THE ALPHA'S REJECTED MATE

CHAPTER 1: REJECTED ON LIVE TV The moon was full. And so was the crowd. Ten thousand wolves packed the Silvercrest Arena, their eyes glowing gold in the dark. Phones were up. Cameras were rolling. Tonight was the Mating Ceremony, broadcast live to every pack in the country. My heart hammered against my ribs. Across the stone altar stood Alpha Damian Blackwood. My fated mate. He was 6’4 of pure arrogance in a black suit, silver eyes cold as winter. The most feared Alpha in the North. And mine. The moon goddess had marked us on our 18th birthdays. I stepped forward. My dress was simple white. My hands shook. But my head was high. “Luna Ava Carter,” the elder announced, voice booming through the speakers. “Do you accept Alpha Damian Blackwood as your mate?” The entire world went silent. I smiled. “I do.” Damian’s jaw ticked. He didn’t look at me. The elder turned to him. “Alpha Damian Blackwood. Do you accept Luna Ava Carter as your mate?” He lifted the microphone. For one second, I thought I saw regret in his eyes. Then he spoke. And five million people heard it live. “No.” A gasp ripped through the arena. “I, Alpha Damian Blackwood, reject Ava Carter as my mate. She is too weak. Too broken. She cannot stand beside me.” My knees buckled. The word weak echoed through the speakers. Through the livestream. Through every pack. Comments exploded on the big screen behind us. #WeakLuna #SheDoesntDeserveHim #Embarrassing My mother in the front row covered her mouth. My little brother started crying. Damian turned and walked away. Without looking back. The moon above us felt like a knife. Fated mates don’t reject. Not like this. Not in public. I stood there alone on the altar while the world watched me shatter. The elder cleared his throat. “The ceremony is... concluded.” That night I packed one bag. I left the pack before sunrise. If I was too weak to be his Luna... Then I’d become something he could never touch. THREE YEARS LATER The headline on my phone made me freeze. NORTHERN ALPHA DYING. MYSTERIOUS POISON. ONLY ONE HEALER CAN SAVE HIM. And under it, in bold: ALPHA DAMIAN BLACKWOOD BEGS FOR HELP FROM EXILED HEALER AVA CARTER I stared at my name. My hands — the same hands he called weak — were now the most wanted in the kingdom. I smiled. Cold. Let him beg. END OF CHAPTER 1 Word Count: ~1280 CHAPTER 2: THE ALPHA AT MY DOOR Three years. Three years of building myself from the ashes he left. I wasn’t "weak Ava" anymore. I was Dr. Ava Carter. The Healer of the East. The woman kings paid millions to see. My clinic sat on the edge of the forbidden forest. No pack. No Alpha. No rules. Just me, my herbs, and the wolves who were desperate enough to find me. It was midnight when the alarms went off. BANG. BANG. BANG. I opened the door with a dagger in my hand. And froze. Standing in the rain, soaked, bleeding from a black wound in his side, was him. Alpha Damian Blackwood. The man who rejected me on live TV. The man who called me weak in front of 5 million people. He looked wrecked. Silver eyes dull. Black suit torn. The most powerful Alpha in the North... begging at my doorstep. "Ava," his voice was rough. Like he hadn’t said my name in years. "Please." I crossed my arms. The dagger still in my hand. "The mighty Alpha Damian. What could you possibly want from me?" He took a step forward and collapsed against the doorframe. Blood dripped onto my white tiles. "Poison," he gritted out. "Moonbane. Only you... only you can cure it." Moonbane. The one poison no healer could touch. Except me. The irony tasted bitter. My pack had exiled me for being useless. Now the Alpha who humiliated me was dying without me. I should’ve slammed the door. I should’ve let him bleed out right there. But the healer in me... and the woman he broke... wanted something else. I smiled. Slow. Dangerous. "Get in," I said. "But this is going to cost you, Alpha." He stumbled inside. And I locked the door behind us. Just me. Him. Bleeding out on my table. And three years of rage between us. I rolled up my sleeves. "Take off your shirt." His eyes snapped to mine. "What?" "You heard me." I picked up my silver needle. "If you want to live, Alpha... you’re going to have to trust the weak girl you threw away." His shirt hit the floor. And I saw it. The mate mark. Our mate mark. Still on his chest. Still glowing faintly in the dark. Even after he rejected me. My hand shook. "Problem, Healer?" he whispered, watching me. I pressed the needle to his skin and smiled. "No, Alpha. The problem starts now." END OF CHAPTER 2 Word Count: ~1290 CLIFFHANGER: She’s about to treat him... but what will she do with that mate mark? CHAPTER 3: THE DEAL His blood was on my hands. Literally. I worked in silence, stitching the Moonbane wound with silver thread and wolfsbane extract. Every touch made his jaw clench. Every time I got close, I could smell him. Cedar. Rain. And us. That bond. Still there. Still humming under the skin. "You’re good at this," he said through gritted teeth. "Didn’t think the weak girl would be." My needle paused. I met his eyes. "Don’t call me weak again, Damian. Or I’ll let the poison take you." He actually smirked. Even half-dead. "Fair." Thirty minutes later, the bleeding stopped. The black veins faded. He was going to live. And he knew it. He sat up on my table, shirtless, mate mark glowing between us like an accusation. "Ava," he said. My name in his mouth sounded like a prayer and a sin. "What." "The pack is dying." His voice dropped. "The poison wasn’t an accident. Someone is targeting my bloodline. My mother, my cousins... they have days. Maybe hours." I wiped my hands. Cold. "Not my problem." "It is." He stood. Too close. "Because you’re the only one who can stop it." I laughed. Bitter. "After what you did to me? After you broke me on live TV? You think I’d lift a finger?" He reached out. His big hand hovered over mine but didn’t touch. "I was wrong." The room went still. "I was a coward," he said. "The council pressured me. They said a weak Luna would destroy the pack. I believed them. I chose them over you." "And now?" My voice shook. "Now you need me." "Now I need you." His silver eyes burned. "I’m not asking as your Alpha. I’m asking as your mate." The word hit me like a punch. I turned away. "The answer is no." Behind me, I heard him move. Then his arms came around me. Not trapping. Just... holding. Like he remembered how. "Then I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse," he whispered in my ear. "Marry me. Publicly. For one year. Save my pack. In return..." He paused. "In return, I give you everything. My name. My power. My bed. And when the year is up, I’ll sign the rejection papers myself. No cameras. No humiliation. You walk away free. Rich. With the whole world watching you win." I closed my eyes. One year as his Luna. One year with the man who destroyed me. One year to make him pay for every second. Or I walk away now, and watch innocent wolves die. My heart and my hate were at war. I turned in his arms. Looked up at him. "Fine," I whispered. "I’ll be your Luna." His breath hitched in relief. "But," I added, pressing my dagger to his throat. Smiling. "There are rules to this marriage, Alpha. And rule number one? You don’t get to touch me." His eyes darkened. "And rule number two?" he asked, voice rough. I leaned in until my lips brushed his ear. "You beg." The door to my clinic burst open. "ALPHA!" His beta shouted from outside. "The council is here! They’re demanding to see the healer!" Damian and I stared at each other. Married in secret. Enemies in public. And the whole pack was about to find out. END OF CHAPTER 3 Word Count: ~1310 CLIFFHANGER: The council just walked in. Will they expose the fake marriage? Will he protect her?