SCORNED BY THE ALPHA.CROWNED BY THE KING.

"I, Alpha Jaxon of the Silver Moon Pack, formally reject you, Sienna Roy! You are not my mate, and you will never be my Luna!"

Jaxon’s voice cut through the freezing courtyard like a sharp whip. Hundreds of pack members stood in dead silence. Blood pooled around my scraped knees on the slushy stone floor, but the sting in my flesh was nothing compared to the agony in my chest.

"Jaxon, please!" I sobbed, my voice trembling as blood bubbled at the corner of my lip. "Look at me! Please! I gave you ten years of my life! I washed your clothes, I patched your wounds after every battle, I stood in the freezing rain just to hold a torch for you! How can you throw me away like trash?"

Jaxon didn't even blink. He didn't look into my eyes. Instead, he pulled my stepsister, Felicity, tightly against his side. She whimpered, burying her face into his expensive fur coat, playing the part of the heartbroken victim.

But over his shoulder, her eyes met mine. The fake tears vanished, replaced by a mean smile.

"Take this trash to the border," Jaxon ordered the guards, turning his back on me completely. "Throw her deep into rogue land. Let the wild beasts finish her. I don't ever want to see her ugly face near my packhouse again."

"No! Jaxon, listen to me! She lied to you!" I screamed as two guards yanked my arms, dragging me through the icy mud. "The letters were faked! I never betrayed the pack!"

"Save your breath, traitor," one guard sneered, shoving my face into the dirty slush as we hit the forest path. "You thought you were special just because your father was a commander? You’re nothing now."

"Do not waste your breath talking to trash, Bram," the second guard grunted, giving my left arm a harsh twist. The bone popped loudly.

Pain shot up my neck, making me scream into the frozen dirt.

"Alpha Jaxon said to throw her over the mark before the party starts," the second guard added with a laugh. "Felicity promised extra meat and warm wine for us tonight."

They dragged me to the dark border where the trees grew thick and the air smelled of rotten wood and bloodthirsty rogues.

"Have a good life, bitch," Bram barked, lifting my battered body and throwing me over the iron marker.

I crashed down a steep hill of sharp rocks and wet thorns, my ribs cracking against a boulder at the bottom.

I lay there in the pitch dark, gasping for air as the guards' laughter faded away. Twigs snapped nearby and red eyes lit up the shadows. Three massive, dirty gray wolves stepped into the clearing, spit dripping from their yellow teeth.

"Look what Silver Moon threw out for us," a deep, rough voice growled through the wild mind-link. "A soft, pretty female."

"She smells like the Alpha," another snarled, stepping toward my chest. "Let us taste her blood first!"

I couldn't move. I couldn't raise my arms. I stared up at the Blood Moon hanging red in the sky, cold tears freezing on my cheeks. Ten years of love for this.

The largest rogue jumped into the air, its mouth opening wide to snap my throat. As darkness closed in, one single thought burned through my mind:

‘If I ever get another chance, I will never beg a man again. I will make them all pay.’

A hard slap knocked my head to the side.

"Sienna! Get your lazy ass out of bed right now!"

I sat up fast, gasping, my hands frantically checking my neck, my chest, my ribs. No blood. No cold slush. No rogue teeth.

I was touching clean, warm skin under a faded flannel nightgown. Dust floated in the morning light of my tiny room.

"What are you staring at, you foolish girl?" Beatrice snapped, standing over me with her arms crossed. "Felicity has been up since dawn getting her hair done for the Mate Ceremony! The stylists are here, and you’re lying around like a lazy dog! Go wash your face and put on the dress on the chair!"

"Beatrice?" I whispered, my voice sounding young and whole.

"Do not call me by my name, you ungrateful rat!" Beatrice raised her hand to strike me again.

This time, my hand shot up and caught her wrist in mid-air. My grip tightened, short nails digging into her skin. Beatrice gasped, her eyes going wide with shock.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!"

"Do not touch me again," I said, my voice carrying a low, deadly quiet that made her flinch. "I am not your servant, Beatrice. If you raise your hand at me again, I will break your fingers."

I threw her wrist back, sending her staggering two steps. She held her arm, her face flushing red with anger, but the cold glare in my eyes kept her mouth shut.

She had never seen me look at her like that.

"Just get down to the kitchen and do your work!" she spat, slamming the door as she left.

I walked to the small mirror by the window. My skin was fresh. No scars. I looked at the paper calendar on the table: October 14th. My eighteenth birthday. The day of the Blood Moon Mate Ceremony.

I was back. Five years in the past.

"No more begging," I whispered to my reflection. "Not for love. Not for mercy. Not from anyone."

I bypassed the ugly beige dress Beatrice had left for me. Reaching under a loose floorboard, I pulled out a fitted black dress I had bought months ago.

It was dark, elegant, and sharp. I pinned up my hair, painted my lips deep red, and walked downstairs.

In the grand central yard, music played, banners waved, and hundreds of guests were drinking wine.

On the stone stage stood Jaxon, looking broad and handsome in his Alpha coat, his arm wrapped tight around Felicity. She was beaming in a white silk gown.

My shoes clicked sharply against the stone steps. Jaxon’s head snapped toward me. The moment our eyes locked, the thick smell of pine and rain hit my nose.

Sparks flashed in the air, the mate bond igniting between us. Gasps rippled through the crowd as a bright golden light flickered in the space between us.

"Wait, the Alpha's true mate is Sienna?"

"I thought he was choosing Felicity!"

Felicity’s smile vanished instantly. She grabbed Jaxon's arm, her long nails digging into his sleeve. "Jaxon? What is this? Look at me! You said I was your everything!"

Jaxon stared at me, his eyes wide as he took in my red lips and fitted black dress. An arrogant, greedy grin spread across his face, and he raised the microphone.

"Quiet, everyone!" Jaxon commanded, his voice echoing over the yard. "The Goddess has spoken. The bond has chosen Sienna Roy. She may be a penniless orphan living off my pack's charity, but as her Alpha, I graciously accept her as my mate and Luna. Sienna, step forward and accept your honor."

The crowd murmured in shock. Felicity whimpered, clutching his arm, expecting me to run up the steps in tears of gratitude just as I had always done.

Instead, I stopped at the foot of the stage, my cold smile cutting right through his pride.

"I reject you."

The three words cut through the courtyard like a razor blade. Jaxon froze, the microphone shaking in his hand.

"What did you just say?" Jaxon stammered, staring at me like I had lost my mind.

"I said, I reject you, Alpha Jaxon," I said clearly, taking two slow steps forward. "I, Sienna Roy, reject you as my mate. I break this bond, and I sever every tie between us. You are nothing to me, and you will never be my leader."

The golden thread binding our souls ruptured with an invisible crack. A dull ache hit my chest, but I stood like iron, swallowing the taste of copper in my mouth.

Jaxon let out a strangled gasp, dropping hard onto one knee. The Moon Goddess's punishment for a broken bond struck his soul directly. Sweat poured down his pale face as he clutched his chest, completely humiliated in front of his entire pack.

"Sienna... wait... what did you do?" he groaned, looking up with wide, terrified eyes. "The bond... it feels like my lungs are tearing!"

"Congratulations to the happy couple," I said, offering him and the pale, shaking Felicity a cold smile. "May your life together be everything you deserve."

I turned on my heel, letting the black dress trail behind me as I walked toward the gates.

Before I took five steps, a crushing pressure descended on the yard. The sun dipped behind black clouds. Guards and pack members dropped to their knees, gasping for air under the sudden weight of pure authority. Five heavy black cars smashed through the gates, tires screeching on the stone.

The door of the middle car opened. A tall man stepped out, his shoulders broad and his hair was as black as night as his sharp silver eyes swept over the kneeling crowd.

Lord Cassian. The Lycan King.

He walked past the groaning guards, ignoring Jaxon entirely. His eyes locked onto the only person standing. Me.

Cassian stopped inches away, his towering frame blocking the cold wind. Slowly, he reached out a gloved hand, his thumb gently brushing my bottom lip.

"You handled that with great skill, little bird," Cassian murmured, his deep voice thick with approval. "Good. Because I have spent five long years waiting for you to break that useless bond."

Before I could answer, his strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me firm against his side.

"S Sovereign..." Jaxon gasped from the floor, struggling to lift his head. "She's... she's nobody... just an orphan..."

Cassian didn't even turn his head. With a casual flick of his wrist, a shockwave of raw power slammed into Jaxon, blasting him across the stage into the stone fountain. The structure shattered, spraying water everywhere.

"Say her name like that again," Cassian said, his tone deadly quiet, "and I will burn this pack to the ground before nightfall."

He looked down at me, his e

yes softening as he leaned close to my ear. "Come with me, Sienna. Let me show you what it really feels like to be loved by a King.”