Chapter 1: Happy Birthday to Me, Apparently

Ashleigh

“I, Ethan Blackwood, reject you, Ashleigh Summers, as my mate.”

It was him. Ethan Blackwood. Alpha’s son. The guy I’d been stupidly crushing on since I was twelve. The whole pack knew this

The words hit like a knife to my chest.

I stared at him. “What?”

He didn’t flinch. He just crossed his arms, jaw tight. “You heard me. I reject you.”

My mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. “You’re kidding. Right? This was some messed-up birthday prank. Ha ha. Hilarious. You got me.”

He didn’t laugh. Nobody did.

Dad, my father Beta Summers, always so proud, always lecturing me about “duty” and “strength” stepped forward fast. “Ethan, son, think this through. The bond:..”

“I thought this through,” Ethan cut in, voice flat. “She’s not Luna material. She hasn’t even shifted. She’s… weak.”

Weak.

A few gasps rippled through the crowd. Someone snorted probably one of the younger warriors who hated Ethan’s guts anyway. Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “This isn’t a joke, Ashleigh.”

“Oh, I knew it wasn’t,” I snapped back, voice shaking now because the pain spread, crawled up my throat. “Because if it was, you’d have had better timing. It was my birthday. You couldn’t wait twenty-four more hours to publicly humiliate me?”

Mom pushed through the crowd, face pale. “Ashleigh, honey…”

“Don’t,” I cut her off. “Don’t ‘honey’ me right now.”

Ethan turned to my dad. “Beta, you know this is for the pack. We need strength. Unity. Ashley…”

My twin sister’s name dropped.

Ashley. Perfect Ashley. Early shifter at sixteen, top grades, pre-med abroad, came back looking like a magazine cover, long shiny hair, confident smile, everyone’s darling. The one who actually studied something useful instead of burying her nose in law books everyone said were “for men anyway.”

I whipped my head to him. “Ashley? You’re serious?”

He nodded once. “She’s strong. Smart. She’ll make a better Luna.”

I laughed again, sharper this time, almost manic. “Oh my god. You planned this. You waited for my birthday so you could do this big dramatic thing and pick her instead. That’s… that’s actually impressive levels of asshole.”

“Ashleigh!” Dad barked.

“What? Am I wrong?” I spun on him. “You’re okay with this? You’re my dad. You’re supposed to…”

“I support the future Alpha’s decision,” he said, voice low, but I heard the strain. “The pack comes first.”

“Pack comes first,” I echoed, mocking. “Right. Pack first. Not your daughter who’s currently feeling her soul get shredded because her mate just called her weak in front of everyone she knows.”

Mom reached for me. “Baby, please…”

I jerked away. “Don’t touch me.”

Ethan stepped closer to Ashley, who stood there wide-eyed, hand over her mouth like she was shocked. Shocked. Sure. She’d been batting her lashes at him for years, and he’d been eating it up. I saw the way he looked at her now. Soft. Possessive already.

He dropped to one knee.

Right there. In the dirt. In front of the bonfire. In front of me.

“Ashley Summers,” he said, voice steady, “will you do me the honor of becoming my mate? My Luna?”

Ashley’s eyes flicked to me. Just once. Quick. Mocking? Or smug? I couldn’t tell through the blur in my vision.

She nodded. “Yes.”

The pack erupted. Cheers. Claps. Someone whooped. Mom started crying happy tears, I think, because she hugged Ashley immediately. Dad clapped Ethan on the back like he just won a championship.

I stood there. Alone. Chest caving in.

I tried to speak. Nothing came out at first. Then, “Congratulations.”

It was barely a whisper.

Ethan looked at me. “Ashleigh…”

“Save it,” I snapped. “Really. Save the fake pity. You’ve got your perfect Luna now. Go plan your perfect wedding. I’m sure it’ll be magazine-worthy. Ashley’s good at that.”

Ashley turned. “Ash, I didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?” I cut in. “Didn’t know he was going to reject me on my birthday and propose to you five seconds later? Or didn’t care?”

She flinched. “That’s not fair. It’s my birthday too, don’t I deserve this. .”

“Fair? Deserve this? Ashley, you know you’re so mean?” I laughed again, god, why did I keep laughing? It hurt more every time. “Nothing about this is fair. You get everything. Always. The shift. The brains. The praise. The guy. And I get… this.”

I gestured at myself. At the pain still ripping through me. At the pack staring like I was a car crash they couldn’t look away from.

Ethan stood up. “It’s done. The bond’s rejected. You’ll feel better soon.”

“Soon,” I repeated. “Great. Can’t wait for soon. Sounds fun.”

I turned to walk away. My legs felt like jelly. Someone probably one of my cousins tried to grab my arm. I shook them off.

“Ashleigh, wait…” Mom called.

I didn’t.

I made it maybe ten steps before the tears hit. Hot, angry, embarrassing. I swiped at them hard. No way I cried where they could see. Not after that.

Behind me, I heard Ethan murmur to Ashley, “She’ll get over it.”

Get over it.

Like I was a cold. Like the mate bond was a bad date.

I stopped. Turned back. Voice loud enough for everyone.

“Hey, Ethan?”

He looked up.

“Happy birthday to me, huh? Best gift ever. Thanks for the rejection. Really sets the tone for the next twenty years.”

He didn’t answer.

Ashley whispered something to him. He nodded.

I kept walking.

The pain didn’t stop. It dug deeper with every step. My wolf howled inside, mournful, furious, betrayed. I wanted to howl back. I wanted to shift just so I could run until my lungs burned and this feeling stopped.

But I didn’t shift. Still hadn’t. Even with the bond snapping, even with the almost-shift earlier, nothing.

Figures.

I made it to the edge of the clearing, ducked behind a tree, and finally let the sobs out. Quiet at first, then louder and choking. My hands shook so bad I couldn’t even wipe my face properly.

Why me? Why him? Why today?

I thought about all the years I watched him. The way he laughed at training, the way he glanced my way sometimes and I convinced myself it meant something. Stupid. So stupid.

Ashley got the fairy tale. I got the punchline.

And the worst part? Part of me still wanted to run back and beg. Part of me still felt the pull, even broken, even rejected. It was pathetic.

I hated this whole damn pack.

But most of all, I hated that I was still here. Still breathing. Still feeling every second of this.

Because if I could just stop feeling, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much.

I slid down the tree trunk. Knees to chest. Forehead against them.

Happy birthday, Ashleigh.

You’re officially mate-less.

And apparently worthless.