My Rejected Mate Is the White Wolf

"I, Cassian Locke—" "—Please, don't." The words tumble from my lips in a broken whisper, but it's already too late. The tears fall freely down my cheeks, hot and endless. "—Alpha of the Red Crescent Moon, reject you, Celestine Moore—" "Alpha, please. Don't do this." I drop to my knees, the impact jarring, but I don't feel it. Just as I also don't feel the gravel biting into my skin. And also the chill of the cold wind on my tear-streaked face. My fingers grip the hem of his trouser like my life depended on it. It actually did. I’ve never begged before. Not even after my parents died. Not when I was passed around like a ragdoll or a priceless possession in this pack. But now—now I beg. In front of thousands. In front of wolves of caliber and status. Wolves from different packs, assembled. I can feel their eyes, a sea of judgment, watching the spectacle unfold. But I don't care. Cassian is the only one I care about. If he asks me to roll on the ground, I'd do it to win his love. I wore this gown for him. I sewed every stitch with callused fingers, poured every ounce of hope into its delicate lace and flowing silk. I imagined his eyes softening when he saw me in it, not narrowing with disdain. I didn’t think I’d end up on my knees in it, dirtied by the ground and humiliation. "I have no one else," I choke out, voice rising with panic. "I don’t think I can survive this." Still, his eyes don’t meet mine. They are fixed ahead—cold, indifferent, merciless. He stands tall before me. Alpha Cassian Locke. My mate. My pain. I clutch at his leg harder, my knuckles paling. “Don’t do this to me, please!” For the first time, his gaze flickers down to me. Not with affection. Not even with pity. Just...disgust. As if touching me, even with his eyes, costs him something. "I reject you, Celestine Moore," he says again, louder now, so the entire pack hears every word, every rejection sealed with certainty. "As my mate. Before this great multitude and before the Moon Goddess herself." And that’s when it happens. A crack—not in the sky, not in the earth—but deep inside me. A bond, unseen but deeply felt, shatters. The mate bond. I'd found my mate after years of being rejected and cast aside for years. Only for him to reject me. I scream. It’s not a sound I recognize. It rips from my throat like a dying creature, raw and wounded. My body convulses as agony floods every nerve, as if the goddess herself has turned her back on me. It’s more than heartbreak. It’s more than rejection. Somewhere in the crowd, someone gasps. A child whimpers. But no one steps forward. No one helps me. I am the cursed she-wolf. The orphan. The runt with no lineage, no power, no standing. I should have known he’d never accept me. But I dared to hope. Foolish, stupid Celestine. “Get her off me and out of here.” Cassian mutters to his Beta. Strong arms wrench me away from him, and my hands flail as I try to hold on. Maybe if I beg harder, he'll accept me. I can train and serve him. Literally do whatever he wants and expects of me. I jerk my arms from the guards that try to pull me from Cassian. "Come over here, you worthless bitch." One of them growls before pulling my arm again. I feel something strange and powerful within me snap just as the mate bond snapped. I turned to face the two guards. "Go to hell." I say in a dark voice, not recognizing my own voice. The two guards suddenly stop moving as their eyes glaze over. They nod at me before facing each other. The next thing I know, their claws are buried in each other's claws. My eyes widen in shock and I hear someone—a child, perhaps— scream in horror. "What the f**k?" I hear Cassian mutter under his breath as he takes a step back. I take a step back too, not understanding what is going on. "What happened to them?" I ask no one in particular as the two guards both choke on their own blood. "Guards!" I hear Cassian call out as he gives me more than enough distance. "Bind her and get her locked up!" "What?" I can't believe my ears. "Locked up? Wh—what did I do?" I ask as I step back from the guards that begin to surround me. I turned to face Cassian "What is going on, Alpha. I don't understand. Why am I being locked up?" He doesn't answer me. All I see in his eyes is fear and something more. Anticipation? The first four wolves that come upon me are rough. They pull st my hands and get a thick vine I'm sure is costed with wolfsbane. "No," I shake my head and try to escape their hold. Wolfsbane is dangerous to wolves. Very. Just before they're about to tie around my wrist, I scream. "No!" A blinding white light exudes from within me, blasting the guards that surround me. "Magnificent." I hear Cassian say and the look in his eyes scared me more than what I can do. I look at my hands, trying to see what I'm actually made of. The guards take it as a sign as they jump on me, bounding my hands. "Get her to the special cell. I'll come see her later." Cassian calls out. I collapse on the cold stone platform, too weak to move as the effect of th wolfsbane takes in. The gown I made is torn at the hem, muddied, ruined. Like me. The sky is dark above us, the full moon cloaked behind silver clouds, silent in its witness. The rejection ceremony ends, and the crowd begins to disperse. But the ache in my chest doesn’t fade. If anything, it grows heavier. Colder. I watch Cassian turn his back on me—my mate, my executioner. And I swear, in that moment, I feel somethi ng else awaken beneath the grief. Deeper than pain. Hotter than shame. Hatred.