REJECTED BY THE ALPHA KING

The Prince

My wolf collapsed three miles into Darkmoor.

One second running. Next, dirt in my mouth, can’t breathe, legs useless.

The shift had drained everything. Silver markings along my spine flickered like dying embers.

Around me, the forest breathed. Alive. Watching.

Somewhere in the distance, a branch cracked. Sharp. Deliberate.

Not wind.

That voice from before, the one that called me daughter had gone quiet. But I sensed it waiting.

Get up.

My wolf didn’t respond.

Behind my ribs, the bond with Kael tugged. Weaker than before. Thread stretched too thin. Part of me wanted to follow it back.

The rest knew better.

I forced myself up. Made it ten steps. Collapsed again.

Gonna die out here because I was too proud to be someone’s secret.

Worse ways to go.

The air shifted. Pressure dropping. Too still.

My ears flattened.

Someone was here.

Footsteps. Soft. Deliberate.

I bared teeth. Growled.

The steps stopped.

“Well.” Male voice. Cultured. Amused. “This is interesting.”

A man stepped into view.

Not wolf. Moved wrong, too smooth, like gravity didn’t quite apply. The air around him shimmered faintly. Magic.

Tall. Silver-white hair catching moonlight. Ice-blue eyes. Pale skin. Sharp features.

Fae.

He studied me like a puzzle worth solving.

“You’re glowing,” he said.

I looked down. Faint silver light pulsed from my fur. Getting dimmer.

“Fascinating.” He moved closer. Testing. “First shift?”

I growled louder.

Behind him, something rustled in the shadows. Low growl answering mine. Not him.

Something else watching.

He stopped. Hands up. “Easy. Not here to hurt you.”

His smile said otherwise. Sharp. Beautiful. Dangerous.

“Though I could.” Matter of fact. “You’re barely conscious.”

My wolf tried to stand. Failed.

“But I won’t.” He crouched. Still keeping distance. “Know why?”

Not really.

“Because you’re the first interesting thing I’ve found in five years.” Those eyes studied my markings. “And that magic? Hasn’t existed here for three centuries.”

The light flickered brighter. Then dimmed.

He noticed.

“You’re dying. First shift took too much.” He straightened. “Maybe an hour before your body quits completely.”

Great.

“I could help. Or leave you here.” Casual. Like offering directions. “Your choice.”

Nobody helped for free. Especially not Fae.

“You’re wondering what I want.” Smile like he could read thoughts. “Honestly? Curiosity. You lit up Darkmoor like a beacon. Every creature with magic felt it.” He gestured at the forest. “And those markings say you’re something that shouldn’t exist.”

Silvana.

“So here’s my offer.” Expression shifted. Less amused. “I help you survive. You tell me what you are.”

My ears flattened.

“Or I leave. You die. I wonder forever.” He Shrug. “Choose.”

Another crack in the distance. Closer this time.

I tried shifting back. This time it worked barely. Bones grinding, skin burning.

Human. Naked. Shivering.

He was still there. Politely not looking.

“Well?”

“Help.” Through chattering teeth. “Please.”

“There we go.” Cloth rustled. Something soft landed on me. Cloak. “Put that on. We need to move before something worse finds you.”

Worse than him?

I wrapped the cloak around myself. Sat up. World tilted.

He steadied me. One hand on my shoulder. His touch, cool. Not cold. Different.

“Can you walk?”

“Maybe.”

He pulled me up.

Three steps. Then my knees buckled.

He caught me. Sighed. Then just picked me up. Like I weighed nothing.

“I can walk..”

“Clearly.” He started moving. Fast. “I’m Lucian. Since we’re spending time together.”

“Aria.”

“I know.”

Got my attention. “How?”

“The Alpha King was screaming your name.” Neutral expression. “Before you shifted and terrified everyone.”

Great.

“The mate bond.” Carefully casual. “I can see it. Fae see magic like that.” Pause. “It’s damaged.”

“He rejected me.”

“Gathered that.” Another pause. “Didn’t complete it though. Or you’d be dead.”

“He’s engaged to someone else.”

“Politics.” Said it like the word tasted bad. “Kings excel at that.”

Silence for a while. He moved fast. Not even winded.

The trees around us twisted wrong. Branches reaching like fingers. The wind carried a scent of copper and rot. Old death.

“Where are we going?”

“My home. What passes for it.” Glanced down. “You’ll be safe there. Relatively.”

“Relatively?”

“Nowhere’s completely safe.” His grip tightened slightly. Just for a second. “But my wards keep most things out.”

The trees got stranger. Older. Bark that looked almost like faces frozen mid-scream.

“What are you doing in Darkmoor?”

“Hiding. From my own people.”

“Why?”

“Treason. Betrayal. A sister I wouldn’t execute.” Voice went flat. “Fae courts don’t like disobedience.”

“So you’re exiled.”

“Left before they could kill me. But yes.”

Made sense.

Twenty minutes walking. Forest opened to a clearing.

I stopped breathing.

Not a building. Trees grown together. Woven into walls, rooms, archways. Living architecture pulsing green. Vines with night flowers. Stream through the center.

“Home,” Lucian said.

He carried me inside. Set me on something soft. Moss and grass but more comfortable than anything I’d known.

“Rest. I’ll get something for the drain.”

Should’ve been suspicious.

Wasn’t. Too tired.

Eyes closed.

When they opened, someone stood over me.

Not Lucian.

Woman. Silver hair. Eyes like stars. Beautiful in a way that hurt.

“Hello, daughter.”

Voice in my head. Not out loud.

I tried sitting up. Couldn’t move.

“This is a dream. A vision.” Sad smile. “I don’t have much time.”

“Who..”

“You know.” Cool fingers on my forehead. “You’ve always known.”

Moon Goddess.

“Your power woke.” She glanced over her shoulder. At something I couldn’t see. Shadow moving there. Wrong shape. “Which means his prison weakens.”

“I don’t”

“Magnus Bloodmane. The first werewolf. The one who defied me.”

Ice through my veins.

“Three hundred years I kept him locked away.” She looked back. “Your bloodline imprisoned him. You’re the only one who can do it again.”

“I can’t”

“You will. But first you learn what you are.” Her form started fading. “The Fae prince will help.”

“Why would I trust..”

“Because he knows what it’s like. Being cast out by those who should’ve chosen you.”

She was almost gone now.

“Wait”

“The bond you think is real?” Barely a whisper. “Magnus poisoned it. Kept you weak. Distracted. While he breaks free.”

Gone.

I woke gasping.

Lucian was there instantly. “Easy.”

“The Moon Goddess..”

“Spoke to you. Yes. Felt the power surge.” He handed me a cup. Glowing faint blue. “Drink.”

I did. Starlight and honey. Warmth spreading.

“Better?”

“Yeah.” I looked at him. Really looked. “She said you’d help.”

“Did she.” Sat back. “Help with what exactly?”

“Learning what I am. What I can do.” Touched my chest. Bond still there. Wrong. “She said the bond’s poisoned. Magnus…”

“Used it against you.” His expression darkened. “That would explain why it feels wrong.”

“You can tell?”

“I see it rotting inside.” Met my eyes. “Whatever you felt for him? Might not have been real. Or real but twisted.”

Stomach dropped.

Everything I felt. The pull. The certainty.

Fake?

“I’m sorry,” Lucian said.

Sounded like he meant it. But his eyes, they flickered with something else. Interest? Calculation?

Gone too fast to tell.

I sat there. Processing.

If the bond was corrupted…

“What now?” I asked.

“Now?” Sharp smile. Dangerous. “I teach you to control your power. Before it tears you apart.” Leaned forward. “That light show at the ceremony? Nothing. Just the beginning.”

“What do you get out of this?”

“Honestly?” Head tilt. “Curiosity. First Silvana in three centuries. Makes you either the most dangerous thing here or the most valuable.” Pause. “Maybe both.”

“Not an answer.”

“Only one I have.” He stood. Extended his hand. “So. Learn? Or run back to a king who chose politics and hope he changes his mind?”

I looked at his hand.

Behind Kael. The bond. Pain.

Ahead this stranger with secrets and sharp smiles.

But at least he wasn’t lying.

I took it.

“Teach me.”

Grin all teeth. “Excellent. Dawn, we start.” Pulled me up. “Fair warning this will hurt. Power like yours isn’t easy.”

“I’m used to hurt.”

“Not like this.” Headed for the door. Stopped. Looked back. “One more thing. You didn’t just wake yourself.”

“What?”

“Something else woke too. Three hundred years sleeping.” Eyes serious. “And it’s hunting you.”

“Magnus.”

“Yes.” He Grim. “So rest. Because if you can’t control your power when he finds you?” Simple. Direct. “He’ll kill you. Or corrupt you. Not sure which is worse.”

He left.

I stood there. Stranger’s home. Cursed forest. Borrowed cloak. Poisoned bond dying in my chest. Ancient evil hunting.

Should’ve been terrified.

Wasn’t.

For the first time in eighteen years she felt something other than helpless.

Felt dangerous.

Then the bond pulsed.

Sharp. Different.

Not the rot. Something else.

Kael was reaching out. Searching. I sensed him pulling at the connection like testing if it still worked.

And for just a second flash of his side. Gold eyes staring at nothing. Hands clenched. Jaw tight.

“Aria. Please. Just let me know you’re alive.”

Desperation in every word.

My breath caught.

Even poisoned, even wrong, part of me wanted to reach back. Wanted to tell him I was okay. That I…

"No”

I shoved it down. Slammed the connection shut.

The bond went quiet again. But I knew he felt that. Felt me blocking him out deliberately.

His shock. His hurt.

Good.

Let him wonder.

Let him hurt the way I hurt.

Outside, something howled. Far away but getting closer. The sound wrong. Too many voices layered together.

Lucian’s wards flared green for a second. Then settled.

Pressure in the air shifted. Like something testing the boundaries.

“Get some sleep,” his voice called from another room. “Tomorrow you learn why things in this forest are afraid of the dark.”

I lay back on the moss bed.

Closed my eyes.

And tried not to think about gold eyes and a bond that might’ve been a lie from the start.

But the forest whispered around me. Branches creaking. Wind carrying sounds that weren’t quite animal.

And somewhere in the distance, that layered howl came again.

Closer.