Rejected By My Mate, Claimed By The Lycan King

The kinder ones call me plump, thick, curvy... the cruel ones call me fat, heifer, waste of wolf blood. Either way, they all mean the same thing. I am plus size in a pack that worships skinny Lunas with sharp cheekbones and tiny waists, and nobody finds it funny. My name is Maya, and tonight is my eighteenth birthday. I stared at my reflection in the cracked mirror of the pack house bathroom, tugging at the hem of my red dress. It hugged my wide hips and full thighs, and for once, I thought I looked beautiful. My dark curls fell past my shoulders, and my brown skin glowed under the dim light. "Maya! Hurry up in there!" Sierra's voice cut through the door like a knife. "The Blood Moon Run starts in ten minutes, and you are wasting everyone's time!" My twin sister. We shared the same face, the same dark eyes, the same birthday. But that was where the similarities ended. Sierra was thin, delicate, the kind of wolf every male in Black Ridge Pack drooled over. I was the bigger version, the one they whispered about behind my back. "I am coming," I called out, smoothing my dress one last time. I pushed the door open and found Sierra leaning against the hallway wall, wearing a silver dress that made her look like a goddess. Her lips curled into a smile that did not reach her eyes. "Wow," she said, looking me up and down. "You are really wearing that? It looks... tight." "It fits perfectly," I said, lifting my chin. "Are you sure?" She tilted her head. "I mean, the fabric is stretching a lot around your stomach. People will talk." "Let them talk," I said. Sierra laughed softly. "If you say so. Just try not to embarrass us tonight, okay? Jaxon will be there." My heart skipped. Jaxon. Alpha heir. My childhood best friend. The boy who used to sneak me extra portions at dinner when the pack elders put me on restricted rations because of my size. The boy who whispered to me last week that he could not wait for the Blood Moon Run because he hoped I would be his mate. "I will not embarrass anyone," I said quietly. Sierra patted my arm. "Good girl." The words stung more than she knew. We walked outside together into the cold night air. The full moon hung massive and red above the treeline, bathing the pack grounds in an eerie crimson glow. Dozens of wolves milled around the clearing, shifting nervously, their eyes glowing with anticipation. "Maya!" A familiar voice called out. I turned and saw Jaxon walking toward us, tall and powerful, his golden eyes bright under the moonlight. My wolf stirred inside me, whimpering with excitement. "Jaxon," I breathed. "Happy birthday," he said, but his eyes flickered to Sierra for just a second too long. "You both look... nice." "Nice?" Sierra giggled, stepping closer to him and touching his chest. "That is all you have to say to your future Luna?" Jaxon chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "The Run is about to start. I should get to the front." He walked away without looking back at me. "Did you see that?" I whispered to Sierra. "He barely looked at me." Sierra shrugged. "He is nervous, Maya. Do not overthink it." A cold feeling settled in my stomach. "Attention!" Alpha Marcus's voice boomed across the clearing. The crowd fell silent. "The Blood Moon is at its peak. All eighteen year olds, step forward. The Moon Goddess will guide your wolves tonight. May the fated bonds be strong." I stepped forward with the other new wolves, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would c***k my ribs. The red moonlight washed over my skin, and suddenly, a burning heat exploded in my chest. My wolf howled inside me, clawing at my ribs, demanding to be let out. *There,* she whispered in my mind. *Our mate is there. Go to him.* A scent hit me like a lightning bolt. Pine, smoke, and something dark and intoxicating. It pulled me toward the edge of the forest, and I could not resist. I ran. My bones cracked and shifted as I tore through the trees, my human skin giving way to thick fur. The transformation was agonizing and beautiful all at once. My spine stretched, my jaw elongated, my muscles swelled with new power, and my senses exploded. I could hear every heartbeat in the forest, smell every drop of dew on the leaves. I was a wolf. A real wolf for the first time. My paws pounded the earth as I followed the mate scent deeper into the woods, my tail high, my heart singing. The bond pulled me toward a small clearing near the river, and I burst through the bushes, ready to meet my other half. Then I froze. Two wolves were tangled together in the moonlight, their bodies pressed close, their scents mixed so deeply it made my stomach turn. One of them was golden furred, massive and powerful. Jaxon. My mate. My fated mate. And the smaller wolf beneath him, silver furred and delicate, was Sierra. My twin sister. The mate bond in my chest snapped like a wire, sending a shockwave of pain so violent that I collapsed onto the forest floor. My wolf screamed inside me, a sound of pure agony and betrayal that echoed through the trees. Jaxon's head snapped up. His golden eyes met mine, and for a split second, I saw guilt flash across his face. Then Sierra shifted back to human form, naked and glowing in the moonlight, and wrapped her arms around Jaxon's neck. "Oh, Maya," she said, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "I am so sorry. The Moon Goddess chose me, not you. You understand, right?" "Sierra, how could you?" I choked out, blood dripping from my nose. "You knew... you knew he was supposed to be mine." "Supposed to be," Sierra repeated with a cruel little smile. "But he is not, is he?" Jaxon shifted back too, not even bothering to cover himself. He looked at me with cold, empty eyes. "It is over, Maya," he said. "Sierra is my true mate. You were never meant for me. Go home." The pain in my chest was unbearable. My wolf was dying inside me, the bond tearing her apart from the inside out. But then something strange happened. Deep in my bones, beneath the agony, beneath the betrayal, something ancient and furious began to wake up. A second heartbeat thundered in my chest, louder than the first, and my eyes burned with a heat that had nothing to do with the Blood Moon. Sierra's smile faltered. "Jaxon... why are her eyes glowing like that?" "I... I do not know," Jaxon whispered, taking a step back, his face draining of color. I opened my mouth to scream, but what came out was not a human sound. It was a roar that shook the trees, cracked the earth beneath my paws, and sent every wolf in the forest howling in terror. And then the ground beneath me split open.