Rejected By Alpha, Claimed By His Enemy

"You are nothing, Aria. A wolfless omega." The words sliced through the cold night air of the Blood Moon pack house. I stood in the center of the hall, trembling, my thin dress doing nothing to protect me from the eyes of the entire pack. Hundreds of wolves stared at me with pity, disgust, and amusement. And in front of me, Alpha Jaxon Blackwood, my fated mate, the man I had loved since I was fifteen, looked at me like I was trash. "I, Alpha Jaxon of the Blood Moon Pack, reject you, Aria White, as my mate and future Luna." My heart stopped. The mate bond — that warm, golden thread that had connected us since my eighteenth birthday last week — snapped. It didn't just break. It shattered. Pain exploded in my chest. I screamed, falling to my knees. It felt like someone was ripping my soul out of my body. Blood trickled from my nose. My wolf, who had never been strong, whimpered and went completely silent. "Please..." I whispered, tears streaming down my face, my hand reaching for him. "Jaxon, please don't do this..." He stepped back, as if my touch would contaminate him. "Don't touch me." His voice was ice. "You should have known you would never be Luna. You can't even shift. What kind of pack would we be with a wolfless Luna? You're weak. You're useless. And you're not worthy of being my mate." Laughter erupted around the hall. His chosen one, Selene, stepped forward. The perfect, beautiful, strong daughter of the Beta, with her sleek black hair and powerful wolf. She slipped her arm through his. "The Alpha has made his decision," she said sweetly, but her eyes were cruel as she looked down at me. "You should leave, Aria. No one wants you here." I looked at my parents in the crowd. My mother was crying, my father holding her back, his head bowed in shame. No one would stand up for the omega. Jaxon turned his back on me. The final dismissal. In that moment, something inside me died. The weak, loving, hopeful Aria died on that cold floor. I pushed myself up, wiping the blood and tears from my face. My legs shook, but I stood. "You will regret this," I said, my voice hoarse but clear. "One day, Alpha Jaxon, you will beg for the mate you threw away today." He didn't even look back. I walked out of the pack house that night with nothing but the clothes on my back. I was banished. Rejected. Broken. I didn't know that as I walked into the dark, snowy forest, a pair of amber eyes was watching me from the shadows. Eyes that belonged to the most dangerous Alpha in the North. The enemy of my enemy. Alpha Kael of the Shadow Fang Pack. And he had just found his new obsession. Three years later. The grand hall of the Blood Moon Pack was decorated for a ball. A celebration for Alpha Jaxon and Luna Selene. But tonight, there was an uninvited guest. The doors burst open, and every head turned. A woman stood there, in a midnight blue gown that hugged her body like a second skin, her face hidden behind an intricate silver mask adorned with moon phases. The air shifted. Power, pure and ancient, rolled off her in waves, making even the strongest Alphas drop their gaze. Who was she? Jaxon felt his heart stop. That scent... it was impossible. It was familiar, yet stronger, intoxicating. His wolf, who had been restless for three years since the rejection, suddenly howled inside him. MATE. Behind the masked woman, a tall, terrifyingly handsome man stepped forward, his hand possessively on her waist. Alpha Kael. His enemy. He smirked at Jaxon, his amber eyes glowing. "Blood Moon," Kael said, his voice carrying across the silent hall. "Allow me to introduce my Luna. The Masked Luna." And as the masked woman's eyes met Jaxon's through the slits of her silver mask, I smiled. He had no idea it was me. Aria White. The wolfless omega he had rejected. I was back. And I was here to destroy him.