Chapter 1 The rejection

The air was thick with anticipation as the moonlight spilled through the tall windows of the Silverfang Pack's great hall. Tonight was my eighteenth birthday-the night I would finally discover my mate.

My wolf, Lyra, paced inside me, anxious.

He's close, she whispered. I can feel him.

I adjusted the neckline of my dress, fingers trembling. The room was packed with pack members, all here to celebrate and witness the Moon Goddess's divine matchmaking. My heart pounded as my eyes swept across the crowd.

Then I smelled him-pine, smoke, and something darker. My breath caught.

Alpha Darius.

He stood near the head of the room, tall and commanding, his midnight-black hair tousled like he'd just stepped out of battle. His sharp jaw clenched when our eyes met.

My heart soared.

He's the one, Lyra howled in joy.

I took a shaky step forward, but Darius didn't move. The moment stretched-then he snarled.

"You?"

The room fell into stunned silence.

My lips parted. "Alpha Darius... the Moon Goddess chose us. We're mates."

He stepped toward me slowly, each word a dagger. "You think the Goddess would bind me to you? A weakling? An omega who can't even shift?"

Whispers erupted around us. I wanted to disappear.

"You don't even belong in this pack," he continued coldly. "You were a favor to your dead father. A burden."

My eyes burned. "You don't get to reject me just because I'm not like the others."

He smirked. "Watch me."

A strange, sharp pain tore through my chest as he growled the words every werewolf dreads:

> "I, Alpha Darius Blackthorn, reject you, Lia Valen, as my mate."

My knees nearly gave out.

Lyra whimpered inside me.

No... no, it wasn't supposed to be like this.

I opened my mouth to speak, to plead, to scream-but I couldn't breathe. Everyone was watching. No one moved to help.

I forced myself to stand straighter. If he wanted to humiliate me, he wouldn't get the satisfaction of seeing me break.

So I looked him in the eye and said, voice trembling but clear:

> "I, Lia Valen, accept your rejection."

The bond snapped. I felt it physically, like a part of my soul being torn in half.

Then I turned and walked out of the hall, tears streaking down my cheeks, my heart shattered.

And I didn't look back.

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