MY REJECTED MATE’S OBSESSION

CHAPTER ONE

FAMILY FAILED ME

Lucia’s POV

It was early evening, and I woke up to my mother’s soft voice humming. I yawned in a tired way, as if I had been awake all night, even though I had slept so deeply since yesterday that someone would think I was drugged. My sleep was too peaceful for someone whose family member had been gone for a while.

I got out of bed slowly and followed the sound of her voice until I reached the kitchen. My eyes caught my reflection on the shiny surface of the transparent dishware on the table. I looked tired. My jet black curly hair was all over the place and I knew I would need Kaine’s magic hair oil very soon.

My eyes were puffy. Hazel with gold flecks, just like my father’s. Speaking of my father, the thought of his possible freedom hit me hard again, and my mood changed without warning.

“Lucia…” my mother said as she turned, noticing me standing across the large table in the middle of the wide kitchen. We were the family of the Beta of Ashbourne Pack, Beta Logan, so we lived in a very comfortable part of the pack house.

I snapped out of my thoughts, a bit startled. “Mother,” I said softly while walking toward her.

A burning smell hit my nose. I sniffed and turned my head. Something was burning. Before I could tell Naari, she already noticed the smoke and the smell.

“Sht!” she said as she turned off the fire.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered without thinking.

“It’s not your fault, Lucia.” She looked at me again.

I kept quiet, but my face already said everything I was thinking. I could see it in the way she stared at me with concern.

“Look, Lucia,” she said, resting against the kitchen counter. “I am not surprised your mood is already swinging. It happens every year on the eve of your birthday. But I want you to try to make a difference this time.”

“A difference?” I let out a small scoff. “Mother, I don’t know what you are talking about. And this is not because of my birthday.”

“Then what is wrong?” she asked while reaching for my hand.

I hesitated. She rubbed my hand gently with her thumb, waiting for me to speak.

“It’s just…” I began.

“Come on, Lucia. Talk to me,” my mother pressed.

“It’s just that I feel guilty.” I finally said it.

“Guilty?” She raised her brow at me.

I nodded.

“I don’t understand.”

“It feels wrong to look forward to my birthday and the full moon gathering where I will be claimed publicly as Kaine’s Luna while my father is still in the dungeon with no clear update about his release.”

“What?” Naari laughed in disbelief. “You are unbelievable, Lucia.”

“Mother!”

“Fine.” She raised her hands in surrender. “There is nothing strange about the way you feel. It only shows that you are not selfish and that you care about your father. But do you know who your father is? He is the Beta of this pack. His only mistake was his hunger for transparency. He stood in Alpha Terra’s way when Terra wanted to become Alpha of Ashbourne Pack. Terra still became Alpha anyway and now they are trying to frame your father. But Kaine, Terra’s son, will not sit back and let your father suffer. He is not like his wicked father. So try to relax and trust that the moon goddess will settle things in our favour.”

I sighed again. She made sense. Everything she said was true. But why did it feel like nothing was changing? My father had been locked in the dungeon for almost a full year now. If he was not released now, then when would he be? I hated the idea that this might be the first birthday I would celebrate without my father at home.

“Naari, I am scared,” I confessed.

She pulled me into a warm hug. “Shhh, Lucia. Do not be scared. He will be out soon,” she said while stroking my hair.

I sniffed hard, fighting back the tears.

She pulled away and wiped my tears with her thumb. “No more tears, my daughter. Tomorrow is the full moon gathering and he cannot miss it. He has a role to play there.”

I nodded and wiped the rest of my tears away. “I have heard you, Naari,” I said in a small voice.

“Happy twentieth birthday in advance, Lucia, my precious child,” she said and kissed my forehead.

I gave a small laugh. “Thank you, Mother.”

“Now, should we prepare dinner?” she asked playfully.

I nodded. “Sure.”

Naari picked up a basket of freshly dug potatoes and rubbed the dirt off before putting them into a pot to boil.

The fire in the hearth crackled quietly, and shadows moved across the kitchen walls. Naari added a handful of juniper berries to the pot and stirred the dark broth. “The forest gives us what we need,” she said. “Strong and healing, like the wolf blood in your veins.”

I smiled a little, feeling the warmth in the room settle around us.

“Do you remember how you used to sneak out with me to gather herbs when you were a child? Your father never liked you going into the woods,” she said while dropping chopped carrots into the pot.

I nodded. The memory was sweet and painful at the same time. “Because he was scared I would get lost.”

She chuckled and rested her hand on my shoulder. “I…”

Before she could finish talking, a loud knock hit the door. We both jumped in shock.

I looked at her with a suspicious expression that asked silently, Who could that be?

She stepped forward to check, but before she got close, the visitor pushed the door wide open and walked straight into the kitchen.

Our eyes widened when we saw who they were.

“Lady Naari, you are wanted by the Alpha,” one of the pack guards said. They all held their swords tightly, standing in a tense position as if they came to arrest a criminal.

I looked from one guard to the other. This did not feel like a normal or peaceful summon.

“What? Why?” I asked.

My mother touched my shoulder and gave me a small reassuring look. Then she turned to them. “Go. I will be right behind you,” she said, and I nodded.

“Alpha Terra Thornhart of Ashbourne Pack insists that you come with us at once,” another guard said.

This was beginning to feel serious. I rushed to my mother and held her arm tightly.

“I said go. I will come soon,” she said through her teeth. But the guards ignored her. They moved toward her at the same time.

“I am sorry, Lady Naari, but we must take you by force,” their leader, Liam, said. Before we could react, they grabbed her tightly and dragged her toward the door. She tried to resist, reminding them who she was, but they ignored her completely and kept pushing her out.

Fear gripped me. My chest hurt so much I could barely breathe. Tears burned in my eyes.

“Stop! Leave her alone!” I shouted, but they did not stop.

I tried to run after them, but they pushed me back and warned me not to come close. The Alpha had given the order.

I fell to the floor in tears. Helpless. Useless.

If only tomorrow was not the full moon gathering, Kaine would have helped me. At least, that was what I hoped.

Because of a stupid tradition, my mother was going through misfortune caused by an Alpha who was supposed to be family. And all of this was happening on the eve of my birthday.

What a cursed child I am.

My heart bled.