Rejected by my cursed mate

Daria's POV

My knuckles were bleeding again.

I slowly wiped them on my training pants, leaving dark smears on the rough fabric. The dust from the training yard stuck to every inch of my sweat-soaked skin. Every breath felt like fire in my lungs, and my ribs still throbbed from the last blow. But I pushed myself up anyway, forcing my shaky legs to hold my weight.

The mocking laughter started before I was even fully standing.

"Look at her. She actually thinks she can be a warrior." Marcus, one of the pack's best fighters, didn't bother lowering his voice. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the fence post, a smirk plastered across his face.

"An orphan omega? Please," his friend scoffed, spitting into the dirt. "She should be in the kitchens where she belongs."

I ignored them. I'd had years of practice ignoring the whispers, the sneers, the way pack members looked through me like I was invisible. My parents had died in the Great War when I was three, so I had no family or status. I was just another mouth to feed, another burden the pack tolerated out of obligation.

But I had a dream. Warriors were respected. Warriors mattered. If I could just prove myself strong enough, maybe someone would finally see me as more than nothing.

"Again." Training Leader Garrett's voice echoed across the yard.

I braced myself and raised my fists even as my tired arms shook. We had been at this for hours, and he had paired me against opponents twice my size, every single time. It didn't matter how hard I trained or how much I improved. To him, I would always be worthless.

The wolf he chose to face me this time was built like a mountain, all muscle and bulk. His fist connected with my jaw before I could even think to dodge, snapping my head back. A sharp pain shot through my skull, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

I fell to the ground, dirt in my mouth as my vision blurred. The blow had knocked the wind out of me, and I gasped, trying to pull air back in.

Somewhere above me, Garrett's laughter was cold and heartless.

"Pathetic," he sneered, his boot slamming into my ribs before I could recover.

I gasped as the air was knocked out of me again, curling up in reflex to protect myself from the pain that shot through my side. My wolf whimpered inside me, retreating deeper into my consciousness. She was weak too. We both were.

"You are nothing," Garrett spat, grabbing a handful of my hair and yanking my head up. His face loomed above mine, twisted with disgust. "Just an orphaned omega pretending to be a warrior. You disgust me."

He raised his hand for another strike, and the pack... they just watched. Dozens of wolves were standing in the training yard, and not one of them moved. Not one of them spoke up. They never did. No one ever helped me. No one ever cared.

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the blow.

But it never came.

Instead, the atmosphere changed. A strong presence swept through the training yard like a storm, heavy and commanding. It was the kind of power that made every wolf instinctively bare their throats, the kind that demanded submission without a single word spoken.

My eyes snapped open, and I noticed the crowd parting. Wolves stepped back without even thinking about it, bowing their heads and lowering their gazes. And then I saw him.

Alpha Lucius.

He walked forward with the confidence of a man who had never questioned his place in the world. Tall, broad-shouldered, and devastatingly handsome. His dark hair caught the sunlight, but it was his golden eyes that held me spellbound.

Even through the pain, I couldn't look away.

"What is going on here, Garrett?" His voice was deadly quiet. The kind of quiet that promised violence if the answer wasn't satisfactory.

Garrett's hand dropped from my hair immediately. He straightened, his expression changing from cruel confidence to something resembling nervousness. "Alpha, I was just..."

"You were just what?" Lucius's gaze cut to him, sharp as a blade. "Beating a member of my pack into the dirt for sport?"

"She is weak, Alpha. She doesn't belong here." Garrett's voice had lost its cruel edge. Now he just sounded defensive, like a child caught doing something wrong.

"That is not your decision to make." Lucius's tone dropped even lower, and the temperature in the yard suddenly seemed to drop with it.

Wolves shifted nervously. I had never seen anyone speak to Garrett like this. He was known for being untouchable, cruel, the kind of wolf who enjoyed inflicting pain and got away with it because no one dared challenge him.

But in the presence of an Alpha, he was nothing.

Lucius turned towards me, his expression softening just a bit as he extended his hand. "Get up."

A spark of hope flared in my chest. Maybe, finally, someone saw me. Maybe this was the moment everything changed.

I slowly reached for his hand, my fingers trembling.

The moment our skin touched, it felt like... lightning.

Every nerve in my body was overwhelmed with sensation. The world seemed to stand still, and all I could feel was the place where his hand had touched mine, like a live wire connecting us. Energy passed between us, wild and untamed and absolutely right. My wolf jumped with a howl of pure joy, throwing herself against my ribs.

"Mate. Mate. MATE."

His eyes widened, the gold starting to glow intensely. His breath caught, and his whole body went rigid as if he had been struck.

"Mate." The word tore from his throat, barely a whisper.

My heart skipped a beat as my wolf continued howling with joy and recognition.

This was it. My salvation, my future, everything I had ever wanted and dreamed of, handed to me in one perfect moment.

The Moon Goddess had given me a mate. And not just any mate, but an Alpha.

Tears welled up in my eyes, not from pain this time, but from pure, overwhelming relief. I wasn't nothing. I wasn't invisible. The bond between us felt alive, beautiful, and unbreakable. This changed everything. He would protect me now. I would finally have a place where I belonged.

But then his expression changed.

The warmth drained from his face as his jaw clenched. Those golden eyes went cold and... empty. Like shutters slamming closed over a window.

"No." He stepped back, ripping his hand away from mine. "I, Alpha Lucius of the Blood Pact, reject you as my mate."

"What?" My voice came out broken, barely a whisper. "No. You can't... why?"

But he didn't answer. He just stared at me with those cold, empty eyes, and in a heartbeat, the bond between us cracked.

Pain ripped through my whole body, like claws tearing me apart from the inside out. My wolf howled in anguish, and the beautiful, perfect connection that had bloomed between us was suddenly torn away, leaving nothing but raw, bleeding wounds.

Breathing became impossible as my lungs refused to work. My mind went blank, and all I could feel was pain.

Blood pooled in my mouth from where I had bitten my tongue, and as I coughed, it splattered across the dusty ground in bright red drops.

The pack gasped, and someone shouted, but the sounds were distant and muffled, like I was underwater.

My vision grew hazy as darkness slowly crept in at the edges. Through the blur, I saw Lucius turn and walk away with a straight back and confident steps, leaving me broken and abandoned in the dust.

"Why?" The question echoed in my mind as the world started to fade. "Why would the Moon Goddess give me a mate, only to have him destroy me?"

The last thing I heard before the darkness took me was my best friend Mira's terrified voice, calling my name.

Daria's POV

I woke up screaming.

My body convulsed as another wave of pain tore through me. The bond, cracked and bleeding inside my chest, throbbed with an agony that had no end. Every breath felt like swallowing glass.

"Daria, please. You need to drink something." Mira's voice was gentle but desperate.

My best friend sat beside my bed in my small cottage, her hand gripping mine tightly. She had been here since they carried me home from the training yard. Holding me through the worst of it. Holding me while I screamed. While I sobbed. While I coughed up blood until there was nothing left but dry heaves.

I turned my head away from the cup of water she held out. "I can't."

"You will die if you don't."

"Then I die." The words came out emotionless.

"Don't say that." Her voice cracked. "Don't you dare say that."

But what was the point? The Moon Goddess had given me a mate, only to have him reject me in front of the entire pack. The bond wasn't fully severed-it couldn't be, not between an Alpha and his true mate. The bloodline connection ran too deep. But it was cracked, shattered, and bleeding. Like something beautiful that had been smashed and poorly glued back together.

"Why does she hate me?" I whispered.

"Who?"

"The Moon Goddess." Tears slid down my temples into my hair. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Mira didn't answer. She just squeezed my hand tighter and looked away, her own eyes glistening.

I didn't eat or sleep, just lay there staring at the ceiling of my tiny cottage, struggling to remember what hope felt like.

That night, the full moon rose.

I felt it before I saw it-a sharp pull in my chest. My wolf stirred for the first time since the rejection, raising her head with sudden alertness.

Suddenly, my door burst open with a loud crash and splinters of wood scattered around the room. I screamed, scrambling back against the headboard, my heart slamming against my ribs.

Lucius was standing in the doorway.

But this wasn't the cold, controlled Alpha from the training yard. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes glowed with a bright, inhuman red in the darkness. Beads of sweat dripped down his face, and his hands were clenched into shaky fists at his sides.

"Mine." The word came out as a growl, barely human.

"Alpha, what... what are you doing here?" My voice shook.

The moment he stepped inside, the air around him felt wrong, charged with something wild and desperate. This was what they whispered about in the pack. The madness that took him during the full moon. The curse that made him dangerous.

I had heard the rumours. Everyone had. The Alpha who lost control when the moon was full, who became more beast than man. Pack members locked their doors on those nights, stayed inside, and prayed they wouldn't cross his path.

And now he was here. In my cottage. Looking at me like I was prey.

"Stay back." I pressed myself harder against the wall. "Please, stay back."

He didn't listen. He was on me in seconds, moving faster than should be possible. His rough hands gripped my arms and pinned me down. His face pressed against my neck as he inhaled deeply, a guttural sound rumbling from his chest.

"You are mine," he growled again.

"You rejected me." My voice shook with terror and confusion. "You don't want me."

"Mine." He pushed me down onto the bed, and before I could fully understand what was happening, his mouth crashed against mine.

I tried to fight. Tried to push him away. But the bond betrayed me. The moment his lips touched mine, a rush of heat flooded through me, overwhelming and terrible. My body responded even as my mind screamed no.

It was wrong. He had destroyed me, humiliated me, left me bleeding in the dirt.

But my body didn't care. My wolf didn't care. They only knew that our mate was here, touching us, wanting us.

As his hands tore at my nightgown, I felt the cool air against my bare skin.

"Don't." The word came out broken. "Please don't."

He didn't stop. Whatever controlled him during the full moon had taken over completely. His eyes stayed that unnatural red and his movements were desperate.

That night, he took my virginity.

It hurt. Not just physically, although the tearing pain was there. It was something deeper, something that shattered my soul all over again as he claimed my body without my permission, driven by a curse I didn't understand.

I eventually stopped fighting and just lay there, tears streaming down my face, while my wolf whispered "mate" like a broken prayer.

When it was over, he collapsed beside me, his breathing ragged and harsh. The red in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by gold.

For one moment, I thought I saw regret or maybe confusion flicker across his face.

But then he was gone. He vanished into the night without a word, leaving me alone in my destroyed cottage with bloodstains on my sheets.

I lay there for hours, staring at nothing. My body throbbed with pain, but the hurt in my heart was far worse.

Yet my wolf kept whispering. "He came to us, Daria. He wanted us."

Maybe it meant something. Maybe, deep down, beneath the rejection and the cruelty, he wanted me after all. Maybe this was his way of showing it, as twisted as it was.

I clung to that hope like a lifeline. Because without it, I had nothing left.

The next morning, a knock came at my broken door.

I dragged myself out of bed, wrapping a blanket around my torn nightgown. A servant stood outside, his face carefully blank, his eyes averted.

"Alpha Lucius permits you to reside in the mansion," he said flatly. Not an invitation. Not an apology. Just a statement of fact.

He turned and walked away before I could respond.

I stood there, frozen, my hand still gripping the doorframe.

He was giving me permission to live in his home?

My wolf perked up, hopeful. "See? He wants us there. It means something."

Maybe she was right. Maybe this was his way of making amends. Maybe once I was in the mansion, we could talk. Maybe I could make him see that we were meant to be together.

I packed my things in a daze, fitting everything into a small bag-clothes, a few books, and my mother's necklace.

As the sun was setting, I arrived at the mansion. The building was tall and imposing, with stone walls and iron gates.

A young maid greeted me at the entrance. But then she grabbed my arm before I could step inside, her fingers digging in hard enough to bruise.

"Don't unpack," she whispered, her eyes wide with terror. "Please. Just don't."

"What?"

"You are the fourth omega he's brought here this year." Her voice dropped even lower, barely audible. "The others? They all disappeared after the next full moon."

"Disappeared?" My blood ran cold.

"No one knows where." She glanced over her shoulder desperately. "Some say he kills them when the curse takes him. Others say he just throws them out when he's done. Either way..." She met my eyes. "They are never seen again."

Daria's POV

The mansion was cold. Beautiful, yes, marble floors polished to a mirror shine, crystal chandeliers that scattered light like diamonds, artwork on every wall. But there was no warmth here. No life. Just like Lucius himself.

I barely saw him.

The first three days, I told myself he was busy. Alpha duties. Pack business. Important things that kept him away. But by the fourth day, the truth became painfully clear that he was avoiding me.

He locked himself in his office for hours. Sometimes he left the estate entirely, gone without a word to anyone. And when we did cross paths in the hallways, his gaze slid past me like I was invisible. Like I was furniture. Or even less than furniture.

My wolf howled for him constantly. The cracked bond pulled at me, like a fishhook lodged in my chest, always tugging in his direction. It drove me half-mad with longing.

I tried to ignore it. Tried to focus on settling into my new room, learning the mansion's layout, and staying out of the way. But the pull only grew stronger with each passing day.

On the fifth day, I gave in.

I began following him. Through the gardens. Down hallways. Anywhere I caught a glimpse of him. I told myself I just wanted to talk, to understand, to maybe somehow convince him we could make this work.

But deep down, I knew the truth. I had become desperate and pathetic. The kind of omega I had always pitied, chasing after a male who didn't want her.

It was a warm afternoon when everything changed.

I had spotted him near the rose gardens, his tall frame moving between the hedges. My heart skipped with joy that maybe today he would finally look at me. Maybe even talk to me.

I hurried after him, my steps quick on the stone path. "Alpha, please. Can we just talk for a moment?"

He kept walking.

"Lucius." My voice cracked on his name.

He turned the corner, disappearing behind a wall of roses.

I ran after him. Actually ran, like some lovesick fool, my breath coming in desperate gasps.

But then the world tilted and my vision blurred around the edges.

My legs gave out, and I crumpled into the rose bed. Then everything went black.

°°°°°°°°°°

When I woke, I was back in my room.

Mira sat beside my bed, tears streaming down her face. But she was smiling. Actually smiling.

"Thank the Goddess," she whispered. "You scared me half to death."

My head was pounding. "What happened?"

"You fainted. A gardener found you and brought you inside." She squeezed my hand. "Daria, I need to tell you something."

The way she said it made my stomach drop. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong." She took a shaky breath. "I think... I think you are pregnant."

The words didn't register at first. They hung in the air between us, impossible and terrifying and wonderful all at once.

"What?" I tried to sit up, but dizziness swamped me. "How... how do you know?"

"I have been helping at the healing center for months. I know the signs." She touched my forehead gently. "The fainting. The exhaustion. You haven't had your cycle since that night, have you?"

I thought back to that night and she was right. Over a month had passed since the full moon. Since he came to my cottage.

"Oh Goddess." My hand flew to my still-flat stomach.

A baby. Our baby.

Joy exploded in my chest, so strong it stole my breath. This changed everything. He would have to accept me now. He would have to love me. We were having a child together. His heir.

This was fate giving me another chance. The Moon Goddess hadn't abandoned me after all.

"I have to tell him." I pushed the blankets aside, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.

"Daria, wait." Mira caught my arm. "Maybe you should rest first. Make sure. Let me get one of the healers to confirm..."

"No." I shook my head, pulling away. "I need to tell him right now."

I couldn't wait another second. This was our future. Our family. He had pushed me away, but this would bring us back together. It had to.

With that, I rushed through the mansion, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst. Staff members stared as I passed, but I didn't care. Nothing mattered except reaching him.

His office was on the third floor, down a long hallway lined with portraits of past Alphas. I had never been there before. Never had a reason.

But now I did.

I was halfway down the hallway when I heard voices through the heavy door. His voice. And Rylan's, his beta.

I slowed, suddenly nervous. Should I knock? Wait until they were done?

My hand moved protectively to my stomach. "No. This couldn't wait."

I stepped closer to the door, ready to knock. Then I heard what they were saying.

"The omega is useful for one thing." Lucius's voice was cold. "An heir. Once she births the child, I will dispose of her."

My hand froze inches from the wood.

"And you are certain the child's blood will work?" Rylan asked.

"It has to. The curse demands the blood of my offspring. A direct bloodline." There was no emotion in his tone. He could have been discussing the weather. "She is nothing more than a vessel. A means to an end."

Rylan chuckled, the sound making my skin crawl. "So we just keep her close until the child is born. Then you will finally be free of the madness."

"Exactly."

My hand fell away from the door. Every fragile hope I had built up over the past few minutes shattered like glass.

Not love. Not fate. Not even basic decency.

Just use.

I wasn't his mate. I was his breeding tool. An incubator for the cure to his curse. And once my baby was born, once he got what he needed, I would be thrown away like garbage.

"Disposed of." Those were his exact words.

I backed away from the door slowly. Years of being invisible had taught me how to move without being noticed.

I made it back to my room without anyone seeing me. Locked the door. Pressed my back against it and slid to the floor.

Mira appeared from the bathroom, concern written all over her face. "Did you tell him?"

"No." My voice sounded empty. "And I am not going to."

"What? Why?"

I looked up at her, my best friend, the only person in this entire pack who had ever cared about me. I placed both hands over my stomach, protective and sure.

"Because we are leaving."

"Leaving?" Her eyes went wide.

"Yes." My voice grew stronger, steadier. "My child will never be his pawn. I won't let him use us and then throw us away like we're nothing."

"Daria, if you run, he will hunt you. He's an Alpha..."

"Then we will run far enough that he can't find us." I stood up, my mind already racing with plans. "I need your help, Mira. Please."

She stared at me for a long moment. Then she nodded.

"Tell me what you need."