Chapter One

THE REJECTION

My boots hit the cobblestones as I walked toward the manor. I wanted to turn around, but I kept going.

The manor stood at the top of the hill, surrounded by tall stone walls and iron gates. I used to think of this place as home. Tonight, I couldn't even look at it the same way.

A guard stepped in front of me, lowering his spear.

"The Alpha isn't receiving visitors tonight."

"He'll receive me."

I didn't know where the confidence in my voice came from, but the guard hesitated before stepping aside. I walked through the doors.

The first thing I noticed was the noise. Music filled the hall, and people were laughing and talking, their voices mixing together. There were more people here than usual.

I looked around. Then I saw him.

Malrik.

My chest tightened.

He stood at the center of the hall with a woman beside him. She had long black hair, pale skin, and a beautiful dress that made it obvious she had come here to be noticed.

Selina Voss.

Her hand was wrapped around Malrik's arm. I stopped for a second. So the rumors were true.

Malrik looked up and saw me. His silver eyes met mine, but there was nothing warm in them anymore.

"Avelyn." He said my name calmly. "What are you doing here?"

I almost laughed. Three years. I'd loved this man for three years, and now he was looking at me as if I had no right to be standing in his home.

"You didn't send me any word," I said. "I've heard nothing from you for three weeks. Then I hear from a merchant in the square that you've taken another mate."

"It's true." He didn't hesitate.

My chest hurt. I looked at the woman beside him.

"Why her?" My voice cracked slightly, and I hated that everyone could hear it.

Selina smiled. "Because unlike you, I don't have to hide in the shadows because I don't have a wolf."

I turned toward her. "Nobody was talking to you."

Her smile disappeared. "Watch your mouth. You're speaking to your Alpha's mate."

"I'm still his mate." I looked at Malrik. "Until he says otherwise."

His jaw tightened. "Then let me say otherwise."

My heart dropped. I felt the mate bond between us tighten. I knew what was coming, but I still wasn't prepared for it.

Malrik stepped forward. "You're weak Avelyn," he said. "You're not strong enough to stand beside me. You're not strong enough to rule beside me."

I stared at him. "Malrik..."

He didn't stop. "Which is why… I, Malrik Thorne, Alpha of the Thorne pack, reject you, Avelyn Draven, as my mate."

For a moment, I couldn't breathe. The pain hit me hard. My knees gave out, and I grabbed the wall to keep myself standing. My chest felt like it was being crushed from the inside, and I gasped and tried to breathe through it. I had never been marked, and I knew that was the only reason the pain wasn't worse.

"Malrik." I looked at him. "Look at me. Tell me you don't mean it."

"I've never meant anything more." He didn't even look at me.

That hurt more than anything. He couldn't even look me in the eyes while destroying everything between us.

I slowly straightened. I refused to cry in front of these people.

Malrik turned away from me. "I have taken a new mate," he announced to everyone in the hall. "A stronger woman who can rule beside me and give me powerful heirs. Her name is Selina Voss."

Selina walked over to him and held his arm. The crowd immediately started cheering.

"Long live Luna Selina!"

The chant spread through the hall. I stood there while everyone celebrated. Nobody cared that I was still struggling to breathe, and nobody cared that my hands were shaking.

I turned around and walked out. I didn't stop until I was outside.

The moment I reached the stone wall, my legs gave out. I slid down and sat on the ground, breathing heavily. The pain in my chest was slowly fading. I stared at the ground.

It was over. Three years of loving him, three years of believing I would one day stand beside him, gone in a few words.

By morning, everyone knew. The moment I entered the village square, people started whispering.

"There she is."

"The rejected mate."

"Malrik made the right decision. She was never fit to stand beside an Alpha."

"She doesn't even have a wolf. What did she think she could do for him?"

I kept walking. Two children noticed me and started laughing.

"Look! That's the girl the Alpha rejected!"

Their mother quickly pulled them closer, but she was laughing too.

I ignored them. A woman standing near the well looked me up and down.

"Not fit to rule," she said loudly. "She's probably not fit for much else either."

I stopped. "No one asked you."

The woman went silent, and I continued walking. Some men spat on the ground as I passed, and others looked away. People who used to smile at me now acted as if they didn't know me.

I kept walking with my head up. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing me break. They could talk all they wanted. They didn't know me. They didn't know what I'd survived. They didn't know what I had been hiding all these years.

That night, when I was finally alone, I couldn't hold it in anymore, and I cried. Not because I wanted Malrik back. I cried because I had spent years trying to fit into a life that had never accepted me.

I had stayed quiet when I wanted to speak. I had ignored insults. I had hidden parts of myself because I was afraid of what people would think.

I looked at the scars on my arms. Some came from fights nobody knew about, not even Malrik.

I walked over to the window and looked at my reflection.

"You should have known this would happen," I whispered.

I had always known there was something different about me. I just refused to face it. But tonight, something inside me changed.

My body suddenly felt hot. I pressed my hand against my chest. My heart was beating faster. The strange feeling I'd spent years trying to control was getting stronger.

I closed my eyes. For the first time, I didn't try to push it away. I let it come. Whatever was inside me had been waiting for this moment, and I was done hiding it.

"I'm done being quiet," I whispered.

I opened my eyes. "I'm done making myself small for people who don't deserve me."

This time, I meant it.