REJECTED BY THE ALPHA, CHOSEN BY THE MOON

ELARA'S POV

I could feel a tingle down my spine, he smelled so beautifully, I was... happy? I could smell him while I scrubbed the kitchen clean and then suddenly a sharp pain....

Blinding flash of light

Shiny shoes on my face...A voice growling "no"

Everything kept fading in and out of consciousness

Then I heard it. "I reject you Elara Cornell "

I struggled to see the face behind the voice but I couldn't.

Another blinding flash and then I woke up abruptly.

"Oh my!!it was a dream" I said to myself.

I was feverish and my heart was beating like crazy. I pressed one hand to my chest and tried to calm my nerves while getting ready to stand up. I could already see the first rays of daylight from my windows.

Another morning.

"It's another day, another horrible day to be at this place", I said to myself the minute my heart calmed down.

Waking up here always felt like stepping into something I would never escape, the sleep and my dreams were an escape. But today, my dreams failed me.

"I'd better get going before some busy body scolds me for not being up before 5am" I said while standing up from my thin mattress.

I stood up and looked around my room, looking for what to wear to protect myself from this cold that bit into my skin. It was the middle of winter but I was a measly little girl without a wolf, so of course, I could get sick and I could get cold.

While scanning my room, I spotted a thick shawl, it had been with me for a while, I couldn't even remember where I had gotten it from.

I didn't care though, I hurriedly grabbed it and wrapped it around my shoulders, I picked my thickest and longest pair of pants I could find and slipped it on, I wore 3 socks on each feet and slid out of my room while preparing to take the 30 minute walk to the pack house.

I didn't even know if I was thinking of anything, maybe I was thinking about the dream, I can't tell, my hair stuck to my face as I walked briskly through the path. I found myself at the pack house soon enough

"Well, I guess today's gonna be a good day, I got here so fast" I smiled while talking to myself. Being extremely early meant less trouble for me.

I was the only one awake at this time, except the guards doing their rotations around the pack borders and the pack house, asides them, I was the only one, and I had to clean every inch of the kitchen before the cooks came out, after that, I had to move on to cleaning and mopping most of the rooms and hallways and offices in the pack house.

"I'd better get started" I said to myself, while pushing all thoughts of the dream to the back of my mind.

I started cleaning, quietly, effectively and unnoticed, as I always did. The smell of the polished floor mixed with the faint aroma of leftover bread and herbs filled my nose, it was almost...homely.

An hour and a half passed and I was done with the kitchen, I was impressed with myself, and I prepared to move to the other areas of the pack house.

I opened the door and then it hit me,

Raw.

demanding and unwavering, a scent I had never encountered.

My hands tightened around the doorknob and I stood there motionless.

No.

That wasn't... isn't possible.

My mind flashed back to my dream and my heart started beating faster.

I wasn't supposed to have a mate.

But what did I dream about?

I didn't have a wolf.

But why can I feel the mate bond?

And then....pain

Pain from my spine, to my throat and to my head, I collapsed.

I was in so much pain, all I could think about was my throat and my head burning, fragments of the dream falling into place.

The mate bond, it was snapping in place, or so I thought?

But it isn't supposed to hurt, is it?

I was so confused and I lay there sobbing and whimpering for what felt like hours till I heard foodsteps.

Footsteps that walked slow and deliberate, as if searching for something.

From where I lay on the kitchen floor, I saw a pair of shiny brown shoes, the same shoes I had washed and polished and shined just yesterday afternoon.

My heart sank.

The pain intensified.

The Alpha.

The brown shoes in my dream belonged to the Alpha.

The brown shoes kept on walking towards me, the pain lessened and the beautiful smell increased.

These questions went through my mind and I heard a voice growl

"NO"

"So"... he growled "this is the joke the moon has decided to play on me? 28 years of waiting? You are the rotten thing I was deemed fit for?"

"Please... I tried to choke out, but I was choking.

My throat burned from the pain.

"What kind of an insult is this?" He continued

"a worthless wolfless nobody , that's what I was given?"

The bond strained in my chest and across my spine violently, threatening to rip out of me.

"This is an insult" his voice is firm and cold and I don't accept it".

By then, I could hear shuffling and sounds, people were waking up,

I could hear their whispers, their snickers, their laughters

"Oh, is she his mate? What a shame"

"So disgusting, eeeww"

"Wtf, this is such a mistake, Her of all people?"

"How embarrassing"

They must have heard it all with their werewolf hearing.

The alpha crouched in front of me, I strained my neck to meet his gaze, and he said the words.

"I reject you" he said, his voice loud and firm, clearly heard all through the room "Elara Cornell, I reject you as my mate and I reject your bond"

The words were like a punch to my already aching chest

"I reject your bond" he continued "I reject you as my mate and as the moon's choice"

Pain burned hotter in my spine, in my chest and in my veins, I could feel the bond, burning and twisting, my eyes were hot.

The bond was straining, the cursed diseased bond I had been given.

Gasps and whispers filled the room

I had never thought of having a mate, but it did happen and fate is so cruel, it had to be someone that didn't want me, couldn't fate have used this as a way to make me happy? For everything I've endured?

While I lay there whispering and crying, and feeling my head about to explode.

I heard the words "Take her away"

My eyes fluttered open,

I tried to say something, anything, but words failed me.

The guards were already on me

"Please let me go" I whispered

They ignored my protests and lifted me from the ground.

The last thing I heard was the sound of doors closing, people shuffling and whispering cruel things.

Then everything went dark.

ELARA'S POV

I couldn't tell if I was dreaming again, I couldn't trust my dreams and my reality anymore, I couldn't tell the difference.

My body felt cold, I shivered all through. My back felt so cold.

I slowly opened my eyes, it was pitch black, my heart started beating again, slowly, my eyes started getting used to the darkness.

I think I was in the dungeon, the lights at the end flickered on and off, there was a very dim light in cell, I couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of me, but if I listened carefully, I could hear the breathing of someone else close, maybe the next cell.

I had been in the dungeon only once before, to do a bit of cleaning, and that's why I could recognize where I was.

"But why would the Alpha throw me in here?"

And as if by natural selection, all the memories came rushing back.

The dream, the pain, the rejection.

It hit me like a bolt of lightning, suddenly I felt goosebumps all over my body.

And then fear... I started getting scared.

"What if he decides to kill me?"

"Did I do anything to deserve that?"

I resolved to plead for mercy and beg to be banished the minute I set my eyes on the Alpha.

I have no interest in being his mate, regardless of what the mate bond says.

Another pain, just like earlier, but not as intense. It was as if the mate bond was fighting my words, but I could be stubborn, I fought too through.

And I said the words aloud this time.

"I have no interest in being his mate, I just want to be let to live, even if I have to go far away"

I started panicking and thinking of all the likely scenarios. I remember everyone's eyes as I was dragged away before the pain made me lose consciousness. I remember the look of disdain and disgust and I would do anything to be away from here, to be away from the pack house, to be away from the Alpha.

Another jolt of pain.

"AHHHH!!! I screamed in agony"

It was much more painful this time.

I heard footsteps hurrying towards me. It must have been the guards because I yelled.

A single guard appeared in front of me, snarling at me, his eyes glowing, his wolf aching to come out.

"what happened?" He sneered at me.

"I...I...I need to see the alpha" I stuttered, his presence was so overwhelming.

He gave me a low growl again.

"What for?" He sneered again "he ordered us to lock you up and watch you closely, what makes you think you have the right to demand to see him" his words turning into a growl at the end.

I was so scared now, because I had never had a close encounter with any of the guards in the pack, they were always vicious and looked scary, and I always tried to keep my distance from them.

I scooted further into the cell.

"Please....I... I just need to see him", I could barely get the words out.

"You think the alpha would heed to the demands of a mutt? Do not cause any more scenes and do not request to see the alpha again, you will be called upon when it is necessary" and with that he walked away, his footsteps fading.

I was left there, scared and confused. I needed to see the alpha and plead for my life, I didn't want to die just because of a mate bond, besides, I had already been rejected, what's the worse that could happen.

"A lot worse...."

I heard it, like a faint whisper.

"What? Who said that?" I panicked while frantically looking around, I strained my ears and eyes and I couldn't see anyone.

I strained my ears again but the voice never came again. I must have been hearing things because of the darkness. There were other people here, I don't know how, but I could feel it. And at the same time, it was eerily quiet too.

I couldn't remember when I slept off, I was exhausted and although the pain had dulled to a low hum, it was still there and I could feel it.

Crack!!

I was woken up to the sound of my cell door opening, with three guards standing outside, including the guard from earlier.

"Bring her out, the alpha wants her now" one of them ordered.

I instinctively started shifting back out of fear, but I was no match against these men, so I succumbed while they grabbed me, tied my arms and dragged me out of the cell.

A part of me yearned to see him, but I quickly stopped thinking about it.

I was taken from the dungeon, up a flight of stairs leading to the main hallway, the lights were too bright and I quickly shut my eyes, my arms began to ache because of the way I was being carried.

As quickly as it started, it ended. They dropped me roughly on the ground, my knees aching from the impact.

I opened my eyes, and I was in the main hall, surrounded by all the pack members, staring at me with demeaning looks on their faces, under the harsh glare of the lights from the chandelier.

I looked up and saw the Alpha, staring down at me, his look demeaning, his jaw clenched, my heart skipped a beat, the bond pulsed and a fresh wave of pain.

The pain made me shudder and close my eyes momentarily, I was confused and didn't know why the pain kept coming.

"Was the mate bond supposed to hurt?" I said to myself. I had never heard stories of pain from the bond, this was a new thing to me, it was painful.

I opened my eyes again and saw the Alpha walking towards me.

I lowered my head and heard the footsteps getting closer.

Shiny shoes appeared in my vision, only this time, they were black.

"Elara Cornell" the alpha said loudly, enough for everyone to hear "you are here because the bond demands it, and because I will see just how far you can push yourself before it breaks you"

ELARA'S POV

My heart skipped a beat... no... several beats. I thought my heart had stopped for a few minutes, but it was only for a moment.

"Why is he doing this? I am of no use to him" I thought to myself.

I guess my only option was to beg for my safety, for my life.

"P...pl..please... Alpha.. Alpha Kane, I am of no use to you, I will gladly be banished from the pack and I will never set foot in here again, please let me go" i said to him, as I felt the anger rolling off off him in waves and I felt the weight of his alpha authority on me, pressing down on me, suffocating me.

I hear footsteps walking away from me, and I am relieved, thinking the Alpha has listened to my pleas and decided to banish me instead of torturing me, but then the footsteps suddenly stop and with a thundering voice he says.

"You have no right to make a request, no right to beg for anything"

"Please, I just want to be out of your life and let you be, I promise you will never see me or smell me around your pack again"

Smack!!

The force of the slap pushed me back. I didn't even know when he walked back and gave me a slap that had me seeing double, he must have used his alpha speed.

I lay on the ground, my mouth bleeding and my head banging from the force of the slap.

This was what it felt like to be slapped by an Alpha.

"Take her away" he says, and I am led back to the dungeon by the guards.

Back at the dungeon, my head reels from the pain but my mind keeps wandering to what the alpha has in store for me, I know it can't be good.

"Why does he want to harm me?" I think to myself. My chest tightens with every heart beat.

"I accept the rejection, what else does he want from me?" the thoughts keep on pouring in.

Goosebumps...

Goosebumps crawled all over my skin as I felt a chill in the air, the air suddenly seemed very cold and I shivered a bit.

"But there are no open windows, " I thought to myself.

"It must be fear, I have felt this so many times", but this time, it felt different, like a presence, watching me in the darkness.

I decided to attribute it to fear, fear for whatever the alpha had planned for me.

My mind drifted to how I came here and how I started living alone...

It was about 5 years ago. I had been living with the chef that worked in the pack house, she was such a mean woman.

When I was found at the pack border, at least that's what I was told.

I was told I had been found at the pack border and given to a chef to be taken care of until I was old enough to be on my own. She was no mother to me, she treated me as badly as she could, eagerly waiting for when I would be out of her house.

She lived alone too, and most times I would come home after a long day of work at the palace, to no food and an empty kitchen, despite the fact she was a chef and there was always enough leftover.

She preferred to trash the leftovers or hoard them rather than feed me. I started feeding myself after that, I was ten at the time, and when I turned 13, she requested I be moved to a different place to stay alone, because she couldn't cater for me anymore.

I didn't cry, I didn't beg, I simply packed what little belongings I had left and moved to the house designated to me, the shack close to the border. I've been on my own ever since.

My thoughts drifted back to the Alpha. He was twenty four, he had been looking for his mate since he turned eighteen and he had taken command of the pack since he turned twenty.

He was ruthless, and he enforced hierarchy in the pack, the more powerful wolves always preyed on the lesser wolves, that was the way in this pack.

I was always the target, though I had always managed to be out of the Alpha's radar. But now, I was on his radar, not only on his, the whole pack had eyes on me, waiting to devour me.

The Alpha had been harsh to me many times before, but I had never directly been in his sight, had never been the receiver of his ruthlessness. This was new to me, and not in a good way.

I took in a deep breath, the air smelt like old blood, piss and dampstone. The dungeon was a dangerous place.

I was trapped in this tiny cell. I was surrounded, and vulnerable.

I had seen many people come here and never got out, and now, I wondered if I would be part of those people.

I needed to be out of here. I needed to be out of this dungeon, out of this pack house, out of this pack.

I needed to escape.

But was that even possible?

Everywhere was sealed tight. Locks on every door, guards stationed in every hallway.

I'd be found before I even stepped a foot out of the dungeon, I couldn't even make it out of my cell.

"Please, I just want to be free...free of this place...free of him"

I didn't know when tears started rolling down my cheek. I wept at my fate.

I don't know how long I cried for, but I stopped crying eventually for fear that the guards would hear me and scold me, or worse, report me to the Alpha. The last thing I wanted was to be face to face with him again.

I drifted off into a deep sleep, far from peaceful. I could feel as though I was aware I was asleep, it was a weird feeling.