My Rejected Mate Begged Me to Rule Beside Him

The music from the packhouse thrummed through my chest as I navigated the crowd, searching for Ace. Tonight was supposed to be perfect—his Alpha succession ceremony had gone flawlessly, and I wanted to congratulate him before the night ended. Three years. Three years I'd hidden who I really was, living as a low-ranking omega in this pack, all because I believed love should be about the person, not the title.

My wolf stirred restlessly inside me, which was strange. She'd been quiet for weeks.

"Have you seen Ace?" I asked a passing Delta, but he barely glanced at me before shaking his head and moving on. Story of my life here.

I caught his scent then—cedar and rain, distinctly him—leading away from the main celebration toward the garden sheds. My heart picked up speed. Maybe he'd stepped away from the chaos for a moment of peace. I could give him my gift, the hand-carved wolf figurine I'd spent months perfecting.

The shed door stood slightly ajar, golden light spilling onto the grass. I pushed it open with a smile.

That smile died instantly.

Ace had Saylor pressed against the workbench, his hands tangled in her hair, her dress pushed up around her thighs. They were so consumed with each other they didn't even notice me frozen in the doorway.

My best friend. My mate—no, not my mate. Just... Ace. Just the guy I'd fallen for despite every warning my father had given me about trusting too easily.

The clock in the distance began to chime. Midnight.

On the twelfth strike, something inside me exploded to life. My wolf surged forward with a force that nearly drove me to my knees, and suddenly the world sharpened into crystal clarity. Ace's scent hit me like a physical blow—cedar and rain and something wild and mine, mine, MINE.

The mate bond snapped into place with the subtlety of a lightning strike.

"No," I gasped, the word torn from my throat.

They sprang apart. Saylor's eyes went wide, but not with guilt—with calculation. Ace's face cycled through shock, realization, and then something that made my stomach drop.

Revulsion.

"Aurora," he said, my name like a curse. He could feel it too, I realized. The bond pulling taut between us, singing with recognition.

"Ace, I—" I couldn't even finish the sentence. What was I supposed to say? Surprise, the Moon Goddess chose me, the omega you've barely looked at for three years?

He grabbed my arm, his grip bruising, and dragged me out of the shed. I stumbled, trying to pull free, but his Alpha strength was too much.

"Ace, stop—"

"Shut up," he snarled, hauling me through the garden and back toward the main party. The crowd parted as he shoved through, his Alpha aura rolling off him in waves. Wolves stopped mid-conversation, mid-dance, mid-drink. All eyes turned to us.

To me.

He released me in the center of the crowd, and I nearly fell. The music cut off abruptly. In the sudden silence,