THE ALPHA KING’S ONE-TIME REJECTED MATE: SECOND CHANCES

The clearing was alive with laughter and music, the air was thick with the scent of pine, roasting meat, and freshly crushed herbs. A bonfire crackled in the center, casting golden light across the circle of werewolves gathered for what was supposed to be a celebration of victory and unity. But for Talia, it felt more like a stage set for her personal tragedy, complete with a spotlight and a dramatic score. She stood at the edge of it all, arms crossed over her chest, her heart fluttering unevenly like a moth caught in a windstorm. Dressed in her dark leather patrol gear, warm and durable, perfect for the cool Wyoming nights, sucked for sudden shifts—she felt out of place. Her red curls were pulled back into ceremonial braids threaded with gold, a tradition passed down from her mother. The fiery strands marked her as the daughter of Elias Graves, the former Beta of Black River. Tall at five-ten, with amber eyes and porcelain skin, she was a beautiful woman. Her wolf, Kaela, mirrored her fiery spirit, a ginger like Talia. But today, beauty felt like a curse. Her heart raced as she thought of him. Thomas. Her chosen mate. Her childhood friend. Her everything. Their parents had built this pack together—Beta Elias Graves and Alpha Jacob Calder, as close as brothers. Their families are intertwined by love and duty. While she and Thomas weren’t fated mates, they had chosen each other long ago. They had trained together, laughed together, and planned their future as Luna and Alpha side by side. Until her mother’s death. Until her father’s body was pulled from the river. Until everything began to shift. Talia had questioned her father’s death—drowning, a slip, and a fatal fall that had fractured his skull, they’d said. He was found facing down in the rocky river, drowned. But Elias Graves had never been clumsy, even in his worst moments. Since then, her relationship with Thomas’s family, especially Luna Margaret, who she had once loved like a second mother, had grown strained. Why? She didn’t know, but she had Thomas, and that had been enough. Or so she thought. This last trip, a political summit with the Northern Packs, had kept him away for three weeks—the longest separation they’d ever endured. In his absence, he’d made her acting Alpha alongside his Beta, Leon. That should’ve meant something. But Leon’s obsessive creepiness and watchfulness over Talia’s younger sister, Alina—who would soon turn eighteen and shift—set her on edge. Worse still, Thomas had grown distant. His calls became less frequent. His messages are shorter. Two weeks ago, communication had stopped entirely. Then, this morning, he mind-linked to her: Meet me at the town center by sunset. It’s important. When did he get back? Why couldn’t she or her wolf feel him? That was it. No warmth. No affection. No welcome. Just a cold, clinical message that screamed, “I’m about to ruin your life; please arrive promptly.” Her wolf, Kaela, stirred uneasily. “This doesn’t feel right,” she murmured in Talia’s mind. “Something is wrong. Ramble hasn’t spoken to me since they left.” Ramble, Thomas’s wolf, had always been playful and loud in Kaela’s mind. Now? Nothing. “I think he’s hiding something,” Kaela added. “And if Ramble won’t speak to me... this isn’t good, Talia.” Talia adjusted the leather straps across her shoulders and buried the unease deep. Maybe it was a surprise ceremony. Maybe Thomas had something planned. Maybe he was going to announce… well, she couldn’t imagine what. Then he arrived. The town had gathered, summoned to welcome the young Alpha home. Alpha Thomas Calder strode into the firelight like a storm incarnate. Strong. Poised. Unshakable. But not alone. At his side was a tall, raven-haired she-wolf clad in golden spun silk, her every movement a calculated display of grace and power. A crescent moon over a dagger was freshly inked on her collarbone—Luna's mark, characteristic of high-ranking wolves in their region. Kaela piped up in Talia’s mind, “Well, this sucks for us.” Talia shushed her sassy wolf. The tattoo was an accepted form of marking before the ceremonial mating, where blood was exchanged, and later, in private, the intimate exchange of bite marks that came with mating. That meant he had chosen her as his new Luna, and he had not mated yet, which explained why Talia did not feel the characteristic pain of betrayal when a mate was intimate with another. Kaela sarcastically added, “Oh, lucky us! He hasn’t screwed her yet, but he sure has screwed us. What a gem.” Thomas announced with pride that Mira was the daughter of a high-ranking pack from the north. Talia's breath caught. “I guess this isn’t a surprise. Loser was always an opportunist,” Kaela hissed. “That’s betrayal.” Kaela always got chatty when she felt strongly about something, but Talia found it hard to follow Thomas’s humiliating words. It was as if he were a sadist, relishing every degrading syllable. A part of her appreciated Kaela’s ramblings as a buffer, deflecting some of the pain, but she knew her wolf was just trying to protect her.