My Alpha Rejected Me, So I Married His Worst Enemy

The first time my mate called me worthless, he did it in front of three hundred wolves. The second time, he gave my place to another woman. The third time, he banished me from the only home I'd ever known. By sunset, I would understand that the man I had loved for six years had never truly seen me. The ceremony took place in the great hall of Blackthorn Pack, beneath chandeliers that scattered golden light across polished marble floors. Every influential family in the territory had gathered to witness the announcement of our new Luna. I stood near the front in a silver dress my best friend, Mara, had spent two nights helping me alter, my fingers wrapped around the small crescent pendant that had belonged to my mother. I had imagined this day since I was sixteen. Dacian Veyr, the Alpha of Blackthorn, had been my closest companion before he became my mate. He had held my hand when my father died, promised that my inability to shift would never change how he felt about me, and told me more than once that when he became Alpha, I would stand beside him. I had believed every word. I should have known better than to mistake promises for certainty. Dacian stood on the raised platform at the end of the hall, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. His dark hair was neatly styled, and the silver Alpha crest on his chest gleamed beneath the lights. He looked every inch the powerful leader his father had raised him to become. When his gaze met mine, I searched his face for the familiar warmth I had known for years. I found none. "Thank you all for coming," he began, his deep voice carrying effortlessly through the hall. "Today marks an important step for Blackthorn. Our pack must continue to grow stronger, and that requires decisions that serve more than individual desires." Something tightened in my stomach. I had heard him discuss alliances with his advisers, but he had never suggested that our relationship was in danger. Even that morning, when I had asked whether he was nervous, he had kissed my forehead and told me to trust him. I lifted my chin and waited. "After careful consideration, I have chosen the woman who will stand beside me as Luna of Blackthorn." His eyes moved away from mine. "Seren Vale." For a moment, the words made no sense. A woman in a deep burgundy gown stepped forward from the crowd. Seren, the daughter of Ashenridge's Alpha, walked with the confidence of someone who had known the outcome long before the ceremony began. Her dark hair fell in elegant waves over her shoulders, and her smile remained perfectly composed as she joined Dacian on the platform. Applause erupted around me. I stood motionless while the sound rolled through the hall, growing louder as members of both packs celebrated the alliance. Seren placed her hand in Dacian's, and he smiled at her. It was not the smile he gave me when we were alone. This one was measured, deliberate, and meant for an audience. My fingers tightened around my pendant until its edges pressed painfully into my palm. When the applause finally faded, I stepped forward. "Dacian?" The single word escaped before I could stop it. Several heads turned. His expression hardened, and the hall gradually fell silent. "What is it, Elowen?" he asked. I stared at him, desperately searching for some indication that this was a misunderstanding. "You told me we would announce our future today." "We are announcing my future," he replied. "And the future of Blackthorn." The distinction struck harder than a slap. "What about us?" His jaw tightened. "There is no us." A murmur passed through the crowd. I felt every pair of eyes settle on me, but I could not look away from him. "You promised me," I whispered. "I made promises when I believed our circumstances would be different." "What circumstances?" He looked at me as though I were forcing him to explain something that should have been obvious. "You still cannot shift. You have no wolf, Elowen. You cannot complete the bond the way a Luna should, and you cannot command the respect of our warriors simply because I care about you." A few people shifted uncomfortably. Others watched with open curiosity. I swallowed against the burning in my throat. "You knew I couldn't shift when you chose me." "And I was wrong to believe it wouldn't matter." The words settled between us, cold and final. I remembered the night he had first called me his mate. We had stood beneath the old oak tree near the eastern border, and he had held my face between his hands, telling me that I was enough. I had cried because I was afraid my inability to shift would make me unworthy of him. He had promised that no one would ever make me feel that way again. Now he was the one doing it. "Dacian, please," I said, hating how small my voice sounded. "We can talk about this privately. Whatever you think is wrong, we can find a way to—" "There is nothing to discuss." He descended one step from the platform, bringing himself closer to me without offering the comfort I instinctively wanted. "I, Dacian Veyr, Alpha of Blackthorn, reject you, Elowen Thorne, as my mate." The bond between us snapped. Pain tore through my chest so violently that my knees nearly buckled. I caught the edge of a nearby table, struggling to breathe as the connection I had carried for years shattered inside me. It felt as though someone had reached into my body and ripped away something essential. A gasp escaped my lips. Across the hall, Dacian flinched, but he did not withdraw his rejection. His expression tightened for the briefest moment before he turned toward Seren. I had expected rejection to hurt. I had not expected to watch the man I loved choose someone else while my heart broke in front of an entire pack. Seren approached him and slipped her hand through his arm. Her gaze settled on me, and a faint, almost sympathetic smile touched her lips. "I'm sorry things had to happen this way," she said. There was nothing apologetic about her expression. I looked at Dacian one last time. "Was any of it real?" His eyes remained cold. "You need to accept what is best for Blackthorn." That was his answer. Not an explanation. Not an apology. Not even the courtesy of admitting that six years had meant something to him. Just Blackthorn. The pack he had placed above me. The pack I had served without complaint, even when its members whispered about the girl without a wolf. I had helped injured children, assisted the healers, and supported families struggling after territorial skirmishes. I had never asked to be treated as special because my father had been the late Beta. I had only wanted the man I loved to keep his word. "By the authority of the Alpha," Dacian announced, turning toward the gathered wolves, "Elowen Thorne is no longer recognized as a member of my household. She is to leave Blackthorn territory before sunset." My head lifted sharply. "You're banishing me?" "You heard me." "This is my home." "Not anymore." The finality in his voice left no room for argument. I looked around the hall, searching for someone willing to speak. Several people lowered their eyes. A few watched me with pity, while others seemed relieved that the Alpha had removed a problem from his future. Mara pushed through the crowd and caught my arm. "Come on," she murmured. "We need to leave." I allowed her to lead me away because I could no longer trust my legs to carry me without support. Behind us, the ceremony resumed. Music filled the hall, and the guests began congratulating Dacian and Seren on their union. Their happiness followed me all the way to the doors. In my room, Mara packed what she could while I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the empty space where my future had once seemed certain. When she placed a small purse of money in my hands, I looked up at her. "Keep it," I said. "Don't be stubborn. You need somewhere to go." "I don't even know where that is." "Then you'll figure it out. You're not as helpless as he wants you to believe." Her voice broke on the last word, and she turned away to hide her tears. I hugged her tightly before leaving. She could not follow me without risking her place in Blackthorn, and I would not ask her to sacrifice her home for me. At the eastern gate, the guards barely acknowledged me as I passed. My mother's crescent pendant was missing. I had searched my room twice, but it was nowhere to be found. I could not return to the hall to look for it, and I had no time left to search elsewhere. The sun was sinking when a black carriage approached from the northern road. Its doors bore a silver crest I recognized immediately. Voss. The gates opened, and the carriage stopped in front of me. A tall man stepped out, dressed in charcoal, his dark hair swept back from a face that was handsome in a severe, unforgiving way. His eyes were a striking grey, and he carried the quiet authority of someone accustomed to being obeyed. Rhydian Voss. The Alpha of Voss Pack. Dacian's oldest enemy. "What an unfortunate day to be without a home," he said, glancing at the bag in my hand. I straightened. "If you've come to laugh at me, you're wasting your time." One corner of his mouth lifted. "I don't waste time laughing at other people's misfortunes, Miss Thorne. I prefer to make use of opportunities." "And what opportunity do you see in me?" His gaze held mine, steady and calculating. "An opportunity to make Dacian Veyr regret a decision he made far too easily." I should have walked away. I should have distrusted a man who approached a banished woman with an offer that sounded suspiciously like revenge. Instead, I looked toward the road ahead, where I had nowhere to go and no one waiting for me. Rhydian extended his hand. "Come with me, Elowen. I believe we can help each other." I looked at his hand, then back at his face. "What do you want from me?" "That," he said, "is a conversation best held somewhere your former Alpha cannot interrupt." I hesitated only a moment before accepting his help into the carriage. As the door closed, I caught sight of the Blackthorn gates disappearing behind us. For six years, I had believed Dacian Veyr was my future. Now I was leaving his territory beside the one man he hated most. I had no idea what Rhydian Voss intended to ask of me. But if he thought I would trade one man's control for another's, he had chosen the wrong woman. I was done begging to be chosen. And I had a feeling my former mate was about to discover that rejecting me had been the easiest mistake of his life.