Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the King

The morning sun filtered through our bedroom curtains as I carefully arranged the breakfast tray—Reed's favorite blueberry pancakes, fresh coffee, and a single white rose I'd picked from our garden. Today marked nine years since we'd first mated, nine years of hoping our bond would finally complete itself.

I'd woken before dawn to prepare everything perfectly, my heart fluttering with the same nervous excitement I'd felt as a young she-wolf. Maybe today would be different. Maybe today Reed would finally look at me the way Connor Pierce looked at—

No. I pushed that thought away, focusing on the tray in my hands.

"Reed?" I whispered, settling beside him on the bed. "Happy anniversary."

His dark eyes opened, and for a moment, I saw something soft there. Then his expression hardened as his mind-link activated, that familiar distant look crossing his features.

"Alpha Reed." Dior's voice echoed through our bond, sickeningly sweet even in my head. "I need you. My heat cycle is starting, and I'm scared. Please come to me."

The breakfast tray trembled in my hands. "Reed, please. It's our anniversary. Can't she wait just—"

"This is pack business, Estrella." He was already throwing off the covers, reaching for his clothes. "Dior needs protection during her vulnerable time."

"But she's been having heat cycles every few weeks lately. That's not normal—"

"Are you questioning my judgment about my chosen mate?" His Alpha tone sliced through me, making my wolf whimper and retreat. "Dior is young and needs guidance. Unlike some she-wolves who can't even fulfill their basic mate duties."

The pancakes grew cold as I watched him dress, each button on his shirt another nail in the coffin of my hope. "What about us? What about our bond?"

Reed paused at the door, not turning around. "What bond, Estrella? After nine years, if there was something real between us, don't you think it would have happened by now?"

The door slammed behind him, leaving me alone with the ruins of our anniversary breakfast.

***

Evening brought the pack run, our weekly tradition where the entire Crimson Ridge Pack shifted and ran together through our territory. I'd always loved these runs—the freedom, the unity, the brief moments when I felt truly part of something.

Tonight felt different.

I shifted into my wolf form, my silver fur shimmering in the moonlight. Around me, the pack gathered—thirty-seven wolves strong, built from nothing through Reed's leadership and my hidden resources. My wolf preened with pride at what we'd accomplished, even as my human heart ached.

Reed's massive black wolf stood at the front, commanding and powerful. Beside him...

My blood turned to ice.

Dior's smaller brown wolf wore the Luna ceremonial necklace—the sacred silver chain embedded with moonstone that marked the Alpha's true mate. The necklace that should have been mine. The necklace that had been crafted specifically for Reed's Luna by the pack's artisans.

She caught my stare and deliberately lifted her head higher, the moonstone catching the light as she pranced closer to Reed. The other wolves noticed too—I could smell their confusion, their questions. Some of the older females whined softly, recognizing the wrongness of it.

The run began, but I couldn't focus. Every step felt like running through quicksand as I watched Dior parade at Reed's side, the ceremonial necklace bouncing against her fur like a declaration of war.

When we returned to the pack house, I cornered Reed in his office.

"She's wearing my necklace."

Reed didn't look up from his paperwork. "It's not your necklace, Estrella. You've never been officially recognized as Luna."

"Because you've never completed our mate bond! Because you refuse to acknowledge what the Moon Goddess—"

"The Moon Goddess?" He laughed bitterly. "If the Moon Goddess wanted us together, don't you think she'd have made it easier? Don't you think our bond would be stronger?"

Before I could respond, his mind-link activated again. This time, his voice echoed in my head too—a deliberate cruelty.

"Estrella," Reed's mental voice was cold and commanding. "Report to pack healer Marcus Stone immediately. You'll undergo fertility rituals to prove your worthiness as my mate."

My wolf snarled, the sound ripping from my throat before I could stop it. "Fertility rituals? After nine years, you want to test me?"

"I'm making an announcement at the Pack Alliance Summit next week." Reed finally looked at me, his eyes empty of any warmth. "I'm officially declaring Dior as my Luna. If you can prove your fertility and strengthen our bond before then, I might reconsider."

The world tilted. Nine years of sacrifice, of hiding my true identity, of pouring my pack's resources into his dream—and this was how it ended? With ultimatums and public humiliation?

"And if I refuse?"

Reed's smile was cruel. "Then you'll be demoted to Omega status, and Dior will take her rightful place as Luna of the Crimson Ridge Pack."

Something inside me snapped. Not broke—snapped back into place. Like a bone that had been dislocated for nine years finally popping back where it belonged.

"You want to test my worthiness?" I stepped closer, and for the first time in nine years, I didn't lower my gaze. "Be very careful what you ask for, Reed Bennett."

His eyes flickered with something—surprise? uncertainty?—but his arrogance quickly returned.

"Empty threats don't suit you, Estrella. We both know you can't survive without our bond, incomplete as it is."

I smiled, and it felt like the first genuine expression I'd worn in years. "You're right about one thing, Reed. It's time to find out exactly what I'm worth."