Chapter One: The Rejection
1172 Words
Chapter One: The Rejection
They dragged me through the pack square like I was something filthy they couldn’t wait to throw away.
My body scraped against stone, my skin tearing, and my knees buckling as I struggled to keep up. Someone had ripped my dress at the shoulder, and the fabric was hanging loose, exposing my skin that burned under the cold stares of the crowd.
“Cheater!”
“Wolfless slut!” someone screamed.
Blood trickled down my lip and my mouth tasted like metal.
“Cheater!” The word cut through the air again.
I sucked in a sharp breath.
“What?” I gasped, twisting against the grip on my arms. “No, wait—what are you talking about?”
A hand slammed into my back, forcing me to move forward.
“Move!”
The crowd parted as they dragged me into the center of the square. Silver and blue banners fluttered above us, they were the colors of Moonvalley’s flag.
This place was supposed to be meant for celebration today. It was the mating ceremony and my twenty-third birthday, but instead it felt like a public execution.
“Wolfless slut!”
“Cheater!”
“Conniving with the enemies!”
My heart slammed violently against my ribs. What sort of accusations were these?
“No,” I cried out, my voice breaking. “That’s not true!”
They shoved me down hard.
My knees hit the stone, and pain shot up my legs, but I barely felt it. My head spun as the accusations crashed over me.
“She disgraced the Alpha!”
“I told you she was rotten!”
I lifted my head desperately, searching the crowd for my mate, Nathan. Surely he knew these accusations were not true.
“Nathan!” I screamed as I scanned the crowd for him.
Just a few days ago, I had stood in front of the mirror in my room at the Alpha’s mansion, smoothing my dress with trembling fingers while maids buzzed around me. They had measured my waist and spoken to me carefully because I was going to be the Luna when Nathan marked me.
And now I was in this terrible situation, my dress in rags. I scanned the crowd vehemently as hits, slaps, and blows swept across my face until I finally saw him.
He stood near the side, tall and broad-shouldered, with his blonde hair perfectly styled. He was the newly assigned Alpha of moonvalley and the man fate had bound to me.
Relief surged through me so fast it almost made me sob.
“Nathan,” I breathed.
Surely this was a mistake, one he would fix immediately. He had promised me over and over that he would protect me.
“After the ceremony, everything will change,” his voice echoed in my head. “I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”
The guards forced me to my feet and dragged me closer. I ignored the pain and the stares and locked my eyes onto him like he was the only solid thing left in my world that had begun to tilt.
“Nathan,” I said again, softer now. “You know me. I would never do what they’re accusing me of!”
He knew how much I adored him, how I looked at him like he was the only man in the world. Surely he couldn’t believe their accusations after everything we’d been through together.
“Say something!” I pleaded. “You know I wouldn’t do that. I would never—”
A sharp c***k echoed through the square, and pain exploded across my head.
My head snapped to the side as the force of the hit sent stars bursting behind my eyes. I staggered, barely staying upright. I would have fallen to the ground if the guards weren’t still holding me up as blood dripped from my head.
Gasps rippled through the crowd as blood from my head dripped to the ground. I lifted my head slowly, too stunned to speak, as tears spilled freely from my eyes.
Sasha stood in front of me. Her hand was still outstretched with the metal rod she had just used to hit my head. How was I not dead?
My head burned with excruciating pain where she had struck me, but the humiliation flooding my veins was even hotter.
“Sasha, how dare you?!” I screamed in pain.
Sasha was my cousin. I had always known she never liked me and always wanted what I had, but to think she would subject me to this humiliation shocked me.
“How dare you!” Sasha hissed back, her eyes blazing. “How dare you lie to everyone’s face.”
She stood there with an evil glare. Her hair fell in glossy waves down her back. Her dress was immaculate, hugging her curves just right. Not a single wrinkle marred her appearance. She looked like someone stepping into her moment.
“I didn’t—” My voice cracked. I looked at Nathan, waiting for him to speak, to say something but he only looked away.
“You really think anyone would believe you, cheating w***e?” she asked sweetly.
My vision blurred as I turned back to Nathan. He hadn’t moved from his spot.
“Nathan,” I whispered. “Please.”
“You cheated on him and connived with enemies of Moon Valley!”
“None of this is true!” I yelled.
“Now he is going to reject you, and you’ll be executed!”
“Nooooooo!”
Sasha turned slowly and deliberately toward my mate, and every movement she made was filled with confidence as she stepped into his space. She rose onto her toes and, right in front of me, kissed him.
A sob tore from my chest before I could stop it. My knees weakened, and I collapsed to the ground, clutching my chest in agony.
I stared at Nathan with confusion overtaking my entire being.
He looked at me, but not with the warmth I knew, as he finally walked toward me. The square fell deathly silent as everyone watched him.
“I reject you, Sophie, as my mate.”
The words struck like a blade to my heart, and pain exploded in my chest, sharp, searing and unbearable pain. It felt like something was tearing apart inside me, ripping through my veins and crushing my lungs.
I screamed as the world tilted violently.
I clutched my chest, gasping as my knees buckled and the guards finally released me. I hit the stone hard, the impact knocking what little breath I had left from my lungs. Nathan’s voice sounded distant, and people’s faces blurred into shadows.
And as darkness closed in on me, the last thing I saw was Sasha stepping closer to Nathan again, claiming the space that had once been mine.
The last thing I felt was the bond between us tearing apart, leaving nothing but pain behind and then everything went black.
- Writer
