FATED TO A RUTHLESS ALPHA

CHAPTER ONE SELENE’S POV I used to believe the Moon Goddess had a plan for everyone. That every werewolf was born with a path carved out in the stars, leading them straight to the mate who would love them unconditionally. I believed it even when the whispers started, when the pitying looks turned to sneers, when my own pack began to treat me like an outcast. I believed it right up until the moment Kieran looked me in the eye and rejected me. It wasn’t the rejection itself that shattered me—it was the way he did it. The indifference in his voice, the way he stood in the center of the packhouse, surrounded by warriors and council members, making a spectacle of it. As if breaking me wasn’t enough. As if he needed an audience to witness my downfall. “You are weak, Selene,” he had said, his deep voice carrying across the hall, void of any warmth. “You bring nothing to this pack. No power. No mate bond. No future.” I remember the way my breath hitched in my throat, my entire body trembling, but not from anger. Not yet. It was the disbelief first. The raw, gut-wrenching pain of it. I had spent my entire life preparing to be his. I had trained, I had fought, I had bled for this pack. For him. And in one breath, he erased everything. “You were never meant to be my Luna,” Kieran continued, his gaze as cold as the night air. “And from this day forward, you are no longer welcome in this pack.” You are weak, Selene.” His voice rang out, clear and emotionless. “I’ve waited for years—waited to feel something for you. A spark. A pull. Anything. But there’s nothing.” My nails dug into the dirt as I stared up at him, my heart shattering with every word. “We were supposed to be mates,” I choked out. “You said—” “I was wrong,” he cut me off sharply. Wrong. The word lodged itself in my throat like a blade. “Do you know how pathetic you look right now?” a voice sneered from the crowd. I didn’t even need to turn to know who it was. Celeste. My best friend. Or at least, she had been. I forced myself to look at her, my stomach twisting at the sight. She was standing too close to Kieran. Her long auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders, her lips curled in amusement as she leaned into him—familiar, possessive. No. No, it couldn’t be. Something inside me cracked. I scrambled to my feet, my vision blurred with unshed tears. “Kieran,” my voice trembled, but I didn’t care. I was desperate. “Tell me this isn’t—tell me she isn’t—” His silence was my answer. A laugh bubbled from Celeste’s lips, light and airy, as if this was all some cruel joke. “Oh, sweet, naïve Selene,” she cooed, stepping closer, her nails grazing Kieran’s forearm. “Did you really think he was waiting for you?” My breath hitched. “Celeste…” My voice was barely a whisper. I searched her face for something—remorse, guilt—but there was none. Just satisfaction. “She’s stronger than you, Selene,” Kieran said, his voice quiet, final. “She’s my Luna now.” I staggered back as if he had struck me. “She’s not your mate,” I said, my voice breaking. “I am.” Kieran exhaled, almost impatiently. “Then why don’t I feel it? Why don’t I crave you, Selene?” He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice just enough so only I could hear. “Why is it that when I touch her, I feel everything I should have felt for you?” I wanted to scream. To shift. To tear them apart. But I couldn’t Because the Moon Goddess had made her choice, and Kieran had made his. The pack watched in silence as I stood there, utterly broken. I had always imagined this moment differently. I had thought that when I found my mate, I would feel loved, cherished. Instead, I felt discarded. Unwanted. “Selene of the Crescent Moon Pack,” the Beta’s voice cut through the night, formal and cold, “by order of Alpha Kieran, you are hereby banished. You have until sunrise to leave the territory.” The words barely registered. Banished. It didn’t feel real until Kieran turned his back to me. Until Celeste smirked. Until the warriors stepped forward, ready to drag me away if I didn’t leave on my own. I sucked in a shaky breath, my hands curling into fists. I wanted to fight. Goddess, I wanted to. But I had already lost. I wanted to beg. I wanted to drop to my knees and plead, to ask him why. But I had seen the way the pack had shifted behind him, how they stood in silent agreement. There was no saving this. No saving me. A single word would have undone me, so I swallowed my grief and turned away before the first tear could fall. They pushed me and made me walk out of the packhouse doors, past the warriors who once called me family, and into the darkness of the forest. No one stopped me. I wasn’t sure how long I ran, only that my lungs burned and my legs ached by the time I collapsed against a fallen tree. The night was still, the moon a cruel witness to my shame. Banished. Rejected. Alone. The cold seeped into my bones, but it was nothing compared to the emptiness clawing at my chest. Wolves weren’t meant to be without a pack. The silence felt suffocating, and for the first time, I understood what it meant to be nothing. But the world wasn’t done with me yet. A rustle in the bushes made my entire body tense. I knew I should have been on my feet, ready to run, but I was exhausted—physically, emotionally. I barely had the strength to lift my head when the figure emerged from the trees. I had never seen eyes like his before. A deep, piercing gold that gleamed even in the darkness. He stepped into the moonlight, and that was when I saw him properly—broad shoulders, dark hair falling over sharp features, his expression unreadable. He wasn’t from my pack. That much was obvious. And yet, something about the way he watched me, studied me, made my heart lurch in my chest. Then, he spoke. “Lost, little wolf?” His voice was smooth, almost lazy, but there was something underneath it. Something dangerous. I should have run. I should have shifted and disappeared into the trees, but I didn’t. Maybe because there was nowhere left for me to go. Maybe because, for the first time since my entire world had shattered, I wasn’t entirely alone. I met his gaze, forced my voice to stay steady. “I’m not lost.” The words tasted like acid. His head tilted slightly, as if considering something. Then, he crouched in front of me, close enough that I could see the faint scar running across his jawline. “Well then,” he murmured, a slow smirk curving his lips. “That makes two of us.” I should have been afraid. I should have known better. But in that moment, with the weight of betrayal still heavy on my chest, all I felt was curiosity. And that was how it began. The night I lost everything was also the night I met Damien.