THE ALPHA'S UNWANTED MATE

The night air was thick with the scent of pine and blood. Tonight was the night. Leo stood in the center of the Moonlight Pack’s ceremonial field, bare feet sinking into cold grass. Her heart hammered so hard she was sure the entire pack could hear it. 200 pairs of eyes watched her. It was her 18th birthday. In werewolf law, that meant one thing. The Moon Goddess would reveal your mate. “Step forward, Leo of the Omega house,” Alpha Damien Blackwood’s voice cut through the silence. Cold. Unforgiving. She stepped forward. Her wolf was weak. Everyone knew it. Omegas were born to serve, to bear children, to be claimed. She was the weakest of them all. Small. Pale. Hands that trembled when she held a tray. But tonight, she prayed. Please let it be him. Please. Damien stood on the raised stone platform. 6’3. Black suit. Eyes like molten gold. The most powerful Alpha in three territories. Her crush since she was 14. The boy who used to toss her extra bread when the kitchen ladies forgot her. The Moon Goddess’s light poured down from the sky. Silver. Blinding. Two silver threads appeared in the air. One wrapped around Leo’s wrist. The other… wrapped around Damien’s. Gasps. Fated mates. Leo’s knees went weak with relief. Tears burned her eyes. It was him. The Moon Goddess didn’t make mistakes. She looked up at him, smiling through tears. “Damien…” His jaw ticked. His golden eyes swept over her. Over her thin dress. Over her shaking hands. Over her omega scent that was too soft, too weak. Then he laughed. Not a kind laugh. “Her?” Damien’s voice boomed across the field. “The Moon Goddess gave *me* this?” The laughter rippled through the crowd. Leo froze. “I, Alpha Damien Blackwood, reject Aria as my mate.” The words hit harder than any claw. The silver thread snapped. Pain shot through her chest like someone ripped her ribs open. She gasped, falling to her knees in the grass. “An Omega?” Damien continued, disgust curling his lip. “The weakest wolf in the pack? I will not be tied to trash. I deserve an Alpha female. A Luna who can stand beside me, not a girl who faints at the sight of blood.” “No…” Leo whispered. Her wolf was whining inside her, hurt, confused. *That’s our mate. That’s our mate.* “Get her out of my sight,” Damien ordered. “Before I’m sick.” Two beta guards grabbed her arms and dragged her away. The last thing she heard was Damien’s voice. “The Moon Goddess is cruel. But I am not bound by her mistakes.” --- Leo didn’t go home. Home was a small, rotting house on the edge of pack territory. Home was where her stepmother told her she ate too much. Where her half-sister stole her clothes. She ran to the border. To the river. She screamed. Once. Twice. Until her throat was raw and her wolf went silent. Rejected. By her fated mate. In front of everyone. The mark that should’ve appeared on her neck stayed blank. Ashamed. She was 18 and already broken. --- One month later. Leo was throwing up in the bathroom of the pack diner where she worked 14 hours a day. “Ugh, she’s pregnant again,” one of the waitresses muttered. “Probably some rogue.” Leo froze, hand on the sink. Pregnant? She stumbled to the dollar store on her break and bought 3 pregnancy tests. All 3 were positive. Her hands shook. No. No no. Omegas could only get pregnant from their mate. During the moon. The one night she thought Damien might touch her. The night before the ceremony, when he’d found her crying behind the kitchens. He’d kissed her. Once. Hard. Desperate. “Don’t tell anyone,” he’d whispered. Then he left. And now this. A baby. His baby. Aria pressed both hands to her stomach. A tiny, impossible life. The only thing Damien Blackwood could never reject. Her phone buzzed. Unknown number. Text: We need to talk. Now. - D Her blood went cold. Outside the diner window, a black Maybach was parked across the street. Tinted windows. Damien was here. And he knew. --- END OF CHAPTER 1