Chapter 1) Framed, Betrayed/ Rejected.

Priya’s pov,

My heart raced as I stood in the middle of the pack hall, and was surrounded by almost everyone in the Defanly pack.

Even my family was present. My father, and my two elder brothers, Kingsley and Dylan.

Their gazes were piercing as they stared at me without hiding their hatred.

They did not even try to hide the contempt they had for me.

I lowered my head to the ground because I felt greatly intimidated and confused.

My hands gripped my trouser tightly, and I could hear the sound that my own heart made as it beat fast against my chest.

I had been summoned here to the pack hall by my Alpha mate, Hunter. I had come with anticipation, thinking that he was finally ready to tell everyone that he was going to make me his official Luna.

It happened three years ago, when I was eighteen years old and my wolf had newly awakened.

Hunter happened to be celebrating his coronation as the Alpha's new heir.

You see, Hunter was not the first born of the Alpha.

The first born had died four years ago, and the next year, Hunter was named the Alpha's heir, even though he was the third son of the Alpha.

According to what I knew and what everyone knew, the second child of the Alpha was a lady, and here in our Defanly pack, it was a taboo to let a woman become the Alpha.

She could only become Luna, but Paige stepped down, as she didn't want to marry.

Everyone thought that she was a crazy werewolf for doing something unreasonable like that, but I knew the main reason behind why she did that.

Ever since I existed in this pack, everyone was indifferent towards me, but the only person who was not bothered by my presence was Paige. The Alpha's second child.

Before she ran away from the pack three years ago, she told me that she had her reasons. That she didn't want to be trapped. I have not heard anything from her ever since then.

She was not even there during Hunter's coronation.

Neither was she there when the moon goddess at last answered my request for a mate during the same coronation day.

But I never knew that my mate would end up being Hunter, with everyone being a witness to that moment, including Kingsley and Dylan.

That day, which was supposed to be the special day of my life, ended up being my worst nightmare.

I was a mate to the person who hated and despised me, and he never tried to hide it.

I thought he was going to reject me at that moment. At that spot. But surprisingly, that never happened.

That gave me hope and made me become delusional and helplessly in love.

In my mind and in my heart, I believed deep within me that our mate's bond was very strong, and that he actually cared for me. That was why he couldn't bear to reject me.

Due to that, no matter how coldly he had treated me, I had endured, hoping that his heart was going to be big enough to fully accept me one day, when he was ready.

And my heart raced because I had thought that that day was today, after being summoned by him to the pack hall, where only important things were discussed.

The previous Alpha, his father, had died early this year, and he had become our new Alpha.

But for the ritual to be completed, he must get married to his fated mate (if he had one) and make her his Luna, who would stand by his side, in sickness and in health, in trouble and in happiness.

“Lift your head, Priya, and face your Alpha”. Hunter's cold voice made me flinch out of fear.

His voice naturally used to be cold whenever he spoke to me, but this time, it was different. It was colder.

Hesitantly, because I was nervous, I lifted my head and stared at Hunter, my mate.

He stood in front of me, but stood higher than me.

Standing beside him was Felicia, the most loved werewolf and the pride of our pack.

She had blonde hair which shone like the morning sun itself, with skin as white and peerless like the fictional fairies.

Her bright blue eyes, which resembled a doll’s, were enough to make everyone fall in love with her.

But seeing her standing next to Hunter, and how he held her to himself and allowed her to rest her head on his broad chest, my heart throbbed with jealousy.

Her face looked pale, which piqued my curiosity.

“Priya Gomez! You are a wicked and a heartless lady. I can't believe that I have let you be my mate for these past years despite your weak and useless wolf”.

I froze in shock the instant after Hunter said that to me as he pointed a finger at me and glared at me with piercing eyes, just like the other werewolves and my own family.

He continued to accuse me, “Priya, Felicia is a kind-hearted lady, but you poisoned her after her act of kindness towards you. She invited you to her home, but you left halfway because you knew you had done something like poisoning her food”.

“You are not only ugly on the outside, but inside you are twisted by the kind of ugliness that even the cruelest person in the world avoids. You are jealous of Felicia. How could someone like you be jealous of her?”. He asked me, and that was when the glare of everyone multiplied so many times against me.

But, that wasn't what hurt me.

What hurt me the most was the way Hunter stared at me like I was a demon supposed to be hidden not just from him, but from the entire world itself.

But what was he talking about? How could he say that to me?

How could he pin a blame that was as big as this? Why would I poison Felicia?

I remembered I was on my own, and she came to me and invited me to a small party she threw in her house for scoring all A's in her final school exams.

For the first time ever in my life, after she invited me, I felt like I actually belonged.

I felt like I had found someone who was going to make others accept me if I hung out with her.

But during the party, I felt uncomfortable after feeling that everyone was ganging up on me more than usual.

I felt little and useless, causing me to leave.

So, why was he saying that I poisoned her? How? When? I left the party before it even barely started.

“I-”. My words got stuck in my throat and made it seem like I was almost choking as I tried to say something to defend myself.

I bit my lower lip in realization, because I knew that nobody was going to ever believe the words coming out of my mouth. Not when they all hated me.

“For attempted murder, you ought to be imprisoned. But because of our bond as mates, I would make an exception just this once”. He said to me and stopped pointing his finger at me.

He held Felicia comfortably in his arms.

Seeing that, I smiled foolishly at him, as if agreeing to the crime I knew I never committed. But the smile instantly faded away because of Hunter's next words.

“You may be exempted from being imprisoned, Priya, but your crime is unforgivable”.

“So today, in the presence of everyone, I am rejecting you as my mate. And, you are banished from the Defanly pack!”. He roared, before he threatened me, “Leave now and never return. If you ever return, then you will be imprisoned without fail, or killed on sight”.

My hand made its way to my chest because of the burning sensation in my heart.

I looked around, staring at everyone’s faces that my eyes landed on, like a total fool.

The words Hunter said were a direct slap on my face, and the words kept on playing inside my head.

My legs became weak, making me fall to the ground.

I was a mess, but I was not embarrassed.

I have been embarrassed more than this in my life, so what else could I lose?

Why me?

What did I do wrong to deserve all of this?