Rejected By My Alpha Professor

CHAPTER 1: I did not sleep that night. How could I? The words of Professor Kade Black kept ringing in my ears, over and over again, like a broken record that was designed to torture me. _I, Alpha Kade Black, reject you, Elara Moon, as my mate and Luna._ I sat on the cold floor of my tiny dorm room, room 101, the smallest room in the Omega building, hugging my knees. My dorm was at the very end of the hallway, near the garbage chute, because that's where Omegas belonged. Out of sight. My eyes were swollen from crying. My throat was raw. But the worst pain was not in my eyes or my throat. It was in my chest. It felt hollow. Empty. Like someone had reached inside and scooped out everything that made me alive. They said rejection felt like death. They were wrong. It felt worse than death. Death would have been peaceful. This was agony that kept you alive just to feel it. I kept touching my chest, where my heart was. I was waiting for my wolf to comfort me. But there was nothing. Silence. Just as it had been for nineteen years. I was truly wolfless. Truly alone. And now, I was rejected. A soft knock on the door made me jump. "Elara? Are you in there? It's me, Mia." Mia was the only friend I had made in the three hours I had been at Blackstone. She was also an Omega, with warm brown eyes and a kind smile. She had been the one who helped me up from the floor of the orientation hall when everyone else was laughing, and dragged me back to my dorm. I quickly wiped my tears. "Come in." She entered, holding a tray with two cups of hot chocolate and a small piece of bread. Her eyes widened when she saw me on the floor. "You've been sitting here all night?" she asked, placing the tray down and sitting beside me. I nodded, unable to speak. "Oh, Elara..." She sighed. "Everyone is talking about it. The whole academy. The Alpha Professor rejecting his Omega mate. It's all over the MoonChat." Of course it was. Blackstone Academy loved gossip more than it loved power. "I don't understand," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "Why would the Moon Goddess pair me with him? With an Alpha? I'm... I'm nothing." "Don't say that," Mia said firmly. "You are not nothing. And Professor Black... he is known to be cold, but what he did was cruel. Even for him." "He said I disgust him," I said, fresh tears spilling over. Mia hugged me. "He will regret it, Elara. Trust me. The Moon Goddess does not make mistakes." But it felt like a mistake. A terrible, cruel mistake. My first class was at 8 AM. Werewolf History. In Classroom 3-B. Taught by Professor Kade Black. My stomach dropped when I saw my schedule that Mia had printed for me. Of all the professors, of all the classes, it had to be his. "I can't go," I told Mia, panicking. "I can't face him. Not after yesterday." "You have to," she said. "If you don't go, you'll get marked absent, and Omegas who get three absences get expelled. And besides, hiding will make it look like you're weak." I was weak. I was the weakest. But she was right. I couldn't get expelled. I had nowhere else to go. Blackstone was my last chance. My parents had died when I was twelve, my pack had abandoned me because I was wolfless, and the human world didn't want me. This academy was the only place that accepted Omegas without a pack. At 7:55 AM, I stood outside Classroom 3-B. My hands were trembling so hard I could barely hold my books. I was wearing the standard academy uniform: a black blazer with the wolf crest, a white shirt, and a plaid skirt. It was too big for me. Everything was too big for me. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The entire class went silent. Thirty pairs of eyes turned to look at me. Thirty werewolves, mostly Betas and a few Alphas from high-ranking families. All strong. All beautiful. All with wolves. And then there was me. Whispers started instantly. "That's her. The rejected Omega." "She actually dared to show up?" "Look at her eyes, still swollen. Pathetic." I kept my head down and walked quickly to the only empty seat left, at the very back row, near the window. I had just sat down when the door slammed open. The temperature in the room dropped by ten degrees. Professor Kade Black walked in. He was wearing a black tailored suit today, not the academy robes. His black hair was slightly damp, as if he had just showered. His icy blue eyes scanned the room coldly, stopping for exactly half a second on me before moving on, as if I was nothing more than a stain on the chair. My heart started beating so loud I was sure everyone could hear it. My body, traitorous body, reacted to him instantly. The scent of cedarwood and rain filled my nose, even from this distance. My skin tingled. My cheeks flushed. Mate. My soul whispered again. No. He rejected you. He doesn't want you. He placed his books on his desk and turned to the blackboard. "Open your books to page 45. The Treaty of the Five Packs." His voice was deep, professional, emotionless. Like yesterday never happened. I fumbled with my book, my hands shaking so much I dropped it. It fell with a loud thud. Everyone turned to look at me again. Someone giggled. Professor Black's eyes snapped to me. His jaw clenched. "Miss Moon," he said, his voice like ice. "If you cannot handle a book, perhaps you do not belong in my class." Laughter erupted. My face burned with shame. I quickly picked up the book, my eyes burning with tears again. "Sorry, Professor," I whispered. He stared at me for a long, agonizing second. I saw his nostrils flare slightly, as if he could smell my distress, my tears. Something flashed in his eyes, something like pain, or maybe anger, but it was gone so fast I thought I imagined it. "Pay attention," he said curtly, and turned back to the board. The rest of the hour was torture. He taught, his voice powerful and commanding, and I tried to listen, but all I could do was stare at the back of his neck, at the broad shoulders that had been meant to be mine to hold. Every time he moved, his scent wafted to me, making my heart ache. Why? Why did he have to be my professor? Why did the Moon Goddess have to be so cruel? Halfway through the class, the door opened again. A tall, beautiful girl with platinum blonde hair and piercing green eyes walked in late, without even knocking. She was wearing the same uniform, but on her it looked like a fashion statement. Her blazer had an Alpha pin. "You're late, Miss Vane," Professor Black said, but his tone was not cold. It was... familiar. "Sorry, Kade. Alpha meeting ran late," she said, smiling at him sweetly. Kade. She called him Kade. She walked to the front row and sat down, then turned around and looked directly at me, her green eyes full of malice and triumph. She smirked. I knew who she was. Cassandra Vane. Daughter of the Silver Moon Alpha. The most popular girl in the academy. And, according to MoonChat, Professor Kade Black's rumored girlfriend. Of course. Of course he had someone like her. Beautiful, strong, Alpha. Not a wolfless Omega like me. The class finally ended. I was the first to stand up, desperate to escape, to breathe air that didn't smell like him. Claimed