Chapter 1

Madeline’s POV

My hands trembled beside me as I took long strides in the hallway, rushing towards who knew where. I let the pull of the bond follow my mate’s intoxicating scent, which made my wolf and me go crazy.

It’s my 18th birthday. I expected to find my fated mate soon, but not this soon. It turned out he had always been around me.

I should have been happy, ecstatic even… but I couldn’t help but feel the threatening tears in the corner of my eyes as I felt exactly who it was and where this hallway was leading me.

With heavy breathing, I halted in front of a massive wooden door with engravement on it, feeling rejected even before I could see his face.

With my hands holding the cold knob of my twin sister’s bedroom door, I heard muffled voices inside. Mixed with my sister, Amanda, was the voice of that man I thought I’d be with even before the mate bond told me he was my fated mate.

“You need to reject her, Felix! She’s nothing compared to me. You know that.”

My heart stopped cold coursing through my veins. My sister didn’t even hesitate to tell me how inferior I was to her.

Like a fool, I felt a small hint of hope twinge within me when I heard the visible hesitation in Felix's voice. “Amanda, I… she’s still my friend. I can’t just…”

“Don’t tell me you still have feelings for her!” Amanda hissed.

Wait, what? He had feelings for me?

A small part of me rejoiced. Felix is the Alpha of the Irontail Pack, our neighbouring pack, which made him very close to us and our childhood friend. Despite all the scrutiny I faced in my kingdom as their princess, he was the only one who liked me.

At least not the way he or everyone else favoured Amanda. Only Felix had always been on my side, so I thought he was harbouring feelings for me and waiting for the right time.

Just when I felt hope, it was extinguished quickly after I heard Amanda’s next words. “Because you don’t! You told me that yourself.”

“I know, I know... It’s just... the mate bond. It’s messing with my head.” I could hear the frustration in his words like he was so disgusted and furious that he was mated to me instead of my sister, who was the better version of myself in every way and not a murderer like me.

With my ear against the door, I could vividly hear my sister sigh before she sweetly told Felix, “And that’s why you have to reject her first. Then we can finally be together without this... mess. You know I’m the better choice, Felix.”

I laughed with bitterness. She could fool everyone with that sweet voice of hers that hid her ulterior motive when the truth was she was just a manipulative bitch who had everyone wrapped around her finger.

After a short pause, Felix spoke, “Yeah. You’re right. I’ll reject her. Tomorrow.”

My lower lip trembled, and my heart twisted in unimaginable pain as I stumbled back, feeling my breath being caught in my throat.

“So, that’s how it is…” I uttered under my breath.

It seemed like I had been in the dark for so long. It turned out they had been together all this time.

Amanda must have been having fun while Felix was leading me on. And this mate bond was just the cherry on top for her in hurting me.

I couldn’t do it. I thought I could confront him and tell him about us being fated mates, which he already knew about, but all the pain made me walk back into my room, scowling on the edge of my bed and questionably looking at the moon in the night sky.

“What do you have planned for me, Moon Goddess…” I whispered as I clenched the moon pendant in my hand that my grandmother had given me before she died.

A bitter smile left my lips. “Grandma… You’re the only one who truly loves me without restrictions and doubts. I wish you were here with me.”

With my grip tightening on the pendant, I stood beside the window still, feeling the cold night breeze touch my soul that had turned numbed over these years.

Wiping the tears that escaped my eyes, I pursed my lips and coldly said, “Fine… if he wants to reject me… I’ll do it first. I’m done with all this.”

For half of my life, I lived in the shadows of my sister, who had been favoured and trained as the next queen, while I was the spare heir whom everyone looked at as the murderer of their Queen, my own Mom.

The entire kingdom grieved for their Queen’s death, including my father, forgetting that what I lost was not just a Queen but my Mom, and it was because of me.

But I’m done with all that. I’m done being everyone’s punching bag. Three years was long enough to let them push me around.

With a bag filled with important things and money I had saved over the years, I slung it over my shoulder and stormed into the backyard, where Felix sneaks in and out of the palace.

Spotting him, I shouted, “Felix Wood.”

“Maddie…?” he asked with confusion, taking a hesitant step forward, hands trying to touch me, but I stepped back, knowing it was only the mate bond acting out.

With my head held high and face void of emotions, I firmly uttered, “I, Madeline Wilkinson, Princess of Lycan Kingdom, reject you, Felix Wood, Alpha of Irontail Pack, as my mate.”

His face turned pale, eyes shifting from his original grey eyes into his wolf’s golden ones as they gasped in pain from the rejection.

“W-wait… Wh-at…”

I shook my head. “No. Don’t you dare try to explain? I heard everything. Everything…”

My voice cracked slightly as I voiced out my next words,  “You were just going to throw me away like garbage.”

Clutching his chest in agony, he tried to speak again, “ I... I didn’t mean—”

“Save it.” With that, I turned on my heel and stormed away, ignoring his every attempt to call me back.

Whether he would accept the rejection would be for him to decide. I’d rather be the one rejecting him than wait for him to say those words to me tomorrow and face the pain he’s feeling now from the broken bond.

Besides, it would be so easy for him to get back on his feet. He could just reject me back, which was almost the same as what he wanted, or get over the pain in a few weeks. Nonetheless, he’d be the one losing more.

After all, fated mates make werewolves, especially Alphas, stronger than originally. In some rare cases, those rejected were weakened instead, and I couldn’t hope for more than him being one of those rare cases.

The night became darker, and the clouds covered the moon, leaving me in the middle of the dark forest with barely any light source after my phone died.

It’s been hours already since I ran away. My legs were aching, my breath was ragged, and branches scraped my arms as I stumbled deeper into the forest.

Exhausted, I fell onto the ground. That’s when I felt a cold liquid beside me, which I assumed to be mud, but I freaked out before that registered properly in my brain.

All I heard were the desperate screams of a girl I didn’t recognise mixed with my Mom calling my name in desperation. My body froze, and the mud covering my hands turned red. The rusty smell of blood ran through my nose as I saw my mom lying still on the ground, looking at me with dead eyes.

“No... no... don’t think about that. Not now. Keep going.” I told myself while shaking my head intensively.

With all the strength I could master, I stood back up. With tears running down my face, I ran to who knew where.

“No… Not now… Please…”

I whispered in fear as I froze on my spot, my body standing still while I heard the rustling behind me and a massive shadow looming over me.