Rejected.

Selena.

My eyes burned, but no tears fell.

Not yet.

I stood there, frozen, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure they could hear it. My fingers curled into the fabric of my dress as if holding myself together was the only thing keeping me upright.

“What do you want from me?” I asked, unable to meet his gaze.

“You came into my room without permission,” he said calmly. “So you might as well see what I do when you’re not looking.” A sly smile curved at the edge of his lips.

I shook my head. “No. Please.” I pleaded, already sensing what he had in mind.

He didn’t answer me. He didn’t even look at me.

He walked back to Joyce.

My stomach dropped. 

She looked uncertain for a split second, then her chin lifted. Christopher’s hands went to her waist, pulling her close. He kissed her without hesitation, without restraint, like I wasn’t even in the room.

Like I didn’t exist.

I turned my face away.

“Look at me,” he snapped.

The sound of his voice made me flinch. I forced my eyes back, my vision blurring as my chest tightened.

I watched helplessly as his hand roamed every curve of her body, and she shamelessly moaned to his touch.

“Go on your fours, baby,” he whispered into her ear.

She knelt on the bed, her body arched toward him, and I watched the man I called my mate shamelessly take her while she moaned without restraint.

Every movement felt like a knife carving something out of me. My ears rang. My heart raced.

I focused on the sound of my breathing, on the floor beneath my feet, on anything that was not him.

“Oh god damn. Your pussy is so fucking sweet, Joyce” Christopher growled as he kept fucking his mistress. 

“Yes! Fuck me harder Alpha,” Joyce moaned wantonly. 

Pain sliced through my heart, breaking restraint within. I refused to cry. I would not give them that satisfaction. 

For a moment, I blamed myself for believing I ever belonged. That I was lucky. All I was the entire time was a pawn in his game. 

The room felt smaller. Hotter. Every breath scraped my lungs raw. I stood there, trapped in place, while he showed me exactly how little I meant.

When it was finally over, the silence was unbearable.

Christopher stepped away from her, his body glistening with sweat as he adjusted his underwear.

He picked up a towel and wiped his face, then walked toward me as if nothing had happened. His expression was almost curious as he stopped in front of me.

“Did you enjoy the show?” he asked.

I said nothing.

He studied my face, then scoffed. “Too bad,” he continued. “You’ll never know what that feels like.”

My voice came out hoarse. “I thought you loved me.”

That made him laugh.

“No man in his right mind would love someone like you,” he said flatly. “Just look at you. You are the most shapeless thing ever to be created. You should be grateful I even pretended to be your mate.”

The words hit harder than any slap.

“Then why?” I whispered. “Why choose me at all?”

He hesitated for half a second.

Then his eyes hardened.

“Trust me, if I told you why, I would have to kill you.”

My knees nearly buckled.

Joyce stepped forward then, her voice soft but sharp. “Since she already knows, you should just reject her.”

Christopher considered that.

Then he turned to me.

“She’s right,” he said. “There’s no use keeping you as my mate, since I can still get you to do my bidding, Omega. So I, Alpha Christopher Ravencroft, reject you, Selena Williams, as my mate.”

“I accept your rejection,” I replied, not wanting to waste another second on someone who thought so little of me.

But the moment the words left my lips, a sharp pain tore through my stomach and I instinctively clutched at it.

Though the pain was familiar, this one felt far worse. I thought I was going to die.

I’d heard stories. About what rejection did to an omega. I never thought I’d live through it.

Through the haze of pain, I could hear Christopher laughing, calling me pathetic, mocking how weak I was.

When I finally managed to steady myself, I turned toward the door, barely aware of my legs moving.

“Did I say you could leave?” he called.

I stopped.

“For what it’s worth, you will still attend the coronation,” he said coldly. “You’ll smile. You’ll stand beside me. You’ll play the role of my perfect omega Luna.”

He stepped closer.

“But understand this,” he said quietly. “To me, you are nothing. Joyce is my chosen mate. You are just my other option when I feel like it.”

My nails bit into my palms. So this was my punishment. To smile while I bled.

“You should be grateful. A million omegas would kill for this position. And if you tell anyone what you saw tonight, I will destroy your family. One call to my uncle and they are gone. You know I can do it.”

I did.

His uncle was the Alpha King who had taken him in after his parents died. From everything I had heard, he was ruthless and showed no mercy to those who crossed his family.

“Now get out of my sight.”

I didn’t run.

I didn’t cry.

I walked out of that room with my spine straight and my heart in pieces, knowing that everything I believed in had just been burned to the ground.

And tomorrow, I would have to stand beside him and smile.

My heart felt like it was shredding itself apart when I saw my mother walking toward me, her face glowing as she held a gift in her hands.

I quickly wiped my face, not wanting her to see my pain.

“Oh, Selena,” she said brightly. “We are so proud of you. Just look at all the gifts. I cannot wait for you to be Luna. Imagine how wealthy we will be.”

“I’m glad you’re happy, Mum,” I said softly.

For a moment, I almost told her everything. The words sat in my throat heavily. But I swallowed them, because the truth would only destroy her too.

Her attention was pulled away by one of the maids, and for a moment I stood there completely alone, broken and unwanted.

So I did the only thing that came to my mind.

I walked out of the pack house, got into my car, I was about starting the car, when my phone pinged. I checked to see who it was I saw that it was a message from Christopher. 

“Where the fuck do you think you are going? Get back into the house.”

Instinctively, I looked outside the windscreen, to see if he was looking, and found him standing outside his balcony. His face was daring. 

For two years I have obeyed every one of his rules, and what has it gotten me? I turned on the ignition of the car and within seconds I sped out of the packhouse. 

I did not know where I was going. I only knew I couldn't stay a second longer.