3

Jane

“What’s your name?” he asked, taking a step closer to me. I quickly stepped backward, my heart pounding.

My heart was racing and my throat felt tight. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I was shaking with fear.

He was so tall that I had to look up to see his face. There was something dangerous about him, something that made it hard to breathe—like the air around him was too heavy.

But there was something else too—something that pulled at me from deep inside, making me want to step closer, even though every part of me was screaming to run away.

His eyes burned into mine, studying me like I was some kind of insect. When I didn’t answer right away, one eyebrow went up, like he found it funny how scared I looked.

“I just asked you a question,” he said, not caring at all. “Answer me.”

“My name is Jane,” I said, taking another step backward—and almost crashed into a waitress carrying drinks.

“Watch out!” He grabbed my hand to steady me, and—

Oh Goddess.

It felt like lightning shot up my arm and spread through my entire body. Every nerve in my body came alive at once.

It was more than just touching someone. It was like finding a piece of myself I never knew was missing. My whole body buzzed with electric energy—this was fate happening right in front of me.

I gasped and pulled my hand away like his touch had burned me, because it did—it burned with promise, with hope, with a future I suddenly wanted more than anything. When I looked up at him, his face had gone white.

His eyes got wide with shock, then narrowed into something that looked like disgust. Like touching me made him sick.

“My name is Richard Brown,” he said suddenly. I didn’t understand why he was telling me this, but before I could even think, he grabbed my hand again.

That electric feeling shot through me one more time—and then he said the words that destroyed my world.

“I, Richard Brown, reject you, Jane, as my mate, my partner, and the Luna to my pack.”

The world stopped moving.

Time, breath, hope—everything just stopped existing.

The room went completely silent except for people gasping at what they had just witnessed. It took a whole minute for his words to really hit me.

And when they did, it felt like someone had reached into my chest and torn my heart out.

“What did I tell you!” Lissa’s voice cut through the silence. “No one will ever want a loser like her.”

This couldn’t be real. It had to be a nightmare. I had met my mate—the other half of my soul, the one person meant for me in the entire world—and he had looked at me once and rejected me without even hesitating.

He rejected me before he even knew my last name.

“Why?” I asked, unable to stop the tears that were already flooding down my face. “Why did you reject me?”

This was supposed to be the beginning of everything good in my life.

My mate was supposed to see past my weaknesses, love the broken pieces of me, and help me become whole.

Instead, I was staring into the face of the person who was supposed to save me... as he explained why I didn’t deserve to be saved.

“Are you seriously asking me that?” He squeezed my hand tighter, and it hurt. “Look at you. You’re like a feather in the wind. I could blow you away right now and that would be it. The Moon Goddess must have lost her mind giving me a weak wolf like you.”

Each word was like a knife stabbing me. I knew I was weak. I knew I wasn’t special. But hearing it from him—the one who was supposed to love me no matter what—hurt a thousand times worse.

“What could a she-wolf like you possibly give me? Or my pack?” His smile was cruel and twisted. “With you as my Luna, my world would fall apart. You’d destroy my reputation, turn me into a joke—and I’ll never let that happen. Accept the rejection, and we can walk away like this disgusting meeting never happened.”

Disgusting. Our destined meeting—this sacred moment that should have been the most beautiful in my life—made him sick.

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. But I was still here, still bleeding inside, still faced with an impossible choice.

How could I accept his rejection when I didn’t even have a wolf to complete the ritual? How could I let go of the only chance at love I would ever have? Even though I didn’t have a wolf, I still wanted to show him that I was worth being his mate.

“Still trying to think of a way to convince me?” he snapped. “Accept the rejection now before I make things worse for you.”

“I... I can’t accept your rejection,” I whispered, staring at the floor. When I finally looked up, I was begging with everything I had. “Please. I’ll get stronger. I’ll be better. Just... give me one chance.”

I didn’t care about my pride anymore. Not my dignity, not my self-respect—nothing mattered now.

Without him, I was nothing. Without a mate, I would always be the pack’s favorite target, their punching bag. I would be living proof that even fate made mistakes.

“I should accept you?” His voice got a little softer, and hope started growing in my chest.

“Yes,” I whispered. “Please. Just one chance to prove I’m worth something.”

“You don’t have to listen to her, Alpha,” Lissa called out. “She’s nothing but trash. Even the lowest omega is better than her. Don’t be fooled. She’ll never be worth anything.”

Pure anger flooded through me like fire. “Shut up,” I growled. “Don’t stick your nose into what isn’t your business. He is mine.”

“Ha.” His laugh was bitter and empty. “I never thought there would be a day when I would be embarrassed like this, by the Moon Goddess herself.”

Even the idea of being with me embarrassed him. I wasn’t just unwanted—I was shameful.

“Please,” I pleaded desperately.

I could feel it—the connection, the pull, the way my soul reached out for his. Only he could love me the way my mother had promised someone would. Only he could see worth in someone worthless.

This pain inside me... it was because of him. He was the only one who could ever love me.

“Kneel,” he ordered. “Maybe then I’ll think about it.”

The room went dead silent. Everyone was staring at me, waiting to see what I would do.

Kneel. In front of everyone. Like a dog begging for scraps.

My mother’s face flashed in my mind—her belief that my mate would cherish me. The hours she spent telling me I was worth everything.

But here I was, being asked to get on my knees just for the chance that he might consider not throwing me away.

My legs felt weak. My pride was already shattered on the floor around me.

But maybe... maybe if I showed him how much I wanted this, how much I needed him, he would see that I could be worth something.

Maybe love was supposed to hurt this much.

I looked around the room. Everyone was watching. Lissa was smiling like she had won some kind of prize.

“Kneel. Now!”