Rejected by the Alpha, Fated to the Lycan Kings.

Nyra’s pov "I beat you." A smile spread across my face as I looked down at Cassian, who was still lying flat on his back beneath the old oak tree. Dry leaves clung to his dark hair, and one boot lay several feet away. For someone who was supposed to become the strongest Alpha on the continent, Losing to me clearly bruised the future Alpha's pride. "You cheated," he said, pointing an accusing finger at me without making any effort to stand. "You started running before I finished counting." "I started running because you count slower than my grandmother." "My counting is perfectly normal." "It took you almost a whole minute to get to five." A laugh escaped him before he finally sat up, brushing the leaves from his clothes. "You're impossible, Nyra." "So I've been told." The smile slipped from my face before I realized it.Impossible. Cursed. Wolfless. Burden. The pack had spent years giving me names that slowly became impossible to forget. Cassian noticed the change immediately. His smile disappeared as he climbed to his feet and walked over to me. "Don't listen to them." "I wasn't." "You were." I rubbed the back of my neck softly before looking toward the valley below us. From the top of the hill, the Ashthorne Pack looked peaceful. Smoke curled from the chimneys, children chased one another through the village square, and warriors trained in the distance. From up here, the village looked whole. I was the only thing that never seemed to fit into it. "I don't understand it," I admitted quietly. "Twenty-one years, Cassian. Twenty-one years, and I still don't have a wolf." He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he bent down, picked up a small stone, and threw it toward the river below. We both watched it disappear into the water without a sound before he finally spoke. "You don't need a wolf to matter." I laughed softly. "That's a nice thing to say." "It's the truth." "It isn't." I turned to look at him, forcing a smile I didn't quite feel. "You know how the pack sees me. Children are told not to play with me because they think bad luck might rub off on them. The warriors laugh every time I step onto the training field. Even the elders look at me like the Moon Goddess made a mistake." "They're wrong." "Maybe." His gaze lingered. Long enough to make me wonder what he wasn't saying. There was something different about the way he stared at me today, almost as though he wanted to say something but couldn't find the courage to do it. Before either of us could speak again, the sound of a horn echoed across the valley. "The morning training." Cassian groaned dramatically as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I was hoping Beta Rowan might forget." I stared at him in disbelief. "You're the future Alpha." "Exactly." "And?" "I should be setting a good example by arriving fashionably late." I burst into laughter. "You are unbelievable." "I've heard that before." We started walking down the hill together, taking the narrow path that led back toward the village. It had become a habit over the years. Whenever life became too loud, we came here. This old oak tree had listened to almost every secret we'd ever shared. Well... almost every secret. "You'll be busy tomorrow," I said after a while. "The Moon Ceremony?" I nodded. "The whole pack has been talking about it for weeks." "They always do." "You don't sound excited." He slipped his hands into his pockets as he looked ahead. "There's a lot to think about." "I suppose becoming Alpha comes with endless responsibilities." "It does." "You'll also find your mate." The words left my mouth more casually than they felt. For some reason, saying them made my chest tighten. Cassian didn't reply. I frowned slightly when I noticed his jaw tighten almost instantly, the playful smile he'd worn moments ago disappearing completely. "Did I say something wrong?" "No." "You look like I did." He forced a smile. "I'm just tired." It wasn't convincing. Not even a little. Cassian had never been good at lying to me. For the first time in years, it felt like something stood between us, something neither of us knew how to name. As we reached the entrance of the village, people immediately stopped what they were doing to greet Cassian. They bowed respectfully as he walked past, smiling proudly at the man who would soon become their Alpha. The smiles disappeared the moment their eyes landed on me. A woman quickly pulled her little daughter closer. An elderly man shook his head before muttering something under his breath, and two young warriors laughed as they walked past us. "Wolfless." The single word wasn't shouted. It didn't have to be. It still found its mark. I lowered my eyes and kept walking as though I hadn't heard them. Beside me, Cassian stopped. "Apologize." His voice was calm, but there was steel beneath it. The two warriors froze. One of them let out an awkward laugh. "We were only joking, Alpha." "I wasn't." Silence settled over the street as the two men exchanged nervous glances. After a long moment, one of them finally met my eyes. "...Sorry." I nodded politely. "It's alright." Cassian looked at me, his expression hardening. "No," he said quietly. "It isn't." For some reason, those words hurt more than every insult I'd heard that morning, because deep down, we both knew he couldn't protect me forever. I forced a smile, hoping it would convince him I was fine, but Cassian knew me too well. He always had. He studied my face for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh, the kind he only made whenever he knew I was pretending. Without saying another word, he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small paper bag before holding it out to me. "What's this?" I asked, taking it from him. "I stole it." I raised an eyebrow before opening the bag. The sweet smell of warm honey buns immediately reached my nose, and I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped me. "You robbed the kitchen again?" "They were fresh." "So your solution was to commit another crime?" "It sounds less serious when you call it borrowing." I shook my head, trying to hide my smile as I tore off a small piece of the bun. "One day the cooks are going to catch you." "They already know." "And they still let you?" "They said it's easier than listening to me make excuses." Another laugh escaped me. Moments like this always reminded me of the little boy Cassian used to be before he became the future Alpha, before everyone started expecting perfection from him. Around me, he was still the same reckless child who climbed trees, jumped into rivers, and somehow convinced me to join every ridiculous adventure he came up with. We continued walking through the village while sharing the honey bun between us. The closer we got to the training grounds, the louder everything became. Warriors shouted instructions to one another, children ran across the open field pretending to be heroes from old stories, and women decorated the streets with white flowers for tomorrow's Moon Ceremony. Every smile I saw reminded me what tomorrow meant. The Moon Goddess would reveal everyone's fate. I looked down at the half-eaten bun in my hands before quietly asking, "Do you think she forgot me?" Cassian stopped walking. His eyes held mine. There was something in his eyes that made my heart beat a little faster. Sadness. Regret. Maybe even guilt. Whatever it was, it disappeared so quickly that I almost convinced myself I'd imagined it. "The Moon Goddess doesn't forget her children," he said. "Then why am I the only one without a wolf?" "I don't know." His answer was honest, and somehow that hurt more than if he had lied. "I used to pray every night," I admitted with a small smile that didn't quite reach my eyes. "When I was little, I thought if I prayed hard enough, I'd wake up one morning and finally hear my wolf talking to me." "And now?" "Now I pray for different things." "What things?" I glanced at him before quietly shrugging. "I pray that tomorrow doesn't hurt." He didn't answer. Instead, he reached over and gently brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face. His fingers lingered for just a second before he slowly pulled his hand back. It was such a small gesture, one he'd done countless times while we were growing up, yet somehow it felt different today. Heat spread beneath my skin. "Nyra..." he began quietly. I looked up at him. For one impossible moment, the entire village seemed to disappear. The voices around us faded into the background as he held my gaze. His lips parted slightly, as though he wanted to say something important, but no words came out. "What is it?" I whispered. He took a slow breath before shaking his head. "Nothing." I frowned. "Cassian, you're acting strange today." "I've just been thinking." "About tomorrow?" His lips pressed into a thin line almost instantly. "Yeah," he answered after a pause. "About tomorrow." Cassian had never hidden things from me before. If something bothered him, I was always the first person he told. Today felt different. It felt like there was an invisible wall between us, one I couldn't see but could somehow feel growing taller with every passing minute. A loud voice suddenly echoed across the training grounds. "Alpha Cassian!" We both turned toward the sound. Beta Rowan was walking quickly in our direction with two elders beside him. Their expressions were unusually serious, and they barely spared me a glance before stopping in front of Cassian. "The council is waiting," Rowan said. "They've been looking for you." Cassian nodded once. "I'll be there." "The matter cannot wait." "I said I'll be there." Rowan lowered his head respectfully before leading the elders away without another word. Cassian watched them leave before turning back to me. The warmth that usually filled his eyes had disappeared again, replaced by something I couldn't understand. "I have to go." "I figured." "I'm sorry." I forced another smile. "You don't have to apologize. Future Alphas are busy people." He didn't smile back. Instead, he stepped closer until only a small distance separated us. For a heartbeat, I thought he was going to hug me. Instead, he lifted his hand and gently squeezed mine. "Take care of yourself today." "I always do." "No." His voice became quieter. "Promise me." A nervous laugh escaped me. "Why are you making it sound like the world is ending?" His grip around my hand tightened ever so slightly. "Just promise me." I searched his face. Whatever he was hiding, it scared him. "I promise." Only then did he let go. He stared at me for another second before turning around and walking toward the council hall without looking back. I remained where I was long after he disappeared from sight. Watching him walk away felt strangely familiar, almost like goodbye. I had no idea that by this time tomorrow, the boy who had been my best friend for twenty-one years would stand before the entire Ashthorne Pack... and break my heart.