Rejected By The Alpha, Claimed By The Beast

ky

was the night. The ceremony that would reveal true mates had been etched into my mind since childhood, a sacred ritual where the Moon

bonfire's flickering glow. My fingers curled into my palms, nails biting into flesh. The energy in the air crackled,

s dark hair tousled by the wind, sharp golden eyes scanning the crowd. A warrior in every sense, Tobias was the kind of Alpha

Elder Marlow, her silver hair gleaming under the moonlight, lifted her hands. "The Moon

Tobias's gaze burned against my skin, and

urred, and a force stronger than anything I had ever known slammed into my chest. My wolf howled

just a moment- relief and something dangerously close to longing flick

voice like a blade slici

ers erupted around us. My breath caught, the sharp

rrowing. "Alpha Tobias, the bond has b

he words were spoken with the same certainty he used in ba

mate bond's initial pull. My knees buckled, but I refus

able to speak through the lu

e not fit to stand by my side, Nikky. A Luna mu

ry and heartbreak warring within me. He had known me since childhood. He had

oice carrying across the clearing.

n my head. The rejection shattered something inside me, an invisible tether snapping.

lking back to the pack house a

he didn't want me, I would leave before anyone saw the tears threatening to spill. I pushed through the murmuring crow

ded beyond words. The bond was severed, but the pain lingered like an open wound. My feet pounded agai

n the darkness. My pulse raced. The air thickened, charged with something primal and un

moonlight. Clawed hands, sharp fangs, raw power rolling off him in waves. But it wasn'

ice, gravelly and laced with something I c

jected me. But standing before me, the beast in the shadows spoke the o

ky

ing's voice was rough, edged with something dark and primal. It sent a chill down my spine

d. "No," I whispered, shaking my he

I had felt the bond snap, severed by his words, yet my body still tremble

esence was something more- more powerful, more untamed, more dangerous. His dark hair fell past his shoulders, wild and

rippling with raw, lethal strength. Scars marred his torso-marks of battles

rests before the rise of werewolf packs. Creatures who had been hunted, driven into hiding. Th

neath his weight. "Your body recognizes me, does

ed-not in pain, not in fear, but in somethi

o

ther. "I don't know what kind of game yo

mprehend, his massive form towered over mine, trapping me between him and the trees. Th

ine, every nerve in my body screaming at the contact. "You smell of rejection," he mur

th hitc

up my arm. My heart slammed against my ribs. His touch wasn't rough

a predator contemplating his next move

was different now. The hurt was still there, but it wasn't all-consuming. Not

d run. But my feet remained rooted to the ground. My pulse t

e," I said, my voice b

edges, a ghost of a s

slow path along my jawline. "You don't

without a second thought. Now, standing in the dark woods with a beast who shouldn't exist, a new bond was clawin