Chapter 1: Marked by Fate
Reina’s POV
Pain. That’s the first thing I feel as I wake up. My back aches from the hard, cold floor of the servant quarters, and my wrists are sore from yesterday’s punishments. I don’t need to look to know they’ve bruised. It’s always the same.
I shift slightly, wincing as my muscles protest. The faint light of dawn seeps through the small, dirty window, illuminating the cramped room where I sleep. "Room" is generous it’s more like a closet, with a thin, tattered blanket and a bucket of water to clean myself.
This is my life. This is all I have ever known.
Born into the Silverclaw Pack, I was supposed to have a normal life as the daughter of a respected beta family. But from the moment I was born, I was different. Smaller. Weaker. Omega is the lowest rank in our pack. My father, Beta Marcus, never hid his disappointment, and my mother, Lillian, barely acknowledged me. I became nothing more than a slave in my own home.
And today is no different.
A loud banging on the door makes me jolt upright.
"Get up, mutt!" a sharp voice sneers. I recognize it immediately Clara, the Alpha’s sister and my tormentor. "The Alpha wants you in the main hall. Now!"
I scramble to my feet, my heart pounding. Alpha Luke Wolfhart rarely calls for me. Usually, I’m ignored unless someone needs an errand done or a punching bag. Whatever this is, it can’t be good.
As I rush to obey, I pull on the tattered dress I wore yesterday, my fingers trembling. The whispers of the pack follow me as I step outside. Eyes filled with disgust. Pity. Hatred.
They don’t see me as one of them. I am nothing.
The main hall is grand, its towering pillars carved with the history of the Silverclaw Pack. I keep my eyes down as I step inside, my bare feet barely making a sound against the polished stone floor.
At the center stands Alpha Luke, his broad shoulders squared, his dark eyes cold as they land on me. My mate. Or at least, he should be.
I’ve known for months now. The moment I turned eighteen, my wolf stirred, whispering his name in my soul. Mate. Mate. Mate.
But I never told him. I never dared.
And now, standing before him, I understand why.
His lips curl in disgust. "Reina Zane," he says, his voice echoing through the hall. "I, Alpha Luke Wolfhart, reject you as my mate."
The words hit me like a physical blow. My knees buckle, my breath catching in my throat. It hurts. Goddess, it hurts.
Rejection isn’t just words it’s a severing, a ripping apart of something deep inside me. My wolf howls in agony, a sound only I can hear.
But Luke isn’t done. He steps closer, towering over me. "You are nothing but an omega, a disgrace to our pack. The Moon Goddess must have made a mistake pairing us."
I clutch my chest, fighting the urge to beg. No, I won’t beg. Not for him. Not for anyone.
The pack members snicker behind me.
"Did she think she’d be our Luna?" someone mocks.
"Pathetic."
Tears burn in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I force myself to stand straight, to look Luke in the eye even as my heart shatters. "Then I accept your rejection, Alpha," I whisper.
A smirk tugs at his lips. "Good. Now get out of my sight."
I turn on unsteady feet and walk away, my head held high.
But inside? Inside, I am breaking.
I don’t know how long I have been wandering, numb, and lost in my pain. My body aches, my wolf is silent, and my heart is nothing more than a shattered shell.
Then, suddenly, a wave of power washes over me.
A presence so strong, so commanding, that every fiber of my being trembles. A new scent fills the air smoky cedarwood and dominance.
The pack members around me freeze, their gazes snapping toward the entrance of the Silverclaw Pack’s borders.
And then I see him.
A tall, imposing figure steps forward, his black hair tousled by the wind, his piercing blue eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that steals my breath.
His voice is deep, and authoritative, and sends a shiver down my spine.
"Mate."
The Alpha King has come for me.
