Chapter 1

Samantha

Today was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, but I was beginning to have doubts, especially when I had just witnessed the one thing I never believed was possible: a mate's rejection.

"I, Lily, reject you, Finn, of omega blood, as my fated mate," a brunette female said as she stood before her mate. I could hear the tremble in her voice as the words rolled off her mouth. "You disgust me, and I can't believe you were given to me as a mate," she said with a painful strain in her voice. It was so obvious how rejecting her mate tore her apart, yet she was strong enough to do it.

"Is this because of Ric!" Finn, the omega and now her ex-mate, cried out in anguish as he held onto her leg, stopping her from leaving. She shoved his hand off her thigh and turned to look at him with disgust.

"Alpha Ric, put some respect on that name," she told him coldly.

"You'd reject your mate for him!" His voice might have been low due to the weakness he felt from being rejected, but his tone was clear with anger and pain.

"I wish it were the sole reason. You're just unfortunate to be an omega. Maybe if you were an alpha or a beta, I wouldn't blink to forsake Ric and accept you as my mate."

So, this wasn't just about love; it was about power and the significance one had to their mate.

Lily was the alpha's lover and girlfriend. She was from a very important and powerful family in the pack. I wasn't an omega; I was something worse. I was the daughter of a rogue who had married an omega and given me an abusive drunk as a stepfather. Who would want to be mated to me?

I was scared. What if my mate rejected me?

The anguish the omega felt, the excruciating breaking of the bond—I wasn't Finn, but I'd never wish to see even my enemy in such pain. It was heartbreaking to watch. I wondered how Lily was able to do that to the one person who would love her the most.

Maybe I didn't need to be at this festival. I'd try again next year, maybe I'd be strong enough for a rejection, I thought to myself, concluding that it was insane to think that my case would be different.

I watched Lily transform into her wolf, leaving the omega to grieve his rejection. I continued to hide in the corner, waiting till Finn had gathered his strength to leave before I fled the scene too.

The scene I had just witnessed overwhelmed me, and out of fear, I ran to the one place I considered my safe haven whenever I felt overwhelmed. It was the wooden house that Alpha Ric, the alpha heir of our pack, had allowed me to stay in whenever I wanted to hide away from pack bullies or cry my heart out because I was hurt. He was the only person who protected me in this pack.

This was the alpha's private space, and no one dared to trespass, but today it seemed as though someone other than me was trespassing. As I curled up on the floor, a familiar yet strange scent wafted through the air. Earthy and sweet, intoxicating me with a strong need and desire for whoever was standing outside that door. Everything inside me knew it was him.

My mate found me.

"Mine!"

I heard a beastly growl that called out to me, but that wasn't enough. Lily had called Finn her mate and still rejected him. Fear shook me to my core, and in a hasty decision, I began pulling things to block the door, hoping it would stop my mate from coming in. But I was stupid to think that. The door suddenly burst open, with the loud sound of wood shattering into pieces and flying through the air, while I held my hand up to protect my face.

The aura exuding from my mate was earth-shattering. I felt enveloped in it, every pore of my skin was covered with goosebumps and chills. My heart beat erratically, yearning to be in his arms already.

Everywhere fell silent after the loud crash, and a fearful gasp escaped my lips the moment he took his first step towards me. I could tell he was big. Could he be a warrior? No one could exude such an aura, so powerful, except one person, but even this aura was twice as strong as what I knew the alpha's aura felt like. Did I feel his aura so strong because he was my mate?

"Mine!"

I was shaken to my core as his beastly voice proclaimed me as his.

"You are mine, Samantha." I was shocked at the mention of my name. His voice was somewhat familiar, and in that moment, realization hit me. I turned slowly to look at the figure before me. To my greatest shock, Alpha Ric, the one person who protected me, was my mate.