From Bait to Queen: The Rejected Mate's Destiny

To the Dark Moon Pack, I wasn't just invisible; I was a stain. Dean Lee, the Alpha designed for my soul, treated me like a shameful secret while he paraded his mistress, Karina, in red silk.

The night of the Charity Auction, Dean bought my late mother's moonstone pendant-the only thing I had left of her-for a hundred thousand dollars.

I begged him for it. Instead, he clasped it around Karina's ankle.

With a cruel laugh, Karina stomped her stiletto heel, crushing the moonstone into dust. Dean just watched, his eyes cold and unfeeling.

"It was just a cheap rock," he said. "I'll buy you diamonds."

But the cruelty didn't stop at emotional torture. When rogues attacked, Dean used me as live bait to distract them from Karina.

He threw me into the Blood Pit, a gladiator arena, to fight a massive Feral wolf while he sat in the VIP box with Karina on his lap.

"She won't last three minutes," I heard him say through our dying bond.

He watched with bored detachment as I was ripped apart, refusing to save me even as I screamed his name. He saved the mistress and drowned the mate.

I died on that arena floor. Or so he thought.

Years later, the mysterious and world-renowned artist "H.Y." returned to New York for a gallery opening.

When Dean saw me on stage, he rushed forward, tears streaming down his face, trying to claim the wife he had mourned.

"Hayley," he choked out, reaching for me. "You're alive. You're mine."

I didn't cry. I didn't run.

I unleashed a shockwave of ancient White Wolf energy that blasted him across the room, shattering the glass displays.

"I don't take orders from dogs anymore," I said, looking down at him.

"I, Hayley York, hereby reject you."

Chapter 1

Hayley POV:

The crystal chandeliers of the Pierre Hotel ballroom cast long, jagged shadows against the velvet walls, caging me in. I stood by the kitchen service doors, gripping a glass of lukewarm water, trying to blend into the wallpaper.

To the Dark Moon Pack, I wasn't just invisible; I was a stain.

My eyes found him instantly. Dean Lee, Alpha of New York's most powerful pack, anchored the center of the room. Even from here, his scent-crushed pine and ozone-hit me like a physical blow. It made the wolf deep inside my soul whimper.

Mate, she whispered, weak and thready.

But Dean wasn't looking at me. His hand rested on the waist of Karina, a Beta draped in red silk who laughed too loudly.

"Don't stare, mutt," a passing warrior sneered, checking my shoulder. Water sloshed onto my cheap grey dress. "You're lucky Alpha Dean let you out of the penthouse."

I kept my head down. Dean kept me around not as a mate, but as a shameful secret-a wolf-less Omega charity case. But tonight was the anniversary of my mother's death, and I needed him.

When the music swelled, Dean moved toward the terrace. I slipped through the crowd, heart hammering against my ribs.

"Dean?" I stepped onto the cool stone balcony.

He turned. His eyes, usually the color of stormy seas, looked glazed, almost unfocused before sharpening into a glare.

"I told you to stay out of sight, Hayley." His voice was a low growl.

"I know," I stammered. The proximity was dizzying. "It's about the necklace. My mother's moonstone. You have it in the pack vault. Please, Dean. It's the only thing I have left of her."

He looked at me, expressionless. "No."

"But... why? It's just a trinket to the pack."

"Karina likes moonstones," Dean said, adjusting his cufflinks. "She needs jewelry that befits a Luna. You have no need for ornamentation. It draws attention to your lack of status."

"She's not your mate," I whispered, the pain flaring hot. "I am."

Dean stepped forward, his Alpha aura washing over me, heavy and suffocating. There was a strange, sweet scent clinging to him-something cloying that masked his natural smell.

"You are an Omega with a dormant wolf," he spat. "You are weak. The Dark Moon Pack cannot have a weak mother. Know your place."

The glass doors opened. Karina stepped out, a smirk painted on her lips. "Is the stray bothering you, baby?"

"Just dealing with the trash," Dean said, turning his back on me.

I stood there, wind biting through my dress, as my soul cracked. I hid in the shadows of a potted plant to compose myself. Minutes later, the door opened again. Dean and Elder Marcus.

"The rogue chatter has increased," Marcus said. "They are targeting the penthouse tonight. They want Karina."

"Let them come," Dean said calmly.

"But Karina-"

"Karina goes to the panic room," Dean interrupted. "Hayley stays in the main bedroom."

I froze.

"Alpha?" Marcus sounded confused.

"The rogues track scent, but they're stupid," Dean explained, his voice devoid of emotion. "Hayley is saturated in my scent because she lives in my house. We put her in the open. The rogues will think she is the Luna. They attack her, buying us time to flank them."

"She could die," Marcus said.

"If she dies, she dies. The bait is expendable."

The world tilted. I wasn't a charity case. I was meat.

Run, my wolf screamed.

I turned to flee, but glass shattered in the ballroom. Screams erupted. The stench of rotting meat filled the air. Rogues.

I scrambled toward the service exit, but a heavy hand grabbed my hair. I was thrown across the room, crashing into a waiter's stand. Pain exploded in my shoulder. A massive, mud-matted wolf lunged at me.

"Dean!" I screamed.

Across the room, Dean was shielding Karina toward the secure exit. He looked back. Our eyes met. He saw the claws raised.

And he turned away.

Silver-coated claws raked across my chest. Fire tore through my skin. The poison sizzled in my blood, halting my healing.

I crawled backward. The rogue raised a claw for the kill. Suddenly, a waiter-moving with supernatural speed-slammed into the rogue, knocking it aside.

"Go!" the stranger hissed, shoving a burner phone into my bloody hand. "Fire escape. Now!"

I ran until my lungs burned. Collapsing in a dirty alleyway three blocks down, I dialed the only number stored in the phone.

"Secure line," a mechanical voice answered.

"This is Hayley York," I rasped. "I have the defense schematics for the Dark Moon Pack. I know the blind spots."

"And what do you want, little wolf?" Alpha Brennen of the Silver Lake Pack asked, his voice like velvet wrapped around a dagger.

"I want out," I sobbed. "Help me fake my death."

"Done. Stay where you are."

Hayley POV:

I didn't die. But Brennen's plan required one last performance. "You must go back," he'd said. "Play the victim so the death looks real."

Dragged back to the penthouse by guards who found me "unconscious," I stood in the foyer two days later, arm in a sling, smelling of burnt flesh and antiseptic.

"You're alive," Karina said from the velvet sofa, filing her nails. "How disappointing."

She walked over, heels clicking on marble. "Dean and I decided the guest room is too drafty. I'm moving into the Master Suite."

My heart stopped. The Master Suite was the only place that smelled entirely of Dean-my only sanctuary to soothe the rejected bond.

"No," I said. "That's where I sleep. I need the scent to heal."

"You're a glorified pet, Hayley. Get your things out. You're sleeping in the servant's quarters in the basement."

"I won't," I said, defiant.

Karina's eyes flashed. She threw herself backward into a side table. A vase shattered.

"Ah!" she screamed. "Hayley! Stop!"

The elevator pinged. Dean stormed out, aura flaring. "What is happening?"

"She pushed me!" Karina sobbed. "I asked her to help with my bags, and she attacked me!"

"I didn't!" I cried. "Dean, use your senses! You know I wouldn't hurt anyone!"

Dean looked at us. His pupils were dilated, his expression vaguely confused, as if fighting through a fog. He sniffed the air, but then shook his head, the hardness returning to his eyes. He chose her. Again.

"Kneel."

The Alpha Command slammed into me, a biological imperative crushing my will. My knees hit the marble with a crack.

"You attacked my future Luna," Dean loomed over me. "Take her to the Quiet Room."

"Dean, please," I begged through the mind-link. It has silver in the ventilation. It will kill me.

Then maybe you'll learn to behave, his voice echoed, cold and distant.

Guards dragged me to the windowless concrete cell. The door slammed. Then came the hiss.

Fine, glittering silver dust drifted from the vents. It touched my skin like microscopic embers. I curled into a ball, screaming silently as the dust settled into my unhealed wounds. It felt like an acid bath.

Hours later, the door opened.

"Get up," Dean ordered. He hauled me up, ignoring my flinch. "Clean yourself up. We have the Charity Auction tonight. You will smile, and you will show everyone how benevolent I am. Do not embarrass me."

Hayley POV:

The auction house was a sea of black ties. I stood behind Dean and Karina, my high-collared dress hiding the bandages, the fabric rubbing against raw skin.

"Lot 45. A rare, antique Moonstone pendant."

My head snapped up. My mother's necklace. Dean had donated it for a tax write-off.

"Opening bid at five thousand."

Dean, I reached out through the mind-link. Please. That's Mom's. You promised.

Dean stiffened but didn't turn. He swirled his champagne.

I'll do anything. I'll sleep in the kennel. Just please.

"Twenty thousand," Dean said smoothly.

Hope bloomed in my chest.

"Thirty thousand!" Karina chirped, raising her paddle. She looked back at me, a wicked glint in her eyes.

"One hundred thousand," Dean finished it.

"Sold! To Alpha Dean Lee!"

Dean collected the velvet box. I took a small step forward, hand trembling. "Thank you, Dean."

He opened the box. The moonstone glowed.

"Beautiful," Dean said. "Here, darling. For you."

He bypassed me and fastened the necklace around Karina's ankle.

"An anklet?" Karina laughed. "You spoil me."

She stood up, took a step, and brought her stiletto heel down hard.

Crunch.

"Oh no!" Karina gasped, looking at the shattered dust. "I'm so clumsy! Dean, look, I broke your gift."

"It's fine," Dean said, his eyes glassy. "It was just a cheap rock. I'll buy you diamonds."

I stared at the white powder. That was my mother. That was my sanity.

I woke up on the cold tiles of the servant's quarters.

"Here," Karina's voice came from the doorway. She held a bowl. "Dean said you need to eat."

She placed the bowl on the floor like I was a dog.

"Where is Patches?" I asked, my voice trembling. The stray cat I'd been hiding was my only friend.

Karina smiled, leaning against the doorframe. "That shedding beast? I had the groundskeeper take care of it. Put it in a sack and tossed it in the river. Or maybe the incinerator? I forget."

I froze.

"Dean gave permission," she continued. "He said, 'Get rid of the pest.' So we did."

My stomach convulsed. They had taken my mother's memory. They had taken my dignity. Now, they had killed the only living thing that loved me.

I closed my eyes. I didn't pray for Dean to love me anymore. I prayed for him to suffer.