Chapter 1 Seraphina

The fierce wind that quickly carried the scent of pine and cold earth as it smoothly brushed against my skin. It wasn't dawn yet, but the pack house was already awake and boots thudding across the wooden floors, warriors gathering in the courtyard, omegas were rushing with trays of food and freshly washed clothes.And myself was peeling the potatoes in the kitchen.“Faster, Seraphina,” Beta Helena snapped without looking at me, her long nails tapping against the marble counter."You are aware the Alpha King arrives today. We don’t need you embarrassing the Silver Creek Pack more than you already do.”

“Yes, Betsy,” I murmured, keeping my voice low.

It didn’t matter what I said. To them, I was still the omega girl with no mother, a sick father, and no wolf strong enough to be respected. I wasn’t weak just quiet. And in this pack, quiet was the same thing as invisible.

I finished chopping the last potato and wiped my hands on my apron. My fingers were stiff from the cold water, but I didn’t complain. Complaining was dangerous here. It meant punishment, or worse attention.

“Seraphina!” a familiar voice whispered from the doorway.

I turned and it was Claire my only friend that stood there. Her blonde curls were a messy bun, flour dusted over her cheek.

So you’re still alive, I joked softly.

Barely,she snorted, then glanced around. The kitchen was loud, but no one paid us any attention. “Did you hear? They say the Alpha King’s wolf can smell lies. Like… actually sense your heartbeat change.”

I raised a brow. “You must be joking right? Cos that sounds like a rumor.”

“Maybe. Or maybe he’s half-wolf, half-lie-detector, I really don't know but this is all I know right now.

I laughed quietly but the sound died when Besky Helen’s eyes flicked our way. Claire hurried off with a tray of bread.Outside, horns sounded from the forest line.He’s here.

The air shifted, the warriors straightened their back and omegas lowered their heads. Even the wind seemed to pause for Alpha Aiden Blackthorn.The Alpha King that we only heard stories that were terrifying, some… impossibly intriguing to be imagined . According to sources and stories, they said he became Alpha at twenty after saving his pack from a rogue ambush. They said his father died in his arms. He never smiled afterward and his wolf, Ragnar, was the most powerful in centuries. And today, he was here to choose his mate and no one had expected it to be me. Not even the pack nor my Alpha.

Not even I myself so I stepped outside,my heart thudding, blending in with the crowd of omegas tasked with serving. Hooves were crunched over snow and dirt. A black SUV rolled into the courtyard, followed by two armored jeeps, that was when it dawned on me that everything people said seems to be happening immediately. The door opened and he stepped out with his tall Dark shiny hair which always attracts people's attention whenever he passes with his Sharp jawline, as if carved from stone. Eyes the color of a storm cold, silver-gray. His presence alone demanded silence.People bowed while I lowered my head too but then… something hit me. I could perceive a scent, Wild cedar. Fresh rain. Electric, like thunder right before it strikes. It caught my breath and my wolf stirred inside me for the first time in months.

"Mate"? No. No, no I screamed in my mind then I looked up just a fraction. His head snapped toward me.Those gray eyes locked on mine. Time stopped ticking and the bond screamed between us. My pulse raced. His chest rose sharply, nostrils flaring as he caught my scent.

For a heartbeat, his face wasn’t cold. He looked… stunned, his jaw tightened and his eyes darkened. He took one slow step towards me which made my hands trembled. He leaned forward, his voice low enough which only I could hear. “You,” he said, like a curse. “Are my mate?” My lips parted, as I couldn’t speak neither did he wait for my answer. In front of the pack and in front of everyone. “I, Alpha Xander Blackwood of the Blood Moon Pack,” he said, voice like steel, “reject you.” For a while, the world fell silent and my heart… stopped beating for a moment.

“I, Alpha Xander Blackwood, reject you as my mate.” he repeated again, this time around my spirit completely left my body.

For a second, no one moved, no one breathed.Then it hit finally hit me.Pain exploded in my chest, sharp and icy, like I could feel invisible claws tearing through my ribs. I buckled up my knees. The murmurs of the pack turned into distant echoes. I had no choice rather than clutch my chest as the bond snapped or at least, it should have but instead of breaking, it twisted, tightening around my heart like a chain dipped in frost. I couldn’t even breathe but i felt air scrape through my throat but refused to enter. My vision got blurred. Faces melted into shadows. Only his remainedcold silver eyes yet unreadable was the only thing I could picture at that moment.

The ground tilted beneath me and i tasted blood where I had bitten her tongue to stop the scream.

The pain didn’t fade, It worsened. A burning mark, thin, silver began to spread slowly across my skin near my collarbone, I was glowing faintly before disappearing beneath the flesh. No one else saw it, But she felt it and I knew it might be a curse that the ancient one whispered about in bedtime stories. The one that binds a rejected mate to the Alpha’s soul, not out of love… but out of suffering. My lips trembled. “Why… can’t I breathe…?”

No one answered, no one dared move. The world dimmed around the edges of my vision. And just before darkness swallowed me , I saw him again this time around not standing before me this time, but in a flash of a vision of him bloody, broken, on his knees… whispering my name.

Gasps rippled through the crowd as I crumpled to the ground, my body hitting the dirt with a soft thud fragile, too still. “Move back,” Xander’s voice was calm, controlled… too controlled. His guards instantly formed a wall between me and the rest of the pack. Someone whispered from the pack, “Is she dead?” His jaw clenched. He didn’t kneel. He didn’t touch me. He only stared silver eyes empty, like he was looking at a stranger, not the girl fate claimed belonged to him. But his hand, hidden behind his back, was trembling. “Get the healer,” he ordered flatly. “No!” Betsy Rowan quickly stepped forward, shocked. “Alpha, you rejected her? Get the healer he thundered again,” he turned slowly, his voice edged with lethal calm, “get. the. healer.”Betsy swallowed hard and obeyed. He looked back at me.

My lips were pale, and my fingers twitched like I was reaching for air that wasn’t there. For the briefest moment of my life , I sensed something flickered in his eyes guilt? Fear? No one could name it. But it vanished in seconds. The healer rushed over, knelt beside me, and pressed trembling fingers to my wrist. “Her pulse… it’s weak. Too weak. This isn’t normal rejection pain.” Xander’s expression hardened. “Take her to the infirmary.” “Yes, Alpha.” I was lifted carefully.

A strand of my hair fell across my face and he didn’t move to fix it. He didn’t move at all. Only his eyes kept following me until the doors to the pack hospital closed. Then he turned to the pack, spine straight, voice cold as winter. “The announcement is over. Training resumes at dawn.”But Alpha “Dismissed,” he cut them off and walked away. His entourage followed him immediately alongside warriors, guards, his Beta, the Luna Queen, everyone but his shadow. No one even noticed the faint crescent of blood on his palm; he had dug his nails so deep into his skin just to stop himself from coming to me. He didn’t look back and he couldn’t because if he had done that, he knew he might not leave.

Warmth was the first thing I felt. Not comforting warmth but it was thick, suffocating, like fire under my skin. My chest ached as though invisible claws were tearing me open from the inside.

I gasped for air and it rushed into my lungs like shattered glass, and my eyes flew open.

The ceiling above me was white not just white but too white. The sharp, sterile scent of herbs and burning sage hung in the air.

"The infirmary"? I thought, I tried to sit up but pain exploded across my ribs, sharp and merciless. A choking and weak sound escaped my lips, “Don’t move" The healer’s voice was soft but firm. I turned my head slowly. She stood beside the bed, her grey hair pulled back and her hands wrapped in glowing green energy as she hovered them inches above my chest.

She wouldn’t meet my eyes, No one would actually. I swallowed my spit and my throat was dry, raw. “How… long?”

“A few hours,” she said quietly. “You passed out after the Alpha’s then she paused” Her voice faltered. After the announcement.

I knew she was talking about the rejection.The word wasn’t spoken, but it echoed through the room like a curse.

My heart twisted painfully. I remembered the way he looked at me when he came with his entourage and the way he refused to look at me when he spoke about the rejection.The coldness in his voice. The distance in his eyes.

I, Alpha Xander Blackwood, reject you…I squeezed my eyes shut. It echoed in my head again, "Stop"! I quickly said to my mind because I'm yet to recover from what brought me to the infirmary.

Thinking about it will only send another spear of agony through the fragile thread of the bond that still connected us, fraying… breaking.

I forced myself to breathe slowly. In. Out. Even though every inhale felt like swallowing needles.

I could hear the echoes of footsteps in the hallway outside. Then followed by whispers she woke up?” did the Alpha come? heard she almost died

They were cut off by a low growl. Someone must’ve warned them to keep quiet. I shifted slightly, wincing. My fingers curled into the thin bedsheet.

The healer removed her hands and the glow faded. “Your body is stable now. But your wolf she’s very weak.” My wolf? I asked , I hadn’t heard her voice since it happened. She was silent, curled somewhere deep inside me, whimpering.

“Can I…” My voice cracked. “Can I leave?” The healer hesitated. Technically, you can but I suggest you rest a while longer. What about the the Alpha, “Is he here? The question slipped from my lips before I could stop it.

She froze. “…No.” Something inside of me sank. Well there's no reason why he would be here

Why would he be? He rejected me in front of the entire pack,humiliated me and let me crumble to the ground like I was nothing.

The healer stepped back. “I’ll inform Betsy Rowan you’re awake.”

I didn’t answer. She left quietly, closing the door behind her.

Silence crawled back in. Only the steady thud of my heartbeat reminded me I was still alive, even though it didn’t feel like it. My chest throbbed. My head was heavy, a lot of things were going through my mind at the moment but i couldn't process anything.

And no matter how hard I tried, I could still smell him. I couldn't get over him regardless of how he rejected me.

Faint traces of pine, rain, and smoke. His scent. Embedded within the sheets, clinging to the air. Like he’d been here. Or maybe I imagined it. Maybe I wanted to believe he came. The door creaked open again and i didn’t look. Congratulations, a voice sneered. Female. “You survived.”

I turned slowly to the back and standing in the doorway was Celene Blackwood.

The future Luna Queen. His betrothed with her lips curled in a cruel smile as she stepped inside, gown trailing behind her like spilled moonlight.