Fated to the rejected Alpha

Fated To The Rejected Alpha💀🖤

Chapter 2: The Rain And The Alpha

The moon was high and red when Darius found me in the rain.

Three years.

Three years since he stood on the stone platform and called me weak. Three years since he tore the mate bond in front of the entire pack and watched me bleed out on the wet ground. No one helped me. No one dared. My knees had hit the stone and the bond snapped like glass inside my chest. I remember the sound it made. I remember his voice when he said the words. I remember the silence after.

And now he was here.

Water ran down his black jacket. His eyes were gold, burning like they used to when he looked at me before the rejection. His jaw was clenched. His scent — pine and storm and power — hit me like a punch to the chest. It was the same scent that used to make me feel safe. Now it made my wolf snarl.

"Aria."

My name in his mouth sounded broken. Like he hadn’t said it in years. Like saying it hurt him.

"The mate bond didn't break."

I laughed. It came out sharp and cold, nothing like the girl he used to know. The girl who believed him when he said forever.

"It should have. You made sure of that, Darius. In front of everyone."

He took a step closer. Rain dripped from his hair onto his shoulders. The Alpha of the Silver Fang Pack looked tired. Haunted. There were new scars on his knuckles. There were lines around his eyes that weren’t there before.

"I was wrong."

Wrong. That was all he had. One word for three years of hell.

Behind him, in the trees, wolves howled. Low. Warning. The council was coming. They could smell me. They could smell him standing this close to the rogue he threw away. I could feel their eyes already, hidden in the dark.

My hands shook, but not from fear. From rage. From the memory of bleeding alone while he stood above me and turned his back.

I had spent three years building myself back up from nothing. No pack. No mate. No name. I trained until my muscles screamed. I fought until my hands were calloused. I bled alone so I would never bleed for them again. I made myself into something they would fear.

And now the man who destroyed me wanted me back?

"I don't want you," I said, lifting my chin. The rain hit my face but I didn’t blink. Water ran down my cheeks and I let him think it was rain. "I want your throne."

His gold eyes flared. His fists clenched at his sides.

"You think you can take it?"

The old Aria would have looked down. The old Aria would have apologized.

"I don’t think," I whispered. The word cut between us. "I know."

The howling got closer. Torches flickered between the trees. I could see shadows moving. The council had found us. Found him with me. Found the Alpha talking to the rogue he banished.

Run, or fight. That was my choice.

He stepped forward again, close enough that I could see the rain on his eyelashes. Close enough that the bond thrummed, weak and broken and still alive between us.

"Aria, let me explain—"

"No." I cut him off. "You had three years to explain. You chose silence."

I smiled at him, slow and dangerous. My wolf rose to the surface, teeth bared.

"Pick me up, Alpha. Or get out of my way!