His Brother's Rejected Mate

Broken Bond

Selene woke up to whispers. Faint at first, barely audible, yet sharp enough to cut through the haze of pain clouding her mind. Her body ached as if torn apart from the inside, her muscles rebelling against even the smallest movement. A fire of exhaustion and humiliation burned in her chest, spreading through her limbs. Her head throbbed with relentless intensity, each pulse echoing the cruel words that had shattered her world only hours ago.

Blurring vision revealed a circle of wolves surrounding her. Some stared with curiosity, others with pity, but a few, mercilessly, with amusement. Every gaze seemed to pierce her, reminding her that the pack, the very family she had known her entire life, was now a chorus of judgment.

“That’s the girl the Goddess gave our Alpha?” a voice sneered.

“She’s… weak. He was right to reject her,” whispered another, laughter hiding behind a strained breath.

Her stomach churned violently. Her chest tightened as though her ribs were being crushed. Her wolf wailed inside her, pressing against her restless and wounded. Her Instinct screamed at her to fight, to defend herself, to howl in protest, but she was trapped in her own body, a fragile vessel for heartbreak too immense to process.

Selene staggered to her feet. Her legs trembling, her knees weak, with tears threatening to spill, but she refused. She wanted to scream at the world, to demand justice from the Goddess who had chosen this cruel fate, but there was nothing to do except endure.

Then she saw him.

Ethan.

Her chosen mate Alpha Ethan Blackmoon, radiating a dominance that seemed to draw the moonlight to him. His sharp blue eyes swept across the pack, and when they landed on her, the air itself seemed to tighten. She felt the bond instantly, the powerful mate bond twist inside her, sharp as shattered glass.

At his side stood Ladana, the golden warrior of the pack, a she-wolf whose beauty and power radiated with predatory perfection. Her shoulders were straight, her stance unwavering, and her amber eyes locked on Selene with a mixture of triumph and possessiveness.

Ethan’s hand settled possessively on Ladana’s shoulder. The simple touch was enough to send a jolt of agony through Selene’s chest. Her instincts, and every memory of what should have been hers, flared in pain.

“This is the woman I will make my Luna,” Ethan declared, his voice carrying across the clearing like thunder, commanding attention. “Not the weak mistake the Goddess forced on me.”

The pack erupted into cheers, laughter, claps, and whispers. Some celebrated her failure. Some jeered at her humiliation. Others nodded in approval of Ethan’s judgment. Selene’s knees buckled, and she barely managed to steady herself against a tree.

Her wolf wailed intently inside her chest, claws scraping her ribs. The bond pulsed, it was weak but agonizing, reminding her that she was the one who truly belonged to him, and that he had casted her aside like nothing. The pain was unbearable. She wanted to collapse entirely, to curl into herself and disappear beneath the weight of her shame, but survival instincts propelled her forward.

With shaky legs, she turned and fled.

The forest swallowed her as she ran blindly. Branches slashed at her arms and face, leaving streaks of blood across her skin. Her gown snagged on roots, tearing, but she paid it no attention. Each step pounded with agony and adrenaline, her lungs burning, her wolf screaming in panic and frustration.

Her sobs were muffled by the rustle of leaves and the whispering wind. Each inhale was sharp, stinging her throat, yet each exhale brought relief, a temporary escape from the weight of the clearing, the pack, and the humiliation.

She ran until her legs gave way. Collapsing against a massive tree, she pressed her palms to the rough bark. Pain radiated from scrapes and bruises, mingling with the ache in her heart. Blood trickled from her hands, dripping to the forest floor, mingling with the damp earth.

“Why me, Moon Goddess?” she whispered, her voice hoarse and trembling. “Why give me him only to destroy me?”

The wind shifted. Something in the air changed, a subtle, almost imperceptible brush against her senses that made her hackles rise. Pine, earth, decay. And then… a smell that made her pulse quicken.

Eyes. Glowing and malicious eyes circling her from the shadows.

Rogues.

Her body froze. Her wolf hissed inside her, her teeth bared, with claws scratching against her muscles. Adrenaline surged, but her body was weak, trembling from exhaustion and grief. Panic clawed at her chest, tight and relentless. She had nowhere to go. No one would help her. The pack had laughed at her humiliation, and Ethan....rhe only mate she had known had abandoned her.

The rogues emerged from the shadows, hulking shapes that seemed to blend with the darkness. Their glowing eyes reflected the pale moonlight, their fangs glinting with anticipation. They circled her slowly, stalking their prey. Each step they took echoed in Selene’s mind like a drumbeat of doom.

Her wolf pressed outward, trying to ignite the full power of their instincts. Selene shivered, feeling her senses sharpen even as her body trembled. She could hear every breath of the rogues, feel every shift in the earth, every snap of a twig beneath their claws. Her heartbeat was deafening in her ears.

She pressed her back against the tree, seeking any kind of shelter, any kind of safety. But the forest seemed alive, closing in around her. The shadows stretched, twisted, hiding the rogues, hiding the threat she could not yet see fully.

A low growl rumbled in the distance. One rogue stepped closer, muscles coiled, ready to strike. Another followed, circling in a predator’s rhythm. Selene’s wolf whimpered desperately, nudging her to fight or flee. Her hands shook violently, her palms pressed to the tree as if it could anchor her.

Selene tried to summon courage. She had to survive. She had to escape. Her wolf pushed against the pain, urging her forward, forcing energy into her trembling limbs. But she was weak, starving, and emotionally raw. Every scar on her body, every bruise, every tear of flesh seemed magnified by the torment in her heart.

The rogues drew closer, their movements synchronized. Their fangs caught the moonlight as they circled, tasting the fear radiating from her. Their growls were low and rumbling, vibrating through the ground, vibrating through Selene herself.

A sudden snap of a branch behind her made her turn around sharply. Her heart skipped a beat. Another rogue? Or a trick of the wind? She didn’t know. She didn’t have time to reason. Panic clawed upward, hot and suffocating, as she realized her very survival depended on action she didn’t know if she could take.

Her wolf wailed, then howled; a deep, mournful, furious sound that cut through the night. It was not weak. It was not submissive. It was primal, loud and impossible to ignore. The howl echoed through the forest, and the rogues froze, their ears twitching in surprise.

Selene rose, unsteady but determined. Her bloodied hands clenched into fists. She could not....no....would not let herself be taken. Her wolf pressed outward, her instincts heightening her senses. The movements of the rogues, as well as the rustle of leaves, became clear to her. She was small, yes. She was weak. But she was alive. And she would fight.

The rogues advanced again, more cautious now. Their hunger was palpable, but so was the defiance radiating from Selene. Her body trembled, but her resolve hardened. She refused to be a victim tonight.

She pressed herself against the tree, her muscles coiled with her claws ready, and her teeth bared in preparation. The forest seemed to hold its breath. The wind stilled, leaves hung frozen. Even the moonlight seemed to sharpen, illuminating her as a lone figure standing between death and survival.

And then, they took a step closer. Her wolf growled louder with sharp teeth flashing. The rogues were ready to strike, and so was she.

Selene inhaled sharply, letting the fear, the pain, the heartbreak fuel her. She would not go quietly. She would not be broken. She would survive and prove them all wrong. And if her wolf had anything to do with it, she would rise much stronger than she had ever been before.