The Rejected Princess

CHAPTER3

The strange scent stayed with Mirabella long after she had returned to her room. She tried to ignore it, telling herself it was probably nothing, yet every breath brought back a faint trace of the unfamiliar fragrance. It had left her restless and distracted, and she couldn't understand why something as simple as a scent could make her heart behave so strangely. She had never experienced anything like it before, and perhaps that was why curiosity eventually won over caution.

She stepped out of her room and decided to trace where the familiar scent was coming from. She knew the royal family would be having breakfast around that time. Normally, she would have stayed far away. Mirabella had learned not to appear where she wasn't wanted, especially when her father and the rest of the family were gathered together. But the scent was there again, stronger than before, pulling her attention toward the dining hall.

She hesitated at the corner and asked herself why she was following an ordinary scent. But she didn’t know.

Maybe she only wanted an answer. Maybe she wanted to understand why her heart had been racing since she first noticed it. Whatever the reason, her feet carried her forward before she could convince herself to turn around.

Inside the dining hall, breakfast was already underway. Alpha Mario sat at the head of the table, while Queen Jasmine sat beside him. Jeffrey was seated nearby, casually listening to Hazel and Ivy as they talked. Ivy looked unusually cheerful that morning, her attention focused on the young man seated across from her.

Oliver had been Ivy's friend for quite some time. His family was well respected within the kingdom, and because of their friendship, his presence in the palace was hardly unusual. Ivy had always been fond of him, though she had never been particularly subtle about it. She often found reasons to keep him around, and Oliver was well aware of the interest she had in him.

He had come to the palace that morning because Ivy had invited him to breakfast. Everything had been perfectly ordinary until the moment Oliver realized he could no longer hear a word she was saying.

His expression stiffened, and his fingers slowly loosened around the cup in his hand. Something had changed. He couldn't explain what it was, but every instinct inside him suddenly screamed that something was wrong.

Oliver slowly lifted his head, his heart beginning to pound as something deep within him stirred. His wolf. It had been calm only moments before, but now it was restless, almost desperate to get out. Oliver frowned, confused by the sudden change. He had never experienced anything this intense. His wolf seemed certain of something his mind had not yet understood.

Mirabella stepped inside, and Oliver froze. The moment his eyes landed on her, an overwhelming sensation swept through him. His wolf recognized her instantly. There was no hesitation or uncertainty, only one undeniable truth that echoed through every instinct in his body. His mate.

Oliver's breath caught as he stared at Mirabella as though he were seeing her for the first time, even though he had heard her name countless times within the palace. She was Alpha Mario's firstborn, the girl everyone whispered about, the princess without a wolf. Yet none of that mattered to the wolf inside him. It had found its mate, and nothing else seemed important anymore. His chair scraped loudly against the floor as he abruptly stood, drawing Ivy's attention.

“Oliver?” she asked, confusion crossing her face.

He didn't answer. His breathing had grown heavier as his wolf pushed harder against his control, demanding to be released. Oliver tried to hold it back, but the instinct was too powerful. Before he could regain control, his body began to shift. A gasp escaped someone at the table as bones and muscles transformed, and within moments, Oliver stood in his wolf form.

Mirabella stumbled backward in surprise, her eyes widening as she stared at the wolf before her. She had seen people shift countless times, but she had never experienced anything like this. Oliver's wolf kept its gaze fixed on her, and there was something almost desperate in its eyes that made her uneasy. Then it began moving toward her, one slow step after another.

Mirabella's heart hammered against her chest as she instinctively stepped backward. She didn't understand why he was coming toward her or why he had shifted the moment he saw her. Oliver continued approaching, driven by an instinct he could no longer control. His wolf expected her to respond. It expected her to shift and reveal the other half of the bond, but Mirabella couldn't give it what it wanted.

The silence that followed seemed to stretch across the entire dining hall. Oliver stared at her, confusion slowly replacing the certainty that had consumed him moments earlier. His wolf had recognized its mate without a doubt, yet the girl standing before him had no wolf at all.

But Ivy understood faster than anyone. Her expression changed as realization dawned on her. Oliver had found his mate, and somehow, impossibly, his mate was Mirabella. Ivy's heart sank. “No,” she whispered before immediately standing and moving toward him. “Oliver, calm down.”

The wolf's gaze remained fixed on Mirabella, refusing to look away even as Ivy stepped closer. “You don't have to do this,” she said urgently. “Look at her. She doesn't even have a wolf.” When Oliver's wolf growled softly, Ivy swallowed and lowered her voice. “She's worthless, Oliver. Everyone knows that she's cursed.”

Mirabella's face fell. She lowered her eyes, her chest tightening at the familiar words. She had heard them countless times, but hearing them now with everyone watching made them hurt in a way she couldn't explain. Still, she remained silent as Ivy turned her attention back to Oliver.

“You know what you're supposed to do,” Ivy whispered. “Don't let some bond ruin everything. You can choose me instead.”

Oliver remained still, caught between the instinct screaming that Mirabella was his mate and the part of him struggling to accept the reality before him. His gaze drifted back to Mirabella. She stood alone near the door, her hands trembling slightly at her sides, looking frightened and painfully small beneath the weight of everyone's attention. The bond was there. He could feel it. Yet the truth was difficult to accept. His mate was a girl without a wolf, a girl the entire palace treated as an embarrassment, and a girl who could never fit into the life he had imagined for himself.

Then his wolf finally receded. His body shifted back into its human form, leaving the dining hall in complete silence. Oliver stood there breathing heavily before lifting his eyes to Mirabella.

"Mirabella."

She looked up. "Yes?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Oliver hesitated. Something flickered across his face — uncertainty, confusion, something that almost looked like longing. He took one slow step toward her, then another. His hand lifted slightly, as though he meant to reach for her, and for a single breathless moment, the entire hall seemed to hold still.

Mirabella's heart pounded. She didn't understand what was happening, but something in her chest ached toward him, pulled toward him, as though her whole body had been waiting her entire life for this moment. No one had ever looked at her like that. No one had ever crossed a room for her. No one had ever chosen her.

For one fragile moment, she allowed herself to hope.

"Oliver." Ivy's voice cut through the silence — quiet, urgent, sharp as a blade.

Oliver stopped. His hand lowered. He turned his head, and his eyes found Ivy's.

She didn't say anything else. She didn't need to. She only looked at him, and in that look was everything — years of friendship, her family's standing, the life he had always imagined for himself, and the promise of a future that made sense.

Oliver's jaw tightened. He turned back to Mirabella, and whatever had been in his eyes a moment ago was gone.

"Mirabella." His voice was steadier now. Colder. "You are my mate."

Her breath caught. The words echoed through the silent room. Mate. Her? After twenty years of believing she was incapable of having anything that belonged to the wolves around her, she had somehow been chosen as someone's mate. The hope in her chest flickered brighter, fragile and desperate and almost painful.

Then Oliver spoke again.

"I reject you."

Mirabella stared at him, unable to process what she had just heard. "What?" she whispered.

"I reject you as my mate."

Her lips parted, but no sound came. She searched his face for something, anything, that might tell her he didn't mean it. He never took the words back. Instead, Oliver turned away, and Ivy immediately moved to his side, taking his hand.

"Come on," she said softly.

Oliver allowed her to lead him back toward his seat, leaving Mirabella standing alone near the door. Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes, and she quickly lowered her head, hoping no one would notice. It was useless. One tear slipped down her cheek, followed by another, and soon she was wiping them away with trembling fingers.

She had spent her entire life being unwanted. She had endured the whispers, the insults, her father's coldness, and the cruelty of the people who were supposed to be her family. Over time, she had convinced herself that she didn't need anyone. Yet for a few brief moments, when Oliver had taken that step toward her, she had allowed herself to believe that perhaps there was someone in this world who was meant for her.

Instead, he had rejected her in front of everyone. Mirabella's gaze lifted, almost without meaning to, and found her father at the head of the table. Alpha Mario was watching her, and a small, cold smile flashed across his face. Beside him, Queen Jasmine drew a slow, deep breath, her expression unreadable as she looked away.

Mirabella's vision blurred. Without another word, she turned and hurried out of the dining hall, her footsteps fading down the corridor as tears continued to fall. Behind her, the doors slowly closed, shutting away the room where her life had changed forever. She had spent her entire life being told she was unwanted, but she had never expected the one person destined to be hers to be the one who proved them right.