Chapter 1

Sophia

“You really think this is happening?” Ryder said loudly so the whole clearing could hear him. He laughed in a short, mean way. “Look at you, Sophia. That tummy hanging over your clothes. Those thick breasts. That ass that takes up half the space. You are not my type. Not even close.”

My face burned hot with shame. I felt like everyone was staring at my body. My wolf whimpered inside me and curled up small, trying to hide from the pain.

I opened my mouth but nothing came out at first. My throat felt tight. “Ryder, wait,” I finally managed to say. My voice cracked. “We do not have to do this right here in front of everyone. Can we talk alone? Please?”

“Talk?” He cut me off and stepped even closer. Now everyone could hear every word.

“You are a weak omega, you are half human. You would drag the pack down. I need someone strong. Someone who looks the part of a Luna. Not this.” He waved his hand at my body like it was something funny or disgusting.

The pack started laughing. Whispers turned into loud comments. “Told you she had no chance,” one person said behind me. Another voice added, “Poor thing, but what did she expect? She is too soft and chubby for an Alpha like him.”

My hands shook at my sides. My chest felt heavy and tight. Since I was a little girl in school, I heard words like this.

The other kids called me the half-breed fatty. They laughed when I could not run fast in gym class. They pointed at my belly under my baggy shirts and whispered that I would never be good enough. I always tried to hide.

I always tried to be small. But this moment hurt more than all those school days together. This was my mate. The one the Moon Goddess picked for me.

“And with that,” Ryder continued in a loud voice, “I, Alpha Ryder, heir to this pack and this kingdom, reject Sophia as my mate and Luna. I never want to have anything to do with her.”

The mate bond broke inside me.

Pain exploded in my chest like someone had ripped out my heart. My wolf howled loud in my head, full of hurt and confusion. Tears stung my eyes and I blinked hard to push them back.

I did not want to cry in front of all these people. My legs felt weak. My hands were cold even though the night was warm.

“You do not know anything about me,” I snapped back. My voice got louder even though it shook with anger and sadness. “I work my ass off at the hospital every single day. I take care of sick people. I stay late to help them when they are hurting. I focus on their pain instead of thinking about my own problems. That counts for something, right? Or does none of that matter because I am not skinny enough for your ego?”

Ryder just shrugged like my words meant nothing to him. He was already turning away from me. “It does not matter.” He reached out and pulled Solia to his side.

She grinned wide and happy, like she had won the biggest prize. She shot me a look that said she felt sorry for me but also that she was better than me. “See? This is what a real mate looks like,” Ryder said proudly.

The pack clapped and cheered for them.

Something deep inside me cracked open. All the years of feeling unwanted came rushing back. I was the girl who was never picked.

The chubby half-human who tried so hard but was always laughed at. I had stood in front of my tiny mirror earlier that day, tugging at my simple dress, hoping it would hide my arms and belly. I had whispered to myself to be strong. I had prayed the Moon Goddess would finally see me. Now that hope was gone.

“Wrong?” The word came out of me fast and full of pain. “Or maybe you just forced it because you have been chasing him like a desperate girl who does not care about the Goddess’s choice?” I stopped myself, but the damage was already done.

My chest hurt so bad I thought my ribs would break. My wolf kept whimpering and pulling back, like she wanted to hide forever and never come out.

The laughter from the pack grew louder. It felt like knives in my ears. I could not stand there one more second. Tears ran down my face, hot and messy. I turned around and pushed through the crowd. People bumped into my shoulders but I did not stop. “Move,” I muttered when someone blocked my way. I kept my head down so they would not see me crying.

I reached my car as fast as I could. I slammed the door shut and started the engine. The dark forest road stretched out in front of me. My hands were still shaking on the wheel. “Stupid, stupid hope,” I said out loud, hitting the steering wheel with my palm.

“Why did I think this time would be different? Why did I believe the Moon Goddess would give me a mate who wants me? Ryder has been known for rejecting girls of all type, especially if they weren’t as skinny as models.”

Inside, my wolf was restless and upset. Emotions flooded through me, and I felt the first prick of claws against my fingertips. A partial shift was trying to break free. “Not now,” I hissed through gritted teeth.

The road curved sharply ahead. That’s when I heard them, low, threatening growls cutting through the sound of the engine. Not one wolf. Several.

Yellow eyes glowed from the treeline.

Oh no! Rogues.

It had to be rogues. Word of the heir’s public rejection must have spread quickly. A lone, rejected omega driving through the forest at night? Easy prey.

They were probably testing the pack’s borders while everyone else celebrated Ryder and Solia.

Three wolves burst from the shadows, moving together with vicious snarls. The biggest one slammed into the side of my car.

Metal crunched loudly. I swerved hard, heart pounding, but another leaped onto the hood. Its claws scraped across the windshield with a horrible screech.

“No!” Adrenaline rushed through me. My wolf surged forward. Fur rippled down my arms as strength filled my body.

My fingers slipped once, twice even as I reached for the lock, I could already hear them outside, too close, too many, their presence circling the vehicle alive and patient.

These weren’t the ordinary rogues like people talked about .

They were crazy werewolves who rarely came out of hiding, only showing themselves when they smelled weakness, fear, and humiliated omega blood. That was what drew them out of the dark.

I locked it with trembling hands, but they were already there.

They hit the door hard from outside, again and again, making the whole car shake. My strength was fading fast, my vision getting blurry as pain and fear mixed together inside me.

I tried to hold on, tried to stay awake, but my body was giving up. My grip loosened, my head fell back slowly, and darkness started creeping in at the edges of my sight as I heard the car door groan under their force one last time.

Then something slammed into the side of the car hard enough to shake it. Angry growls turned into screams.

Then one of the rogues let out a sharp, painful howl. The pounding stopped. A fight broke out somewhere outside, but I couldn’t see who had come.