Claimed by the Forsaken Alpha

Seraphina’s POV The Moon Festival was to be the happiest evening of my life. The clearing was bathed in the silver glory of the full moon, lighting the ecstatic faces of unmated wolves as their smells whirled in the clean night air. Something else, not from the cold, rushed down my spine—a shudder. Something more. I then smelled it. That seductive, shocking aroma. Sandalwood, clean pine, and something black and menacing, like a storm building on the horizon. My body moved before my head could catch up; my heart hammered against my ribs. The throng split, and my breath seized. Alpha Darius Nightbane. Tall, strong, with silver eyes burning like molten metal. He pulled the breath from my lungs. The mate link shot between us, waking every nerve in my body. He is a friend of mine. For me, the Moon Goddess had selected him. My heart ready to give up, a slow grin emerged on my lips as I moved onward. Darius, however, remained still. His silver eyes clouded, his face inscrutable. Then, with a voice as cold as ice, he uttered the words that destroyed my universe. "I reject you as the Luna of this pack and as my mate." My world freezes. My ears buzzed. My sight darkened. Not at all. This was not happening. He couldn't—that is not what I mean. "What?" Just audible over my heart's beating, my words emerged in a whisper. Darius's look stayed far-off, disconnected, as though I were just a stranger. You heard me, Seraphina. I reject you. My chest hurt like a dagger, the connection straying inside me like that. Though my knees collapsed, I pushed myself to stand erect. 'Why?' My voice split. " Why are you doing this?" The group as a whole was observing. Their murmurs like daggers sliced through me. Darius sighed, as though the chat bored him. His jaw clenched. "Because you lack worth to be my Luna." The words have greater force than any physical attack. "Not worth it?" My hands shook. "I have practiced more than any other pack member. I had bled for this bundle. What more are you hoping for? His eyes flicked with something—something unreadable—but it vanished in an instant. "I want a Luna with strength. Renowned. Someone of aristocratic blood. He moved forward, his tall figure throwing shadows across me. "Not a daughter of a Beta with secrets in her blood." I shined. He was informed. I felt the blood drain from my cheeks as my secret, which I had buried down below, hung between us like a deadly sentence. "Darius, kindly..." I grabbed him, and my voice cracked. "The mate link; it is actual. You sense it as well. We are supposed to be together! His lips drew into something terrible. "The Moon Goddess made a mistake." I choked. a fault? Darius looked away from me, like I was nothing. "You no longer fit this pack. Leave before I toss you myself. The denial surged into me like a tidal wave. My wolf screamed in pain, the link breaking like a thread tugged too tightly. My legs went out, and I fell hard. "No... kindly..." Tears fogged my eyes as I gripped my chest—the agony was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I could hear the whispers around me. The pity is evident. The shame is all over me. Darius turned slightly, his silver eyes colder than they had ever been. "Don't embarrass yourself further, Seraphina. You were never intended to be my Luna. His comments marked the last blow. Something inside me cracked. My hands wriggling at my skin, I gasped as a burning fire surged through my veins. My body became convulsed, the air around me thick, heavy—wrong. The gasps within me became shouts. From my flesh darkness crept in. No, not now. Not around here. Trying to restrain it, I tightened my hands but it was pointless. The shadows responded to my suffering, my anger, my anguish, swirling about me like live fire. Darius retreated, his face incomprehensible. That evening, I watched something flutter in his eyes for the first time. Anxiousness. My eyesight blurry, I let out a choked gasp. Rising out of control, my power, the Shadowborn power, was becoming evident. The pack was informed. Now, they all knew. Darius spoke with a keen edge. "Exile her." A cold ran down my back. Not one. No, this is not at all possible. Guards came approaching me, but behind the suffering and past the treachery, I could not comprehend anything. Pain, whispers, and treachery blended together to create the universe. The rejection seared every nerve, every bit of me that had blindly yearned for love, burning through my soul like fire. I found it difficult to breathe. I lacked ideas. The critical looks of the group felt like blades cutting my flesh. Then I heard him through the mists of my suffering. "Seraphina!" Rowan. I turned my head, tears clouding my view, and saw him battling the soldiers with wild green eyes full of despair. He was the only one who truly cared. Only one person had not turned away. My legs wouldn't let me run to him to find comfort in his hug. "Let me go, damn it!" Rowan hissed, straining as two warriors pulled him back. "You bastards believe you could just toss her aside? One of us is her. She is— Darius gave icy orders, his voice devoid of feeling. "Silence him." One of the fighters knocked the air from Rowan's lungs as she pushed him into a tree. His head snapped up; he gasped, but he kept struggling. "Darus, kindly!" Rowan's voice was rough, his wrath hardly controlled. "You do not have to do this!" Darius ignored him, not even sparing a glance. I watched, my heart hurting still more. "Rowan," My voice was hardly heard, rough. He stilled, staring right at me. He said, "I'm not leaving you, Sera." His hands closed into fists, his voice husky with emotion. "I will fight for you. I would—" "No! I shook my head fiercely, and my voice broke. "Rowan, avoid being dumb! They will murder you! His body shook with irritation as his jaw clenched. "Do you believe I care about that?" A stinging agony tore over my chest. Neither could I lose him too. I pushed down the knot in my throat by swallowing hard. Please... don't. Rowan's visage changed to something broken, something powerless. He despised this. Furious that he was unable to stop it. I also detested it. He still had to live, though. One more spin back to Darius, then. "Don't do this," I said, my voice quivering. "You're making a mistake." His cool, lifeless silver gaze locked with me. "I am not error-prone." I bit it back even though a sob seemed ready to explode from my throat. Now there was no benefit in begging. My lot in life was this. I stiffened myself by inhaling forcefully. Should this be the end, I will not let them see my break. The soldiers snatched my arms and pulled me ahead. Rowan screamed, battling his bindings, his face contorted with sheer wrath and despair. "Serafina!" His voice cracked. I turned my head one final time. His emerald eyes ablaze with so many emotions—anger, hurt, and love—were scorching. "Live," I murmured. For me. Then they pulled me away. I was engulfed completely in darkness. Rowan was on his knees, hands clenched, his head down in defeat, the last thing I saw as the world vanished. Darius's voice—cold and final—was the last thing I heard. She is no longer with us.