Rejected by my Alpha,Chosen by the Lycan king

The air in the Blackwood pack grounds was thick with the scent of pine, roasted meat, and anticipation. Tonight was the Blood Moon ceremony, the night every eighteen-year-old wolf prayed to find their fated mate. Elena stood near the back of the crowd, shivering slightly in her oversized, faded sweater. She tried to blend into the shadows, away from the mocking whispers of her pack members. To them, she was just the pack orphan—the weak girl who washed their floors and ate their leftovers. Suddenly, the air shifted. A powerful, intoxicating scent of storm clouds and dark chocolate hit Elena’s senses. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird.Inside her mind, a voice roared for the very first time. MATE! her wolf screamed, clawing to get out. Elena gasped, her eyes snapping toward the raised wooden stage. Standing there, bathed in the crimson light of the moon, was Killian. He was the newly crowned Alpha—tall, muscular, with eyes like molten gold and a presence that demanded submission. As if feeling her gaze, Killian’s head snapped toward her. His golden eyes locked onto hers. For a fraction of a second, Elena saw a spark of recognition and raw desire flash across his handsome face.The invisible silver thread of the fated mate bond snapped into place, wrapping tightly around her heart. It was warm, beautiful, and terrifying. He is mine, Elena thought, a small, hopeful smile touching her lips. She took a step forward out of the shadows. But the warmth did not last. Killian’s expression hardened. The desire in his eyes instantly turned into cold, burning disgust. He looked at her tattered clothes, her thin frame, and the dirt on her shoes from her morning chores. He didn't step down from the stage to claim her. Instead, he wrapped his large, tattooed arm around the waist of the beautiful girl standing next to him—Elena’s cruel cousin, Tanya. Tanya smirked down at Elena, her eyes gleaming with malicious victory. Killian cleared his throat, using his Alpha aura to command total silence from the hundreds of wolves watching.The pressure in the air grew heavy, forcing Elena to her knees. "Pack members," Killian’s deep voice boomed through the clearing, vibrating with absolute authority."Tonight, the Moon Goddess has made a mistake. She has paired me with a weak, useless omega." Gasps erupted through the crowd. Hundreds of heads turned, their cruel eyes pinning Elena to the spot. Killian looked down at Elena, his face an emotionless mask of stone. "I am the Alpha of the Blackwood pack. I need a queen who can lead, not a charity case who sweeps the floors. Therefore, before the eyes of the Moon Goddess and my pack... "He took a deep breath, and the air around Elena turned ice-cold. "I, Alpha Killian of the Blackwood Pack, reject you, Elena, as my mate and future Luna." The moment the words left Killian’s mouth, a violent explosion of pain ripped through Elena’s chest. It felt as though a jagged, white-hot blade had been driven straight into her heart and twisted. The warm, silver thread of the fated mate bond snapped with a deafening crack that only she could hear. "Ah!" Elena cried out, collapsing onto the dirt. She gripped her chest, gasping for air as her lungs burned. The physical agony of a rejected mate bond was worse than breaking a bone. Her vision blurred, spinning wildly as dark red blood welled up in her throat, spilling past her lips and staining the dry leaves beneath her. Around her, the pack did not offer pity. They laughed. "Look at her," Tanya’s high-pitched voice mocked from the stage, ringing with cruelty. "She actually thought she could be our Luna. Go back to the kitchen, trash. "Elena looked up through a vale of tears and blood. Killian stood tall, his arm still wrapped tightly around Tanya. He watched Elena writhing in the dirt without a single flicker of remorse in his golden eyes. He looked at her as if she were an insect he had just crushed under his boot. In that moment, the deep heartbreak inside Elena hardened into something else. A spark of pure, freezing anger ignited in her soul. We are leaving, her wolf whispered, weak and bleeding inside her mind, but alive. We will not die here. Summoning every ounce of strength left in her breaking body, Elena pushed herself off the ground. Her knees trembled violently, but she forced herself to stand. She wiped the blood from her chin with the sleeve of her oversized sweater, leaving a dark smear across her pale face. She did not bow. She did not beg. Instead, she locked her eyes onto Killian one last time. Her gaze was no longer submissive; it was dead, cold, and promising vengeance. Killian flinched slightly, his Alpha wolf shifting uncomfortably under his skin at the sudden sharpness in her eyes. Elena turned her back on the stage, on the Alpha, and on the only home she had ever known. "Catch her! She's running!" someone shouted from the edge of the stage. But Elena was already moving, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Before she could break past the thick wall of pack members, a heavy hand gripped her shoulder, spinning her around with violent force. It was her Aunt Sarah, the woman who had spent years treating her like an unwanted stray. Sarah’s face was twisted in an ugly, venomous scowl. "Where do you think you're going, you useless little leech?" Sarah hissed, her grip tightening until her fingernails dug deep into Elena’s bruised skin through the fabric of her faded sweater. "You’ve brought ultimate shame upon my house tonight! Do you think you can just run away after being rejected by the Alpha? You will stay right here, crawl back to the kitchen, and scrub the floors for our new Luna!" Elena looked at the woman who was supposed to be her flesh and blood. For years, she had taken the beatings, the starvation, and the cruel words in absolute silence, always hoping that her fated mate would save her. Now, that hope was dead. The silver thread of the bond was gone, leaving nothing but a bleeding, hollow void in her chest. But looking into her aunt’s malicious eyes, the crushing sadness inside Elena suddenly snapped. It hardened into a cold, unbreakable resolve. "No," Elena whispered, her voice surprisingly steady despite the dark red blood still smearing her lips. "What did you say to me?" Sarah gasped, her eyes widening in fury at the sudden defiance. "I said, no," Elena repeated, her voice rising so it echoed clearly over the whispers of the surrounding crowd. With a sudden surge of adrenaline, Elena ripped her shoulder out of her aunt's grip. "I am no longer a servant to this pack. And I will never bow to a man who threw me away like trash." Tanya leaned over the stage railing, laughing sharply. "Let the garbage run, Mother! The rogue wolves in the forest will rip her to pieces by midnight anyway. She won't survive an hour out there!" Alpha Killian stood silently beside Tanya, his golden eyes tracking Elena’s every move. For a brief second, as Elena stood tall against her aunt, a strange, suffocating pressure tightened around Killian’s chest. His inner wolf growled uncomfortably, pacing behind his ribs, sending a sudden wave of heat through his veins. It was the first faint whisper of the rejection curse, but his human arrogance pushed it down. He remained silent, letting his pack laugh at the girl he had just broken. Elena didn't look back at him. She didn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry again. Turning her back on her aunt, on the mocking crowd, and on the Alpha who had shattered her soul, Elena plunged headfirst into the pitch-black, forbidden depths of the Darkwood Forest. The transition from the bright, fire-lit pack grounds to the crushing darkness of the ancient woods was instant. The canopy of thick oak trees completely blocked out the sky, plunging her into a world of deep shadows. The thorny bushes whipped violently against her bare legs, cutting her skin, while the freezing night wind bit into her face. Behind her, the cruel laughter and howling of the Blackwood wolves began to fade into the distance, replaced by the eerie, heavy silence of the rogue territories. Elena’s chest heaved as she pushed her body faster, her lungs burning with every breath. Ahead of her lay a terrifying, unknown world—and the dark path to her ultimate rebirth.