REJECTED BY THE WOLF KING

Chapter 1: The Rejection

The moment I saw the black wolf step out of the forest, I knew my life was about to change.

I just didn't know it would be destroyed.

The moon hung low over the pack grounds, bathing the clearing in pale silver light. Hundreds of wolves stood in a perfect circle around the ancient stone platform, their bodies tense with anticipation.

Tonight was the Choosing Ceremony.

For every unmated wolf in the Silver Crest Pack, this was supposed to be the most important night of their life.

For me, it was a nightmare I had been waiting eighteen years to escape.

I stood at the edge of the crowd with my hands clasped tightly in front of me.

"Stop shaking."

I glanced at my best friend, Mira.

"I'm not shaking."

She raised one eyebrow.

"You've been crushing your fingers together for the past five minutes."

I immediately loosened my grip.

"Better?"

"Not even slightly."

Despite myself, I smiled.

Mira leaned closer and lowered her voice. "Tonight could be different, Lyra."

I looked toward the stone platform.

"Different how?"

"You could find your mate."

The word made my stomach twist.

Mate.

Everyone in the pack talked about the mate bond as if it were some beautiful blessing. A magical connection between two souls. A bond chosen by the Moon Goddess herself.

But I had never believed in blessings.

Not after everything that had happened to me.

My mother had died when I was six.

My father had disappeared two years later.

And ever since then, the pack had treated me like an unwanted stain on its bloodline.

I was the daughter of a disgraced warrior.

The girl with no family.

The girl nobody wanted.

The girl who had somehow survived when everyone expected her to break.

"Look," Mira whispered.

I followed her gaze.

The crowd suddenly parted.

A group of warriors entered the clearing.

And behind them came the Wolf King.

My breath caught.

King Kael.

I had seen him before, of course. Everyone had.

But never this close.

He was taller than every warrior surrounding him, dressed entirely in black. His dark hair was swept away from his forehead, revealing sharp features and a scar that disappeared beneath the collar of his shirt.

He didn't smile.

He never smiled.

Stories about him had reached every corner of the supernatural territories.

The Wolf King.

The most feared Alpha alive.

Ruthless.

Untouchable.

Cold enough to execute a traitor without blinking.

They said his wolf was enormous, black as midnight, with silver eyes that could make even an Alpha lower his head.

I had never expected him to look like this.

Dangerous.

Beautiful.

And completely uninterested in everyone around him.

Until his eyes found mine.

Everything stopped.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

For one terrifying second, I couldn't breathe.

Kael's expression changed.

Barely.

His shoulders stiffened.

His eyes narrowed.

And then something inside me snapped awake.

A burning sensation spread from my chest through my entire body.

My wolf screamed inside my mind.

Mate.

I stumbled backward.

"No."

The word escaped my lips before I could stop it.

Mira grabbed my arm.

"What is it?"

I couldn't answer.

Because the bond was already wrapping itself around my heart.

My mate.

The Wolf King was my mate.

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

Kael stared at me from across the clearing.

Then he started walking.

Every step he took sent another wave of heat through my body.

People moved aside for him.

Whispers spread through the crowd.

"What's happening?"

"Why is the King walking toward her?"

"Who is that girl?"

I couldn't move.

I wanted to run.

Every instinct screamed at me to get away from him.

But another part of me wanted to cross the distance between us and fall into his arms.

Kael stopped directly in front of me.

Up close, he was even more intimidating.

His eyes were darker than I had imagined.

"What is your name?" he asked.

His voice was deep and controlled.

"Lyra."

He stared at me.

"Lyra what?"

"Lyra Vale."

Something flashed in his eyes.

Recognition.

Then anger.

My stomach dropped.

"You," he whispered.

I frowned.

"What?"

His jaw tightened.

For the first time since he had entered the clearing, his expression cracked.

Not with affection.

Not with surprise.

With hatred.

He took one step backward.

The mate bond inside me pulled painfully.

"King Kael?"

He looked at me as though I were something disgusting beneath his shoe.

Then, in front of the entire pack, he said the words that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

"I reject you."

Silence.

Complete and devastating silence.

I stared at him.

I thought I had misunderstood.

"What?"

His eyes remained cold.

"I, Kael Draven, Wolf King of the Northern Territories, reject you, Lyra Vale, as my mate."

The pain came instantly.

It felt as though someone had driven a blade straight through my chest.

I gasped.

My knees buckled.

Mira caught me before I hit the ground.

Someone in the crowd whispered.

"She was his mate?"

Another voice answered.

"That's Lyra Vale?"

"Why would the King choose her?"

I could barely hear them.

All I could feel was the bond tearing apart.

My wolf howled.

A scream ripped through my mind.

I bit down hard on my lip, refusing to cry.

Kael watched me.

For a moment, something strange crossed his face.

Regret.

Then it vanished.

"You should never have been born into this world," he said quietly.

My heart shattered again.

I looked up at him.

"Why?"

He didn't answer.

"Why did you reject me?"

His expression hardened.

"Because I know exactly who you are."

I swallowed.

"You don't know me."

"I know enough."

He turned away.

But before he could leave, something inside me broke.

"No."

The word came out stronger than I expected.

Kael stopped.

I pushed myself upright.

Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall.

"If you wanted to reject me, fine."

The entire clearing was watching.

My voice trembled.

"But don't stand there and pretend this is about who I am."

Kael slowly turned his head.

I met his eyes.

"You recognized my name."

His face became unreadable.

"Tell me what you know."

Nothing.

"Tell me what my father did."

Still nothing.

My heart began pounding.

Everyone in the pack knew my father had disappeared.

Everyone knew the official story.

He had betrayed the pack.

He had attacked a royal convoy.

He had been declared a traitor.

But nobody had ever told me why.

Kael knew.

I could see it in his eyes.

"You know what happened to my father."

His silence was answer enough.

I stepped toward him.

"Where is he?"

Kael's jaw clenched.

"He's dead."

I froze.

The words struck harder than the rejection.

"What?"

"Your father died years ago."

I shook my head.

"No."

"Accept it."

"No."

I backed away.

My mind raced.

My father couldn't be dead.

Not without someone telling me.

Not without a body.

Not without—

A sharp pain suddenly tore through my chest.

I collapsed to my knees.

Mira screamed my name.

The clearing erupted into chaos.

But through the noise, I heard Kael curse.

He rushed toward me.

His hands caught my shoulders.

For the first time, the Wolf King looked genuinely frightened.

"Lyra."

I looked up at him.

His silver eyes were glowing.

Not with anger.

With fear.

"What's happening to her?" someone shouted.

Kael didn't answer.

Then my wolf whispered something inside my head.

Something that made my blood run cold.

He's not your first mate.

I stared at Kael.

"What?"

His eyes widened.

He had heard me.

Or perhaps he'd heard my wolf through the broken bond.

Then another voice echoed inside my mind.

A voice I hadn't heard since childhood.

A man's voice.

My father's voice.

Run, Lyra.

My entire body went cold.

The voice came again.

Don't trust the Wolf King.

I looked at Kael.

He was staring at me as if he had heard every word.

"What did you just hear?" he demanded.

I couldn't speak.

His grip tightened.

"Lyra, what did you hear?"

I pulled away from him.

"My father."

Kael went completely still.

"What?"

"My father spoke to me."

His face drained of color.

And for the first time that night, the mighty Wolf King looked terrified.

Because he knew something I didn't.

Something about my father.

Something about the mate bond.

Something about me.

Kael looked toward the forest.

Then he turned back to me.

His voice dropped to a whisper.

"He's alive."

My heart stopped.

Before I could ask another question, a howl exploded from the darkness beyond the trees.

Not an ordinary wolf's howl.

It was deep.

Ancient.

And filled with rage.

Every wolf in the clearing immediately dropped to their knees.

Even the King.

I stared toward the forest.

Two glowing red eyes appeared between the trees.

Then a voice carried through the darkness.

"Finally."

Kael stood in front of me.

His wolf emerged beneath his skin.

And the stranger in the forest laughed.

"After eighteen years, the Moon's daughter has finally returned."

I looked at Kael.

"The Moon's daughter?"

He didn't answer.

The red eyes moved closer.

And then the voice spoke again.

"Take the girl, and the Wolf King will lose everything."

Kael's claws slid from his fingertips.

His eyes flashed silver.

"Run."

I stared at him.

"Where?"

He looked at me.

"For the first time in your life, Lyra..."

His voice was almost a whisper.

"...run from me."