Chapter 1: The Public Ruin

POV: Roxana

Jaxon threw the silver bonding dagger onto the floor with a loud clang. "I, Jaxon Vance, reject you, Roxana Ashbourne, as my fated mate and future Luna," his voice boomed across the crowded hall. 

"You are too weak to stand by my side, and I refuse to shackle my future to an omega."

A collective gasp rippled through the hundreds of wolves watching us from the gallery. My heart felt like it was pressed against my ribs, but I forced my chin up and refused to let a single tear fall. 

I looked past his shoulder and saw Seraphine standing in the front row, a triumphant smirk playing on her lips.

Jaxon stepped down from the dais, completely ignoring the murmuring crowd, and walked straight toward my best friend, Seraphine. 

He grabbed Seraphine by the waist, pulling her up onto the stage into the bright light. "Seraphine is the woman who will rule beside me," Jaxon announced, kissing her deeply right in front of me.

The betrayal hurt deeper than the rejection, but I kept my body rigid as the crowd began to whisper and mock my name. "Look at her, discarded like trash," a vicious voice jeered from the back of the room. 

I gripped the edge of my gown tightly, keeping my eyes fixed forward, refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing me break.

The door at the back of the room suddenly flung open, silencing the entire crowd instantly. Alpha Magnus Vance strode inside, his massive, dominant aura crushing the air completely out of everyone present. 

He was decades older than us, his face scarred from war, and his presence demanded absolute submission from the pack.

Magnus walked up the steps of the dais, his dark eyes scanning the room before landing on his step-son Jaxon. 

"You think you can play games with the pack's future, Jaxon?" Magnus growled, his voice vibrating through the hall. "You rejected a fated match for a mistress, leaving our lineage unstable and without a proper line of succession."

Jaxon took a step back, his face turning pale as he tried to defend his choice. "Father, Seraphine is stronger, she will bear me strong pups for the future throne," he stuttered out. 

Magnus didn't even look at Seraphine, completely dismissing her presence with a cold glare that made her flinch.

"I took your mother in out of duty to my late brother, but you are not my blood," Magnus stated coldly. "Since you cannot make stable decisions, I will secure the throne myself by taking a new Luna to bear my true heir." 

Victoria, the first wife and Jaxon’s mother, gasped from her seat, her face turning pale with immediate fury.

Before the first wife, Victoria could protest, I took three sharp steps forward, breaking out of the crowd. 

I stood right in front of the colossal Alpha, locking my eyes with his terrifying, dark gaze. "I will be your Luna, Magnus, no matter the condition," I said, my voice echoing clearly across the hall.

Jaxon laughed out loud, a harsh and mocking sound that echoed off the stone walls. 

"You? You are nothing but a discarded omega, Roxana," he sneered, stepping toward me with his fists clenched tightly. "My father would never touch the trash that I threw away, so crawl back to your hole."

Magnus shifted his gaze down to me, his expression completely unreadable and hard as stone. The dominant pressure in the room spiked, forcing Jaxon to shut his mouth and take a step back. 

"You stand before me after being rejected, yet you dare to offer yourself to the supreme Alpha?" Magnus asked.

"I am offering you a solution, Alpha Magnus," I replied, keeping my voice steady despite the absolute terror in my chest. "You need a true heir to secure your throne, and I need a position that ensures my survival." I did not look back at Jaxon or Seraphine, keeping my focus entirely on the man holding all the power.

Victoria stood up from her chair at the high table, her jewelry clinking loudly in the silent room. "Alpha, this is an insult to our family and the entire pack hierarchy," she hissed, pointing a finger at me. "She is a child, a broken wolf who was just cast aside by your own son."

"He is not my son, Victoria, and you would do well to remember that," Magnus turned his head slightly to warn her. His voice carried a promise that made the first wife instantly freeze and lower her hand. 

He turned his full attention back to me, taking a step closer until his shadow completely covered me.

"You said you would accept any condition, Roxana," Magnus murmured, his deep voice for my ears only. "My bed is not a place for romance, and my court is a nest of vipers that will try to kill you." He reached out, his thick, scarred fingers gripping my chin firmly to force me to look up.

"I do not care about romance, and I am not afraid of vipers," I lied, looking directly into his dark eyes. I could feel the heat radiating from his massive body, a stark contrast to the cold rejection Jaxon had given me. "Give me the crown, and I will give you the male heir you require."

Seraphine stepped forward, her face twisted in a mixture of anger and panic as she realized what was happening. "Alpha Magnus, she is lying to you, she is just doing this to get back at Jaxon," she cried out. "She is a traitorous omega who doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as the royal family."

Magnus didn't even turn around to look at her, his grip on my chin tightening just enough to assert his absolute dominance. "Silence," he commanded, and the sheer power in his voice forced Seraphine to drop to her knees, gasping for breath. The entire hall remained dead silent, waiting for the supreme ruler's final decision.

"The mating will take place immediately in the private sanctuary," Magnus announced to the shocked room. He released my chin, turning his back on his furious family and the stunned pack members. 

"Follow me, Roxana, and let us see if you have the stomach for the life you just demanded."

I took a deep breath, smoothing down my white ceremonial dress, and stepped over the discarded silver dagger on the floor. 

I walked right past Jaxon, meeting his furious, wide eyes with a cold, triumphant smile of my own. 

But as I followed the Alpha out of the hall, I knew my life would never be the same.