The mate who rejected me
The scent hit me the moment I stepped into the ballroom wildfire and midnight rain, a pull so powerful my knees trembled.
My mate....
My heart stuttered, then raced, pounding like it was trying to break out of my chest. For eighteen years I’d been waiting for this moment. Eighteen years wondering if anyone would ever want a wolfless omega like me. Eighteen years dreaming that maybe just maybe the Moon Goddess hadn’t forgotten I existed.
But this scent?
This was impossible.
It was strong… dominant…
Lucan.....
I swallowed hard, the heat of the packed ballroom fading as instinct took over. I followed the scent like prey drawn to its predator through crowds of laughing pack members, past the glowing lanterns, past the shimmering gowns and glittering chandeliers.
The scent grew stronger.
My palms dampened.
And then I saw him.
Lucian Blackfang.
Alpha Prince of the Blackfang Mafia Pack.
The most feared man on the continent.
Six-foot-five and carved like a god sculpted from shadow and fury.
My heart stopped.
No.
No, no, no.
It couldn’t be him.
But it was.
He turned slightly, and his eyes those deadly molten-gold eyes snapped to mine.
A shiver raced up my spine.
This was the moment every story described.
The moment mates recognized each other.
My breath caught as something electric struck between us.
His jaw tightened.
My stomach fluttered.
And then he opened his mouth.
“Don’t come closer.”
The words were a snarl.
Sharp. Cold. Merciless.
I froze.
Lucian’s arm tightened around the waist of the woman beside him Sophia, the daughter of an allied Alpha. Gorgeous. Elegant. Everything I wasn’t.
A murmur rippled through the watching crowd.
I forced a breath.
“I… I can smell our bond,” I whispered, trembling. “You’re my mate.”
Lucian’s lip curled with disdain.
“You?”
He laughed a low, cruel sound that punched the air from my lungs.
“Don’t embarrass yourself, omega.”
My cheeks burned.
Omega.
He said it like it was filth on his tongue.
Sophia leaned into him, tilting her neck so the light caught the bare skin.
“She’s delusional,” she purred. “Mark me, Lucian. Show her.”
My chest constricted.
“No please just listen”
He stepped forward, towering over me until his shadow swallowed mine.
“Look at yourself,” he said quietly.
“Wolfless. Weak. Pathetic. You think the Moon Goddess would give me someone like you?”
His words were knives.
You think the Moon Goddess would give me someone like you?
My heart cracked.
“But the scent” I choked out. “You can smell it too”
His eyes flashed.
And in that moment, for a split second, something soft flickered there.
Recognition.
Fear.
Desire.
But then it vanished, swallowed by something darker.
Lucian grabbed Sophia by the hips, pulled her close, and stared directly into my eyes as he lowered his head to her neck.
My entire world stopped.
“Lucian,” I whispered.
But he didn’t hesitate.
He sank his teeth into her skin, marking her.
A collective gasp erupted around us.
Sophia moaned, triumphant.
I felt something inside me. something deep, buried, sealed since birth
scream.
My vision blurred.
My chest burned.
My knees buckled.
“Aria?”
Someone shouted.
But the world spun.
My blood roared in my ears.
My lungs seized.
And then Lucian jerked back from Sophia with a snarl of pain.
Smoke rose from his lips.
Her mark sizzled like it was burning off her skin.
Sophia collapsed screaming.
Lucian staggered, eyes snapping to me with shock, real, raw shock.
“No,” he breathed, staring at me like he’d seen a ghost.
“That’s not possible…”
I clutched at my chest.
My heart felt like it was being ripped in half.
Something inside me whispered faint, distant, furious.
“Mate.”
The room tilted.
Lucian took a single step toward me, reaching out
But my vision tunneled to black.
The last thing I heard was the roar of a Lycan losing control.
And the voice inside me my sealed wolf finally awake.
“Run.”
