Adella POV

The word *reject* echoed in the suffocating silence of the bedroom, freezing the blood in my veins.

I pulled the tangled white sheets up to my chest, my body still trembling from the electric aftershocks of his touch. "If you were going to reject me," I whispered, my voice cracking under the weight of my shattered heart, "then why did you just do *that*?"

Kian didn't even look at me. He finished buttoning his crisp white shirt, his storm-gray eyes hard and merciless. "That was nothing but a primal urge, a need to assert my dominance. It meant nothing."

His words were a physical blow. He turned to face me, his Alpha aura flaring with pure disgust. "Did you really think spreading your legs would change my mind? Six years ago, you used the fact that you saved my grandfather's life to blackmail him. You forced him to arrange this humiliating union, playing the pathetic, wolfless Omega perfectly just to steal the Luna title."

"I never blackmailed Alvah!" I gasped, the injustice of his accusation burning my throat. "He arranged this to—"

"Save your lies," Kian snarled, cutting me off. He didn't know the truth. He didn't know Alvah had forced this marriage to protect my hidden bloodline from those who would exploit it, and to keep Kian away from Ember, whom Alvah knew was a feral Rogue at heart.

Kian pulled a sleek black card from his wallet and tossed it onto the bed. It landed next to my trembling hand like a piece of trash. "Fifty million. More than enough for your kind."

He leaned over the bed, his voice dropping to a lethal, icy warning. "Take the money. Show up at the Rejection ceremony and accept it obediently. If you don't, I will show you what happens when you defy an Alpha."

Without another word, he turned and walked out. The heavy oak door slammed shut, leaving me alone in the cold, massive bed. A single tear slipped down my cheek, but before I could break down, my phone rang.

It was Asia Watkins, the Beta of the Woodlands Pack and my only true friend.

"Adella!" Asia's voice was frantic, bordering on panic. "Kian just sent an official decree. He terminated all trade agreements between the Blackwood Pack and us. The medicinal herbs, the training grounds—everything is gone! My Alpha is furious. What is happening?"

My breath hitched. Kian wasn't just threatening me; he was using the survival of Asia's small pack as collateral damage to force my compliance.

The crushing sorrow in my chest suddenly evaporated, replaced by a blinding, white-hot fury. I had spent six years shrinking myself, hiding my true nature to honor Alvah's dying wish. But I would not let Kian destroy the only person who had ever been kind to me.

I hung up on Asia and immediately dialed Kian's number. He answered on the second ring, probably expecting me to beg.

"Keep your blood money, Kian. I won't take a single cent," I said, my voice eerily calm and steady.

I heard his sharp intake of breath, shocked by my defiance. Before he could unleash his Alpha's Command, I continued, "Restore your agreements with the Woodlands Pack immediately. Set up the ceremony. I will be there, and I will accept your rejection."

I ended the call. For the first time in six years, I didn't feel like a prisoner. I packed a small duffel bag with the few things that actually belonged to me and walked out of the penthouse without looking back.

An hour later, I stood at the edge of the Blackwood Pack estate. The sky had broken open, unleashing a torrential downpour. The freezing rain soaked through my thin jacket, and the phantom pain of the impending severed mate-bond throbbed relentlessly in my chest. I was entirely alone in the mud, shivering and lost.

Suddenly, the heavy rain stopped hitting my face.

A large black umbrella cast a shadow over me. I blinked through the rain and saw a towering, muscular man standing before me. The scent of crisp mountain air and winter pine hit my senses—the unmistakable scent of the Silvermoon Pack.

The man ignored the mud and dropped to one knee, bowing his head in absolute reverence.

"My lady, the six years are over," Silas said, his deep voice cutting through the sound of the storm. He slowly looked up, his eyes fierce and loyal. "Alpha Baron sent me to fetch you. It is time, future Alpha of the Silvermoon Pack, to come home."

Adella POV

The heavy door of the armored SUV clicked shut, sealing away the freezing rain and the remnants of my shattered life. I sank into the plush leather seats, the scent of winter pine and Silas’s warrior aura grounding me. It was a moving fortress, safe and entirely disconnected from the Blackwood Pack territory I was leaving behind.

Before Silas could even start the engine, a booming, authoritative voice echoed in my head.

*“Come home, child. This humiliation ends now.”*

It was my grandfather, Alpha Baron Gray of the Silvermoon Pack. His mind-link was so powerful it made my temples throb.

I closed my eyes, fortifying my mental walls. *“No, Grandfather. I won’t return as a broken, rejected Omega. I won't let Kian think he broke me.”*

*“You are a White Wolf, the sole heir to my legacy!”* Baron growled through the link, his protective fury bleeding into my mind. *“You have nothing to prove to that arrogant pup.”*

*“I have everything to prove to myself,”* I countered fiercely. *“Give me one year. Let me stay in his city.”*

A heavy silence stretched across the mental bond. When Baron finally spoke, his tone was pure, uncompromising Alpha. *“Fine. But we do this my way. You will take over all Silvermoon operations in that city. You have one year to increase our wealth and influence there by thirty percent—three billion dollars. If you fail, you abandon this revenge game, come home, and accept the mate I’ve chosen for you: Evander Frost.”*

My breath hitched. Evander was the legendary Healer of the Stonecreek Pack. A powerful, respectable man, but marrying him would mean trading one gilded cage for another.

*“Deal,”* I replied, severing the link before he could sense my hesitation.

I opened my eyes. The sorrow that had weighed me down for six years evaporated, replaced by a cold, sharp clarity. I looked at the driver's seat.

"Silas," I said, my voice carrying a new, unfamiliar authority. "Tap into the Pack's emergency reserves. Before sunrise, I want a rock-solid, exclusive trade alliance established with Asia's Woodlands Pack. Whatever Kian cut off, we compensate tenfold. Make sure the alliance announcement is sitting on Kian Blackwood’s desk first thing tomorrow morning."

Silas met my gaze in the rearview mirror, a fierce, proud smile spreading across his face. "Consider it done, my Alpha."

Later that night, the heavy bass of a high-end, neutral-territory club vibrated through the floorboards. Asia had dragged me out, insisting we celebrate my "liberation."

For the first time in six years, I hadn't taken the bitter wolfsbane herbs Alvah had prescribed to mask my true nature. I was done hiding.

My true scent—the intoxicating, pure aroma of a White Wolf—bloomed into the stifling air. It was a potent mix of night-blooming tuberose, rich vanilla, and crisp moonlight, a scent designed by the Moon Goddess to bring any male wolf to his knees. I had traded my baggy, drab clothes for a backless emerald silk dress that clung to my curves, letting the world see exactly who I was.

I was laughing, swaying on the crowded dance floor with Asia. A stranger had stepped close, his hand lightly resting on my waist as we moved to the rhythm, but I barely noticed him. I was too busy drowning in the euphoric feeling of my own freedom.

Then, the air in the club suddenly shifted.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I glanced toward the VIP entrance and froze.

Kian was walking in, Ember clinging tightly to his arm. But he wasn't looking at her. He had stopped dead in his tracks, his tall frame rigid. Even from across the dimly lit room, I saw his storm-gray eyes dilate until they were almost entirely black. His nostrils flared, taking in the overwhelming, unmasked scent I was finally unleashing.

The mate-bond, dormant and suffocated by my herbs for six years, slammed into him with the force of a freight train. I could practically feel his inner wolf roaring in my direction, tearing through the club's atmosphere with violent possessiveness.

His gaze locked onto mine, dropping to the stranger's hand on my waist, and the entire world around us ceased to exist.

Kian POV

My senses were entirely hijacked. The heavy bass of the club faded into a dull hum, drowned out by an intoxicating, irresistible scent—night-blooming tuberose, rich vanilla, and crisp moonlight.

It hit me with the force of a physical blow. My inner wolf clawed frantically at the edges of my mind, roaring with a violent, primal desperation I had never felt before. *“Mate! Find her! Mine!”*

I followed that blood-boiling aroma through the suffocating crowd, my eyes scanning the strobe-lit dance floor until they locked onto her.

Adella.

But this wasn't the drab, scentless shadow of a woman who had kept her head bowed in my house for six years. She was glowing in a backless emerald silk dress that clung to every curve, radiating an aura that was driving me absolutely insane. And some death-wish-having stranger had his hand resting casually on her waist, swaying with her to the music.

A dark, primitive rage consumed me. I didn't think; I just moved. I strode across the floor, grabbed her bare arm roughly, and yanked her out of the man's embrace.

The second my skin made contact with hers, a violent, electric jolt surged through my entire body. It was a blinding spark of pure pleasure and possession that nearly buckled my knees.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I demanded, a possessive, guttural growl tearing from my throat that barely sounded like my own voice.

Adella didn't cower. Her icy blue eyes, usually so submissive, blazed with pure fury. She yanked her arm, trying to shake off my grip, her sudden strength catching me off guard.

I needed to regain control. I needed to force her back into the weak Omega box I understood. "Have you no shame?" I snarled, my Alpha ego fighting the chaotic satisfaction of my wolf. "Fraternizing with a stranger in public? Are you trying to ruin the Blackwood Pack's reputation?"

She let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Shame? You have no right to speak to me about that word, Kian. Who was shamelessly parading his mistress around days ago, even threatening me with rejection? Keep your hypocritical preaching to yourself."

Her sharp retort left me momentarily speechless. My wolf swelled with pride at her fire, but my pride as an Alpha was deeply offended by her public defiance.

Before I could formulate a response, Ember appeared, pressing her body against my side. "Adella?" she asked, her voice dripping with sweet, manufactured surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Adella didn't even spare her a glance. She kept her piercing gaze on me. "Keep your Rogue mistress in check, Kian. Don't let her bother me."

The word *Rogue* hung in the air like a physical slap. The atmosphere around us froze. Ember’s face drained of all color, her eyes widening in humiliation.

Tears immediately welled in Ember's eyes. She looked up at me, her voice trembling. "Kian, don't blame her. She must be terrified. She knows she'll have nothing once you reject her, so she's hysterical, desperately looking for the next Alpha to provide for her."

Her words acted like a key, unlocking the chaotic mess in my head. Yes. That made sense. That was the Adella I knew—weak, dependent, desperate for money. I ruthlessly shoved down the agonizing whines of my inner wolf and chose the logic I was comfortable with.

I looked at Adella coldly. "I won't tolerate you dragging my name through the mud."

A profound, heavy disappointment washed over Adella's features. She looked at me as if I were the most pathetic creature she had ever seen, then shifted her gaze to Ember.

"Slut," Adella spat.

My temper snapped. I grabbed her arm again, towering over her with absolute arrogance. "Apologize to me and Ember. Right now. I'll give you fifty million."

I expected her to break. I expected her to hesitate at the mention of the money.

She didn't. She just smirked, stepping closer until her intoxicating scent completely suffocated me. She looked dead into my eyes, her voice terrifyingly calm.

"Keep your blood money, Kian. I've already submitted the Rejection application."

The world stopped spinning.

*Rejection?* Submitted by her? An Omega—a woman I thought was a wolfless nobody—initiating a rejection against me, an Alpha? It defied every rule of our world.

Before my paralyzed brain could process the magnitude of what she had just said, she ripped her arm from my loosened grip. She turned her back on me and walked out of the club without a single ounce of hesitation, leaving me standing frozen in the flashing lights, drowning in her lethal scent and the shattering reality of her words.