The Beta Rejected Me, So I Claimed His King.

I stood at my mating ceremony, about to be joined with my pack's Beta, Brendan, under the watchful eye of the powerful Alpha King.

But just as the rites began, Brendan abandoned me at the altar. He ran off into the woods for another woman-a fragile rogue named Marina he had taken in.

He left me to face the humiliation alone. Then, a message came through the public leadership channel for all to hear. It was Brendan, announcing that Marina had attempted suicide and he couldn't leave her.

He then had the audacity to command me to apologize to the Alpha King on his behalf for the "disruption."

The man I had loved for six years, who had promised me forever just the night before, had traded my honor for a lie. He made me a laughingstock in front of the entire continent.

That night, drowning my sorrow in a human bar, I ran into the Alpha King himself. Fueled by whiskey and heartbreak, I made a reckless offer.

"He doesn't want me anymore," I slurred. "Alpha, do you want me tonight?"

To my shock, he accepted. And in his arms, I discovered a stunning truth: the Alpha King, my ex-fiancé's uncle, was my true fated Mate. My revenge had just begun.

Chapter 1

Eleanor POV:

ceremonial gown felt heavy on my shoulders, each silver thread a chain pulling me down.

I stood on the sacred grounds of the Silver Creek Pack, under the full moon's watchful eye. Tonight, I was supposed to become the mate of our pack's Beta, Brendan. Our union was meant to be a grand affair, witnessed not only by our own pack but also by our powerful overlords, the Bloodmoon Pack.

Their Alpha King, Darren, sat on a carved throne at the edge of the clearing, his presence a silent, crushing force that made the very air thick.

Brendan stood beside me, but he wasn't really with me. His eyes were distant, unfocused. I could feel the faint hum of his Mind-Link, the telepathic connection all werewolves share. It's a private line in your head, a gift from the Moon Goddess.He was talking to someone, and it wasn't me.

"Brendan," I whispered, my voice barely a rustle of leaves. "The Elder is about to begin. Please, show respect to the Goddess."

He flinched, his eyes finally meeting mine. There was no love there, only panic. Then, his voice flooded my mind, cold and urgent.

*Marina's in trouble. I have to go. Give me half an hour.*

My blood ran cold. Marina. The fragile little rogue wolf he'd taken in, the one who looked at him with wide, worshipful eyes.

Before I could process it, he was moving.

"Beta Brendan, where are you going?" one of the Elders called out, his voice sharp with disapproval.

"I must leave!" Brendan's voice was loud, strained. He didn't look at me, didn't look at anyone but the dark forest beyond the clearing.

"Brendan, no!" I pleaded, reaching for his arm, but he was already gone.

With a sound that was half-growl, half-sob, he let his wolf take over. The Shift was violent and quick, the sound of bones snapping and reforming echoing in the horrified silence. In seconds, a large brown wolf stood where my fiancé had been. He shot me a single, guilty glance before bolting into the trees.

He was gone.

He left me standing alone at my own mating ceremony, in front of two packs, in front of the Alpha King himself.

My heart hammered against my ribs. I tried to reach him through our private Mind-Link, the one we'd nurtured for years.

*Brendan? Where are you? What's happening?*

Silence. He had severed it. He had shut me out completely.

A desperate thought clawed its way into my mind: He shamed me in front of everyone for another woman.

The half-hour he asked for stretched into an eternity. The whispers of the crowd grew louder, a tide of pity and scorn that threatened to drown me. Finally, *a new message buzzed through my mind. It was from Brendan, but it wasn't on our private link. He sent it to the pack's leadership channel-a channel I was on only because I was his intended mate. A channel the Alpha King was certainly on.*

*His voice was cold, detached, and utterly humiliating.*

*Marina attempted to take her own life. I cannot leave her side. Eleanor, you will apologize to the Elders and the Alpha King on my behalf for this disruption.*

Apologize for him? For this humiliation?

My mind flashed back to just last night. He had held me close, whispering promises against my skin. "You will be my only Beta female, Eleanor. Forever."

Lies. All of it.

I looked out at the sea of faces, their expressions a mixture of pity for the weak Omega and contempt for the fool who was just publicly abandoned. I wouldn't cry. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

With a deep breath that did nothing to calm the storm inside me, I gathered the heavy skirts of my gown. I walked alone to the high platform where the Elders stood, my steps steady even though my world was falling apart.

My voice trembled, but it carried across the silent clearing, clear and final.

"My engagement to Beta Brendan is over."

Eleanor POV:

A collective gasp swept through the crowd. The Elders started shouting questions, their voices a chaotic buzz in my ears, but I didn't listen. I turned my back on the ceremony, on the whispers, on the pitying stare of the Alpha King, and walked away.

I left the sacred grounds, ignoring the calls for me to return. I found a car service that shuttled pack members to the nearby human town and got in, my mind a blank slate of pain. Halfway there, a cold, hard purpose settled in my gut.

"Turn around," I told the driver. "Take me to the Healer's Den."

The Healer's Den was the pack's hospital, a place that always smelled of drying herbs and antiseptic. I didn't stop at the front. I walked straight to the private rooms in the back, my heart pounding a furious rhythm.

I found her in the last room. Marina.

She was sitting on the edge of a bed, wearing a simple white gown that looked suspiciously like the one I was supposed to change into after the ceremony. A thick bandage was wrapped around one wrist, but the cloying scent of blood and healing herbs still hung in the air.

Her eyes widened when she saw me, a flicker of fear-or maybe triumph-in their depths. She immediately scrambled behind Brendan, clutching his arm like a frightened child.

Brendan hadn't noticed me at first. He was fussing over her, his back to the door. But when Marina shrank away, his head snapped up. His body went rigid, his wolf instantly surfacing as he shielded her from me. A low growl rumbled in his chest.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled.

I ignored him. My gaze was locked on Marina, cold and sharp. "I heard you were dying. Came to see for myself. Rogues are tougher than they look, I guess."

Tears welled in Marina's eyes. Her voice was a pathetic, trembling whisper. "I'm so sorry... I never meant for Brendan to leave you... I just... I love him so much."

The words were an apology, but the tone was pure victory. She was flaunting it. Flaunting that he chose her, a stray, over me, his promised mate.

Something inside me snapped.

All the years of being the perfect, submissive Omega, of swallowing my pride for him, vanished in a blaze of fury. I lunged forward. My hand connected with her cheek in a slap so hard the sound cracked through the quiet room.

Marina cried out.

Brendan roared. It wasn't a human sound. It was the pure, unrestrained rage of his wolf.

"You're insane!" he bellowed, and with a brutal shove, he threw me across the room.

Eleanor POV:

My back slammed into a heavy wooden cabinet filled with glass jars of herbs. Pain exploded along my spine, sharp and blinding. For an Omega like me, a Beta's strength was overwhelming. I crumpled to the floor, the air knocked from my lungs.

"Who's the insane one?" I gasped, pushing myself up, my body screaming in protest. "You! You're the one who's lost his mind!"

My voice rose to a hysterical shriek. "You swore an oath to me before the Moon Goddess! You left me alone, a mere Omega, to face the judgment of the Alpha King and the laughter of two packs!"

"When did you become so unreasonable?" Brendan shot back, his face twisted with anger. "You were never like this!"

"I was never publicly humiliated before!" I screamed.

"The ceremony can be rescheduled!" he argued, gesturing wildly at Marina, who was now sobbing into her hands. *"My reputation can handle a delay. Her life can't!* She would be dead if I hadn't come!"

I let out a bitter, broken laugh. The sound was ugly, full of despair. A rogue's cheap trick, and he had fallen for it completely. He had traded my honor for a lie.

In that moment, the last shred of love I had for him died. It withered and turned to ash in my chest. A man who couldn't protect his own mate's dignity didn't deserve a mate at all.

A strange calm washed over me. I stood up straight, ignoring the throbbing pain in my back. I looked him right in the eye, my voice level and cold as ice.

"Brendan, our engagement is officially terminated."

I turned and walked toward the door, not looking back. I wouldn't give him another second of my life.

As I reached the doorway, I heard Marina's sickly sweet voice. "Brendan, you should go after her..."

And then his reply, dripping with arrogance and disdain.

"Let her go. She's just an Omega. She'll come crying back to me in a few days."