Rejected By The Alpha, I Returned With A Silver Wolf

Ravyn's POV “I’m not going for the ceremony,” I said, staring at my father, an elder of Bloodshade Pack. “You’ll listen to me, Ravyn. You’re going to the mating ceremony together with Kyra,” he growled, his voice low and final, the way it always was when he’d already decided my fate for me. “Why?” I snapped before I could stop myself. My hands were shaking, but I folded them behind my back so he wouldn’t see. “So everyone can mock the fact that I don’t have a wolf at twenty-three? So I can humiliate myself in front of the entire pack?” His palm struck my face before I fully registered the movement. The sound was sharp, cracking through the room like something breaking for good. My head snapped to the side. For a second, everything went white. Not dramatic white. Just empty. Like my brain had stepped out of my body to give me a moment alone. I tasted blood. “No one here is the reason you’re wolfless,” he barked, stepping closer, his breath hot with anger. “And I will not let you disgrace this family with your absence at the mating ceremony.” I didn’t cry. Crying only ever made things worse. I lifted my head slowly, my cheek burning, my jaw tight. I didn’t look at him. Looking at him would’ve meant remembering he was my father, and that hurt more than the slap. “Yes, Elder,” I said instead. That was what he was first. An elder. Authority. Bloodshade before blood. Behind him, Kyra stood in the doorway, pretending not to watch while watching anyway. Her hair was braided perfectly, dark and glossy over one shoulder. She was already dressed, already ready, already admired. She always looked like she belonged in places I had to apologize for entering. Her eyes flicked to my face, to the faint red mark on my face from the impact of the slap. Then she smiled. “Don’t be dramatic, Ravyn,” she said lightly. “It’s just one night.” Just one night, I nodded without a word and headed to my room, picking out the best dress I had. . . . The pack hall was filled with the different smells of wolves, who always smelled stronger during mating season, like their bodies were preparing for something before their minds caught up. I stayed close to the walls like I always did while Kyra walked ahead of me, greeting people, laughing when hands brushed her arms, basking in attention like it fed her. It probably did. Her wolf was strong. Confident. Everyone knew it. They’d been saying it since she was sixteen and shifted for the first time in front of half the pack. I was twenty then. I remembered standing in the crowd, clapping until my palms stung, smiling so hard my face hurt, telling myself my turn would come soon. 3 year later, I still hadn’t shifted, whispers followed me as I waltzed through the crowd, pretending not to hear what they all were saying. “Why is she here?” “Does she really think—” “Elder Velkyn should be ashamed.” Someone laughed quietly as I passed. Another wolf deliberately bumped my shoulder. I stumbled but caught myself, heat crawling up my neck. I focused on the floor. On the pattern of cracks in the stone. On not running. I didn’t belong here. I knew that. Everyone knew that. I spotted Alpha Kali near the center of the hall, surrounded by elders and warriors alike. He looked exactly like he always did. Calm. Controlled. Golden in that effortless way Alphas had. He laughed at something someone said, the sound deep and easy, and my chest did that stupid, traitorous thing it always did around him. I hated myself for it. I’d never spoken to him beyond formal greetings. He’d never looked at me twice. Girls like me didn’t exist in his world, and I’d made peace with that a long time ago. The ceremony began. Names were called. Bonds sparked. Gasps filled the hall as mates found each other, some joyful, some shocked, some already crying. The air grew heavy with emotion and instinct and something dangerously close to hope. I felt nothing, of course I wouldn't, the moon goddess wouldn't be stupid enough to make me someone's mate. As the last few names were called, I shifted my weight and glanced toward the exit. I could still leave quietly. Slip out before— and the It hit me. I felt like someone reached inside my chest and pulled hard. I gasped, my fingers curling into my dress as pain flared through me, sharp and disorienting. My heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to escape. The hall went quiet and I turned slowly, dread and disbelief tangling in my throat. Alpha Kali was staring straight at me, not past me, not through me, he was staring directly at me. The pull snapped tight between us, visible in the way his posture stiffened, in the way his eyes darkened. Murmurs rippled through the pack, confusion rising fast. My breath shook, this wasn’t real, this couldn’t be real. For one fragile, stupid second, my hope sparked, I was mated to the man I'd loved since my childhood. But then Alpha Kali laughed, a ridiculous, mocking smile filled the room. “You?” he said, his voice carrying easily through the hall. “You have to be joking.” "N-no, I didn't even do anything, I didn't..." "There's no need for explanations, I, Alpha Kali of Bloodshade pack, reject you as my mate and Luna." The bond screamed in my body as he rejected it. Pain exploded through me, so sharp I cried out despite myself, dropping to one knee as something inside me tore. Gasps filled the hall, but no one moved to help. “I reject you,” Kali said clearly, cold now, final. “I would never take a wolfless woman as my mate.” The words carved into me deeper than the pain. Laughter followed, mocking and disbelieving. I looked up at him, my vision swimming, my chest burning like I’d been set on fire from the inside out. “I never thought you had a chance,” he continued, stepping closer, his voice low with disgust. “Don’t embarrass yourself like this again.” I wanted to disappear, Instead, he turned away from me and headed straight to Kyra. He took her hand. Bit down on her neck before anyone could react. The hall erupted in cheers, applause and celebration. Kyra cried out, half surprise, half delight, and clung to him as he announced her as his mate. I stood there, shaking, while the pack celebrated my replacement. And then I walked out of the pack house, shame crawling up my spine, my eyes brimming with burning tears. The forest was quiet in the way that made your skin itch. I didn’t realize I was crying until my vision blurred so badly I tripped over a root and nearly fell. My chest hurt with every breath, like my lungs were bruised. I should have known better. I did know better. A sound came from behind me first, stilling me. And then a footstep, followed by another. I turned just as a hand slammed into my chest, knocking me flat onto the ground. Pain flared as my back hit hard, breath leaving my lungs in a wheeze. Masked faces surrounded me. Rogues. I scrambled back, hands slipping in damp leaves. “Please,” I said stupidly. “I don’t have anything—” A knife was plunged into my side before I finished. "We don't need anything from you, just your pathetic fuckin life," The pain was immediate, stealing the air from my lungs. I screamed as I collapsed, blood soaking into my dress, the forest spinning above me. “You weren’t supposed to make it out of the ceremony,” one of them said calmly. Another crouched beside me, pressing a boot into my shoulder. “Your stepmother sends her regards.” My heart stuttered. “And your sister,” he added, almost cheerfully, the new Luna of Bloodshade pack.