Rejected by the Alpha — Chapter 1: The Rejection

The great hall smelled of pine smoke and roasted meat, filled with the low hum of a hundred voices. Tonight was the Mating Ceremony, the one night each year when every unmated wolf in the territory gathered under one roof, waiting to feel that pull toward their fated partner.

Adrian stood near the back wall, half-hidden in shadow, the way he always stood at these events. He was not tall or strong like the others. He worked in the kitchens, not the training grounds. Nobody expected much from him