Rejected by the Alpha, Chosen by the King

Chapter 1 I, along with everyone else in the pack, were in love with the future Alpha since we were children. But not everyone loved him like I did. It's not like we really spoke, except for that one occasion when he bumped into me or when our gazes collided and I couldn't stop looking at him. My thoughts were consumed by him, perhaps it was obsessive, but nothing I tried could stop me from fantasizing about him. I could have been pretty, but nobody ever told me that. I liked school and had friends, but I didn't stand out. Not like his beautiful, long-legged, Barbie-faced blonde girlfriend who had most of high school's attention. That was until I turned eighteen, the summer after I graduated. I was passing through the training fields for a walk before my parents woke up, anticipating our tradition of making more pancakes than we could eat and watching movies all morning to recover. Then I smelled something delicious, like the forest after the rain, but the morning sky was clear and had been for days. The future Alpha, Ronan, was blocking my path. I swallowed hard, his dark brown hair was damp with sweat, and his matching brown eyes flickered to a midnight black. "Mine," he growled. A million butterflies exploded through me, and my whole body buzzed as shock rooted me in place. I couldn't believe it, everything I had dreamed of and never dared to put into words, outside of my ridiculous fantasies, was coming true in that moment. That day he claimed me in every possible way. From that moment on, my world revolved around him even more than it already did. It's been over a year since then, and I still couldn't believe that he was mine, only mine. Things weren't perfect. We were both busy learning how to take on the new roles we would assume a few months after he turned twenty-one. When he would officially become the Alpha, and I would be by his side as his Luna. It still didn't feel real, I still looked at him the way I did across the cafeteria, with longing and desire. The only difference was that now he returned those looks with the same intensity. "Change the forks, you know the drill, Seraphina," the current Luna, Mary, Ronan's mom, scolded me. My Luna lessons consisted mainly of party planning, memorizing the names and faces of ranked members from other packs, and how to maintain a stoic yet warm image while thinking about what Ronan was doing. To be honest, I was struggling with all of that. All shades of beige looked exactly the same; I didn't even know there was more than one peach color. "I'm sorry, Luna," I murmured, catching her gaze. No whispers. "Luna," said Thorne, Ronan's future Gamma, as he entered the room, "Callista is here and requests an audience." "Well, isn't that fantastic?" Luna Mary's smile was genuine, but my stomach turned to lead. Callista, Ronan's high school girlfriend? There was no way. She had been away at college all this time. "You can finish setting up, right?" Mary turned to me. I nodded. "Of course, Luna," I smiled despite my curiosity and fear. "I'll help you," Thorne added, taking Luna Mary's tray of cutlery. "Thank you," I murmured when she was out of the room. "This is torture," I joked, but it truly was. "I'd rather do a back-to-back training session than have a lesson with Luna." I had to agree. Although I didn't regularly train before becoming the future Luna, I was asked to give it up completely. "Seraphina, there's someone I'd like you to meet," the Luna was at the entrance. A moment later, Callista, the same Callista, walked in. She looked at the cutlery before even looking at me. "Thorne," she smiled at him, her lips pulled back over blindingly white teeth. Her natural blonde hair was perfectly curled, and she stood tall and confident in a tight red dress that seemed more suitable for a party, along with black stiletto heels that showcased her long, golden legs. "Nice to see you, it's been too long," Thorne smiled, looking between the two. "How's college going?" "Fine," she waved a manicured hand, "but Oakland Valley is such a boring place that there's hardly anything to do there." Oakland Valley tugged at my memory, but I didn't know why. "Callista, I'm not sure if you've been formally introduced to Seraphina, Ronan's mate," Thorne made the introduction I had been waiting for on Luna Mary's behalf. Callista's smile faltered for a fraction of a second, and the bright smile she had for Thorne was replaced by one with tight lips as she looked at me. I tucked some of my rebellious black hair behind my ear, struggling to maintain a level gaze and not look down at the simple cotton dress I was wearing. Suddenly, I felt underdressed in my own home. "We haven't done it," Callista extended her hand, making no move to take a step forward. I closed the space between us and shook her outstretched hand. "Pleasure to meet you," I smiled with my best fake Luna smile, "Ronan and I are honored to have your visit. Will you stay for his birthday?" I maintained my voice level even though, for some reason, I wanted to claw at her perfectly lined eyes. It was a few days until Ronan's 21st birthday party, and I had been helping with all aspects of its preparation. It was something I was truly proud of, and I wanted her to see that I was capable even if I didn't look as good in a miniskirt. But what did I want to show? My party planning skills? Just thinking about it bored me. "Of course," Callista replied, while my stomach twisted into knots. "I can't wait to get to know you better." I stood my ground and continued smiling. "Likewise..." Her smile lacked emotion, "Oh, Seraphina, what's this? I think your soup and dessert spoons are mixed up." I averted my gaze from Callista to the cutlery. "That's how they are," I said. "Thank you for noticing, Callista," Luna Mary corrected at that moment. "Seraphina, please fix that detail." As I sorted the spoons, Luna Mary invited Callista to leave the room, their heads together, laughing and whispering. I groaned and slumped into a chair. "Your performance was great," Thorne said with a smile. I looked at him. Thorne and the future Beta, Remus, became my friends since last year. I was initially surprised at how readily they accepted me. I definitely wasn't like the girls they used to date. But last year, we practically did everything together as future ranked members, and we all lived in the Pack House. I moved the night after Ronan mated with me and marked me; the idea of that night still sent shivers of pleasure down my spine. I was completely shocked and amazed that the man I had dreamed of for most of my life claimed me, exploring my body for the first time with his tongue and hands, and then his... "Seraphina?" Thorne looked at me, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Hm?" "I asked if there was anything else after we swapped the spoons." I shook my head and bit my lip, refraining from asking him more about Callista. My stomach dropped at the thought of her. The pain felt physical, as if someone had sucked all the air out of me and filled my lungs with lead. This was a crazy reaction to my jealousy, and I knew it was out of place. Whatever Ronan and Callista had was already over, even before I discovered I was his mate; now she was just a girlfriend, an ex-girlfriend. "Are you okay?" Thorne studied me, concern etched on his face. "Yes, of course," I breathed through the sharp pain. "Don't worry about Callista; she's like that with new people," Thorne shrugged. "Sure," I downplayed it. "I'll go find Ronan."