Chapter 1 : Rejection and humiliation

Arianna's POV

It's been a decade since my grandmother told me about a witch from the Noble family.

Their battle against the Moonstone pack had left a great scar in Mystic Falls, starting from the discrimination against omega wolves who were recorded to have made no significant contribution in the battle, to the total eradication of witches.

Grandma always told me that the witch lurks within us, according to the great prophecy of old.

She always said that there shall come a time in Mystic Falls when the dark force shall arise, determined to resurrect her kind and create a new dawn of darkness.

But I guess those were all just fallacies because Mystic Falls has known nothing but peace.

“Arianna!!” I felt a soft tap on my shoulder, snapping me out of my reverie.

I quickly turned as my eyes locked onto Damien's, meeting his piercing grey eyes.

“Phew!! I've been trying to get your attention for ages now. What have you been thinking about?” He let out a huge sigh of relief as he took a seat next to me on the king-sized bed.

“I'm sorry. I was just thinking about the story I told you about,” I replied.

“The same story about the old witch from the Noble family?” He asked.

“Yup.”

“Come on, baby. We have a ceremony to prepare for tonight. The whole pack is going to know that you're my mate,” he giggled, gushing with so much excitement.

I let out a soft smile, blushing hard as I grabbed his arm, glaring into his eyes.

“I'm so excited.”

“We're going to be together forever, baby. Nothing can set our hearts apart,” he placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

My expression quickly went gloomy as a thought struck me immediately.

“What's the problem?” He asked, lifting my jaw slightly.

“Are you sure they're going to accept me? I'm an omega wolf,” I highlighted.

“I choose whoever I want to be with,” he replied.

His words were enough for me to have courage.

He gave me a warm hug as he left my chamber, heading out to attend to other matters that needed his attention.

I slowly let my back fall to the bed as I spread my arms, smiling incessantly as I kept thinking about his reassuring words to me.

My life was so simple while growing up. All I ever wanted to do was to stand out amongst other omega wolves in Mystic Falls.

I never knew the spotlight was going to come on me, and Damien would notice me.

As the Alpha of Moonstone pack, every female werewolf dreamt of being mated to him.

But I guess fate picked me out, everyone else. I always had an inexplicable pull towards him.

I wasn't so drawn to him at first because I was utterly irritated by his ruthlessness. But as we spent time together, I began to enjoy the interesting moments I had with him.

Bored from lying in bed all day, I decided to take a walk around the castle.

But as I stepped out of my chamber, my instincts flared as I heard Damien having a heated conversation with Sarah, his mother.

I slowly walked towards the edge of the door on my toes and fixed my right ear closer to hear their conversation.

“You can't take her in as your mate,” she roared, slamming her hand against the wall angrily.

“But mum, she's my mate. I mean, there's no way I can go against the will of fate,” Damien replied.

“What do you think the entire council will say when they find out that you took an omega to be your Luna, huh?” She highlighted.

Damien cleared his throat, taking a deep breath as he thought of a reply to give.

“Fine. I thought as much. Correct this before it's too late,” she added.

“But mum, I love Arianna…”

“Don't say that. An Alpha needs to know when to back down and act for his people and not to satisfy his emotions,” Sarah firmly interjected.

Tears had already begun to cloud my eyes as I felt my heart sink into my chest.

Damien quickly stormed out of the room, suddenly bumping into me on his way out.

His jaw dropped as his expression was struck with shock.

“What…” words eluded his mouth as he dragged me to my chamber immediately, shutting the door behind him.

“How long have you been there?” His arms were arched above his waist as he stood before me.

I sniffled, cleaning up the tears that were already beginning to trail down my eyes.

“Long enough to hear your mum tell you to reject me,” I replied.

He rubbed his hair vigorously, evidently struck by deep frustration as he took a deep breath.

“Look at me, Arianna. None of that is going to happen, trust me,” he assured, pulling me closer as he hugged me.

“But what if you do?” I sobbed softly.

“Shhhhh!! I will never humiliate you like that.”

“I, Alpha Damien Jones, the Alpha of the Moonstone pack…reject Arianna Teres as my mate!” His voice echoed across the terrain, piercing through my feeble heart.

My mouth went open with shock as I glared at him, unable to accept what my ears heard.

“She is an omega wolf, and for that reason, she can't be the Luna of Moonstone pack,” he added.

With an expressionless look on his face, he returned back into the castle, keeping his gaze away from me.

Tears kept streaming down my cheeks as I lifted my gown and fastened my hills, chasing after Damien as he walked into his chamber.

“Why would you do this to me?” I wailed sorrowfully.

He remained silent, facing his back towards me as he stood firmly.

“Answer me!!” I yelled.

“Leave, Arianna. What more do you want to hear from me? You have no place here,” he said firmly, keeping his back faced towards me.

“Turn and face me. I want to see the look in your eyes,” I sobbed, yelling loudly

as my heart ached with so much pain.

But with a gesture from him, the guards quickly rushed and dragged me away while I wailed and desperately pulled against their grip.