Rejected by the Alpha: Saved by the King

Chapter Four

“I think we should get you drunk.”

Celeste blinked at Abigail, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. “What?”

Abigail’s eyes sparkled with determination. “You just got rejected in front of the whole Pack by your fated mate and his side chick. If there was ever a time to drown your pain in tequila, it’s now.”

Celeste opened her mouth to protest, but her heart wasn’t in it. Everything still felt raw—like her chest had been cracked open and left to the wind. “Fine,” she whispered. “But just one drink.”

“One drink that turns into five,” Abigail said with a grin, grabbing her wrist and dragging her to her house.

Celeste was quiet as she let Abigail fix her makeup, hiding all traces of her earlier tears. Darius’s words were echoing in her head. Had he always thought she was weak? When did he even hook up with Lyra? Goddess, how far along was she in the pregnancy? Had he been unfaithful the whole time?

As if knowing what she was thinking, Abigail sighed. “Don’t let them ruin the rest of your life. He’s not worth it.”

Celeste forced a smile, despite her and her wolf’s shared agony. “Yeah, you’re right.”

***

The bar on the outskirts of town was dimly lit and quiet, full of rogue travelers and low-ranked wolves trying to stay out of Pack politics. No one gave Celeste a second glance, and that was exactly what she needed. These were those that didn’t care about politics, Alphas or Lunas. They hadn’t paid enough attention to even know who she was.

She nursed her second drink, the burn a welcome distraction from the ache in her soul.

“You were too good for him anyway,” Abigail muttered, slamming back a shot of something foul. “I always knew there was something off about Lyra. She’s got that plastic smile and power-hungry vibe. Like a snake in lipstick.”

Celeste laughed weakly. “You always hated her.”

“And now I have every reason to,” Abigail said. “You were going to be Luna. You worked your ass off, Cel. You were ready. You didn’t deserve this.”

Celeste nodded slowly, her eyes glassy as she stared down at her drink. “Maybe he was right. Maybe I’m not strong enough. Lyra had Beta blood at least.”

“No,” Abigail snapped. “You’re strong in a different way. You don’t have to be a warrior to lead a Pack. You’ve got heart—and that scares people like Darius and Lyra.”

Celeste opened her mouth to respond, but the bar’s door slammed open.

Speak of the devil.

Lyra waltzed in like she owned the place, her scent unmistakable, sharp with arrogance. She was wrapped in leather and smugness, her hand trailing along the bar as her eyes locked onto Celeste.

“Why is she even here? Shouldn’t she be cuddling up to Darius and trying to butter up Candice so she doesn’t try to stop it?” Abigail whispered to Celeste, who shook her head slightly.

“Well, if it isn’t the little almost-Luna,” Lyra purred, sliding into the seat beside Celeste without invitation. Both other women glared at her.

Abigail bristled immediately. “Back off.”

“I’m just here to talk,” Lyra said innocently, though her eyes glittered with a cruel malice. “I wanted to make sure Celeste wasn’t, you know, planning to do something dramatic.”

Celeste stiffened, her brows furrowing with confusion. “Like what?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Lyra smiled, saccharine and cruel. “Run back to Darius begging? Start a pity party in the Pack House? Spread lies that he was unfaithful?” She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper only Celeste could hear. “Everyone always knew you weren’t Luna material. You were the charity case. The weak little orphan with dreams way too big for her status.”

“He did cheat,” Celeste said, her glassy eyes fixed on Lyra’s. “You’re pregnant and we only just broke up tonight.”

“It’s not really cheating if he never even marked you,” Lyra smirked, leaning closer to Celeste.

Abigail stood up abruptly. “I swear to the Moon Goddess, if you don’t-.”

“No,” Celeste said quietly, rising from her seat. Her face was pale, but her eyes had turned cold, almost detached. She couldn’t even feel her wolf anymore. Who was she? What was she? She wasn’t Celeste anymore. She wasn’t a werewolf. She wasn’t a future Luna. “She’s right.”

“Celeste-,” Abigail reached for her, her fingers curling around her wrist.

“I don’t belong here,” Celeste said, her voice hollow. Haunting. “I never really did.”

“Where are you going?” Abigail asked, panic rising in her voice as Celeste pulled her wrist away.

“Somewhere I can think,” Celeste’s gaze never left Lyra’s. “Somewhere I don’t have to look over my shoulder to see if the knife’s already in my back, or worry about someone taking everything away from me again.”

She turned and walked out of the bar, the night air biting at her skin as she shifted. Her wolf restless, broken, and wild. She didn’t look back. Not at Abigail’s worried face, not at Lyra’s smug smirk.

She just ran.

Ran through the darkened forest, past the tree line, toward the forbidden mountains. Toward the edge of the known world.

She didn’t know where she was going. Only that it was away. Away from the betrayal. Away from the pain.

Far above, the clouds parted, revealing a full moon and in the heart of the mountains, something ancient stirred.

Eyes the color of dying embers blinked open again. Rael could feel her getting closer. His Pack murmuring excitedly as he forced himself onto his feet, stumbling forward.

“She’s close,” he whispered as he pushed through the crowd, the maid smiling softly at him as he left his castle for the first time in half a century.

Before long, King Rael Snow stood at the peak of the high cliff, the cold wind biting at his skin as if to remind him the world had changed. Fifty years. Fifty years in cursed sleep, and now… now he was back.

“She’s out there,” he murmured, the scroll clutched in his gloved hand. “And she’s in pain.”

He could feel it, like a thread tied between them, stretched to its limit. His fated mate had been rejected. That was the only reason he would be awake. The curse wouldn’t allow it otherwise. So someone had rejected her, hurt her, and it was up to him to try to fix her heart and save her. Save himself. Or soon he’d be asleep for another 50 years, and when be awoke that time, no one he knew would be there to greet him. He would be truly alone, even if he still had loyal followers.

The Elected Beta that had been running the Kingdom for the last 20 years, a tall wolf named Kalen, came to stand beside him. “You’ll need to leave the mountains to find her. We have scouts already gathering intel.”

“I’ll find her,” Rael said, eyes narrowing. “And this time, I’ll be chosen, but you’re wrong.”

“Wrong, Your Highness?” Kalen asked, looking over at the King.

“I won’t have to leave the mountains to find her,” he explained, his eyes searching the horizon as if it might let him know some secret. “She’s coming. I can feel it.”

“No one comes out this way, Sire. It’s forbidden. The local Packs have all declared it,” Kalen said, then explained the fears of the Packs about so many Rouges together. “It’s unsettling to them. They don’t understand how we can live without submitting to an Alpha the way they do.”

He turned toward the horizon, the forest sprawling below like a waiting secret.

“My mate,” he whispered. “This time, you won’t be left behind.”