The Alpha Who Rejected Me Now Needs My Heir

Chapter 2: Unfit

Averia POV

I lived in fear. The day of the Mate Recognition Ceremony had finally come and it didn't only scare me but it also felt wrong.

I knew I should haven’t been there from the moment I stepped onto the pack grounds.

The entire Bloodstone Pack had gathered in the open clearing, just as tradition demanded. Wolves stood in neat lines, ranked by strength and status. Celebration was the smoke that filled the atmosphere.

Alphas and Betas occupied the front, tall and confident. Omegas like me were pushed toward the back, half-hidden, expected to watch quietly and take up as little space as possible.

I had kept my head lowered, my hands clasped tightly in front of me, my body still aching from the bond that had awakened too early and too violently.

Everyone had felt it. They weren't void of what was happening. No one said it out loud, but the air had been thick with tension.

Whispers had followed me as I moved. Side glances had lingered too long. Elders had watched me with sharp, fearful eyes, like I was a sickness they had hoped would never return. I had felt their fear crawl over my skin.

I had grown up hearing my name spoken like a curse. My family line had always been blamed for so many misfortunes that happened in the pack. They didn't even need a reason once there was an issue, we were to be blamed.

For as long as remembered I never understood why. I had never been important enough to ask.

But today, everything changed. I stood at the corner as I noticed, observed and took note but also tried to hide myself hoping I would diminish and disappear.

Everyone was dancing but the moment his presence was detected, everything changed.

When Alpha Kael Drayven stepped forward, the crowd had gone silent. His presence alone had commanded obedience.

He had stood tall, his shoulders were broad and squared, his expression hard and undeniably sharp. I had felt the bond tighten painfully in my chest the moment he moved closer.

My wolf had pressed forward inside me, desperate and scared at the same time.

I had not looked at him at first. I was afraid that if I did, I would break. It was quite obvious that he had control over me and I wasn't willing to let things spiral.

The ceremony had begun as it always did, with the elders calling forward wolves whose bonds had awakened. As they called their names, I trembled. My heart was beating faster than I imagined.

One by one, pairs had stepped out. Some had smiled. Some had looked nervous. The pack had murmured approval when strong matches were confirmed.

Then my name was called. My legs had barely worked as I stepped forward. I had felt thousands of eyes on me.

My heartbeat had thundered in my ears. I had finally lifted my gaze, and my eyes had met Kael’s. The bond had flared between us, bright and undeniable.

There had been no denying it then. The elders had stiffened. Gasps had rippled through the pack. Fear had spread openly now, no longer hidden. I had seen it clearly on their faces. Not surprise. Fear.

Kael had confirmed the bond by nodding and stepping forward. I didn't know how to talk or react. I was in the center of all of this, there was no going back now.

This very moment had shattered something inside the pack. I could steal their glances looking at me and judging me.

I had felt a strange, foolish hope rise in my chest. A small, fragile thought that maybe fate mattered. That maybe the bond meant protection. That maybe I would not be erased. Looking at Kael had given me a light of hope, I should have known better. I was wrong.

Kael had not hesitated for long. His voice had carried clearly across the clearing when he spoke, calm and firm, like he was delivering a verdict already decided.

“She is unfit.”

The words had hit me harder than any blow.

He had gone on as his voice thundered. He spoke of strength, of leadership and order. Then he looked at me with a glance and said it.

“She is not worthy to stand as Luna”

He had said to the pack before turning to look at me to continue his speech.

“Just look at you. You have no place influencing the pack. Obviously, this bond is a mistake fate had made, and if I decide to accept it. Bloodstone would not suffer for it.”

He snapped and turned away. It had not been cruel shouting. It had been worse. His rejection was something he had already put together.

My fate was truly cruel. Why would I think an Omega had a chance? I sniffed as tears gathered on my eyelids.

I had understood then that this was not about me as a person. It was about my blood.

About fear that had been buried for generations. About erasing a threat before it could grow.

“I reject this bond,”

He had finally said. The words had not cleanly cut the connection like they should have. Instead, something had shattered.

Pain had exploded through my chest, sharp and tearing. I had gasped, my vision blurring. My knees had buckled as the bond fractured, not broken, leaving jagged edges inside me. It had felt like being torn in half and left unfinished.

I had collapsed onto the ground in front of everyone. No one had moved to help. I had heard murmurs ripple through the pack, cold and distant.

I had felt eyes on me, not with pity, but with judgment. This was how Bloodstone worked. This was how it had always worked. Cruelty was not an accident here. It was built into the system.

As I lay there, shaking and barely breathing, I had looked up one last time at Kael. His face had been set, his eyes filled with something rigid and unyielding.

He had no regrets. To him this was the decision that mattered more than anything. He believed power mattered more than fate.

And in that moment, as the pain burned through me and the pack turned away, I had known one thing with terrible clarity. Bloodstone had chosen cruelty. And I had been the cost.