REJECTED BY MY ALPHA MATE

The night air buzzed with excitement. Lanterns strung across the courtyard glowed like fireflies, and the smell of roasted meat drifted from the feast tables. Tonight was the night every wolf in the Silver Moon Pack had been waiting for the Mating Ceremony and everyone is expected to attend. I had dreamed of this night since I was a child. Tonight, under the full moon’s gaze, the Moon Goddess would reveal our fated mates. Wolves would find their other halves, and bonds would form that could never be broken. And me? I smoothed the white silk dress my mother had left me before she died, the only thing I had of her. My heart pounded as I glanced at my reflection in a pan of water brown eyes wide with hope, long dark hair cascading over trembling shoulders. Breathe, Aria, my wolf whispered in my mind. Her voice was steady, though I knew she was just as nervous as I was. “Tonight is our destiny.” My destiny. To be chosen. To finally belong and finally find my mate. The pack gathered in a wide circle around the ceremonial fire. At the center stood Alpha Damian, tall and impossibly commanding, his black hair catching the moonlight, his sharp jawline carved with arrogance. He was twenty two, feared and respected, a warrior born, who was full of pride. Who is also the man I had secretly loved for years. I had never dared to hope… but still, my heart whispered that maybe, just maybe, the Moon Goddess would give him to me. The Elder raised his staff. “Tonight, bonds shall be revealed. Step forward, and the Goddess shall guide your souls and help you find you mates.” One by one, couples found each other. Sparks ignited in their eyes, their wolves howled in harmony. The air was thick with joy. Then it was my turn. I stepped forward, my knees trembling. The Elder’s voice boomed: Aria, daughter of no house, step forth to meet your mate. Whispers fluttered through the crowd. Daughter of no house. Orphan. Weakling. Outcast. I felt bad but I had lived with it for eighteen years of my life so I lifted my chin, refusing to bow my head. The Goddess would not shame me. Then it happened. My gaze collided with Damian’s. My heart stuttered. My wolf howled with recognition, her voice trembling with joy. Mate. Our mate! Our mate! The fire blazed higher as the bond snapped into place, undeniable and fierce. Gasps rippled through the crowd. Alpha Damian was my fated mate. My chest swelled with hope, tears pricking my eyes. This was real. This was destiny. But then his lips curled into a cruel smile. “No.” The word sliced through me sharper than any blade. I was left in shock. “No?” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the crowd’s confusion. Damian’s voice thundered across the courtyard. I reject you, Aria. Before the Moon Goddess and this entire pack, I reject you as my mate. The world shattered, Pain exploded in my chest as though claws ripped through my heart. My wolf howled in agony, her voice breaking. No! He cannot… I staggered forward, clutching my chest “Damian… why?” His icy blue eyes bore into me with disdain. You? Weak. Useless. Homeless. The Goddess must have made a mistake. I will not bind myself to a pathetic orphan who can’t even shift properly. Laughter broke out in the crowd. Whispers hissed like vipers. She thought she could be Luna? You must be dreaming. “Damian deserves strength, not… her” “What a shameful match.” The pain doubled, worse than death itself. Rejection wasn’t just humiliation, it was physical, tearing at my soul, breaking the bond the Goddess had tied, leaving my heart shattered. I fell to my knees, gasping, my vision blurred with tears. “Damian, please.” He stepped back, his voice cold. “Stand up, Aria. Stand up and hear me clearly. You will never be my Luna. You mean nothing to me. And we can never be together.” And then, as if the cruelty wasn’t enough, another figure stepped forward, a tall, stunning she-wolf with golden hair and a wicked smile. Selena, the Beta’s daughter. She looped her arm through Damian’s. Tell them who you really want, Damian. He looked down at me with pure contempt and said “Selena will be my Luna. She is strong. Beautiful. Worthy. Everything you are not.” The crowd roared with approval of Damian and Selena. Cheers filled the night, drowning out the sound of my breaking heart. Selena smirked at me. Run along, you little orphan. You don’t belong here. I wanted to scream, to fight, to claw her face until her smug smile bled away. But I couldn’t move. I was weak. The bond was tearing apart, shredding my soul into pieces. My wolf whimpered. We are dying, Aria… I forced myself to stand on shaking legs, refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing me crawl. My eyes locked on Damian’s, on the man who had once been my secret dream, now my worst nightmare. “Damian,” I whispered, my voice raw, “the Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes, remember.” But even as I spoke, I could feel the bond crumbling, leaving me hollow and cold. Damian’s laughter rang out. “Then the Goddess must have been blind.” The last thing I heard before darkness took me was the sound of my pack cheering for the new Luna while I collapsed, rejected, helpless and broken, at their feet.