The Alpha's Rejected Mate

Episode 2: Pack's Laughter

The silence in the Great Hall was deafening.

For three seconds, nobody moved. Then the laughter started.

Someone snorted. Then another. Then the whole pack was laughing at me.

“Did you see her face?”

“An Omega? With the Alpha? She must be delusional.”

“Serves her right. Filthy Luna.”

I wanted to disappear into the floor. My cheeks burned. My wolf was curled up in a ball inside me, bleeding.

Damian didn’t even flinch. He just walked past me like I was nothing. Like I didn’t exist.

The Elder cleared his throat. “Next,” he said, like nothing happened.

I stumbled back to my spot in the Omega line. My legs were shaking. Tears threatened to fall but I refused. Omegas don’t cry. Omegas endure.

That’s what my aunt always told me before she died.

The ceremony continued. One by one, girls found their mates. Happy screams filled the hall. But for me, the night was over.

After it ended, I ran.

I ran all the way to the packhouse kitchen where I worked. I grabbed a rag and started scrubbing the already clean counters. Scrubbing until my hands hurt. Because if I stopped, I’d think about it.

About his eyes. About that word. *Rejected.*

The kitchen door banged open.

“Look who it is,” sneered Ava. Damian’s ex. The girl everyone thought he’d choose. “The rejected mutt. How’s it feel to be trash?”

I didn’t answer. I just kept scrubbing.

She grabbed my hair and yanked my head back. “I asked you a question.”

My wolf growled low. Weak. Broken. But still there.

I met Ava’s eyes. “It hurts,” I whispered. “But I’m not dead yet.”

And I meant it.