Rejected by My Alpha Mate

White silk. White roses. White lies. Sera stood at the entrance of the park hall, her fingers brushing the Luna gown she'd worn for the first time that morning. The fabric felt like a promise. Tonight, after the ceremony, Dax would mark her. Tonight, their bond would be complete. Tonight. Her gaze found him across the hall. Dax stood at the altar, his dark hair combed back, his jaw sharp enough to cut glass. Five years they'd waited for this. Five years of stolen glances and quiet conversations and nights spent talking until dawn. He caught her eye. A small nod. Just for her. *Soon*, she thought. *Soon you're mine, and I'm yours and nothing in this world can change that.* The doors burst open. Not the soft click of a servant entering. Not the gentle sound of musicians beginning the processional. A crash. A bang. The heavy wooden doors slamming against the walls as Pack Elder Council strode in, their faces carved from stone. Silence fell. Fifteen guards. Six elders. And at the front — Elder Vance, his silver beard trembling with barely contained outrage. "What's happening?" Sera's mother tugged at her sleeve. "Sera, what's—" "Stay here." Sera's voice came out steady. Too steady. "Whatever this is, stay back." Elder Vance didn't wait for the music to stop. He walked straight to the altar, stopping between Dax and Sera like a blade cutting through silk. "Alpha Dax," His voice echoed through the hall. "Before this union is consecrated, the Council has evidence that must be presented. Evidence of treason." The hall erupted. Whispers turned to gasps. Gasps turned to shouts. Sera didn't move. She watched Dax's face instead. Watched the confusion flicker across his features. Watched it dies. "Evidence?" Dax's voice was low. Dangerous. "What evidence?" Elder Vance raised a single hand. A servant projected something onto the far wall — a recording stone, ancient magic made modern. The image flickered to life. Sera. In a forest clearing. Embracing a man who wasn't Dax. The image was grainy. Distant. But clear enough to see her face. Clear enough to see her arms wrapped around a stranger. Clear enough to see her leaning in for a kiss. "That's not me." The words left her mouth before she could stop them. "Elder, that's not—" "Shut up." Elder Vance didn't even look at her. "The recording is authenticated. The date is three nights ago. Two days before the wedding." The stranger in the recording turned. Sera caught a glimpse of his face. She'd never seen him before in her life. "Elder Vance." Dax's voice cut through the chaos. Flat. Cold. "Explain." "The female has been lying about her condition for months," Vance pulled out a medical scroll. "Our healers have confirmed — she is barren. She cannot give you an heir. And instead of confessing, she planned to flee with her lover before anyone discovered the truth." "That's impossible." Sera stepped forward. "I'm not—" "The evidence speaks for itself," Vance's voice rose. "Sera Vale is guilty of fraud. Guilty of deception. Guilty of conspiring against the Iron Crest bloodline!" The crowd surged forward. Shouts of *traitor* and *liar* and *burn her* rang through the hall. Sera turned to Dax. Her mate. Her future. The only man she'd ever trusted. "Dax." She reached for him. "Dax, look at me. I don't know who that man is. I've never—" "Don't." He pulled back. His hand leaving hers like she'd burned him. "Don't say another word." "I didn't do this. You have to believe me—" "I believed you." His voice cracked on the last word. "I *believed* you, Sera. Every time you said you loved me. Every time you promised, we'd have a future. I believed all of it." His eyes were bright. Wet. And then they weren't. The warmth died. Something else took its place. "I saw what I saw." He turned away. "Get her out of my pack. Tonight." Two guards grabbed her arms. Sera didn't fight. She was too busy staring at the back of his head. The man she'd loved since she was sixteen. The man she'd given everything to. Walking away from her. Without looking back. *He didn't even ask*, she thought. *Five years. Five years together. And he didn't even ask.* They dragged her through the servant's entrance. Away from the hall. Away from the screaming crowd. Away from Dax. Her mother was crying. Her father was shouting. Neither of them could do anything. The border gates closed behind her with a sound like a coffin lid shutting. "Wait." She stopped walking. "Wait. I have a right to—" "You have nothing." The guard shoved her forward. "Traitor doesn't get rights." The forest stretched ahead. Dark. Cold. Snow beginning to fall. Sera stood at the edge of Iron Crest territory, the Luna ring still on her finger, the half-formed bond burning like something foreign in her blood. *I'm pregnant.* The thought arrived clean and cold. I was going to tell him tonight. He never gave me the chance. She looked back one more time. The park hall was lit up, music still playing. They'd started the ceremony without her. Found some other female to stand beside him. Good. She turned and walked into the trees. In the forest beyond the border, she stopped running. Her hand moved to her stomach. "I know what they're going to call you," she whispered. "I know what they're going to take from you. But I won't let them. I promise." She turned back once — toward the lights of the Iron crest — and made herself forget every single one of them.