Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Rival

Bloodline And Betrayal

CASSIA

My breath left my body like a punch to the gut as I let out a painful sound, “Noooo!!,” and I had not known I was screaming unstill everyone turned to look at me.

Gasps echoed. Elara stepped forward from nowhere, glowing, victorious. I knelt there in sorrow and amusement as it dawned on me. I looked up at my so-called friend; she was smiling coyly, “Elara, how could you? You were the one who instructed me to pick a document in the drawer, weren't you?.”

Elara huffed at the wounded look in my eyes. “How couldn't I? You are always acting like you are better than everyone, you worthless omega!” She scoffed and continued, “I didn't know you could be so stupid that even though she told you not to go near the drawer, you still somehow fell for my little trick….”

“But Ela–Elara why….?” I choked out unable to make sense of my jumbled thoughts. I only knew that her words were like sharp blades cutting through my soul. And wait, something else was weird; Kaikos had gone deathly quiet; I just hoped I hadn't lost her just as soon as I had found her.

Elara's face was so consorted with rage, that she looked quite angry as she continued, “You couldn't even know how I felt, after telling you how much I really loved him, You still sneaked behind my back to sleep with him, even though I was the only one who trusted and supported you here, you wicked b***h! You are just as useless as everyone believes you to be.”

Just then Alpha Draven stepped down from the stage and walked towards us, locked his eyes with mine. Then without warning, he yanked me to himself, his powerful arms squeezing my body to his, as the weight of his head buried against my neck.

His emotional voice matched the expressionless look on his face, as he said, “Don't ever step foot into this pack again, Cassia. I will have Madam Julian pay you all the money you would need.

I stood still, battling with my emotions, the longing I felt to throw myself into his arms again, to tell him all of my worries, to remind him of those sweet words he had said to me. With effort, I swallowed my tears and stifled the urge to kiss him myself, since he would not do so.

I stared in disbelief, my heart broken. “To hell with you, Draven; I don't need your money!” I screamed loudly; it carried every emotion I had felt.

I turned and stumbled out, tears blinding my eyes, I felt my wolf dead inside of me. Everyone should go to hell - my weaf wolf, Madam Julian, Elara, and every single person in this pack. At least I still had my brother, Kai. Together I'm sure we will figure something out, very soon.

Fate was not done with me, though. When I almost got to the single room I and Kai stayed in at the servant quarters, I found a lot of people gathered at the front door. I rushed to see what was happening when I saw Kai's lifeless body, it was lying there idle on the floor, still and pale in a pool of blood.

He had probably come out to play or even steal something at the kitchen to eat as usual, even after I had told him not to. If only I had been there for him when he needed me instead of allowing myself to get f****d and bonded to a man that would never be mine.

“We only heard a scream, and when we came here, this was what we found; we're sorry, Cassia.” a voice said amongst the people surrounding his dead body.

I screamed as I held his lifeless body in my hands, pouring out all the emotions I knew. I cried and screamed unstill there were no tears to shed anymore. I saw the bruises. The claw marks. The panic in his eyes, frozen forever. My hand touched something in his palm. A torn piece of paper.

I gently pulled it free, unfolding it with shaking hands. It was smudged, hastily written:

[ “They sent the rogues. It’s was all Elric’s plan. They kill to hide the truth and I think Mother was also part of it.”]

I stared at it, my breath hitching.

Elric?

My head spun as I continued shedding out my pains.

I sat like that with my brother's lifeless body in my hands for hours, then finally, when the moon came out to light the night, I carried him to the backyard and buried him beside where we had both buried Mother too.

My mother died just a month ago, the death wasn't known, not even by me. Maybe it was exhaustion. No one knew, neither did they care, and no one bothered to ask or find out; after all, she was just a mere maid like me, too.

I had to leave the pack the next day. My rent was already going to expire anywhere; I wouldn't even stay even if I had the chance.

I looked back at the mansion and pack one last time. “I will come back,” I whispered. “Not as a maid. Not as a victim. But as someone they’ll never forget.”

*************************

“Run…”

The voice was low, a whisper, and it seemed to be coming from somewhere within. I called out, “Kaikos?” but there was no answer; obviously, it really didn't sound like her.

Only silence greeted me, Kaikos was either dead or gone back to unconsciousness, and I had gone back to being wolfless.

It's been two days since I had left the Moonfang pack, only stopping to sleep a few hours. My entire body ached in places I couldn't even tell. My mind felt numb, almost as if this was all a dream, and I would wake up soon to find my brother still alive, Alpha Draven still wherever he was, and Elara still her usual cheerful, if slightly ruthless, self.

But the call of my body yearning for Alpha Draven’s touch, to be by his side, coupled with the stark pain in my heart, made it clear that this wasn't a dream. I had known I would get bonded to him, but it hurts now knowing he had replaced me with a girl who would have been my best friend. I still feel the mark Draven has bit on my neck; it's now a scar of betrayal. Silly me, how would I think of someone like me so worthy of him.

And the letter was still clutched in my hands. Elric, What secret is he hiding? How does it connect with my family? I really don't understand what's happening in that hell of a pack and I had to somehow, but now I'm focused on survival.

Suddenly, my focus became hazy, as fatigue wore in. I had not packed a bag for my journey simply because I felt I had nothing in the house and I wasn't planning to steal anything from the mansion either. But now, I wished I had come with a little water or food.

“Run now, Cassia,” the voice came again, more urgent this time, I turned around, but I saw no one.

I stood up; my heart began racing fast; why should I trust that voice? What's happening? Am I in some kind of danger?

Fear was never a good thing, why should I fear for my life when I was ready to die peaceably? After all, I have nothing else to live for.

Just then, a loud growl echoed through the trees. Frightened, I didn't wait to find out what it was.

Before I knew it, rain started pouring from the darkened sky, drenching the dirt path beneath my bare feet as I ran through the thick woods, tears of fear and frustration blinding my eyes. My breath was ragged, and my lungs burned. My limbs were aching, my dress torn, my skin scratched and muddy. But none of it hurt as much as the betrayal still echoing in my chest.

Now, I was just running. Running like I knew where I was going, as though something was directing me from the pain, from the memory of my mother, Lyra, who had died months earlier with too many questions in her eyes.

Lightning split the sky. I froze, my heart jumping into my throat. I turned quickly, eyes wide.

Rogues.

A tall, snarling wolf with yellow eyes stepped out from the trees, followed by two more. They had the stench of blood and rage. I backed away slowly, slipping in the mud.

“P–Please don't kill me,” I sobbed and croaked wretchedly. Who had I been deceiving earlier? Of course, I didn't want to die!

The wolf with the yellow eyes backed off like he’d just seen a ghost behind me, while the other wolves lunged.

And then—a blur.

A massive black wolf slammed into the rogue in mid-air, sending it flying against a tree with a sickening crunch. I gasped and stumbled back as the black wolf snarled, standing protectively in front of me. The other two rogues hesitated, then attacked. It was chaos. The black wolf fought with terrifying strength and elegance. Teeth clashed, fur tore, growls echoed like thunder, and within minutes, the rogues lay defeated. One tried to crawl away, but the black wolf stepped on its throat and growled lowly.

I was frozen. Shaking. Unable to move or speak.

The black wolf turned. His glowing silver eyes locked with mine. My breath caught. For a moment, I felt warmth... safety. Something I hadn’t felt in years.

Then the wolf shifted. Bones cracked and reshaped as he transformed, and before I stood a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark, damp hair clinging to his chiseled face. The muscles that adorned his bare upper body seemed to have come out of necessity rather than the mere desire to keep fit, and there were a lot of scars on his abs and one across his jawline down to his mouth. Yet he looked… noble. Powerful. Magnetic.

“Don't bother about it; I got it from fighting off a rogue beta,” he said, his voice deep as he came to stand in front of me stretching out his hands to lift me up.

Arghhh, again! I hate when people read my thoughts…he surely must be an Alpha, too.

“And you must be Cassia, You have come at the right time, we have been waiting for you.” He said calmly, leaving me even more confused than I earlier was.

Who are they? The voice that had been speaking to me? Who was the voice? Was it him?

“Who are you?” I dared to ask, my sight already fading, my knees buckled from the pain and cold as the ground rose to me.

—

When I woke, I was lying on a soft bed, covered in thick, warm blankets. The scent of pine and earth lingered in the air. It was nothing like the cold stone room I had slept in for years. My clothes had been changed to nice warm clothing.

The room door creaked open.

A young woman stepped in, dressed in simple but clean clothing. “You’re awake,” she said kindly. “Alpha Theron brought you in last night. You were unconscious… lucky you are awake now.”

Alpha Theron? That's has to be the black wolf who saved me. So that's his name.

I nodded slowly, my voice barely audible. “Where… am I?”

“You’re in the Blackwood Territory. You are safe here,” The girl placed a cup of tea beside the bed. “Drink this. It’ll help you recover.”

I took it with shaky hands. “Thank you.”

The door opened again, and my breath hitched. It was him. The stranger who had saved me. Dressed now in dark robes, his presence filled the room like a shadow stretching across a valley.

“Alpha wants to meet with you,” he said as he drew my hand into his, leading me out of the room.

I sucked in a breath, trying not to allow panic to overwhelm me. What Alpha would want to see someone like me?

I was so lost in thought I did not realize we had walked into a hall, more like a palace, where a man was already seated at the far end cloaked in authority, his eyes already fixed on me as though he’d been waiting his entire life.

“Welcome home…Cassia.” his voice deep “I never thought I’d see my daughter again.”

I froze, my breath caught in my throat. I had never met him before, yet something in my blood responded. At that moment anxiety was far from how I felt.

“Daughter?!”

And that’s when I saw it—around the man’s neck, hanging like a ghost of the past... my mother’s pendant.

The same one she was buried with.