Enslaved to His Rejection

Chapter 1

Amelia’s POV

Life these days is beginning to get tiring for me and my already tired feet.

Walking into the hall that had people of all ranks of wolves inside, I couldn't help but feel nervous.

I had been inside this kind of setting only once in my eighteen-plus years on earth and it ended horribly so I classified gatherings like this too important and unfit for the likes of my kind.

I still remember it like yesterday, the disaster that happened at the time of my wolfing ceremony early this year,

When it happened, I was seen as an outcast, a culmination of all my failures as a member of this pack.

Nothing more, and I didn't want that again.

Before I found somewhere to stand, I had already caught several disgusted glances as I made my way forward.

I had promised myself that I would not let their sneers, the whispers, the looks of derision bother me but I was still human. My heart didn't know better than to let their hatred of me get to me.

Finally, I made it to the grand hall and was standing at the gates, staring at the door. My hands were trembling and my breath was heavy, my brain signaled everything inside me insisting that I turn around, tuck my tail, and run but I wouldn't.

I was tired, and I had made a firm decision to be courageous for once but yet, I couldn't help but think of ways to hide myself from the cruel eyes. It was no use though.

Their judgment of me was clear and it tore at me even when I was all alone, the whispers haunting me even in my sleep.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Someone snapped as a knock happened on the crown of my head.

I swayed with the force of the knock and just barely was able to retain my balance.

With a long sigh, I walked through the doors of the packed hall.

Strangely enough, I didn't feel as pressured as I thought I would be, seeing the number of guests. As I walked through the crowd, very few people bothered to stare down at me, most of them more focused on the event that was about to begin; the mating ceremony.

Yesterday, while I was cleaning the football court, I heard whispers from the maids that Antonio Lance, the alpha of our pack, would choose a mate today.

I couldn't count how many times I had heard girls praying to the moon goddess that he picked them. It was funny to see but also sad, I didn't have any of such a dream.

I had never felt like I belonged anywhere. I wanted a mate. It had always been a dream of mine to be happily married to someone strong and dependable. Somebody I would care for and who would care for me in turn.

Finally finding my mate would mean that I was accepted, that I was a part of something. I had prayed fervently to the moon goddess to grant me a mate and I believed today would be the day, yes, but not just with Alpha Antonio.

I was full of hope even as I was serving at his party.

I glanced around happy, hoping to feel a connection, smiles across my face. It had been a long time since I had felt anything other than desolation. For once, the hope burning faintly in my chest was a wonderful reprieve

The hall suddenly fell silent. I looked up to see the alpha of the Red Firepack standing on an elevated stage.

"Without further Ado, welcome to the mating ceremony. Best of luck and more importantly, enjoy." He said in a firm voice.

As soon as the mic went off, everyone erupted with cheers and laughter. He stepped off stage and the lights suddenly went off and the room was covered in pitch darkness.

The Red Firepack was surrounded by miles of empty land and trees. It was the perfect location for a pack where we were all free to run wild on important nights like this.

While mated wolves would run off with their mates, unmated wolves would pray for the moon goddess to shine luck on their faces again.

Hopefully, their dreams will come true.

“My dream will come true.”

I could feel the excitement running through me as I watched them run. From watching them, I found myself suddenly sweating even when the wind was cool like snow.

My heart thudded like a drum while I froze there. I was feeling everything at once— anxiety, fear, happiness, and depression.

Everyone was still standing when suddenly a bright light shined in the hallway and immediately, everyone there was bathed in the moonlight.

The moon goddess washed everything in her ethereal glow and one by one, howls went up around the room.

The doors were thrown open as men and women in their wolf forms began to run out.

I was losing hope as everybody around me began to shift into their majestic hairy wolves when suddenly I felt a shift within me.

“My wolf!" I gasped.

"This is it!”

"It's happening!”

I dropped the plates in my hand to the floor and let out a long howl as my limbs suddenly began to transform for the first time in my life.

It didn't even matter that no one paid me any attention. I had been shunned for not being able to wolf out last year and yet this year nobody even cared.

I didn't care either.

The only thing I cared about was the particular masculine scent that had now flooded the hall when I shifted forms.

It had to be him.

My Mate.

I turned to search for him when I heard a loud howl.

Louder than ever. One that’s unlike the others, I felt like it was beckoning me.

Excitement ran through me again, My mate was here and he was calling for me.

The noise around me seemed to fade. My first step toward the alluring smell left me battered on the ground.

I had almost forgotten I wasn't with my human feet anymore. I wasn't used to my new form yet but I wasn't going to let that stop me.

I stumbled on all fours till I could see the huge black wolf that seemed like he was the one calling.

"Mate?" I asked with excitement.

The wolf's head turned till his eyes met mine.

I took an excited step towards my mate only to halt in my tracks when he growled at me and took a step backwards.

“What do you think you're doing?!"

No!

I could be rejected by everybody. But not him, my heart would be shredded and I would never be whole again if my mate rejected me.

Please no!

"It's me. Your mate," I communicated in a small telepathic voice.

"Never! You are no mate of mine," he growled out loud out angrily, attracting the attention of everyone else that was left.

At that very moment, all I wanted was for the earth to swallow me whole but dreams like that don't get answered too. I stood there, I was too shocked to move.

Just as quickly as my wolf form had burst out, it was sucked back in.

I fell to my knees, exhausted and heartbroken. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and curled up. Everything hurt but this rejection was the worst of all.

The blinding light disappeared and the hallway went back to normal.

I raised my head and found the crowd that had gathered, even though still waiting for their mates.

They all came together to pick a side— either to mock me and laugh or to snarl at me and ask that the alpha banish me.

Even my darkest nightmares hadn't prepared me for this.

A reality where I would be rejected by my mate. I felt extremely weak and small. Surely, this had to be the lowest I would go in life.

There couldn't be more.

Oh, how I was wrong about my last statement. After what I had seen the day after, I could only say that was the tip of the iceberg.

There was more humiliation to come.