The Dormant Wolf: Rejected By My Alpha Husband

I took a silver bullet for my fated mate, Derek, and fell into a coma for five years.

When I finally opened my eyes, I wasn't greeted as a hero. I was handed a deportation order.

Because I had burned out my wolf spirit to save his life, I was now "human" and useless to the pack. My marriage had been annulled years ago without my consent.

I dragged my atrophied body to our home, only to find Derek with Anjelica, a woman I once called a friend. She was wearing my jewelry and carrying his heir.

But the knife in my heart wasn't seeing them together. It was my son.

My five-year-old boy, Errol, didn't run to me. He screamed in terror and sprayed me with a bottle of liquid he had been hiding.

It hissed against my skin. Wolfsbane.

"Go away, monster!" he sobbed, pointing the bottle at me like a weapon. "Mommy Anjelica said this burns the bad things!"

I had lost my wolf, my husband, and my child. But they weren't done taking from me.

When Anjelica faked a medical emergency, Derek signed a general proxy form. I was dragged into surgery, not as a patient, but as a harvest.

I heard the doctor whisper, "She wants her dry."

They thought draining my blood would kill me. They didn't know that my "human" shell was just a cocoon for something ancient.

I escaped the hospital that night. Standing by the ocean, I threw my wedding ring into the waves.

"I, Catherine, reject the bond."

Miles away, Derek fell to his knees, vomiting blood as the connection snapped.

He thought I was dead. He didn't know the White Wolf had just awakened.

Chapter 1

Catherine POV:

The silence was the loudest thing I had ever heard.

For twenty-three years, my mind had been a riot of noise-a sanctuary shared with a wolf spirit who growled at danger and purred at the moon. Now, opening my eyes in the sterile white room of the pack hospital, there was only a hollow echo.

My wolf was gone.

"Dormant," the doctor said, barely looking up from his chart. "You burned through her life force to survive the impact, Catherine. You are... essentially human now."

Human. In the Moonstone Pack, that was a fate worse than death. It meant I was a static channel on a radio that everyone else could hear.

I sat up, my body screaming. The calendar on the wall said 2024. Five years. I had been a vegetable for five years.

I had sacrificed everything to push Derek out of the way of that silver bullet. I took the hit. I took the coma.

And this was my reward.

I walked out of the hospital on trembling legs. No one offered a ride. No one bowed. The nurses didn't look at me with disdain; they looked at me like I was already a ghost.

I made my way to the Pack Administration Hall. The clerk, a young Omega who used to tremble in my presence, popped a bubble of gum and slid a piece of paper across the counter.

"You're not in the system, sweetie," she said. "Check the 'Rogue' registry."

My hands shook as I picked up the document.

Name: Catherine Hale.

Status: Rogue / Human.

Pack Membership: Revoked.

Reason: Inability to fulfill duties. No wolf spirit detected.

Authorized by: Alpha Derek Alexander.

Witnessed by: Elders John and Mary Hale.

My parents. My mate.

They had thrown me out with the trash while I slept. Making a former Luna a Rogue wasn't just an insult; it was an act of war against my dignity.

I had to go to the Manor. I had to hear him say it.

The walk was grueling. As I approached the grand gates, a scent hit me. Not the wild jasmine and rain that used to mark this territory as mine, but a cloying, chemical vanilla.

It smelled like a cheap air freshener trying to cover up a crime scene.

And then I saw them.

Derek stood on the front lawn. He looked older, harder, his eyes glazed with a strange, dull film. Clinging to his arm was Anjelica. The Beta female who had been in the car behind us that day.

But what froze my blood was the small boy running between them.

He had Derek's hair and my eyes. Errol. He was a toddler when I went under. Now he was a child.

"Mommy!" Errol shouted.

My heart leaped. "Errol..."

But he ran past me. He ran straight into Anjelica's open arms.

Anjelica lifted him up, spinning him around. She looked at me over Errol's shoulder, her blue eyes gleaming.

"Oh, look, Derek," she cooed. "The invalid is awake."

Derek turned. His eyes, usually the color of storm clouds, looked... dilated. Unfocused. He blinked, as if trying to clear a fog.

"Catherine," he said. His voice was flat. "You shouldn't be here. This is pack territory."

"I am your Mate," I whispered. "I am the mother of your son."

Errol squirmed in Anjelica's arms. He looked at me, confusion warring with fear on his face.

"She smells like the hospital," Errol whispered to Anjelica. "Make her go away."

Anjelica whispered something in his ear, and the boy flinched.

Go away, a voice echoed in my head. A Mind-Link. Errol's Alpha blood allowed him to force thoughts into my unprotected mind.

You aren't my mom. My mom is strong. You are nothing.

I staggered back.

My parents stepped out from the porch. They stood behind Derek, arms crossed.

"You are embarrassing us, Catherine," my mother said. "Accept the settlement. Derek is paying your bills. Go."

My phone buzzed. A burner I'd hidden in my hospital bag years ago.

"Is this the White Wolf?" a distorted voice asked.

"There is no wolf here," I replied, my voice dead. "Just Kate."

"Good enough," said Kaden, Alpha of the Silver Claws in Zurich. "The offer stands, Kate. Victim or survivor? Choose."

I looked at my reflection in a car mirror. Pale, hollow.

"I want to bury Catherine," I told him. "She died five years ago."

Catherine POV:

"Seventy-two hours," Kaden had said.

I was staying in a flea-bag motel on the edge of the territory. I was staring at the water stains on the ceiling when the door rattled.

Derek filled the frame. He smelled of rain and pine, but underneath, there was a sour note. Like he hadn't slept in a week.

He brought a briefcase.

"I didn't think you'd end up here," he said, grimacing.

"It's all a 'Rogue' can afford," I said. "Why are you here, Derek?"

He flinched. "The Council... they need this finalized. A pack needs a Luna who can shift. Who can produce strong heirs. You... you are broken."

"I broke myself saving your life," I said quietly.

He looked away, a muscle feathering in his jaw. He looked like a man trying to remember a nightmare. "I know. That is why I brought this."

He opened the briefcase. Cash. And a velvet box containing a diamond the size of a quail egg.

"It's a settlement," he said. "And this ring. To show that I will still provide for you."

I took the ring. I tried to slide it onto my ring finger. It slid right off.

"It doesn't fit," I said.

Derek frowned. "I had it sized..."

"You had it sized for Anjelica," I dropped the ring onto the table. It clattered like loose change. "You didn't buy this for me. You bought this for her, felt guilty, and decided to regift it."

His face flushed. "Anjelica has stepped up! She has been a mother to Errol! She organizes the patrols, she manages the finances!"

"Does she manage my husband, too?"

"We are not married anymore!" Derek shouted. "The Council annulled it three years ago on grounds of incapacity!"

The words hit like a slap.

"And the Bond?" I stepped closer. "Can the Council annul the Moon Goddess? Do you not feel it, Derek? Or has her fake perfume burned out your nose?"

Derek growled. His eyes flashed gold.

"Stop it," he commanded. "Sit down, Catherine. Alpha Command."

The power rolled over me. But without a wolf to submit, it felt like a stiff breeze against a brick wall. I didn't move.

Derek's eyes widened. He was staring at a woman he couldn't control.

"You can't order me anymore," I said softly.

I picked up the diamond ring and dropped it into the trash can. Clunk.

"Take your money," I pointed to the door. "And get out."

Derek stared at the trash can, clutching his chest. He looked like he was in physical pain, his hand clawing at his shirt.

His phone buzzed. Mind-Link. His eyes glazed over. The pain in his face smoothed out into a weird, blank obedience.

"I have to go," he said abruptly. "Keep the money."

He stormed out.

I sank onto the floor. He wasn't just acting like a jerk. He was acting like a junkie.

Catherine POV:

I should have left. But the invitation had been slipped under my door. A summons to the Alpha's Birthday.

It was a trap. But a stupid part of me needed to see him one last time.

I wore a black dress from a thrift store.

The Pack House was a palace of light and noise. When I entered the ballroom, the music died.

I walked toward the head table. Derek sat there like a king. Beside him, in shimmering gold, sat Anjelica.

"Catherine!" she exclaimed, standing up. The scent of synthetic vanilla rolled off her in waves. "We didn't think you'd come! We don't have a seat... maybe near the kitchen?"

"I'm just here to wish the Alpha a happy birthday," I said.

Errol darted out from under the table. He stopped three feet away, wrinkling his nose.

"You smell like the sick room!" he shouted.

He pointed at Anjelica. "She smells like flowers! She smells like a Mommy!"

Anjelica placed a hand on Errol's shoulder, her nails digging in slightly. "Be nice, Errol. The poor woman can't help being empty."

My mother stood up. "Errol is right. The nose of a pup never lies. Catherine... bow to the future Luna."

The room went silent.

I looked at Derek. He was gripping his wine glass, his knuckles white. He looked at me, then at Anjelica, his expression confused.

"No," I said.

Anjelica gasped. She released a pulse of pheromones. It was so strong I could taste it-metallic and chemical.

Derek stood up abruptly, his eyes dilating. "Catherine. Apologize."

"She is wearing a scent bought from a witch, Derek!" I laughed. "Can you not smell the sulfur?"

"Enough!" Derek slammed his fist on the table. "Guards! Escort her out!"

As the guards grabbed me, Anjelica suddenly swayed. She collapsed into her chair.

"My baby!" she cried. "The stress... oh, Derek!"

"She's pregnant!"

"The future heir!"

My parents rushed to her. Derek scooped Anjelica up. He didn't look angry anymore. He looked terrified.

"I wish," I whispered into the chaos, "that all the lies wrapped in wolf skin would rot away."

I walked out. The bond in my chest didn't break. It just started to fester.

I walked to the old pier. The place Derek and I had our first date.

My phone pinged. A tracking app I'd installed in the Alpha's car years ago for security.

The dot was moving toward the pier.

A black SUV pulled up. I stepped into the shadows.

Derek got out. He looked disheveled. He paced, running hands through his hair. He was shaking.

"This isn't right," he muttered. "Catherine... she looked so broken. And the bond... it's screaming at me."

Anjelica got out. She didn't look like a woman who had nearly miscarried an hour ago.

She walked up to Derek. She pulled a small vial from her dress and dabbed something on her neck.

"The bond is a ghost, Derek," she purred, pressing against him.

I saw Derek's nostrils flare. His pupils blew wide, swallowing the iris.

"I need you to calm down," she whispered.

Derek groaned, a sound of surrender. "Make the noise stop. Just make it stop."

"I will," she promised.

They fell into the backseat.

I watched the windows fog up. I heard him growl her name.

The Mate Bond didn't just snap. It imploded.

It felt like a physical blow to the solar plexus. I doubled over, gasping. A burning sensation seared through my veins. He was mating with another while I was still alive.

I fell to my knees.

My phone buzzed. A text from Derek.

Handling a Rogue issue at the border. Don't wait up.

Sent by Anjelica from his phone while he was busy betraying me.

The pain peaked, then vanished.

I stood up. I wiped the dirt from my knees.

I didn't cry. Catherine died in that car crash five years ago.

"Enjoy her," I whispered. "She is your addiction now."