REJECTED BY THE ALPHA, CLAIMED BY HIS RIVAL

"I reject you." The words fell from Alpha Kael Blackwood's lips just as I opened my mouth to tell him I was carrying his child. For one second... I forgot how to breathe. The Moonstone Hall disappeared. The hundreds of wolves surrounding us disappeared. Even the full moon shining through the enormous windows disappeared. There was only Kael. And those three words. I reject you. My fingers slowly curled against my stomach. Inside me... His child slept. A child Kael didn't know existed. A child I had planned to tell him about tonight. Tonight was supposed to be our mating ceremony. Instead... It had become my execution. "Kael..." My voice barely sounded like my own. His golden eyes remained cold. Too cold. "I, Kael Blackwood, Alpha of the Nightfang Pack..." His voice echoed through the silent hall. "...reject Amara Vale as my fated mate." The bond snapped. Pain exploded through my body. I screamed. My knees struck the marble floor. Invisible claws seemed to tear through my chest, ripping something apart from the inside. My wolf howled. Not with anger. With agony. He is killing us. I pressed one trembling hand against my chest. The other remained against my stomach. "Why?" Kael looked down at me. For three years, I had imagined this moment differently. I had imagined his eyes softening when the Moon Goddess confirmed our bond. I had imagined him taking my hand. Pulling me closer. Calling me his mate. Tonight... I had expected to become his Luna. Instead, I was kneeling before him like something he wanted to throw away. I searched his face. For love. For regret. For anything. I found nothing. "You are not strong enough to stand beside me." The entire hall fell silent. Then someone laughed. Quietly. Cruelly. Heat rushed into my face. Weak. That was what they believed I was. Amara Vale. The girl whose wolf had never fully awakened. The girl who had spent three years loving Alpha Kael Blackwood. The girl he had just rejected before the entire Nightfang Pack. A woman stepped closer. Vivienne. Her crimson dress swept across the marble floor. The color was impossible to ignore. Red. The color reserved for an Alpha's chosen Luna. My dress was white. Her victory dress was crimson. And suddenly... I understood. She had known. Maybe everyone had. Everyone... Except me. Vivienne's fingers curled possessively around Kael's arm. "At least you finally know your place." Something inside me cracked. Kael's eyes flickered. "Vivienne." But she smiled. "You really thought the Alpha would choose you?" My jaw tightened. I refused to look away. Vivienne leaned closer. "You should be grateful." Her voice dropped. "At least he allowed you to stay here as long as you did." My wolf whimpered. I wanted to scream. I wanted to shift. I wanted to tear every cruel smile from every face surrounding me. But my wolf was too weak. The rejection had weakened us both. Kael stepped forward. "Enough." Vivienne immediately fell silent. Of course she did. Everyone listened to the Alpha. Even me. Or at least... I used to. Kael looked directly at me. Something moved behind his expression. For one foolish heartbeat... Hope rose inside me. Then he spoke again. "You will leave Nightfang territory before sunrise." The hope died. Again. I stared at him. "You're banishing me?" His jaw tightened. But he didn't answer. And that silence was answer enough. A cold laugh escaped me. Three years. I had given him three years. Three years of love. Three years of loyalty. Three years of believing that fate had brought us together. And now... He couldn't even allow me to remain in his pack. Slowly, I pushed myself to my feet. Pain ripped through my body. My vision blurred. But I stayed standing. Not for Kael. Not for the wolves watching me. For the tiny heartbeat inside me. My hand returned to my stomach. Kael didn't notice. Neither did Vivienne. Good. They didn't deserve to know. Not yet. "Fine." Kael frowned slightly. Perhaps he expected me to beg. Perhaps he expected tears. Perhaps he wanted to watch me fight for him. Instead... I smiled. It was broken. But it was a smile. "Congratulations, Alpha." Vivienne's expression changed. Kael's eyes narrowed. Then I turned toward the enormous doors. Behind me... "Amara." I stopped. Damn my heart. Even after everything... The sound of my name in his voice still had power over me. For one stupid second, I wondered if he had changed his mind. I turned slowly. Kael stood exactly where I had left him. Vivienne's hand remained around his arm. "Leave before sunrise," he said. "Don't make me send someone after you." The last piece of hope inside me died. I nodded once. "Don't worry." My voice shook. But I continued. "I won't give you the trouble." Then I walked away. This time... I didn't look back. Rain began falling before I reached the edge of Nightfang territory. By the time I crossed the final border, I was soaked. My white dress was covered in mud. My feet were bleeding. And my wolf had become frighteningly quiet. "Say something." Nothing. I stumbled through the forest. One step. Then another. Then another. My hand remained against my stomach. "I'm sorry," I whispered. The words were not meant for Kael. They weren't meant for the Moon Goddess. They were meant for the tiny life inside me. "I thought I could give you a family." My throat tightened. Rain ran down my face like tears. "But I promise..." I pressed both hands against my stomach. "I will protect you." A howl echoed through the forest. I froze. My wolf suddenly stirred. Not with fear. With terror. Run. My heart began pounding. I turned. Nothing. Only darkness between the trees. Then another howl sounded. Closer. My body went cold. They're coming. I looked toward the distant Nightfang border. Kael had banished me. So why... Why were wolves following me? A branch snapped behind me. I spun around. "Who's there?" Silence. Then footsteps. Slow. Unhurried. Coming toward me. My wolf screamed inside my mind. RUN, AMARA! I tried. I truly did. But my legs suddenly gave out. I fell against the wet earth. A shadow moved between the trees. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dressed completely in black. Rain ran through his dark hair. For several seconds... I couldn't see his face. Then lightning flashed. And I saw his eyes. Silver. Not wolf-gold. Not human brown. Silver. My blood turned cold. Every wolf in the Seven Territories knew what silver eyes meant. No... They knew who possessed them. The stranger stopped before me. His gaze moved slowly over my soaked dress. Then... His eyes dropped to my stomach. My heart stopped. "You..." I tried to move away. "Stay away from me." He didn't move. Instead... He inhaled. Once. His entire body became still. The expression on his face changed. Shock. Then something darker. Something dangerous. My wolf whimpered. The man finally spoke. His voice was deep. Controlled. Deadly calm. "Interesting." I swallowed. "Who are you?" He crouched before me. I immediately pressed my back against the dead tree behind me. His silver eyes held mine. And somewhere deep inside me... my wolf began trembling. Because I knew that face. Every wolf knew that face. He was the one Alpha Kael Blackwood had been warned never to challenge. The Alpha whose territory controlled the northern border. The man his enemies called a monster. And those under his protection called a king. Alpha Ronan Ashbourne. Kael Blackwood's greatest rival. Ronan's gaze dropped toward my stomach again. Then returned to my face. His jaw tightened. "You're carrying an Alpha's child." My heart slammed against my ribs. I backed away. "How do you know that?" His expression didn't change. "Because I can smell the heir's blood." My hands immediately covered my stomach. "Don't come near me." A faint smile touched his lips. "No." My body trembled. "I don't need your help." Ronan looked toward the darkness behind me. Another howl echoed. Closer this time. His expression turned cold. "That isn't true." I followed his gaze. Shapes moved between the trees. Wolves. Nightfang wolves. My blood froze. "They're following me." Ronan looked down at me. "They rejected you." His voice was quiet. "But now they're hunting you." "Why?" Ronan didn't answer immediately. Instead... He stepped closer. My wolf screamed. But not from fear. From something else. Something I didn't understand. Ronan stopped directly before me. Then his silver eyes narrowed. "Tell me something, Amara Vale." My breath caught. I had never told him my name. "How do you know who I am?" A slow smile appeared on his face. The kind of smile that warned you to run. "I've been looking for you for three years." My heart stopped. "What?" Another howl tore through the forest. Closer. Ronan looked toward the approaching Nightfang wolves. Then back at me. And for the first time... I noticed something in his expression. Not surprise. Recognition. As if he had finally found something he had lost. Something he had been searching for. He leaned closer. His voice became a whisper. "And now I understand why Kael Blackwood was stupid enough to let you go." My throat tightened. "What do you mean?" Ronan's eyes dropped to my stomach one final time. Then he looked directly into mine. "Because you're not carrying his greatest weakness." The Nightfang wolves burst through the trees. Ronan stood. A dangerous smile slowly appeared on his face. Then he looked down at me. "You're carrying his greatest mistake." And the hunt began.