My Alpha Rejected Me but the Lycan Prince Claimed Me

The pack house kitchen was dead quiet at two in the morning. I stood by the marble counter, letting the warmth of my coffee mug seep into my cold hands. I was waiting for him. I always waited for him. Theodore Duncan, Alpha of the Silverfang Pack, and my fated mate. I had endured his coldness for years. My parents had lived in a miserable, loveless mate bond, refusing to reject each other out of stubborn pride. They taught me that endurance was just the normal cost of staying bonded. So, I shrank myself to fit Theodore's world. I believed he would eventually mark me.

Suddenly, a sharp buzz echoed in my head. A mind-link channel, carelessly left open.

I froze. It wasn't a late-night patrol report. It was a soft, breathless moan. A woman's voice. Ruby Fox.

"Theo..." she gasped.

My stomach dropped. I gripped the mug tighter.

Then came Theodore's voice, lazy and arrogant. "You are perfect, Ruby. Not like her."

"Your fated mate?" Ruby giggled cruelly.

"She is a runt," Theodore scoffed, his voice carrying to whoever else was in his inner circle channel. "Her wolf is weak. It is an embarrassment. She will never deserve the Luna title."

The coffee in my mug stopped rippling. I didn't move. My inner wolf whimpered, curling into a tight, miserable ball. I stood there in the dark for a long time, the coffee going ice cold in my hands. The hope I had clung to for years died right there on the kitchen floor.

The following evening, the Great Hall was packed. It was a formal pack banquet. Bright lights, crystal glasses, and the low hum of hundreds of wolves. I stood near the edge of the room, keeping my posture straight.

Theodore walked up to the raised dais. He didn't look at me. Instead, he reached out and pulled Ruby Fox up beside him. She wore a stunning red dress, a smug smile playing on her lips.

The chatter in the hall died instantly. The silence was heavy and suffocating.

Theodore's voice boomed, laced with his Alpha aura. "Silverfang Pack. Hear me."

My chest tightened. Every instinct told me to run, but my feet stayed planted. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.

He finally locked eyes with me. His gaze was cold, completely devoid of the mate bond that tied us together.

"I, Theodore Duncan, Alpha of the Silverfang Pack, reject you, Lilian Wright, as my mate."

The words hit me like a freight train. The severed bond tore through my body like a physical blade. My inner wolf let out a blood-curdling howl. She was being ripped from her Alpha, severed from the soul we were meant to share. It felt like my bones were turning to glass and shattering. She weakened instantly, pushed to the very edge of fading.

I tasted copper. I realized I was biting the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming.

The entire pack stared at me.