Rejected by my Alpha, the Moon goddess chose me.

May’s Pov.

     The evening air was filled with the scent of roses and burning incense, caressing through the crowds. The night was serene as petals and shadowed plantations beautify the premises. The moon shone bright above, making the premises glowy, as the wolves of the BlueCrest pack were gathered. Tonight was a big deal— Our Alpha was about to be crowned and his mate would be revealed. 

And me? I was just there to serve wine and patch up any injuries.

 I adjusted the leather purse at the side of my waist, and my hands wouldn’t stop trembling. My purse was torn and old and packed with poultices, bandages, ointments, and calming herbs. Those were the tools I used as a healer’s apprentice. These were what defined my place in the pack– just a healer and nothing more.

I was meant to stay in the background. That is my role as always, though it sucks but I was already used to it. 

Everything seemed fine until I looked up—and saw him.

Alpha Castello!

He looked like he stepped right out of a hall of golden flames. A very dominant figure, broad shoulders wrapped in a black ceremonial clothing, a well-defined chiseled jaw, and eyes like thunderclouds—cold and wild, impossible to hold. Both every female wolf and half the males tried.

He moved through the crowd, followed by his Beta and the candidate for his mate, Ceryn. Her platinum braid sparkled in the moonlight. The pack adored her—she had a powerful lineage, a strong wolf, with a perfect shift, and had been groomed since birth to be Luna.

I felt so small next to her, so irrelevant, and then... everything changed

Castello turned to face me, his eyes locked onto mine.

Time stopped! My breath trembled, and my heart palpitated like it would break free from my ribs. The cheers and the chatters made by the wolves all faded away, leaving a thud of silence between us. It felt like he and I were in a different world, just the two of us.

And just like that, our bond moved into place like a thunderstorm in my soul, and I begin to shift 

Fated mate!

It wasn’t just wishful thinking. It was real, not expected, or explainable.

He widened his eyes, he was shocked, he barely knew me so he didn’t expect that I would be his fated mate. I put my hands to my chest, I could feel a sharp and excruciating pain underneath my ribs, because there and then, I felt something I hadn’t felt before.

My wolf stirred.

The one everyone said I didn’t have. The one I had wished to have since I was eight. She whispered a name through the shock.

*Castillo.*

But then his expression shifted. The lit and eagerness I saw in his eyes earlier changed to horror, disgust, and anger.

He approached me, his moves were fast and unpredictable, his approach wasn't in a welcoming way, but more like disdain or hate

“No,” he growled, but in a low tone that only a few wolves nearby heard him, other wolves turned towards our direction, as they sensed the tension in the air.

I stood shaking, my mouth a bit widened, it felt dry and sour as my heart palpitated.

“No,” he said again, this time more loudly. “This is a mistake, You are not my mate.” Everyone screamed with surprise, as they murmured and glared at me mockingly

.

I opened my mouth to say something, perhaps to plead, to explain what I’m feeling, what I knew, but no words came out.

Castillo grabbed Ceryn’s hand and pulled her forward, placing her in front of him like a shield. He grabbed her waist and stared at her subtly with satisfaction.

“I reject the bond,” he finally said, as his eyes turned back at me, instantly cold.  “You are not worthy of me.” He shouted.

Gasps swirled through the crowd. Someone dropped a wine glass and it shattered into pieces, another echoed; “Look she’s glowing.”

Of course I was.

My skin shimmered brightly in the moonlight, I was shifting as my fingers trembled vigorously with immense glow. I felt warm, like something in me had awakened. I hadn’t imagined the bond; the Goddess had chosen me.

But Castillo had just spat in her face. He didn’t seem to care. He turned away, his cloak snapping behind him like a judge’s gavel, and kissed Ceryn right there just right after he had torn my soul apart. It was obvious I was wounded, and I staggered back my knees giving way.

And then my wolf… howled. I shook profusely as she let out a heart-wrenching scream of pain and distress, that no one else could hear aside from me. Then she vanished, her presence pulled deep into the back of my mind, like a door being slammed shut.

I collapsed to the ground in silence. Everyone began to depart from the premises one by one, I was too weak to move, to talk, or to stand and nobody cared to help. Even my friend Lucy ignored me. I saw her walk past me following Ceryn. 

Her demeanor and attitude changed, she behaved like she didn’t know me, like we didn’t see and speak two nights before. It was obvious she now works for Ceryn. I was frightened and in so much pain, I had no one come to help me as I lay there in the cold of the night.

Castillo didn’t flinch nor did he give a damn about how his rejection made me feel.

I looked up and surprisingly the glowy silver moon above me suddenly turned red. A red moon? That was a typical warning sign in the werewolf world. What could had happened? I contemplated.