CHAPTER 2 : THE ALPHAS REJECTION
1263 Words
The clearing felt alive with silence. Hundreds of wolves crowded together under the towering pines, all of them staring at the platform in the center where the Alpha stood. Torches flickered around them, shadows stretching long over the packed dirt, and the air was thick with the smell of pine, smoke, and nerves.
Tonight was the Claiming. It was the night every unmated wolf waited for all year, but honestly, everyone acted like they already knew the outcome.
Aria’s hands shook as she took her first step forward. Her heart slammed so loud inside her chest, she was sure everyone could hear it. The weight of those stares pressed down on her like something physical.
She was expected to become the Alpha’s mate. Simple as that.
Her wolf paced beneath her skin, agitated. Mate… mate… mate…
Aria tried to slow her breathing as she climbed the wooden steps. She looked up and there he was—Alpha Kael.
Standing tall, intimidating, his dark hair messy over his forehead. The ceremonial cloak marked him out from the crowd, silver gleaming at the clasp. He looked every bit the leader—strong, unwavering, untouchable.
But Aria knew something nobody else did.
Their eyes met and the bond snapped tight, invisible but solid.
Mate.
Her wolf leapt. Joy surged up. Heat shot through her chest. That spark between them burned, electric. Kael felt it too, she caught the tension in his jaw, the shock flashing quick in his golden eyes.
A ripple spread through the crowd—whispers like wind through the trees.
“It’s happening…”
“The Alpha found his mate.”
Aria’s heart floated. For the first time, that constant fear inside her faded. Hope grew.
Maybe things were about to change.
Maybe she finally belonged.
The Elder stepped forward, leaning hard on his staff, his voice booming across the clearing.
“Tonight, our Alpha claims the mate chosen for him by the Moon Goddess.”
The wolves went wild, cheering.
Aria held her breath.
This was it.
Kael moved closer.
Their bond pounded in her veins, alive. For a second, nothing else mattered—the crowd, the torches, the world, all just faded out. Only him.
His gaze locked on hers, searching, intense. Something flickered in his eyes—something dark. Unease twisted in her gut.
He looked afraid.
He leaned close enough for only her to hear.
“Aria…”
Her name came out like a warning. Her heart stumbled.
Before she could say anything, Kael straightened, turning to the pack.
Silence dropped again. Every wolf, breath held, waited.
The Alpha claiming his mate.
Kael’s voice cut through the clearing. Cold, sharp, merciless.
“I reject her.”
Thunder. That’s how it felt. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed.
Then it hit.
Gasps scattered the stillness.
“What?!”
“That’s impossible!”
“The Alpha rejected his mate?!”
Aria’s world tilted. Her ears rang. She stared at Kael, sure she’d misheard.
“W-what…?” Her voice barely escaped her lips.
Kael didn’t so much as glance at her. He faced the crowd, his expression frozen.
“I, Alpha Kael of the Silver Ridge Pack, reject Aria as my mate.”
Each word cut, sharp as a blade. The worst fate for any wolf—rejected. Humiliation burned inside her as the crowd whispered and stared, pity and shock clear in their faces.
Aria’s wolf whimpered.
Mate… why?
Her chest twisted up tight.
“Why?” she managed, barely getting the question out.
Kael looked at her finally.
She saw it—panic, wild and raw in his golden eyes, nothing like his cold voice. His mask cracked.
Something was wrong.
The crowd hadn’t seen any of it. To them, Kael was calm—decisive, kingly, tossing aside an unworthy mate.
He turned away.
“Remove her.”
That order was deadly. Two guards rushed forward.
Aria’s stomach dropped as they grabbed her arms.
“Wait!” she cried, struggling. “Kael, please—!”
He didn’t respond. Didn’t move. Didn’t even acknowledge her.
The crowd opened as the guards dragged her away.
Shame burned hotter than fire. She could hear it—the whispers.
“Rejected…”
“Pathetic…”
“The Moon Goddess must have made a mistake…”
Tears blurred her vision, but she refused to let them fall. Not here. Not now. Not after what he’d done.
She was dragged from the platform, every step ripping her further from him.
How could he do this? The bond pulsed, painful, still alive. Rejecting a mate didn’t snap the connection. It just twisted it into agony.
Why did he do this?
At the edge of the clearing, Aria glanced back one last time.
Kael stood exactly where she’d left him—tall, still, unmoving.
Their eyes met, and his lips moved, silently.
Run.
Aria froze. Her breath caught. Had she imagined it?
But his eyes told her she hadn’t. That panic—true, urgent, desperate.
Run.
Before she could think, the guards shoved her.
“Keep moving.”
They dragged her into the forest, deeper, away from the ceremony. Her mind whirled.
Why reject her and tell her to run?
What was really happening?
The woods swallowed the ceremony’s sounds.
Finally, one guard shoved her hard. “You’re lucky the Alpha didn’t order worse,” he sneered. “A rejected mate usually gets exiled.”
Aria staggered but didn’t fall.
The second guard grinned. “Maybe he just didn’t want the pack seeing him kill you.”
Her blood froze.
Kill her?
The guards turned back toward the clearing, laughing.
Now Aria was alone in the dark.
Rejected. Humiliated. Lost.
Her wolf trembled, but one thought screamed louder than everything else.
Run.
Kael’s warning replayed in her mind, over and over.
Why risk it? Unless she was really in danger.
Her heart skipped. That was it—real danger.
A howl shattered the night.
Aria jerked her head up. That wasn’t a pack call. That was a hunt signal.
Her stomach flipped.
They weren’t done with her.
Suddenly it was clear—Kael hadn’t rejected her out of spite. He’d done it to protect her.
Someone wanted her dead, and the Alpha had given her one shot to escape.
Another howl sounded, closer.
Aria didn’t wait.
She ran.
Branches whipped her arms, roots tried to trip her, her heart pumping wild and frantic.
Behind her, more howls replied. They were tracking her. Hunting.
Her wolf surged forward—run faster, run harder.
The trees blurred as she pushed herself beyond anything she’d ever felt.
But the hunters were closing in. She could smell them—three wolves, maybe four. All from her own pack.
The ones she’d grown up with.
Now chasing her like prey.
A sudden roar split the air.
The hunters stopped. Silence fell.
Aria skidded to a stop, heart banging.
That roar—she knew it.
Alpha Kael.
Why was he here? Why did he sound furious?
Behind her, the wolves hesitated.
One growled, nervous. “The Alpha…?”
Another answered, quiet. “He wasn’t supposed to follow.”
Not supposed to?
A twig snapped.
Aria turned.
A huge black wolf slid out of the shadows. Golden eyes burning.
Alpha Kael.
His gaze held fury now, protective and terrifying. He looked at her, then at the wolves behind her. His lips curled into a snarl, meaning one thing.
Touch her—and die.
Aria’s breath caught.
He’d rejected her, humiliated her, sent her away.
But he’d come.
To protect her.
Why? And who ordered the hunt?
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD