Rejected By MY Mate And Claimed By A Ruthless Alpha

CHAPTER ONE Lyra’s POV I wasn’t supposed to find out like this. Tonight was meant to be mine. My Mating Night. The night I had waited for since I turned eighteen. The night my wolf was supposed to awaken fully, when I would finally belong somewhere… to someone. To him, Kael. I stood outside his chamber door, my hands slightly shaking as I reached for the door handle. My heart was racing, but I wasn’t scared. I was excited. Out of everyone else, Kael had chosen me, even though I was nothing. Just the weak girl everyone gossiped about. The one without a wolf, the useless one. Still… he chose me. A part of me wondered why, but the reason why he chose me didn’t matter much to me. All that mattered was that he chose me, I smiled to myself, pushing the door open. “Kael—” The word died in my throat. My body froze accompanied by everything around me. Confusion filled my head. At first, my brain didn’t understand what I was seeing. Or rather, it refused to, because what I saw didn’t make sense. The shapes didn’t make sense, two bodies where there should have been one, laughter that didn’t belong to me, a voice I knew too well tangled with one I grew up with. I walked in, and on top of him, was her. My stepsister, Selene. She was moving against him, her head thrown back, her soft moans filling the room like she had every right to be there. Like I didn’t exist, Like I had never existed. My chest tightened so suddenly I couldn’t breathe. “No…” I whispered. Selene’s eyes snapped to mine. Then she slowly formed a smile, mocking me. “Oh,” she said softly, “You’re early.” Kael stiffened beneath her, his head turned, and his eyes met with mine. For a moment… He looked shocked, and a bit guilty. But of course, it didn’t last. “Lyra…” he breathed, my name sounded wrong and empty coming from him now. I took a step back. “What is this?” My voice shook, no matter how hard I tried to steady it. Selene let out a soft laugh, rolling her hips slowly against him like she wanted me to see everything. “Can’t you see?” she said. “We found each other.” My stomach dropped. “No…” Kael sat up slightly, his hands still on her waist. He didn't push her away, didn't even make an attempt. “I didn’t know this would happen,” he said. “We’re fated mates, Lyra.” The words hit harder than anything else. Fated Mates? It felt like something inside me cracked. Tonight was supposed to be our mating night. We had planned it. He said we would mark each other before the Moon Ceremony. Before fate could interfere. He made me feel special, only to remind me that I'm not. “You said…” my voice broke. “You said we would choose each other.” Selene laughed again, leaning down to press her lips against his neck. She was enjoying this. “And he did choose,” she murmured. “Just not you.” My hands clenched at my sides. This wasn’t real, It couldn’t be. Kael looked at me again, and this time, there was no guilt left in his eyes, only coldness. “Fate chose for me,” he said. Just like that, like everything we had meant nothing. “So that’s it?” I asked quietly. “Yes.” It was like at that moment everything around me felt like it was fading. My heart was beating fast, and with every thump came pain, the kind I had never felt before. The word destroyed whatever was left in me. A small sound escaped my throat, something between a laugh and a sob. “I was nothing to you?” “You were…” he paused. “Convenient.” That hurt more than the betrayal, even more than seeing him with her. I was just convenient. Selene smirked at me. “You should be grateful,” she said. “At least he paid attention to you for a while.” I could feel the tears coming out, but I refused to cry, not in front of her or him. “I hate you,” I said, my voice shaking. Selene tilted her head, “Oh, I know.” Kael’s expression hardened, “You should leave.” Just like that. Dismissed, like I was nothing more than a mistake. I stared at him for a few seconds, at the man I thought loved me, chose me and promised to protect me. Then I turned, and ran out. The night air hit my face, cold and sharp, but it didn’t help, nothing did. My chest was hurting me a lot, my thoughts were a mess, my steps were unsteady as I ran, not caring where I was going. I just needed to get away, away from everything. Tears blurred my vision, but I didn’t stop, or slow down. I ran past the castle gates, past the guards who barely even looked at me. I didn’t stop running until I reached the forest. The dark trees closed in around me, the moonlight barely touching the ground. It was quiet here. I finally slowed down, my breathing heavy. My legs felt weak, so I dropped to my knees near a small clearing, my hands pressing against the cold ground. All of a sudden, there was something different about the air around me I could almost smell it. My body stiffened, my breath caught. “What is that…?” I whispered. I inhaled again, deeply this time, and the scent grew stronger, it was dark and intoxicating. It wrapped around me, pulling something deep inside my chest. Something that had always been silent, something that had never responded before. It was my wolf. And for the first time in my life, I felt it. A sudden heat rushed through my body, starting low in my stomach and spreading fast. My fingers curled into the dirt as a soft gasp left my lips. “No…” This wasn’t possible, there must be some kind of explanation. My wolf was dormant. It had always been dormant. But I couldn't deny, this felt real. The heat grew stronger, making my head spin. My body reacted in ways I didn’t understand. My breathing became uneven, my skin felt too sensitive. “What’s happening to me…?” I whispered. Then I heard something, footsteps coming from the bushes. My head snapped up. I wasn’t alone. Figures stepped out from the shadows. There were about four men in number Their clothes were rough, their eyes dark and dangerous. They were Rogues. Fear shot through me instantly. “Well,” one of them said slowly, his eyes running over me. “Look what we found.” I tried to stand, but my legs felt weak, and the heat in my body wasn’t helping. “Stay back,” I said, my voice not as strong as I wanted it to be. They laughed. “A little wolf in heat?” another one said. “This is our lucky night.” My heart pounded. “No… I’m not” “Don’t lie,” the first one said, stepping closer. “We can smell it.” They started circling me, cutting off my escape. Panic rose fast. “Please…” I whispered, stepping back. But there was nowhere to go. One of them lunged forward with immense speed grabbing my arm. I gasped, struggling instantly. “Let go of me!” He only laughed. “Relax. We’ll take good care of you.” Tears filled my eyes as I fought against him, but I was too weak. Then I heard a voice. “Take your hands off her.” It was cold and sharp, cutting through the air like thunder. The rogues froze, and slowly turned. And so did I. A middle-aged man stepped out of the shadows. He stood tall, wearing dark clothes that looked expensive even in the dim light. His eyes were cold, with thick dark hair was slightly messy, falling over his forehead with a sharp jaw to accompany it. His presence alone made the air feel oddly heavier. I felt it, and so did the rouges His eyes landed on me. And all of a sudden, I felt this calm relief, free from the heat and discomfort in me Who is this man? The rogue holding me tightened his grip slightly. “You don’t want to get involved,” he said. The man didn’t even look at him, instead his eyes stayed on me. Then he spoke again. “Let her go.” And this time, he wasn’t just talking he was letting off a warning. And judging by what happened next, they should have listened.