THE REJECTION
839 Words
Chapter 1:
I stood barefoot on the moonlit altar, my white dress stained with tears and dirt.
The ancient stones of the Blackwood Pack temple felt cold under my feet. Above me, the full moon hung heavy, casting silver light on 300 wolves who came to witness history.
Across from me, Alpha Damien Blackwood, the billionaire heir and my fated mate, raised his hand.
“I, Damian Blackwood, reject you, Favour Cole, as my mate,” his voice echoed through the silent pack. Cold. Final. Like a blade.
My knees nearly gave out.
The Luna mark that had burned on my wrist since I turned 18 flared one last time… then faded. Gone. As if I’d never been chosen by the Moon Goddess at all.
A gasp rippled through the crowd. Whispers started like poison in water.
“That’s the orphan girl. No parents. No pack status.”
“He’s right. What use is a human mate to the future Alpha King?”
“She’ll only embarrass him in those billionaire meetings.”
I wanted the ground to swallow me.
Damien didn’t look at me. His silver eyes, the same color as the moon, were fixed straight ahead. He wore a black suit worth more than my entire life. His jaw was tight, like rejecting me hurt him… but not enough to stop.
“Do you accept this rejection?” the elder asked me, voice shaking.
I swallowed the blood in my mouth. I’d bitten my lip to keep from screaming. “I… accept,” I whispered.
The word tore my chest open.
Before I could breathe, Damien turned. He pulled another girl to his side. Isabella Vance. Daughter of the Beta. Beautiful. Powerful. A true wolf.
“I, Damian Blackwood, claim Isabella Vance as my chosen mate,” he said loud enough for all to hear.
Isabella smiled at me. Not kind. Not sorry. She mouthed two words: “You lose.”
Laughter followed. Not from everyone, but enough. Enough to burn.
I remembered when I was 8 and Damien found me crying behind his father’s mansion. My parents had just died in a car crash. He gave me half his sandwich and said, “Don’t cry, Favour. Alphas protect their own.”
I thought I was his “own.”
The Moon Goddess lied. Fate lied.
“Get her out of here,” Damian told his guards without looking at me. “The ceremony is tainted.”
Two warriors grabbed my arms. My dress tore. My bare feet dragged across the cold stone as they pulled me past people I’d grown up with. Past friends who now looked away.
The Luna mark on my wrist itched like a scar. Proof that for 10 seconds, I was special. Chosen. Then nothing.
I ran.
Not with dignity. Not like the Luna I was supposed to become. I ran like the orphan I was. Through the forest, thorns cutting my legs, the white dress now grey with mud. The howls of the pack celebration followed me.
That night, I left Blackwood territory with only ₦2,000 in my pocket and the clothes on my back.
The Moon Goddess gave me a mate, then took him away.
Fine. If fate was cruel, I would be crueler.
---
*3 YEARS LATER*
“Miss Cole, they’re ready for you in Boardroom A.”
I adjusted my blazer. Black. Tailored. Power stitched into every seam.
“Thank you, Lisa,” I said. My voice didn’t shake anymore. Three years of building Starlight Corp from nothing taught me that.
The glass doors opened.
And there he was.
Alpha Damien Blackwood. CEO of Blackwood Industries. Billionaire. The man who rejected me.
He stood at the head of the table, arguing with his board about a merger. Same broad shoulders. Same sharp jaw. Same silver eyes that could freeze you.
Then he turned.
His eyes hit mine.
For one second, the whole room disappeared. The air changed. His pupils blew wide. A low growl rumbled in his chest before he choked it down.
His wolf recognized me.
“Miss Cole from Starlight Corp,” my lawyer introduced me. “She’s here for the acquisition deal.”
Damien didn’t blink. He didn’t breathe.
“You,” he said. Just that one word. Rough, like he hadn’t said my name in years.
I smiled. Cold. Professional. The same smile I practiced in the mirror for 3 years.
“Alpha Blackwood,” I said. “Shall we discuss the deal? Or would you prefer I walk out like you did that night?”
His wolf eyes flashed gold.
He stood up slowly from his chair, 6’3 of muscle and rage and something else I refused to name.
“You can run for 3 years, Favour,” he said, voice dropping so only I could hear. “But you can’t hide from your mate.”
My heart pounded. But I kept my face blank.
I wasn’t his mate anymore.
He gave that up.
[End of Chapter 1 - To be continued…]
- Writer
