from his mission for Arkell... It turned out, in the end, he was indeed my...

"Mate! Mate!" Nyra confirmed, her excitement growing as she wanted to approach her destined mate. My wild warrior.

"Valeria, is that you?" Declan rose from his crouching position, his face lighting up with surprise. He had never seen my wolf before.

"It's you! And you're my mate! I knew it, little one. I told you we would be mates! You can't imagine how much I've missed you! I finished the mission early to..."

But his words trailed off when we were just a few steps away. I was so overwhelmed with surprise and happiness that I forgot something crucial. Declan noticed it too.

I wasn't the Valeria he had left behind months ago-the girl who kissed him beneath a tree with the promise to wait for him, to become a couple when I turned 20, even if we weren't destined. That Valeria died today. She died in that bed when I was forced to give up my body in exchange for a promise that was never fulfilled. They were right-I was just a whore of the pack.

"You... why do you smell like the Alpha?" His eyes widened in disbelief. Then, understanding struck him, and I watched as he took a step back, his expression shifting to one of repressed anger.

"Declan, I... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was desperate, and I waited for you-I swear I would have waited forever. But then the selection came, and they chose my sister as a tribute. I was desperate," I pleaded, my words stumbling through the bond, begging him for understanding.

"Change to your human form," he ordered, his voice cold in a way I had never heard before.

Declan was the son of the pack's Beta and the next heir to that position. Even now, he was undeniably one of the strongest warriors we had.

"I don't want to change. We can talk like this," I begged, my wolf still eager to approach his, but he wouldn't allow it.

"I told you to change!" His shout made me flinch, and my body trembled in fear.

I was at the very bottom of the pack's hierarchy, so resisting a direct order from Declan was nearly impossible. With a heavy heart, I shifted back to my human form, exposing my bare body to his watchful gaze.

I knelt, trembling, my arms wrapped around myself, trying to shield my chest. My head hung low, wishing with all my being that I could disappear and never have to face this moment.

"Did he force you? Did he do this against your will?" Declan's voice was harsh, his teeth clenched, hatred dripping from every word.