Rejected By One Alpha, Claimed By Four

CH 2: Blood in the Forest

Nishi

The forest beyond the pack border felt colder than it should have been, not the natural cold of night but something deeper, something that settled into her bones as if the world itself had turned distant the moment she stepped out of her pack’s territory.

Nishi walked alone beneath the heavy night sky, her bare feet sinking into the damp soil. At the same time, the cold wind slid through the towering trees like whispering ghosts, brushing past her skin as if they were watching her humiliation, as if even the forest had witnessed her fall and chosen silence over comfort.

Her body still trembled from the rejection, not just emotionally but physically, because every breath she took burned in her chest as if invisible claws were tearing through her lungs from the inside, dragging slowly, painfully, refusing to let her breathe without reminding her of what she had lost.

The mate bond should have disappeared, it should have gone silent, it should have shattered completely the moment he rejected her, but instead, it still pulsed inside her, faint, broken, and painfully alive, like a wound that refused to close no matter how much she wished for it to end.

Nishi pressed her trembling palm against the center of her chest while leaning weakly against the rough bark of a tree, her body finally demanding support as her strength continued to slip away little by little.

Her long dark hair fell messily around her shoulders, strands sticking to her tear-streaked cheeks, and her hair, which had always been thick and midnight-black with soft waves near the ends, now looked wild and unkept as it cascaded down to her waist like a dark waterfall, contrasting sharply with the fragile state she was in.

Her large, expressive black eyes were swollen from crying, their usual calmness replaced by exhaustion and quiet devastation. Meanwhile, her skin looked pale from fatigue and scratched by branches she had walked through without even noticing, as if her body had moved forward while her mind remained trapped in that moment.

Her clothes were simple and worn, a faded cream blouse with loose sleeves and dark trousers that were now dirt-stained, along with an old coat that barely protected her from the cold, and nothing about her appearance looked like a Luna, nothing about her reflected power, dignity, or authority.

At least… that was what the pack believed.

A bitter laugh slipped from her lips, dry and hollow as it disappeared into the silent forest.

“Rejected… thrown away… because of a lie,” she murmured, her voice soft yet heavy with disbelief.

Her aunt’s terrified expression replayed inside her mind, the way Meera had clutched her stomach as if protecting something fragile, the trembling accusation in her voice, and the way Joshua had believed her without even asking for the truth, without even looking at Nishi with doubt, as if her innocence had never existed.

Nishi’s fingers curled slowly into fists as the memory tightened around her chest.

“I would never hurt a child… how can he trust her so blindly,” her voice cracked into the empty forest, breaking under the weight of her own pain.

But the forest did not answer, and the silence stretched endlessly, swallowing her words as if they had never existed.

Then a sound broke through the darkness.

A twig snapped.

Nishi froze in place instantly, her body going still as her heart began to beat faster, louder, while she slowly lifted her head, her black eyes scanning the trees around her, every instinct sharpening despite her exhaustion.

Her wolf stirred weakly inside her chest.

Another sound followed, low and rough, accompanied by a growl that did not belong to any pack wolf she knew, and her stomach dropped instantly as realization hit her.

It wasn’t a pack.

It was rogues.

The scent reached her next, thick, rotten, and violent, carrying the unmistakable presence of wolves who had abandoned their packs and lived only for blood and survival.

Fear crawled slowly up her spine.

Three shadows stepped out from the trees.

Then two more followed.

Six rogues surrounded her slowly, their yellow eyes glowing in the darkness while their bodies, larger than ordinary wolves, were covered in dirt and scars from countless battles.

One of them licked his teeth slowly before shifting into human form, his movements relaxed as if he already knew she stood no chance.

“Well… look what wandered into the woods tonight,” he chuckled.

Another rogue shifted beside him and sniffed the air greedily.

“She smells like a pack… but weak,” he said in a deep voice.

“And hurt too,” a third one laughed.

Nishi’s pulse hammered loudly inside her ears as she instinctively stepped back, but her heel caught against a root and she stumbled slightly.

The rogues noticed immediately.

Predators always notice weakness.

“Easy prey,” one of them growled.

Her wolf stirred again, still weak, still quiet, but something else rose alongside it.

Anger.

Nishi clenched her fists tightly.

“I’m not prey,” she snapped at them.

The rogues laughed loudly, their amusement echoing through the forest as one of them stepped closer, claws extending slightly as his body partially shifted.

“You’re alone, little wolf,” the first one mocked.

“Packless,” the second chuckled.

“Maybe rejected… or banished like us,” the third one said.

The last word stabbed deep into her chest, and her breathing quickened as her vision blurred slightly, memories of Joshua’s voice echoing again inside her mind, cold and final.

Nishi’s heart twisted painfully.

Something inside her chest snapped.

Not the mate bond. Something deeper.

Her wolf surged violently inside her body, no longer weak, no longer silent, as if something that had been asleep for years had finally awakened.

A burning heat spread through her veins like wildfire racing through dry grass, sending sharp pain through every nerve.

Nishi gasped, dropping to one knee as her fingers dug into the dirt.

“What… is happening… to me.” Nishi groans in pain.

The rogues hesitated. They could feel it too.

Her scent was changing. Evolving and growing stronger.

Ancient and powerful.

Nishi lifted her head slowly.

Her black eyes now glow faintly silver.

Inside her mind, another voice spoke, not soft, not weak, but ancient and undeniable.

'You are not prey.'

Nishi froze, her heart pounding harder.

“Who…?” she whispered.

'I am you. I’m your wolf. And my name is Moon. It’s not a good time to meet. But I’m glad to meet you.'

The wolf inside her rose fully for the first time, and she was not ordinary, because her presence felt vast and deep, like an ocean hidden beneath the surface.

'You are the Moon Goddess’s chosen. Now it’s your turn to rise like a moon.' Moon’s voice faded.

The pain surged through Nishi’s body again, but this time it carried power with it, rushing through her veins as her senses sharpened instantly.

She could hear every leaf moving in the wind. She could smell the rogues’ fear. And their hunger.

The rogues snarled nervously.

“What the hell is she? Look at her eyes. It's glowing in silver. She is not normal. I’m killing her.”

One lunged forward.

Nishi moved without thinking, her body reacting instinctively as she twisted aside, grabbing a broken branch from the ground and driving it straight into the rogue’s throat with shocking speed.

Blood sprayed across the forest floor.

The other rogues roared.

Two shifted completely into wolves and charged at her.

Nishi tried to fight, kicking one away and clawing another across the face, but she was still exhausted, still injured, still human.

A massive wolf slammed into her from the side, throwing her violently against a tree as pain exploded through her ribs and her vision darkened.

Another rogue bit deep into her shoulder.

“Ah!!” she screamed.

Blood soaked through her clothes.

Her wolf snarled inside her mind.

'Fight. Don’t give up!' Moon warned her.

But Nishi’s body was failing, overwhelmed by too many enemies and too much blood loss.

She collapsed to the ground as claws tore through her arm, the rogues circling her like vultures waiting for the end.

“End her,” one of them said coldly.

One wolf lunged toward her throat.

“So this is how I die,” Nishi murmured as her eyes slowly closed.

****