THE ALPHA REGRETTED REJECTING HIS WOLFLESS MATE

Chapter One: The Girl Nobody Wanted Elena's POV The first time I wished I had never been born into the Silver Crescent Pack, I was eight years old. The second time was this morning, when my stepmother poured a bucket of cold water over my head and told me that even the servants had more value than I did. Today, at eighteen, I finally understood something. Some people were born to be loved. Others were born to teach the people around them how cruel love could be. And I, Elena Moon, had apparently been born to be the second kind. "Are you planning to stand there all day, or will you clean the floor before the guests arrive?" My stepmother's sharp voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I tightened my fingers around the wooden bucket. "I'm almost finished, Luna Margaret." She wrinkled her nose as if my very existence offended her. "Don't call me Luna as though you belong to this pack. Your father may have given you his name, but that doesn't make you special." I lowered my gaze. Arguing with Margaret was like trying to stop a river with my bare hands. No matter what I said, she always found a way to make me regret speaking. "Yes, ma'am." She stepped closer, her expensive heels clicking against the marble floor. "Tonight is the Moon Choosing Ceremony. Important Alphas from across the territories will be here, including Alpha Dominic Blackwood." At his name, two servants nearby exchanged excited glances. Everyone knew Dominic Blackwood. He was twenty-seven, the youngest Alpha to unite several powerful packs under one command. His warriors were feared across the northern territories, and his enemies rarely lived long enough to challenge him twice. Some called him ruthless. Others called him a king without a crown. Every unmated she-wolf in the territory dreamed of becoming his Luna. Margaret studied me with open disgust. "Do not embarrass this family tonight. You will stay in the servants' quarters until the ceremony begins. You will not approach the guests, and you will certainly not try to attract an Alpha's attention." I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat. "As if any Alpha would look at me." "Good. At least you understand your place." She turned and walked away. I waited until her footsteps disappeared before allowing myself to breathe. My place. That was what everyone called it. My place was the kitchen, where I prepared meals I was never invited to eat. My place was the laundry room, where I washed clothes that cost more than everything I owned. My place was the servants' quarters, where I slept on a narrow bed beneath a leaking roof. And tonight, when the entire pack gathered beneath the full moon to discover their destined mates, my place would probably be somewhere in the shadows. Because unlike every other werewolf my age, I had never shifted. I had never heard a wolf's voice inside my head. I had never felt the strength that every member of my pack took for granted. The pack healer had examined me when I was thirteen, then again at sixteen. Both times, she had shaken her head and offered the same explanation. Elena has no wolf. The words had followed me for years. Wolfless. Defective. Useless. I had heard them so often that sometimes I wondered whether my mother had known I would turn out this way before she died. I barely remembered her face. All I possessed was a small silver pendant she had left behind, a crescent moon wrapped around a tiny star. Margaret had tried to take it from me once. I had fought her for the first time in my life that day. I still remembered the slap that followed. But I had kept the pendant. It was the only thing in this world that belonged to me. And I wasn't going to surrender it. Not to her. Not to anyone. By sunset, the packhouse had transformed into something out of a dream. Golden lanterns hung from the trees. Silver ribbons fluttered between the pillars, and the scent of roses filled the courtyard. Members of the pack arrived wearing their finest clothes, laughing and exchanging excited whispers. I watched from the kitchen doorway, holding a tray of crystal glasses. For once, I wished I could be one of them. Not because I wanted a handsome Alpha or a grand house. I wanted someone who would look at me without looking disappointed. Someone who would ask whether I was tired and actually care about the answer. Someone who would choose me. Even once. "Elena!" I nearly dropped the tray. Margaret stood at the end of the corridor, dressed in a deep-red gown that glittered beneath the lights. "Why are you still wearing that?" I looked down at my plain cream dress. "You told me to wear something suitable for serving the guests." "I told you to serve the guests. I didn't tell you to look like one of them." Her eyes narrowed. "Go and change into your uniform now you mongrel." "But the ceremony…" "Now." I bit my tongue and hurried away. Ten minutes later, I stood at the edge of the courtyard wearing a simple black uniform while the pack assembled around the ceremonial platform. The moon was rising. My heart began to pound. Tonight, every unmated wolf would stand before the elders and wait for the Moon Goddess to reveal their mate. Even wolfless girls were permitted to attend, though none had ever been chosen in our pack's recorded history. I told myself I expected nothing. I told myself that I would stand quietly, watch the ceremony, and return to the kitchen afterward. But deep inside, a tiny, foolish part of me still hoped. Perhaps the Moon Goddess had forgotten me. Maybe tonight she would remember. The ancient bell rang three times. The crowd fell silent. Alpha Richard, the leader of our pack, stepped onto the platform. Margaret stood beside him, smiling proudly as if she were the queen of the world. "Tonight," Richard announced, "we gather beneath the blessing of the Moon Goddess. Tonight, bonds will be revealed, alliances strengthened, and new futures begun." Cheers erupted. I stood behind the last row of guests, my hands clasped tightly in front of me. Then the guards at the entrance suddenly straightened. A black vehicle rolled through the gates. One of the elders whispered a name. "Alpha Dominic." The courtyard erupted into murmurs. The vehicle stopped before the platform. A guard opened the rear door, and a tall man stepped out. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. He wore a perfectly fitted black suit, and his dark hair fell slightly across his forehead. His expression was unreadable, his posture commanding. Even from a distance, he carried an authority that made the surrounding Alphas instinctively move aside. Then he lifted his head. His eyes were golden. Not ordinary brown or amber, but a deep, luminous gold that seemed to catch every trace of moonlight. My fingers tightened around the edge of the tray. I had never seen a man like him. And I had certainly never felt anything like what happened next. A strange warmth spread through my chest. The silver pendant beneath my uniform grew hot against my skin. I gasped. The tray slipped from my hands. CRASH! Every head turned toward me. Crystal shattered across the marble floor. "Oh, Elena!" Margaret's voice cut through the silence. "Must you ruin everything?" Heat rushed into my cheeks. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…” "Get down and clean it up!" I dropped to my knees immediately, reaching for the larger pieces of glass. But I could feel someone watching me. A gaze so intense that my fingers trembled. Slowly, against every instinct telling me not to look up, I raised my head. Alpha Dominic was staring directly at me. His expression had changed. The cold indifference was gone. His jaw was clenched, and his hands had curled into fists at his sides. For one impossible moment, neither of us moved. Then a voice whispered inside my mind. Not a human voice. Not a sound I had heard before. A voice that seemed to rise from somewhere deep within my soul. Mate. My breath stopped. No. It couldn't be. I had no wolf. I was wolfless. The voice came again, stronger this time. Our mate. The silver pendant burned against my chest. And beneath my skin, something ancient stirred. Across the courtyard, Dominic took one step toward me. His golden eyes widened. Then, so quietly that only the people nearest him could hear, he whispered a word that changed my life forever. "Impossible." End of Chapter One