CHOSEN BY THE CURSED ALPHA KING

I learned very early in life that humans like me were never meant to belong. In the Silvercrest Pack, we existed only on the edges—cleaning blood from the training grounds, serving meals we were never allowed to taste, lowering our eyes whenever a wolf passed by. I had lived like that for nineteen years. Invisible. Powerless. Forgotten. Until the moon chose me. The night it happened, the entire pack gathered in the ceremonial clearing. Fire torches lined the ancient stones, their flames dancing wildly as if they, too, sensed something was wrong. The air smelled sharp—pine, earth, and something darker. Fear. I stood at the back with the other omegas and servants, my hands trembling as I clutched my worn dress. My heart pounded so loudly I was sure everyone could hear it. Tonight was the Alpha King’s return. Kael Blackthorn. His name alone was enough to make wolves bow and humans pray. He was the strongest Alpha alive, ruler of five packs, cursed by the Moon Goddess herself. They said his wolf slaughtered without mercy during full moons. They said his mate would either save him—or die by his hands. I never believed in fate. Until my chest burned. The pain struck suddenly, sharp and blinding, as if claws were ripping through my heart. I gasped, stumbling forward, my knees nearly giving out. A strange heat spread through my veins, awakening something deep inside me—something I didn’t understand. Gasps rippled through the crowd. The moonlight shifted. And then I felt it. A pull. Strong. Violent. Unbreakable. My gaze lifted on its own, drawn toward the center of the clearing just as a tall, powerful figure stepped into the firelight. The moment our eyes met, the world seemed to stop breathing. Kael Blackthorn looked like death wrapped in flesh. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dark hair falling over eyes that glowed an unnatural silver. Power rolled off him in waves so heavy it pressed me into the ground. His presence alone demanded submission. And yet… his eyes locked onto mine. The pull snapped tight. The mark burned. The world shattered. A collective gasp erupted as the scent hit the air—sharp, intoxicating, undeniable. “M-Mate…” someone whispered. No. My stomach dropped. No, no, no. Kael’s jaw tightened. His eyes darkened, flashing between silver and black as his wolf surged forward. The curse reacted violently, the ground beneath his feet cracking. I felt it then—his rage. His fear. His rejection. He stalked toward me, every step heavy with dominance. Wolves bowed as he passed. Humans shrank away. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. He stopped inches from me. Up close, he was terrifying. Beautiful in a way that hurt. Dangerous in a way that promised destruction. “This is a mistake,” he said coldly. The words sliced through me. “I reject her.” The clearing erupted in chaos. My ears rang as if I’d been struck. Rejected? Alphas rejected weak mates, not marked ones. Not fated ones. My knees buckled, and I barely caught myself before collapsing into the dirt. Kael turned away as if I were nothing. “I will not accept a human as my Luna,” he declared. “The Moon Goddess is wrong.” Pain unlike anything I’d ever felt tore through my chest. The bond screamed, refusing to sever, burning hotter instead of breaking. I cried out, clutching my heart as darkness crept into my vision. But he didn’t look back. Rejected. Marked. Trapped. The hours after the rejection were worse than the pain itself. They locked me in a small room near the servants’ quarters, far from the pack houses, far from the Alpha’s den. The walls were cold stone, the air damp and suffocating. I sat on the narrow bed, hugging my knees, staring at my trembling hands as if they belonged to someone else. Rejected mates were rare. Rejected fated mates were unheard of. Whispers seeped through the cracks in the walls. I heard my name spoken with disgust, fear, and cruel curiosity. Some wolves believed I was a curse sent to destroy the Alpha King. Others thought I was bait—something the Moon Goddess had thrown at Kael to test his control. None of them cared what the rejection had done to me. The bond didn’t break like the elders said it would. It didn’t fade or disappear. Instead, it coiled tighter around my heart, pulsing painfully with every breath I took. Each beat felt like a reminder that no matter how much Kael denied me, fate refused to let go. I pressed my palm against my chest, gasping. Why wouldn’t it end? Tears blurred my vision as memories I didn’t recognize flickered behind my eyes—silver eyes watching the moon, claws digging into earth, a howl torn from my own throat. Panic surged through me as I realized the impossible. I wasn’t just human. Something inside me was waking up. A knock echoed through the door, sharp and impatient. An older she-wolf stepped inside, her gaze hard and assessing. She didn’t bow. She didn’t soften. “You should be grateful you’re still alive,” she said coldly. “Many Alphas would’ve killed a rejected mate to silence the bond.” Her words hollowed me out. “So this is mercy?” I whispered. She snorted. “This is survival. Don’t misunderstand your place, girl. You are not Luna. You never will be.” When she left, the silence felt heavier than her cruelty. I curled into myself, shaking. If the Alpha King’s rejection didn’t kill me… the pack surely would. That was when I felt it. A sudden surge of heat rolled through my body, sharp and overwhelming. My lungs burned as the bond reacted violently—angry, unstable, alive. Somewhere in the distance, a roar shook the ground. Kael. Even apart, even rejected, I could feel him. And deep in my bones, a terrifying realization settled in. The bond wasn’t weakening. It was growing stronger. I woke up hours later. The pain was still there—dull now, but constant. Like a chain wrapped around my heart, pulling me toward someone who didn’t want me. Someone who hated what I represented. A servant informed me of my fate with a look of pity. “The Alpha King ordered you to remain in the pack,” she said quietly. “Until the bond… stabilizes.” I laughed bitterly. So I wasn’t free. And I wasn’t dead. Just cursed. Days passed in a blur of whispers and stares. Wolves watched me like I was a ticking bomb. Some looked afraid. Others looked disgusted. A few looked… hungry. The curse worsened. Every full moon, Kael lost control. His howls echoed through the mountains, shaking the pack to its core. And every time, the pain inside me flared in response—proof that the bond was still alive. I avoided him. I had to. Because every time he passed near me, my body reacted. My heart raced. My skin burned. My wolf—one I didn’t even know I had—stirred restlessly inside me. And his scent… It was everywhere. Smoke and pine and something wild that made my knees weak. I hated it. I hated him. Until the night I learned the truth. It happened during the Blood Moon. The curse exploded out of control. Kael’s roar split the sky as he shifted violently, his wolf massive and monstrous, eyes glowing red with madness. The pack warriors struggled to restrain him, but they were thrown aside like toys. And then he turned toward the human quarters. Toward me. Panic surged through the pack. “He’s going to kill her!” “Stop him!” But it was too late. The moment his eyes found mine across the clearing, the curse snapped. He froze. His wolf whimpered. And for the first time since his return… Kael Blackthorn knelt. The entire pack fell silent. I felt it then—clearer than ever. My presence weakened the curse. Not destroyed it. Controlled it. Kael lifted his head slowly, disbelief etched across his face as his gaze met mine again. “You…” he whispered hoarsely. The bond pulsed violently between us, alive and furious. I realized then the truth no one wanted to face. I wasn’t his weakness. I was his chain. And rejecting me hadn’t freed him at all. It had doomed us both.