Loving The Enemy Alpha

Mollie’s POV

"I, Damien Vance, future Alpha of the Silvermane Pack, reject you, Mollie Entwistle, as my mate and future Luna," Damien’s voice echoed through the microphone, vibrating against the stone walls of the ceremonial hall.

The entire pack stared at me, their eyes drilling holes into my skin. I could not breathe, my heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, and the golden bond that had sparked between us just moments ago snapped with a physical force that made me drop straight to my knees. The public humiliation felt like hot acid in my veins, especially when Damien turned around and wrapped his arm tightly around Chloe's waist.

Chloe, my best friend since childhood, the Beta's wealthy daughter, smirked down at me from the raised platform, her eyes were filled with cruel triumph.

"She is the one who deserves the crown, Mollie, not some weak, low-ranking warrior's daughter," Damien announced to the crowd, his chin lifted high as the pack erupted into loud murmurs and mocking whispers.

I knelt there on the cold hard floor, staring at the glossy leather of Damien's boots. I had loved Damien Vance for as long as I could remember. We grew up together in the shadow of the Silvermane palace, playing in the woods and sharing secrets under the stars. Even though my parents were highly respected pack warriors with incredible military merits, I was born completely without a wolf. I lacked the supernatural strength, the sharp senses, and the healing abilities that every other member possessed. I could not even scream or howl as loudly as the rest of the pack, which forced me to accept the lowest possible rank in the territory, the status of a plain human being.

Despite my lack of abilities, Damien had always been there for me throughout my youth. He looked past my human flaws, protecting me from the harsh realities of the shifter world. We had shared our very first kiss beneath the ancient trees when we turned eighteen, and we had been dating happily ever since. Because of our deep history and my parents' high status as legendary warriors, no one ever dared to bully me to my face. I spent years watching him train, watching him grow into the powerful leader he was meant to become. Every time he smiled at me, my heart skipped a beat, and I secretly counted down the days until our twenty-first birthdays, praying that the moon goddess would bind our souls together regardless of my human blood.

I truly believed the cosmic mate bond sparking between us tonight was the ultimate proof of his devotion, a sign that we were meant to be together forever. But all of that safety, love, and protection shattered in a single second on the palace floor. The shield of my parents' merits could not save me from the burning sting of this public rejection, leaving me completely exposed to the cruel judgment of the entire pack.

He did not want a simple warrior's daughter, he wanted the status, the wealth, and the political power that came with the Beta's daughter. The love I carried for him for over a decade was crushed into dust in a matter of seconds, thrown away in front of hundreds of mocking witnesses.

"Hey, look at her, she is actually crying," a voice laughed from the front row, snapping me violently back to reality.

The harsh whispers of the crowd closed in on me from every single corner of the massive hall. I scrambled to my feet, my vision kept blurring with hot, stinging tears, and ran toward the dark corridor near the back exit to escape their pointing fingers. My hands shook so violently that I almost dropped my phone twice as I dialed my parents' number, praying they would pick up, praying they would save me from this horrible nightmare.

"Mom? Dad? Please, you have to come get me right now," I sobbed into the receiver the second the line connected, leaning my back against the cold stone wall of the hallway. "Damien rejected me in front of everyone. He chose Chloe. I can't stay here another minute, please, let's just leave the territory tonight."

"Mollie, sweetheart, calm down," my father’s deep, steady voice came through the speaker, though I could hear the instant fury tightening his tone. "We are already in the truck, driving past the northern ridge to get to the assembly hall. Hold on tight, we are coming to get our girl, and nobody treats an Entwistle like garbage."

"Hurry, please, just hurry," I begged, wiping the hot tear from my cheek before hanging up the phone.

I slouched against the wall, clutching the phone tightly against my chest, every single second feeling like an absolute eternity. The distant laughter from the main hall drifted down the corridor, mocking my misery, and making the agony of waiting almost unbearable.

As I sat in the dark. footsteps echoed from the opposite end of the hallway, slow and heavy, drawing my attention away from my phone. I looked up, expecting to see my parents running through the doors to rescue me, but instead, Alpha Arthur stepped into the dim light, his face was pale and grim, and his usual arrogant posture were completely gone.

"Mollie," Alpha Arthur said, his voice unusually quiet as he stopped a few feet away from me.

"Alpha? My parents are on their way, we are leaving the territory," I said quickly, taking a step back, my instincts flashing a sudden warning signal in my mind.

"They aren't coming, child," Arthur muttered, looking down at the stone floor, his hands gripping his ceremonial robe tightly. "There was an accident on the northern ridge route. A massive truck lost control on the black ice, and your parents' vehicle went over the cliff. The pack medics just confirmed that the impact instantly killed both of them."

The phone slid from my numb fingers, clattering loudly against the hard ground as the world completely tilted on its axis.

"No, that's a lie, they were just talking to me," I screamed, grabbing Arthur's arms, shaking him desperately as my breath caught in my throat. "They were just on the phone! You're lying to me because of what Damien did!"

"I am truly sorry, Mollie, but you are entirely alone now," Arthur stated firmly, pulling my hands off his sleeves with a cold, unblinking stare.

The grief hit me like a physical blow to the stomach, ripping the air from my lungs as I collapsed to my knees beside my cracked phone.

Suddenly, the heavy palace doors at the end of the corridor swung wide open with a deafening crash, and a massive, terrifying shadow fell over my trembling body. I forced my tear-stained eyes upward to see a dark, imposing warrior I had never seen before in my life standing in the threshold, his cold eyes locked onto mine as he held my father's blood-stained silver sword.