THE REJECTED AND FORGOTTEN
Chapter One:
The scent of herbs and blood clung to Selene’s hands as she scrubbed the infirmary table, the rough cloth dragging over the worn wood. It didn’t matter how hard she worked—she would always be invisible here. A rejected Omega. Unwanted. Weak.
She had learned that lesson when her mate, the Beta’s son, had spat in her face and chosen another. That had been three years ago, and she had buried the pain deep.
A sharp knock cut through the silence.
Before she could answer, the door flew open, and Lilith strutted in like she owned the place.
Selene tensed. Lilith had always been beautiful—raven-black hair, piercing green eyes—but tonight, there was something different about her. Her aura was smug, overpowering, wrong.
Lilith’s lips curled into a slow, victorious smile. “You won’t believe what just happened.”
Selene exhaled slowly, already exhausted. “Then don’t tell me.”
Lilith ignored her, stepping closer until she was inches away. “The Alpha King arrived tonight,” she purred. “He caught a scent—a mate bond—and guess who he’s claiming?”
Selene’s stomach twisted, though she kept her face blank. “Congratulations,” she muttered.
Lilith leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper. “You should congratulate yourself too, Selene. After all, it’s your scent he smelled.”
Selene’s breath hitched. What?
Lilith smirked, dragging a delicate finger down Selene’s arm. “Oh, don’t look so shocked. I just… borrowed a little of what was yours.”**
**
Selene yanked her arm back, her pulse thundering. “What the hell did you do?”
Lilith sighed dramatically. “Relax. I only used a little magic. Just enough to make sure the Alpha King saw me instead of…” She gestured at Selene with an unimpressed glance. “…you.”
Rage bubbled in Selene’s chest. “You stole my scent?”
Lilith laughed. “Stole? No, no, I simply corrected fate. Do you really think an Omega like you could ever handle the Alpha King? You’re already damaged goods. You wouldn’t even know what to do with a mate like him.”
Selene clenched her fists. This wasn’t just betrayal—this was cruelty.
Lilith sighed, looking at her nails as if this conversation bored her. “You should thank me, really. I saved you from more rejection. Do you think he’d actually want you once he saw what you are? Weak. Forgotten. Unwanted.”
Selene’s wolf growled in her mind, the raw humiliation cutting like a blade. But she refused to give Lilith the satisfaction of seeing her break.
Instead, she tilted her head, feigning indifference. “You know what, Lilith? Keep him.”
Lilith faltered for half a second, as if she expected a fight. Then she laughed. “Oh, I will. And once he marks me, the bond will be irreversible.”
She turned, walking toward the door. “Oh, and Selene?” She glanced back, a wicked smile playing on her lips. “Don’t embarrass yourself by coming to the claiming ceremony. There’s no place for you there.”
The door slammed shut behind her.
Selene stood in the empty room, heart pounding.
She should let it go. She should accept it, move on like she always did.
But something in her snapped.
No.
She had lost too much. She had been pushed aside too many times. She would not let this stand.
Lilith had taken what was hers.
And Selene was going to take it back.
---
