All Chapters of The Mate They Threw Away: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

The morning light filtering through the curtains felt like broken glass against my skin.I opened my eyes slowly, every muscle in my body aching with a sweet exhaustion I’d never experienced before. The Blood Moon Festival. Last night had been…My breath caught as the memories flooded back.Kieran’s hands on my face, his usually cold gray eyes burning with something that looked dangerously like devotion. Asher’s whispered promises against my neck, words I’d dreamed of hearing for six years. Dominic’s fierce protectiveness as he held me like I was something precious, something worth keeping.The mate bond.Real. Undeniable. Ours.I reached across the bed, searching for the warmth of their bodies, but my hand met only cold sheets.“Kieran?” My voice came out rough, uncertain. The massive bedroom in the Alpha’s private quarters was silent except for my own breathing.“Asher? Dominic?”Nothing.I sat up, clutching the silk sheet to my chest, and that was when I saw it.A single piece of c

The Silver Crest pack library was housed in the oldest part of the compound, a stone building that smelled of aged paper and secrets. At three in the morning, it was deserted, exactly what I needed.I’d spent the last two weeks gathering information carefully, asking questions that seemed innocent, researching pack law with the excuse that I was helping the pack administrator update records. What I’d learned had turned my blood to ice.Unmated omegas who left the pack needed Alpha approval. Pregnant omegas needed approval from both the Alphas and the pack elders. And omegas carrying disputed Alpha children could be held indefinitely pending paternity confirmation and investigation.I was trapped.The realization sent me into a spiral of panic I’d barely managed to contain. I couldn’t raise three Alpha children alone in Silver Crest not with the fathers denying their existence. The pack would mark them as illegitimate before they’d even drawn their first breath. And me? I’d be the omeg

The Continental Pack Council’s formal summons arrived three days later, delivered by a neutral courier with diplomatic immunity and an expression that brooked no argument.I stared at the seal, three wolves circling a crown, pressed into gold wax, and felt the past reaching out to drag me back.“Dr. Winters.”The courier, a severe woman in her fifties with steel-gray hair and harder eyes, kept her posture military-straight. “I’m required to wait for your response. Continental Law, Article Seven, Section Three.”“Give me a moment.”I broke the seal with hands that only trembled slightly, unfolding the heavy parchment.To Dr. Sage Winters, Director of the Sanctuary,The Continental Pack Council formally requests your immediate presence and expertise regarding a supernatural crisis affecting mate bonds across North America.As the foremost researcher on severed bonds and their psychological and supernatural effects, your consultation is deemed critical to preventing widespread pack colla