Rejected By The Alpha, Claimed By The Enemy

The moon was full. Red. Bloody. The whole pack stood in a circle around the stone altar. Torches burned. Wolves howled in the distance. Tonight was Mating Night. The night every wolf waited for. My heart was beating so hard I thought it would break my ribs. Alpha Kieran stood on the altar. 25 years old. Tall. Broad shoulders. The strongest wolf in the Silver Moon Pack. My mate. Or at least… that’s what the Moon Goddess said 3 months ago when our mating marks burned at the same time. "Do you accept the bond, Elara?" Elder Mara asked. "Yes," I whispered. Tears already in my eyes. "I do." The whole pack went silent. Kieran didn’t say anything for 10 seconds. Then he laughed. A cold, cruel laugh that made my blood freeze. "I, Alpha Kieran of Silver Moon, reject Elara as my mate." Gasps. Whispers. My world stopped. "What?" My voice broke. "But… the marks… the Moon Goddess…" "The Moon Goddess made a mistake," Kieran said loudly so everyone could hear. "I don’t want a mate with no wolf. I don’t want a weak human. You’re an embarrassment to this pack." He grabbed my arm and shoved me. I fell to my knees on the cold stone. "You’re nothing," he spat. "From today, you have no mate. No status. You’re pack trash." Pain. Hot, sharp pain tore through my chest. The mating mark on my wrist burned and then… faded. Gone. People started laughing. My own pack. People I grew up with. "Did you hear that? No wolf!" "Told you she was useless." "Even the Alpha doesn’t want her." I couldn’t breathe. My chest felt like someone ripped my heart out. "Get out," Kieran said. "Before I throw you out myself." I stood up on shaking legs. I didn’t look at anyone. I couldn’t. I ran. Past the houses. Past the training field. Past the gates. Into the Forbidden Forest. The forest where rogues lived. Where enemy packs hunted. I didn’t care. Death was better than this humiliation. Behind me, I could still hear them laughing. Ahead of me… only darkness and the sound of my own sobs. I didn’t see the tree root. I tripped and fell hard. My ankle twisted. Blood on my palms. The cold wind hit me. And that’s when I smelled him. Smoke. Leather. Blood. Danger. A deep voice cut through the night. "Well, well. What do we have here?" I looked up. Standing in front of me was a man. Tall. Black hair. Scars on his jaw. Eyes like molten gold. But not Kieran’s gold. Darker. Deadlier. He wore black. And on his chest was the symbol I feared most. The Crescent Fang Pack. Our enemies. Alpha Dante. The monster who killed 20 of our warriors last winter. He tilted his head, looking at me like I was a puzzle. "Silver Moon scent," he said. "But broken." His eyes narrowed. "Interesting." He took one step closer. "Run, little wolf." "But you have nowhere to run to."