The Silver Alpha's Rejected Mate

SKY

The pounding of my heart is so strong that, it feels like thunder rolling through my body. Each beat echoes in my ears, urging me to move faster. I keep glancing over my shoulder every few seconds, searching the shadows between the trees. They're out there. I can sense them.

I push into a steady jog, my shoes crunching against the carpet of dried leaves covering the forest floor. If I don't keep running, they'll catch me. Somehow, no matter how many different routes I take through these woods, they always manage to find me.

But not tonight. I can't let them catch me again.

I've always been fast, but when they corner me, there's no escape. Five against one-those are terrible odds for anyone. They're too strong when they hunt together, and I can't take the pain they bring anymore.

I stretch my stride, leaping over roots and fallen logs. The woods of Silver Forest close around me, dark and endless, but I'm only a few miles from the Silver Moon Pack's headquarters. If I can just make it to the clearing, I'll be safe. I'll be home.

Sweat trickles down my forehead, my golden braid loosening with each movement. I swing my head to check behind me, but the motion costs me. A sharp sting cuts across my arm, forcing a cry out of my mouth.

"Damn it!" I hiss. A low branch ripped through my skin, leaving a shallow cut across my forearm. The pain is minor, but the blood-it's enough for Lamen to catch my scent. And once he does, there's no escaping him.

I grit my teeth, ignoring the sting. The wound will heal soon; it always does. I just need to keep running. My lungs burn, but the thought of freedom keeps me going. If I can reach the clearing, if I can step onto pack land, they won't dare follow.

I duck under a long branch, breathing hard, when I glance back one more time. Big mistake. I slam straight into something solid-no, someone.

The impact knocks the air out of me. My face smashes against a hard chest, and I bounce off, landing painfully on my backpack.

A wave of nausea swirls in my stomach. I groan, opening my eyes, and when I see who's standing above me, my blood runs cold.

Lamen.

His eyes are pits of darkness, two black voids that swallow all light. Just looking at him makes me tremble. Of all the wolves in the Silver Moon Pack, he's the one I fear most. And somehow, I've run straight into him.

His arms are crossed over his chest, his dark hair falling across one eye. Aria, his cruel and perfect girlfriend, stands beside him. Her long, jet-black hair gleams like polished glass against her pale skin. Behind them, Max, Alastair, and Silver-his loyal pack of bullies, stand grinning, ready for the show.

"Hey, Nerdo," Lamen says, his smirk cruel. "Running scared? Afraid of the dark?"

I push myself up, brushing leaves from my shirt, though some stick to the blood on my arm. "Shut up, Lamen. Just leave me alone," I snap, though I know it's useless. My words never mean much to him.

His smirk fades, his expression twisting into something darker. "What did you say?" he growls, stepping closer. "You're getting brave, huh?"

Before I can react, he shoves me hard in the chest. I stumble backward, struggling to stay on my feet. A faint light filters through the trees up ahead, the clearing. If I can just reach it... maybe I can escape.

"Lamen, what's your problem? Why won't you just leave me alone?" I shout, though my voice shakes.

The others laugh. Aria mimics me in a mocking tone, her voice sharp and cruel. "Why won't you leave me alone, Lamen?" She rolls her eyes dramatically before sneering, "You should've died with your mother. At least she meant something. You're nothing but a half-breed disgrace."

Her words hit me like a knife. I freeze for a second, my throat tightening. My mother, the only one who ever truly cared for me, is gone. The Shadow Fang Pack murdered her years ago. Remembering it still burns a hole through my chest.

I swallow hard and keep moving, holding my backpack tight like it can protect me. I'm about a mile and a half from home. I know it because of the pink ribbon I tied to my favorite red oak tree. That ribbon reminds me that no matter how broken I get, I can still find my way back.

Lamen elbows me hard, forcing me to stumble. Max and Alastair snicker behind him, enjoying every second of this.

"She's right," Lamen says, his tone dripping with contempt. "You'll never lead the Silver Moon Pack. You think going to school will make the elders respect you? Nobody cares about you here. You're probably adopted."

His words sting, but I don't let him see how deep they cut. My hair sticks to my damp forehead, and my whole body starts to heat up. It always happens before a fight or when I'm terrified, my skin turns hot, like I'm burning from the inside out. I don't understand it, but maybe it's what makes me heal so quickly.

And maybe it's the same heat that fuels my temper.

"Are you jealous, Lamen?" I shoot back, my voice trembling but defiant. "Didn't you fail your midterms?"

Lamen's jaw tightens. "Shut up!" he barks, his voice echoing through the forest. Silver chuckles behind him, earning a sharp glare.

I can see light peeking through the trees again. Just a few more steps. I tighten my grip on my backpack straps and take a careful step sideways, ready to bolt the second I see an opening.

But I'm too slow.

Lamen steps into my path, blocking me completely. Before I can move, he slams his hands into my shoulders, sending me crashing into the ground. The others burst into laughter, their voices sharp and cruel.

"On the ground where you belong," Lamen snarls, his shadow looming over me. "You'll never run the Silver Moon Pack. You don't have the right blood. You're not even a full wolf."

His boot presses hard against my spine, forcing my face into the muddy earth. The pain tears through me, hot and unbearable. I cry out, unable to stop the sound from escaping.

Their laughter echoes around me, filling the forest, drowning out my own voice. I bite back another scream, tasting dirt and blood, wishing, just once-that someone would come.

That someone would make it stop.

SKY

He's broken my spine. I heard it snap....a horrible, dry crunch that echoed through my bones. I can barely breathe. The pain burns through me like fire, spreading down my back.

"Right blood?" Lamen sneers. I don't even know what he means. He says it all the time, but never explains. Maybe it's just his twisted way of reminding me I don't belong.

I'm doomed. Completely and utterly doomed. The only thing that's ever kept me sane is burying my head in my books. Now, I can't even stand.

"And stay down, weakling, before I snap your arm next," Aria growls. Her voice drips with cruel amusement. That's her version of a compliment, I guess.

I stay where I am, face down in the mud, trying not to move. The pain is unbearable. My back feels like it's been ripped apart, and I can't stop the sobs that escape me. Why don't they want me in the pack? Why do they hate me so much?

I've asked my father the same thing so many times. "Lamen bullies me, Father. He hurts me. Can't you make him stop? Why do they keep calling me impure? I'm a Silver Moon wolf, just like the rest of them!"

But Lucien, my father, the alpha of the Silver Moon Pack and a cold, sharp businessman, would just look at me with that empty stare he's worn since my mother died. His voice would always be distant, calm, and cruel.

"It's a rite of passage," he'd say. "You're the heir, Sky. You need to start acting like it. Maybe once you shift, Lamen will respect you." Then he would look away, drowning himself in paperwork like I wasn't even there.

Since my mother's death, he's avoided me completely. Maybe it's because I look too much like her, with her soft lips and delicate nose. But I've been hurting too, just as much as him. He just refuses to see it.

I press my face deeper into the wet earth, my tears mixing with the mud. Rage, fear, sorrow, everything crashes inside me at once.

The forest around me dims as dusk settles. The sky turns violet, and the shadows stretch long and heavy. I try to move my hips, terrified that my spine might be shattered. Pain spikes through me, sharp and relentless, but I can still move. Barely.

Holding my back, I spit out leaves and groan. I have to get up. I have to survive this.

The only thought that keeps me going is that I'll soon be leaving for school in New York, far away from this cursed pack and their cruelty. Just a few more weeks, and I'll be free.

I drag myself up, trembling as my bones crack and my tears fall again. My body burns where Lamen kicked me, a strange heat pulsing through that spot. It's not normal, but somehow, it always helps me heal.

To stay strong, I think of my mother, my gentle, beautiful wolf. She was silver-gray and radiant, graceful as moonlight. She could run faster than the wind. I want to be like her someday. I want a wolf strong enough to fight back, to protect me from the endless torment.

By the time I limp back onto the Silver Moon grounds, the mist has rolled in, wrapping everything in ghostly silence. No one's around to see me. No one ever is.

I make it to the showers and stand under the hot water until my skin stings. The warmth soothes the bruises on my back and legs. When I finally look in the mirror, my emerald eyes stare back at me-tired, sunken, and full of pain.

I examine the mark on my back, still aching. I know the drill. A soak in Epsom salts, then to bed in the small attic I've been forced to live in.

That night, I toss and turn, pain radiating through me. When I wake up, I move cautiously, then realize I can move freely. The pain is gone. Completely.

I turn to the mirror and bend forward, touching my toes. "It's like it never happened," I whisper. My eyes widen in disbelief. My body heals faster than it should. No one understands why, not even me.

Downstairs, Lucien is already in the kitchen, reading reports. "Morning," he mutters without looking up.

"You came in late last night. Extra studying?"

My stomach tightens. Lamen often visits my father's main quarters. He's like Lucien's favorite protege-a wolf he's been grooming for leadership since childhood. Even back then, Lamen was a bully, picking on anyone weaker than him. My mother was the only one who ever stood up to him.

"Leave him, Lucien," she used to say when my father praised Lamen. "That boy is cruel. That's not strength, it's savagery."

But she's gone now, and my father only sees the leader he wants Lamen to be.

When Lamen walks in, he freezes at the sight of me standing straight and unharmed. Shock flickers across his face. His jaw tightens, but when my father turns to him, Lamen forces a smile. It doesn't reach his eyes.

It's a small victory for me, to see even a hint of confusion in his expression. I might be healed, but the memory of his boot against my spine lingers. The fear doesn't fade.

I keep my gaze down as I open the fridge, pretending not to notice him.

"Something like that," I mutter, answering my father's question.

"Hmph." Lucien's grunt is dismissive, already back in his work.

Lamen smirks, his voice mocking. "Morning, Sky."

"Morning, Lamen," I answer shortly, my voice tight. I can't stand being in the same room with him. My pulse quickens. I grab a few snacks and rush for the door, praying he doesn't follow.

"Be careful walking through those woods," he calls after me, his tone playful and cruel. "You never know who's out there."

My heart pounds. I don't look back.

If my mother were still alive, she would have protected me. She always did.

But now, I have only myself and the faint hope that one day, my wolf will be strong enough to fight back.

SKY

I somehow make it through two whole days without any trouble from Lamen and his friends. It feels like a miracle, but I know it won't last. This morning's Silver Moon Pack meeting is bound to change that.

When I step into the large hall where the pack gathers, I keep my head low and slip into a seat at the back. My shoulders hunch forward as if hiding will make me invisible. Wolves fill the room quickly-chairs scraping, low voices rumbling, the familiar scent of fur and pine mixing in the air.

At the front, my father, Lucien Silver, stands tall behind the podium, his presence commanding as always. Around him, the Silver Moon elders sit in a half-circle, their serious faces giving away nothing. I twist my fingers nervously in my lap, my stomach in knots as I wait for Lamen and his crew to appear.

A few pack members I barely know take seats beside me. They're polite but distant, and I don't try to talk. The Silver Moon wolves are calm and respectable-good, loyal people, but to me, they've always felt dull. Maybe that's why I dream of leaving for New York. There, I can start over. No whispers, no stares. Just freedom.

Even here, surrounded by my own pack, I feel like an outsider. Their glances tell me I don't belong, like I'm a rogue among my own kind. If I study hard enough, maybe Father will let me handle the business side of things, far from pack politics and cruel eyes.

The door slams open. Lamen strides in, followed by his friends-loud, arrogant, and dangerous. My whole body stiffens. As they pass, Aria, his loyal sidekick, leans close to my ear. "Hey, bitch," she whispers, tugging my ponytail hard before flicking it back over my shoulder. I roll my eyes, trying not to give her the satisfaction of seeing me react.

Then it happens, our eyes meet. Lamen's dark gaze locks on mine, and something hot sparks inside me. My chest tightens, and a strange, unwanted heat spreads through my body. His smirk deepens as if he knows exactly what I'm feeling. His messy black hair falls over his face, shadowing his sharp eyes, and I can't look away.

He snickers. "Morning, Sky. Birthday girl, huh? Got a surprise for you." His voice drips with mockery as he moves past me, his friends laughing under their breath.

What does he mean by that? My stomach twists with both fear and something else, something I don't want to name. I hate how aware I am of him. His broad shoulders, the way his muscles move under his shirt-it all makes me dizzy. Aria glances back and catches me staring. Her glare is sharp enough to cut, and I quickly face forward, cheeks burning.

This day is already off to a terrible start. And it's only getting worse. My birthday. Once, it used to mean something good. I can still hear my mother's sweet voice in my mind: "Happy birthday, Sky! You're five now, such a big girl!"

Back then, Lucien used to smile more. Our house used to feel alive. But ever since she died, everything changed. He's become distant, like a stranger living under the same roof.

His deep voice cuts through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present. "Take your seats, Silver Moon Pack. This meeting will be brief. We have several matters to address."

I sink lower in my chair, hoping he doesn't mention me, but of course, he does. "As most of you know, it's Sky's eighteenth birthday this Sunday. As per tradition, we'll be holding a shifter celebration in her honor. Everyone is expected to attend. The festivities begin at four in the afternoon."

A few members from the social committee-Clare and Susan, look my way with blank expressions. My heart sinks. They don't care. No one ever does. Now my father's just made me a bigger target.

Lamen starts clapping slowly, his grin wide and mocking. "Whoo hoo! Big shifter party for Sky!" he calls out. Aria joins in, laughing too loudly, and the rest of his crew follows, their snickers echoing across the hall.

My father chuckles, completely oblivious to the cruelty behind their laughter. "That's the spirit of the Silver Moon Pack!" he says proudly, smiling like everything is fine.

But it's not. Not for me.

The meeting goes on, something about property investments-but his words blur into background noise. My chest feels tight. My breathing comes shallow. And that strange pull toward Lamen won't fade. I can feel him even without looking, like a magnetic force humming under my skin.

Maybe it's because my first shift is near. Maybe this strange attraction happens to every wolf before they change for the first time. I don't know. All I know is I need to get out of here before I lose my mind.

I grab my bag and slip out quietly, heading straight for school. My thoughts spin with dread. Two days until the party. Two days until my birthday.

And somehow, I already know, something about it won't end well.