THE ALPHA SHE CHOSE

The moment it was revealed that Damon Vale was my mate, the entire council hall went silent. Then someone snickered. I already knew what most of these people were thinking. The bastard girl. How unfortunate. My hands wrapped around my midsection so I wouldn’t show vulnerability. Hundreds of wolves surrounded me. Highborns in expensive clothes. Lowborns in their place. Bastards like me had to cower so we wouldn’t get seen. My mother was the happiest because her daughter would finally get seen tonight. She bought me a beautiful, form-fitting dress just so I could look beautiful and feel included. I told her clothes alone couldn’t change my status, but she made sure everything was perfect for this night. The Moon Goddess was finally shining her eyes on her only daughter. Tonight, none of our titles were supposed to matter. The Moon Goddess was supposed to choose our mates without caring about bloodlines or wealth. At least, that was what everyone believed. I believed it too because my mother was banking on it. My heart stopped when Damon lifted his head across the hall to look at me. Our eyes met. His expression changed. Shock. Disbelief. Then something colder. His eyes changed, and I felt the invisible pull of the mate bond tighten between us. Damon was the Alpha’s son, the most feared young wolf in our pack. He was arrogant, ruthless, and known for making people twice his age tremble. But he was also beautiful. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dark-haired, with piercing gray eyes that seemed capable of stripping away every emotion. And now... He was mine. Or at least, he was supposed to be. My gaze instinctively moved toward the council’s raised platform. My father stood there. Maccon Lowell. The man who had never publicly called me his daughter. His eyes met mine, disapproving, for the briefest moment. Then he moved away quickly, like I had imagined it. The familiar ache in my chest returned. I swallowed it. Tonight would be different. Tonight, the Moon Goddess had chosen me for an incoming Alpha. That cemented my belonging somewhere. Damon stepped forward. The crowd parted for him. Every step he took seemed to make the hall colder. When he stopped in front of me, I could feel his anger. “Damon,” I whispered. His jaw tightened. “Don’t.” One word. A warning. My heart sank. “I didn’t choose this,” I said quietly. “Neither did I.” The words were barely out of his mouth when loud whispers erupted around us. Damon glanced toward the council. Then toward Lyall Lowell, my half-sister. She was without a mate. She was the epitome of perfection. Elegant. Beautiful. Everything I was not. She had that aura that made men just want to come to her aid, but I knew there was nothing sweet about her. I was the sole recipient of her hostility. Her eyes were fixed on Damon. There was a small smile on her face. My stomach dropped. Damon turned back to me. “You know who I am?” I nodded. “And you know who you are?” My breath caught. There it was. The words he didn’t have the courage to say. Bastard. His eyes hardened. “I will not take you as my mate.” The hall exploded with whispers. Someone beside me gasped. My wolf whimpered. I felt numerous eyes on me. Every judgment. Every ounce of pity. Still, I forced myself to stand straight. “You can’t reject a mate because of her birth status.” Damon gave a humorless laugh. “We all know the heart does not always follow the Moon Goddess’s decree, and I can reject whoever I want.” My throat burned. “You haven’t even gotten to know me.” “I don’t need to.” That hurt more than I expected. Because he wasn’t rejecting a woman he knew. He was rejecting a woman everyone had already decided I was. The illegitimate daughter. The embarrassment. The mistake. He turned away from me. My heart lurched. Then he looked directly at Lyall, intentionally. Then he spoke, his voice carrying through the entire hall. “I choose Lyall Lowell.” Silence. Lyall was beaming. Then, slowly, a laugh appeared on her face. Our father stepped forward. He didn’t look at me. He looked at Damon and Lyall, and he smiled. That was when something inside me broke. Not because Damon had chosen her, but because my father had watched it happen and approved of it. Could my fragile heart take another blow from my father? He kept telling me, not in so many words, that I wasn’t needed. That I didn’t matter. He was showing this hostility toward me not only to me, but to everybody present in the hall. He didn’t even defend me. I blinked the tears in my eyes away. I would not cry. Not here. Not in front of them. I turned around. I took one step. Then another. I made it almost to the door before Damon spoke again. “Arianell.” I stopped. I didn’t turn around. Could his voice get any colder? “I formally reject you as my mate.” The bond snapped. Pain exploded throughout my body. I dropped to my knees. A scream tore from my throat. The entire hall disappeared beneath the agony. My wolf howled a distress howl. I gripped my chest as tears finally escaped. Damon rejected me. My father rejected me again. My little world was collapsing around me. Why am I unlovable? I pushed myself upright. My legs trembled. But I stood. I walked toward the door. I wouldn’t give them another second of humiliation. I wouldn’t let them see me break completely. I opened the door. Cold night air struck my face. I stepped outside. Then I resolved to show them I wouldn’t stay defeated. I would carve out a space for myself where it was glorious. My whole life would amount to great things. With that, I felt a little calmer. One breath. Then another. I was finally alone. Or so I thought. Then I heard it. A low growl behind me. I froze. My wolf went completely silent. I sensed so much aggressive power. I slowly turned around. A pair of silver eyes stared at me from the darkness. Whoever they belonged to had just watched me, and my wolf trembled in fear.