CHAPTER ONE: THE REJECTION.

    The Rejection 

“It’s here!!” I shrieked in excitement, blindly running down the stairs. 

Both my parents, sitting in the living room, turned to give me matching puzzled looks. 

Flinging the front door open, I snatched the package from the delivery guy, a bright smile plastered on my face. My hands trembled as I signed the papers. 

“Thank you!” I grinned, handing him back his pen. 

“What’s got you so excited?” Dad asked, clearly amused. 

“Yeah, and what’s in the box?” Mum added, raising an eyebrow. 

“It’s my dress for tonight! I can’t stop to chat. I need to get ready!” I called over my shoulder, racing back upstairs. 

The ceremony wouldn’t start for another three hours, but I didn’t care. I needed every second to make myself look perfect. 

Tonight, I would be in the presence of powerful wolves. For the first time in my life, I felt like I mattered. 

I wasn’t there by invitation of the Alpha or the Luna, but because my father—Commander of the Pack Warriors ,had received one. I was simply tagging along. And yet, it still felt like a big deal. 

About two and a half hours later, Dad and I pulled up to the Green Springs Pack territory. 

The moment I stepped out, I stared in awe. Everyone looked elegant and expensive. I felt completely out of place in my cheap dress, even though I’d spent weeks saving for it. 

“Watch where you’re going, bitch,” a cold voice snapped from behind me. 

I turned to see her—Tiara. 

Proud, arrogant, smart, and heartbreakingly beautiful. I’d always admired her, though I could never understand why she hated me. 

“Sorry,” I mumbled with a small grin. I was too happy to let her ruin my night. 

Nothing could spoil this mood. 

The night air crackled with energy ,half celebration, half chaos as the Green Springs Pack threw the most extravagant party of the year. 

Tonight was Ethan Hiddlestone’s twenty-first birthday. 

Tonight, the future Alpha would find his mate. 

I didn’t expect to be chosen. I wasn’t hoping for it. But just being here, being part of the moment, meant everything. Especially for someone like me—the pack’s favorite disappointment. 

No wolf. No shift. No mate. 

But tonight, none of that mattered. Tonight, no one paid attention to me. No one whispered behind my back, no one was out to bully me.  

I tugged at the sleeves of my dress, trying to hide the nervous twist of my fingers. People passed by, laughing, dancing, the scent of beer and burning pine hanging thick in the air. 

No one noticed me. 

Until he did. 

Ethan. 

Tall. Broad shoulders. Effortlessly powerful. His golden hair caught the firelight as he laughed with his friends. He looked every bit the golden boy of the Green Springs Pack. 

Then his eyes met mine. 

Everything stopped. 

A strange pull surged in my chest. The air between us thickened. My vision blurred around the edges until all I could see was him. 

My heartbeat thundered. The hair on the back of my neck stood. 

This wasn’t just me being nervous because I had Ethan’s attention. It was something else…something deeper. 

Ethan’s smirk faltered. His pupils dilated. His body tensed. 

And in that fleeting second, I saw it—recognition. 

He felt it too. 

The crowd turned toward us, murmurs rising. 

I swallowed hard , I wasn’t one to handle public attention.  

My body trembled as Ethan stepped forward, the sweet scent of earth and pine drifting around him. His hand reached out, brushing my cheek. 

The touch was soft—but the reaction was electrifying. I closed my eyes , my breath hitching as electricity shot through me, lighting up every nerve ending in my body. 

Then, just as suddenly, it stopped. 

I opened my eyes. 

Ethan had stepped back. 

I tried to speak, but no words came. 

Goosebumps prickled my skin. My heart stuttered. 

Was he…? Was I…? Were we…? 

My face lit up as the realization clicked. 

Ethan was my mate. 

A smile tugged at my lips as I looked into his eyes. 

But instead of warmth, his expression turned cold—icy and unreadable. His gaze swept over me, slow and full of disdain. 

“You’re… my mate?” he sneered, voice low and filled with disgust. 

“Y-Yes,” I stammered, still hoping. 

“No,” Ethan said loudly, eyes locked on mine. “No, this has to be some kind of joke.” 

The music faded. Conversations halted. All eyes turned toward us. “Her?” he barked, louder now. “The Moon Goddess paired me with her?” 

My blood turned to ice. 

“I mean, come on,” he laughed bitterly, arms outstretched to the crowd. “She hasn’t even shifted. She’s not even a wolf—she’s barely pack.” 

Laughter erupted behind him. 

“What’s your name?” he asked suddenly, gaze hard and cutting. 

I blinked, confused. 

“Emily Greene,” I replied softly, swallowing my hurt. 

Now let it be known …” Ethan began , raising his voice so everyone could hear . “That on this day, I Ethan Hiddlestone reject Emilia Greene…” 

“It’s Emily” I whispered , the pain racking through my body as I slowly processed what he was about to do. 

“Right.” He nodded, raising his voice. “Let it be known—on this day, I, Ethan Hiddlestone, Alpha of the Green Springs Pack, reject Emily Greene as my mate.” 

Pain. 

Blinding,white-hot, soul-tearing pain. 

 “Ethan—” I tried to speak, my voice trembling, but he cut me off. 

“I want nothing to do with you!” 

More pain. 

It slammed into my chest like a blade, knocking the breath from my lungs. I dropped to my knees as the world tilted, gasps and laughter mixing in a cruel harmony around me. 

If the ground could swallow me whole, I would’ve begged it to. 

I clutched at the grass, my body shivering violently, my heart shattered in my chest. The pain of rejection twisted deeper, like barbed wire tearing through my soul. 

I wanted to disappear. To die. Anything to make the pain stop. 

I clawed at the grass, shaking violently, my heart torn to pieces. 

And still—they laughed. 

No one helped me. 

No one cared. 

I wasn’t a mate. 

I wasn’t even a wolf. 

I was just the rejected girl, broken and curled on the cold ground. 

As the ceremony carried on, someone kicked a ball toward me. It bounced off my shoulder. 

Ethan and his friends were playing football—already laughing again. 

How? 

How could he move on so quickly? 

Didn’t he feel anything? 

That hurt worse than the rejection itself. 

I stayed there, motionless, as they used me as a makeshift goalpost. Too weak to move. Too empty to cry. 

Slowly, I slipped into the dark. 

And though I had always feared the dark… tonight, it welcomed me like a friend. 

A strange warmth flickered in my chest like something ancient had awakened . I

didn’t know it yet but that night didn’t end with rejection. It began with destiny .