The Rejected Lycan Queen

HAILEY’S POV “Why am I n***d? And why am I in the alphas room?” Hailey asked herself as she gets up. “Oh no, I knew drinking was a bad idea” she said as she looks for her clothes around “This changes nothing. You’re still the mutt of this pack” she hears from the door, she turns around and sees the alpha there . “Yes Alpha Adrian. I’m sorry” she apologizes and scrambles to leave “Your apology changes nothing, go and get ready for tonight. If anything goes wrong with the arrangements I’ll personally handle your punishment” he adds and turns to leave. I was Hailey. And in the crescent moon pack, to be Hailey was to be nothing. At midnight, the entire pack had gathered beneath the moon for the mating ceremony and the moon goddess worship. I stood at the edge of the gathering circle, trying to make myself invisible, it didn’t work. “Look at her” The packs Beta Lucas said loud enough for eyes to drift towards me . “Still clinging to the edges” a few people laughed as I lowered my eyes. I was nineteen and still unshifted. No wolf and no strength. In crescent moon pack, that made me less than everyone else, an Omega. But tonight I had hope, my fingers tightened around the fabric of my dress, let something go right for me just once. My eyes found Adrian and my heart raced, for years I’d watched him from a distance . I’d convinced myself that there was something gentle beneath the ruthless alpha everyone feared. And tonight I was going to find out if I was right . The elders stepped coward and the crowd fell silent, Adrian moved toward the center of the circle. Then his eyes met mine and everything stopped. I felt the bond , he was my mate, he was mine. He saw me, he felt it too. I was safe. I was loved.Adrian took a step towards me. Then another. The crowd held its breath. I looked at the corner of my eyes Keyda’s face was twisted into a shock.He stopped directly in front of me. I looked up, ready to let the power of our bond wash away years of humiliation. Instead his eyes narrowed and his lips curved into a slow sneer. “How interesting”, he said his voice devoid of warmth. He reached out not to cup my cheeks but to grab a strand of my hair. “You reek of nothing, did you think it would be you? A wolf without power has no place in my bed”. Then with a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed my hair away. He looked me over, took a step back and turned his back on me, leaning me exposed to the packs pity and contempt. My mate had rejected me in front of everyone Then Keyda stepped forward “poor Hailey” her voice was soft , almost sympathetic but I could hear the mockery in it. She stopped beside Adrian and looked at me “what a shame” , I saw Adrian reaching for Keyda , “Keyda” he murmured with an intimate voice “ the strength of my pack demands a strong Luna”. He grabbed her hand and raised it high and with a roar he said “I choose her. Keyda will stand at my side. She is my chosen mate”. The wolves began to cheer, a deafening sound. “Chosen” rang in my head. He chose her as his mate. The bond inside me snapped, pain ripped through my chest . I collapsed to my knees and screamed at the top of my lungs, but no one came for me, no one helped , but everyone watched. The darkness swallowed everything I woke up cold , then burning , then so cold again. I felt the rough floorboards of the attic. I was in pain . I squeezed my eyes shut, a desperate plea leaving my lips “just let me fade, I want to stop feeling this”. Suddenly, the door burst open. It wasn’t a pack healer or a concerned elder. It was my best friend Nala. Her face was full of anger. Then the Delta of the pack, Cole walked in , for a moment I saw a flicker of protective in his eyes which was entirely for me. “Get up Hailey” Cole commanded, his voice low and urgent “you can’t lie here like this , the heat will kill you if the grief doesn’t first”. He dragged me to my feet and gave me a hug as I cried in his arms . “He truly rejected you” Nala whispered , with a mix of guilt and rage. “There’s something you need to know” he said as he pulled out a small metal object , it was old and dark. A strange symbol carved into its surface, “what is that” I asked , he hesitated ““When my parents found you at the pack border, this was on you”, my breathing stopped “with me? Then why was it hidden for years” I asked. “They were going to tell you when you turned seventeen.” My heart began pounding, “What happened?” Cole’s expression darkened, “They never got the chance.” Silence. I looked down at the object again, and took it from his palms. The symbol on its surface began to glow, and pain shot through me. For the first time in nineteen years I heard a voice whisper Hailey” , I looked up in disbelief, then I heard that same voice telling me to run.