Rejected Luna: Mated to the king of Alphas

At the centre stood Amelia, the Alpha of the Cliffwood pack, the last of the white wolf dynasty. Her silver mane ran with blood, and her golden eyes blazed like flame against the dark.

At her feet lay the aftermath of a bloody war...bodies of rebels, rogue wolves littered the ground and their blood which cannot be touched by anyone.

This final battle came without warning, not just rogues or traitors, but something worse, an alliance. Greedy for her power and afraid of what she represented, they came at dawn, unannounced attacked the Cliffwood pack.

Blood dripped from the sides of her lips as she dropped to her knee, her body was weak and exhausted.

All she wanted was to lie down and sleep.

But no, across the battlefield, she saw her warriors fighting so bravely all because they believed in her.

Her fingers curled into the earth.

"No. This would not be their end..." she said to herself.

She slowly rose, with all difficulty.

"If the price is giving up my life..." she whispered. "Then so be it."

Something within her answered the call, something deeper and older than she was.

Her golden eyes flared brighter than ever, blazing across the battlefield like a sun.

A scream tore from the sky itself as the explosion of her aura consumed the battlefield, erasing everything in its path.

And there, in the midst of the ruin, Amelia lay with eyes half shut...

The White Wolf.

She's magnificent, despite dying, her fur shimmered like the bright star on a full moon breaking through the very core of darkness.

She wasn't just a leader, she was their protector, she was a power to be reckoned with. She has built a legacy, she was the last blood in the dynasty of the white wolf.

And now, she was dying. Her breath faded, each exhale shallower than the last. A wave of fear swept through the crowd. Just before her eyes closed forever, she spoke her promise, her voice lingering in the air.

"I shall return to you...I promise, I shall return to you someday. But tell me, will you recognize me when I do?"

She paused and breathed hard, as if gathering her remaining strength.

"Without this strength and this royal robe, with a different identity, will you still recognize me?"

She asked and before anyone could give an answer, her eyes closed.

**********

Amelia snapped her eyes open. They blazed a deep yellow, then slowly dimmed back to normal.

She jolted upright, gasping, her heart pounding against her ribs. Sweat beaded on her skin, and her hands trembling as though they still held the weight of war.

Nana rushed over, her aged mother moved swiftly as it could carry her and tapped Amelia on her shoulders. The sudden jolting of her body had awakened her and she just was in time to see her eyes return back to normal from its yellowish colour.

She saw her skin covered in sweat and she knew, it's the usual thing she suffers from. She sat at the edge of her bed and took her hand until Amelia spoke "Nana, why are you sitting there like a baby that will roll off my bed" she teased, climbing out of bed.

She stood up upright and yawned, stretching her thin body as if she was tired from an all night exhaustive work. Nana glared at her, just what kind of a girl is Amelia?

"Amelia, do you remember anything about your nightmares when you wake up in the morning?" She asked. This girl has been suffering severe nightmares and her eyes open and close, each time leaving her eyes glowing yellow.

"No Nana. I don't remember anything. Besides, I don't think I have ever had a dream in my life" Amelia replied naively. Besides waking up weak and exhausted, there's nothing else she can say.

Nana nodded and let Amelia go. She sat and sighed softly. She'd told her to go and fetch some herbs to make a concoction for her. She'd been weak and sickly since she was a child. She is the daughter of the Pack's Beta.

Amelia has been unfortunate from birth. She was born while her mother died. She was abandoned and thrown away by her father who tagged her cursed.

She had suffered rejection and humiliation and her only sin was being wolfless, the cursed daughter of the Beta. Her story resonates in the ears of everyone in the Cliffwood pack.

Amelia really looks weak. She appears fragile and weightless as if a little storm would carry her off. Nana sighed softly. She's a wolfless omega and yet, suffers nightmares. What game exactly was the moon goddess playing with Amelia's life?

Amelia had just returned from the forest where she went to fetch some herbs. She slung the apprentice bag across her shoulders. The great healer welcomed her and told her to have her breakfast but Amelia refused.

"Oh no,Nana. I'll just get to the water centre and get us water" she said, half way through the door but the healer stopped her "Amelia....go well..." Nana said, concerned that she works harder than her fragile body looks.

She should have taken her breakfast first. Amelia nodded and dashed off.

When Amelia arrived at the water centre, she waited patiently in queue. She doesn't have a friend. No one was interested in talking to her, she's wolfless and useless and more than that, she's cursed.

When it was her turn to fetch water, she was pushed off and because she's light and weightless, she lost her balance and came falling face down to the earth.

"Oh, the cursed thing wants to fetch water as well?" One of the girls mocked and others giggled aloud. They all spat on Amelia and seeing how she struggled to stand back on her feet, her dress was now stained with the red mouldy soil.

"What do you think girls, she needs a bath, right?" The girl who pushed her earlier said,in a pitiful but mockery tone. She placed her finger on her lips, staring at Amelia in amusement.

"Yes Linda. She might be wolfless and useless but being dirty will only magnify her cursed personality. Let's help her with a bath, we're good people after all, "another girl added.

Amelia knew what it meant when they said they were going to give her a bath. She held her bucket and said "Stay away from me. I haven't done anything to you all"

"Did you hear her? She said she hadn't done anything to us. She doesn't want to accept our generosity and kindness. But because we are born full blood, we can't help it but be good to her anyways, right girls?" Linda chuckled aloud.

They pulled Amelia forcefully and forced her under the running water...

Half an hour later, Amelia returned to the house, her clothes drenched and plastered against her thin body. Her golden coloured hair dripped water and she stood with her head bowed.

Nana saw her and sighed softly. She'd been bullied again. That has always been Amelia's fate since she was a child. She suffered such humiliation from age group and that made her stop going to the warriors training.

"Go in and take a bath my child. Don't say anything, I know what had probably happened" Nana said and Amelia walked away quietly to have her bath.

While bathing, Amelia's tears rolled down her cheeks. She was bullied, slapped and had water poured on her head by none other than her sister's friends.

Chelsea was her father's beloved daughter. Her sister had bullied her several times in the presence of her friends and even gave them an assignment to bully her wherever they saw her. She was told they share the same parents but her sister was the special, gifted child while she, a dregs in the pack.

Her sister was a shapeshifter, beautiful and a good master of the sword. She's entirely different from her. Even if she was told they had the same parents, it's difficult for her to believe it. How can she be so useless and cursed, entirely different from her sister.

She's the bravest of the ladies in the pack and admired by many. The Alpha and Luna were so proud of her that they turned a blind eye to the romance going on between their son and her.

But the reason why Chelsea hates her so much, was still so unclear to her. She claimed she was the reason why she had no mother anymore and dad lost his mate. She was cursed to bring pain and sorrow to everyone around her.

She never spares to show her hatefulness. It's either she ridicules her or calls her the filth of the pack, or she makes others mock her. She wished she was allowed to die when she was born. Why did Nana save her only to grow up to experience such a thick layer of hatefulness on each passing day?

Sometimes, she was left to accept that perhaps, she was really cursed. At puberty, her age groups already got their wolves except her. She's an Omega and a wolfless one at that. She hopes that one day, she will be able to live a normal life like everyone else.

A few weeks later, it will be her eighteenth birthday the next day. It was also the day for the coronation of the new Alpha. For generations now, it has always been on the day of the coronation that the new Alpha meets his mate, the Luna that will rule alongside him.

Being eighteen made no difference to Amelia. She is cursed and has never been allowed to participate in any occasion in the pack. Her curse would rub off on them and even if she tries, her father, the Beta would be the first to wipe her with an iron whip if he has to.

Having a mate was totally out of Amelia's thoughts. She'd been given a chance to be alive, thanks to Nana. How can she be extravagant to tolerate the thought of having a mate.

That's asking for too much!

"Amelia, tomorrow is going to be a memorable day in the history of our pack" Nana said, preparing a healing balm with Amelia blending the ingredients together.

"Hmmm..." Amelia hummed. It's going to be a memorable day for those who are invited. For her, it doesn't leave any memory in her.

"You know, so many people only experience it once in a lifetime. The coronation of the new Alpha of the pack. And more than that, it's also the day that the new Luna will be known. Sometimes, two occasions are done on that day.

The coronation and the mating ceremony of the Alpha and Luna. Other Alphas are invited from other packs and the ceremonial ground will be packed full..." Nana tattled on.

Amelia was already thinking. She wished she could be there, to witness her resentful sister get mated to the Alpha. Everyone already predicted that she's going to be the chosen mate for the Alpha.

But she's a forbidden member of the pack. She's cursed, she cannot be anywhere around them. This is her fate, her destiny and so it will remain with her.

"...you will be coming with me to this occasion, Amelia" Nana concluded and raised her head to glance at this apprentice of hers.

"What...no...I'm not coming" Amelia snapped her head up.