The Alpha’s Rejected mate

Chapter 1 — The Girl Nobody Wanted Elena’s POV The first time I heard someone say I should have died, I was eight years old. The second time, I was eighteen. The second time hurt more. I woke before sunrise to the sound of someone pounding on my door. “Elena! Get up!” I opened my eyes slowly. For a moment, I didn’t remember where I was. Then the cold stone walls came into focus. The tiny room. The thin mattress. The cracked wooden ceiling. Blackwood territory. My home. Or at least, the closest thing I had ever had to one. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “I’m awake.” The door swung open. Mara, one of the senior servants, stood there with her hands on her hips. “The Alpha’s breakfast is in twenty minutes. The dining hall needs cleaning before the pack leaders arrive.” “I’ll be there.” “You’d better.” She turned to leave, then paused. “And Elena?” “Yes?” “Try not to embarrass us today.” The door slammed. I stared at it. I didn’t know why those words still hurt. Maybe because I’d heard them my entire life. Don’t embarrass us. Don’t speak unless spoken to. Don’t sit with the wolves. Don’t touch anything that belongs to the Alpha. Don’t forget what you are. A stray. That was what they called me. The orphan girl found after the war. The girl who couldn’t remember her parents. The girl who couldn’t shift. The girl who got sick too easily. The girl who had no family name anyone recognized. Elena Vale. Nobody knew where the name came from. Not even me. I climbed out of bed and dressed quickly. By the time I reached the main house, the halls were already filled with servants. I grabbed a bucket and began cleaning. I had barely finished polishing the dining table when I heard footsteps. Everyone around me immediately became quiet. I knew who it was without looking. Alpha Adrian Blackwood. He walked into the dining hall with two warriors behind him. At twenty-eight, Adrian was the strongest wolf in Blackwood territory. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dark-haired. Cold. Even people twice his age lowered their heads when he passed. I did the same. But for one stupid second, I looked up. Our eyes met. My heart skipped. Adrian’s expression didn’t change. He looked away as though I were nothing. I immediately lowered my head. Why did I still feel something whenever he looked at me? Maybe because, secretly, I’d spent years wondering what it would feel like to be important to someone. Especially him. That foolish hope died a little more every day. “Move.” I stepped aside. Adrian passed. Behind him came Seraphina. She didn’t need anyone to announce her presence. Everyone knew her. Beautiful. Elegant. Powerful. The woman everyone expected to become Luna. She walked beside Adrian as if the position already belonged to her. Her eyes found me. She smiled. It wasn’t friendly. “Elena.” I bowed my head. “Lady Seraphina.” “Come here.” I approached. She held out an empty glass. “Fill this.” “Yes.” “And don’t spill it this time.” My face warmed. “I won’t.” She smiled. “Good girl.” I took the glass and walked toward the table. Then something happened. A sharp pain pierced my chest. I stopped. The glass slipped from my fingers. It shattered. Everyone turned. I grabbed my chest. My heart was pounding so hard I could barely breathe. What was happening? Then I heard it. A voice. Not outside me. Inside. Mate. My entire body froze. I looked across the room. Adrian was staring directly at me. His face had gone pale. His wolf was reacting too. Mate. The word echoed through my mind again. My knees nearly gave out. No. It couldn’t be. Not him. Not Adrian. The Moon Goddess couldn’t possibly have chosen me for the Alpha. My eyes filled with tears. Adrian took a step toward me. The invisible pull between us became stronger. Every wolf in the room seemed to feel it. Someone whispered, “Mate bond.” Another voice gasped, “The Alpha found his mate.” Seraphina stood completely still. Her smile disappeared. I looked at Adrian. For the first time in my life, I allowed myself to imagine something impossible. Maybe I wasn’t unwanted after all. Maybe the Moon Goddess had finally chosen me. Maybe— Adrian stopped in front of me. His eyes were cold. “Elena Vale.” My heart raced. “Yes, Alpha?” He stared at me for several seconds. Then he said the words that shattered everything. “I reject you.” Silence. I couldn’t breathe. Adrian’s jaw tightened. “I reject you as my mate.” Someone gasped. My fingers trembled. “But…” The word barely left my mouth. Adrian’s expression hardened. “You will never be my Luna.” A tear slipped down my cheek. He didn’t look away. “You are a servant, Elena. A weak one at that. You can’t shift. You have no known family, no status, and no place beside me.” The room was silent. Everyone was listening. I wanted the floor to swallow me. “Please…” Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t embarrass yourself further.” That sentence destroyed the last piece of hope I had. I lowered my head. “Yes, Alpha.” Seraphina suddenly laughed softly. She stepped beside Adrian and slipped her arm through his. “Don’t worry, darling. I’ll make sure she understands her place.” Adrian didn’t stop her. He simply walked away. I watched them leave together. The bond still burned inside my chest. Rejected. But not gone. Why? Why could I still feel him? Why did something inside me scream that this wasn’t over? I turned and hurried from the dining hall before anyone could see me cry. I made it to the servants’ corridor before my legs gave out. I slid against the wall and covered my mouth. I couldn’t stop the tears. For eighteen years, I had wondered why I survived the war. Why everyone else had been taken from me. Why I couldn’t remember my family. Why I had never shifted. Why I had always felt like something inside me was asleep. Now I wondered if maybe there was a reason. I wiped my face. Then I heard a growl. I froze. It came from inside me. Another growl followed. Deep. Powerful. Nothing like the weak wolf I had always believed lived inside me. I slowly stood. My reflection appeared in the glass window. My eyes were glowing silver. I stumbled backward. “What…” A voice whispered inside my head. Finally. I stopped breathing. “Who are you?” The voice was quiet. Ancient. Almost amused. You don’t remember me? My heart hammered. “No.” A pause. Then— Of course you don’t. Pain exploded through my skull. I screamed and dropped to my knees. Images flashed through my mind. Fire. Blood. A silver wolf. A woman holding a baby. My mother. Then her voice. Hide her. Another voice shouted. They found us! I saw my father turn toward the door. Then everything went black. I gasped and opened my eyes. I was still on the floor. But something had changed. The voice was gone. In its place came one final whisper. They lied to you, Elena. My blood turned cold. “Who lied?” Silence. Then the voice answered. Everyone. I stared into the darkness. And for the first time, I wondered if the people who had saved me from the war… were actually the same people who had destroyed my life.