Rejected by My Fated Alpha

Running a fever of 102 degrees, Marcellus Ross, the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, insisted I brave the rain to get him some antacids. The storm outside was relentless, but his Alpha tone brooked no argument. So, I went, drenched to the bone, only to find him laughing with his pack members when I returned.

"See, I told you she'd come with just one call," he said, his voice dripping with amusement. "Pay up, everyone—a hundred bucks each."

Octavia Holmes, his Beta and childhood friend, smirked at me, her golden eyes glinting with malice. "Lilia Dean really is like a loyal puppy, isn't she? Why not give us a bark while you're at it?"

The room erupted in laughter, the sound echoing with humiliation. My wolf stirred within me, a low growl of protest, but I silenced her. I couldn’t afford to show weakness in front of them. Unable to bear it, I pushed the door open and left.

"Treat her like this, aren't you afraid she'll get mad and leave you?" someone asked, their voice tinged with mock concern.

"She's nothing but damaged goods," Marcellus replied, his tone cold and dismissive. "Who else would want an Omega like her besides me? Just wait, within minutes, she'll come back apologizing."

But this time, he miscalculated.

I turned and walked away, alone, toward the pack hospital where I had an abortion. This man, I realized, was no longer fit to be the father of my child. My wolf whimpered in the back of my mind, her pain mirroring my own.

Before entering the surgical room, the pack Healer, Naomi, asked if any family had come with me. I thought of Marcellus, of the bond we once shared, and the bitter reality of what it had become.

A sharp pain rippled through my chest as I lowered my eyes and replied, "They're all gone."

Naomi gave me a sympathetic look as I was wheeled into the operating room.

It rained the whole day and night, yet there wasn't a single message on my phone. I took a cab from the hospital back to the pack house, and even the few steps from the street to the door seemed to drain every ounce of strength I had, kept going only by sheer will.

Through the door, I heard laughter—a man's and a woman's.

When I opened the door, the laughter stopped, and both turned to look at me.

Marcellus lounged on the couch, casually caressing Octavia's belly. When he saw me, his face hardened, and he hurled the glass in his hand at me, anger dripping from his words.

"Lilia Dean, you actually came back! It was just a joke between me and Octavia, and you're throwing a fit over something so trivial?"

"I didn't even hold it against you for having a past, and now you're pulling this runaway act?"

Touching my face, cut by the shattered glass, I remained expressionless. Those vulnerabilities I showed him—the very things he used to