Venom and Vengeance

Chapter 2 I reject your rejection

Maya’s Pov

In my previous life, I would have blushed, smiled shyly, and basked in even that crumb of attention…

Today, I simply stared back, unblinking, until discomfort flickering across his face. “Is there something else?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. He could sense the shift in me…he just didn’t understand it yet.

“No,” I said evenly. “Nothing else.” I turned to leave.

“Maya.” His voice stopped me at the door. I didn’t turn around. “Three days,” he continued. “Be ready. It’s going to be a big day for the pack.”

“I’ll be ready,” I replied softly. “Don’t worry.”

I closed the door behind me with a click and slipped out through the back exit instead of returning to the kitchen. The forest loomed beyond the grounds.. dark, thick, and endless. Trees stood like silent sentinels, waiting to swallow me whole when the time came.

In three days, he would try to kill me.

In three days, I would disappear and become his worst nightmare.

I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling the phantom ache of the blade that no longer existed.

“Wait for me, Kane,” I whispered into the wind.

Back inside the sweltering kitchen, I grabbed a rag and attacked the counter with focused intensity. My movements felt sharper, more deliberate than before.

“Look who finally decided to show up and work,” Brenda sneered from across the room, her voice dripping with venom.

Ugh. This b***h again.

In my last life, her daily taunts of “nameless stray” had reduced me to tears by midday. Now, her words slid off me like water on oil. I didn’t even flinch…

“The Alpha’s coffee has been served,” I said flatly.

“Any other problems?”

Brenda’s rag paused mid-air. She narrowed her eyes, hunting for the familiar flicker of fear in my expression. “Watch your tone, servant. You’re late…my mother had to cover your work. Just because you’re a pathetic fated mate candidate doesn’t mean you can slack off.”

“I don’t think anything, Brenda.” I leaned in closer,

dropping my voice to a dangerous whisper. “I just think the counter is filthy. Kind of like your mouth. And speaking of servants… I heard your mum was demoted again. Tough break.”

She gasped, her face flushing an ugly red. “What the hell did you just say to me?!”

“You heard me.” I turned back to scrubbing,

ignoring her sputtering rage.

When she finally spun away to gossip viciously with the other kitchen girls, I seized the moment. I slipped into the pantry, where the air hung thick with salt and dried herbs. My eyes scanned the shelves quickly. I grabbed three sturdy strips of dried beef and tucked them securely into the waistband of my skirt. The salt bit into my skin, but hunger in the wild would hurt far worse.

Next, the cutlery drawer. I eased it open and selected a steak knife.. the kind used for the Alpha’s meals. It wasn’t much against an alpha’s strength, but silver was silver. I slid it into the hidden fold of my apron. One weapon secured. I’d need more. And a map. The woods were deadly and I refused to die a second time because I got lost.

I left the kitchen and headed toward the Alpha’s study, assuming he’d be out in the training yard as usual. The hallway was quieter than normal, the usual bustle muted by preparations elsewhere.

“Maya.”

I froze mid-step. Damn it. What is he doing here?

Kane stood at the far end of the hall beside the large window, hands clasped behind his back like a king.

“Alpha,” I said, lowering my head respectfully while my blood boiled.

He strode toward me, boots striking the stone floor with deliberate clicks.

Click. Click. Click.

He stopped inches away and pointed at a streak of dried mud on his left boot.

“Clean it.”

In my first life, I would have dropped to my knees in grateful adoration. Now, I knelt for strategy alone. I pulled the rag from my pocket and began wiping the leather clean. His alpha aura pressed down on my shoulders demanding submission but I resisted it silently.

“You’re unusually quiet today,” he observed, voice smooth but probing.

“I’m focused, Alpha.”

“Focused on what, exactly?”

“The ceremony,” I answered. “It’s all anyone in the pack can talk about.”

He hummed low in his throat, a sound of dark satisfaction. “And what are they saying?”

“That you’ll finally have a Luna by your side.” I tilted my head just enough to catch his smug expression. From this low angle, I could see the steady pulse throbbing in his neck. One quick strike… My fingers twitched near the hidden knife in my apron.

“You’re shaking,” he noted sharply. He reached down, strong fingers gripping my chin and forcing my eyes up to meet his. His touch was cold, possessive.

“Nervous, Maya? Hoping the Moon will choose you tonight?”

No. I’m picturing how satisfying it would be to watch the light leave your eyes. “I’m simply hoping everyone gets exactly what they deserve,” I replied with innocence.

His grip tightened painfully for a heartbeat. “You’ve grown quite the spine overnight. I’m not sure I like it.”

“It’s only the stress of the ceremony, Alpha,” I said, softening my voice into a convincing tremble. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

He released me with a dismissive huff. “Good. I prefer females who know their place. Hard work keeps idle minds from dangerous wandering.”

You have no idea where my mind is wandering, Kane.

I finished polishing the boot and rose to my feet. He still didn’t step back. After a long, heavy pause, he added, “The guest house in the west wing—stay far away from it. If I catch you anywhere near there, you’ll spend the night in the cells. Am I clear?”

My pulse spiked with suspicion. “Why? Is someone staying there?”

“No,” he snapped. “Because I said so.” The weight of an Alpha command rolled over me, forcing my wolf to cower instinctively.

“Yes, Alpha.”

He turned on his heel and headed toward the back gardens. The moment his scent faded, I crept to the side window overlooking the west wing. The guest house sat tucked behind blooming roses…the prettiest building on the entire property. Its curtains were drawn tight, unusual for this time of day.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, filtering through the floral sweetness and damp earth until I caught it: a foreign, delicate scent. Lilies and warm gold.

Royal.

Pureblood.

The daughter of the Northern Alpha. The woman he planned to present as his true mate during the ceremony.

In my first life, I hadn’t discovered her existence until he stood on that stage, holding her hand while I sobbed brokenly in the mud. The betrayal ran far deeper than a simple rejection. He had been orchestrating my death for weeks…

My fingers tightened around the hidden silver knife until the edge bit into my palm, drawing a thin line of blood.

“Three days,” I whispered to the hallway.

“Just three days.”

The following two days passed with forced silence, and careful preparation. I avoided conversations with Brenda and Martha entirely. At night, I lay awake staring at the small barred window near the ceiling of the basement, counting every hour until freedom while the knife stayed pressed against my skin .

By the evening of the third day, the pack house stood eerily empty. Every member had gathered at the central plaza for the Lunar Ceremony…

I walked there alone, heart steady despite the chaos inside me. Thousands of torches blazed against the night sky, casting flickering shadows across the gathered crowd.

The entire Silver Moon Pack formed a massive ring, murmuring with anticipation.

Kane stood tall on the raised dais, dressed in formal black furs that accentuated his power and authority. He looked every bit the victorious alpha who had once ended my life.

I stepped into the open center of the circle. The whispers died instantly…

“Maya,” Kane called, his voice carrying easily.

I stopped ten feet away and lifted my chin. I didn’t bow. “Alpha.”

He descended a step, holding the ceremonial silver bowl aloft. “Tonight marks the Moon’s blessing,” he announced to the silent crowd. “Tonight, we strengthen the Silver Moon Pack. But the Moon does not always grant our desires. Sometimes, it reveals weakness…what must be cast aside for the greater good of all.”

Movement stirred in the shadows behind him. A woman in flowing white silk emerged, elegant and radiant.

The Pureblood. Gasps spread through the pack like a wave…

Kane reached for her hand but kept his gaze fixed on me. He wanted to savor my destruction…

“Maya Hale,” he said, voice soft and almost gentle for the crowd’s benefit.

“I, Alpha Kane of the Silver Moon Pack, find you—”

“Stop.”

The single word cut through the night air like a blade. Kane’s hand froze mid-gesture. “What did you say?”

“You don’t get to do this,” I said clearly, taking one bold step forward. I could see the vein pulsing furiously in his neck.

“I, Maya Hale, reject you, Alpha Kane of the Silver Moon Pack, as my fated mate.”

The bowl slipped from his fingers and shattered on the stone. The entire plaza went dead silent.

Kane’s face twisted. “You can’t—”

“I just did.”