Rejected and Heart-broken

The Alpha stood there, dressed in a white and gold royal apparel that fitted his huge frame perfectly. He was by every inch very attractive. Afraid of being caught ogling the Alpha, I stared down quickly, my hands slightly fidgeting. I was suddenly nervous, and I wasn't sure if it was because of the Alpha's intimidating presence or something else. A desire.

After what seemed like an eternity of endless staring, he suddenly walked forward, taking slow steady steps towards me. My heart increased in rhythm and hammered against my rib cage. Astrid! Calm down! I told myself.

But how could I when the Alpha of Crescent moon pack stood mere inches from me, so close that his cologne invaded my senses and made me light headed. I slowly looked up at him. From the way his Adam's apple slightly bobbed up and down, to his defined jaw that seemed too perfect to be real, to his full lips, oh, those lips! I wanted so badly to press them against mine, to feel their softness. I gulped slightly. Looking further up, I stared at mesmerizing icy blue orbs that were slightly covered by strands of dark black hair. His eyes were like an endless pool that drew me into them, like they held some untold secrets behind them. I know I should look down in submission, my mind screamed at me to look down but I couldn't. And at the back of my mind, something told me the way I was acting was off, my insane attraction to this man could only lead to one answer, and I saw it in the way he stared at me too. We are mated. But how is that possible?

“Leave.” He suddenly ordered, taking me a little by surprise. Was I mistaken? Maybe he wasn't my mate, I was probably losing it too, like Ophelia and the other slaves in the palace. Shame gripped me at my embarrassing attitude, and I quickly arranged my supplies and sprinted past him to the door.

“Wait.” I heard. I slowly turned to him.

“I’m sure you are aware by now that we are mated” He said, his voice holding no emotion. So I was right. Relief cursed through me, but it vanished almost immediately at his next words.

“ I would like you to know that I would never accept you as my mate. There is no way someone as weak and feeble as you would rule as Luna of Crescent moon…” My mind jammed at his words. What is he saying?

His face held a neutral expression as he spoke.

“..and I cannot reject you, as that is against every werewolf law..”

What? My mind failed desperately as I tried to grasp what he was saying. He wanted to reject me?

“..so you'll stay here in the palace, working as my personal slave and answering my every need. Take that as your punishment for trying to escape. Now you may leave.”

I couldn't believe my ears

“What? what do you-” I started.

“I did not give you permission to speak, human. I asked you to leave. And I hate repeating myself.” He rudely said, turning his back to me.

“What's your reason?” I asked, tears already threatening to fall from my eyes. My heart already started to pang from pain and betrayal. He wanted to make my life miserable, at least I deserve an explanation.

“I told you. I hate repeating myself. Now-”

“No.” I said, surprising both me and him. Interrupting someone of higher class than you is punishable by law, but I couldn't think of that right now. “ At least tell me why you're doing this. It can't just be because I'm weak and feeble, right? There has to be an expla-” I was interrupted. Suddenly the Alpha's strong hands were wrapped around my neck, his blue eyes glaring at me furiously. Fear gripped me suddenly.

“Do you want to die, human?” He thundered, making me whimper slightly.

“You do not deserve an explanation. Another word from your mouth and I won't hesitate to snap your fragile neck in half. Understood?” I nodded, too dazed to speak.

He let go off my neck and I ran out of the room, slamming the door behind me. I ran down the halls and stairs, ignoring the curious eyes of palace guards and slaves, till I got to my room. Falling on the ground in my room, I sobbed uncontrollably.

I've gone through many things as a slave, but this was more painful. What was my fate now? I have no hope for freedom anymore and the one I am mated to despised me. I tried, desperately wanting the pain in my chest to subside. Now I had no one else to turn to. No one to talk to. No one wanted anything to do with me, even Ophelia. This is probably worse than dying. It'd be better if he had gone through with snapping my neck. So I didn't have to go through all this. Hugging my knees on the ground, I sobbed myself to sleep.

**Atlas**

I sat at the end of the long stone table in the meeting room, and watched as the pack officials of Crescent moon engaged in a fit of conversations.

“My Lord, we have gathered from sources outside the pack, that humans are beginning to form an army in order to annihilate the wolves for good.” One of the Betas, an elderly male wolf, said.

The others laughed at his statement, and even I couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Those pesky little humans. They think they are strong enough to rebel against us.

“That is just ridiculous, we all know that they do not stand a chance against us wolves” Another beta said amusingly.

“But they do seem to know what they are doing. Two wolves were found dead on the southside of the pack grounds. They were killed by wolfsbane. It was clearly the work of humans, as their scent still lingered around the area of the incident”

The elderly one said, earning exclamations from a few officials. My brows raised in surprise too. Wolfsbane is a very rare plant that is deemed poisonous for werewolves, and it was very hard to find too. How did humans get their hands on them?

“Silence” boomed over the hall, bringing an end to the rising noise caused by the betas as they discussed the problem at hand. It was the first time I spoke since the beginning of the meeting.

“When did this happen?” I asked the wolf who spoke. He bowed his head in submission.

“Yesterday, during the mating ceremony, my lord.” He said.

“Kyle, is this true?” I turned to Kyle, who stood next to me during the meeting.

Kyle is my most trusted soldier and my second In command. He is well acquainted with problems such as this.

“I am not aware of this, my Lord. I will look into it” Kyle said.

Strange. Kyle always knew first about anything that went on in the pack. The fact he didn't know about this one, could mean the act was executed swiftly, and silently.

“If this turns out to be true, then humans are indeed beginning to take measures,” I started. The betas murmured discreetly among themselves.

“But I will look into this. And wolfsbane is very rare to find. If humans are in possession of it, they probably have only a small amount. Besides, wolfsbane is poisonous for them too” I said, calming the minds of the elders.

“But these humans are beginning to get on our nerves. We do not know what they could be up to next. I suggest we take the first step and exile them for good”

Another Beta spoke, and the rest nodded in agreement.

“No, we would only waste resources. We should wait until they attack, and we defeat them. They do not stand a chance against us anyways. And for one, we do not know if humans indeed caused those deaths. It could be done by a wolf” I said.

“Perhaps, you're being too lenient with them, my Lord.” One of the Betas, Lukas, raised his voice.

“However, do you mean, Lukas?” I asked curtly. Lukas is the oldest Beta in the room, and was an acquaintance of my father when he was alive. But there was always an aura around him that I never liked. I only kept him around because I never saw anything wrong with him, and he had a connection with my parents.

“We all know what a liability the humans have proven to become, not to mention that they are the reason for the death of the former Luna of Crescent moon, Luna Athena, who also is your mother” Lukas said, looking at me pointedly, knowing he had struck a nerve. Conversations with my mother have always had me on edge, and he very much knew that. I knew he wanted to cause a reaction from me, but I am not giving him that satisfaction.

“We all saw the injustice that met with the death of the former Luna, she didn't deserve to die like that. If it were to be the former Alpha of Crescent moon, he wouldn't hesitate to slay anyone that threatens the safety of his family. Perhaps My Lord, you are beginning to loosen your hold and you don't value family any longer…”

Lukas smiled, mischief coating his entire features. I glared warningly at him, feeling my control begin to snap.

“Enough” I warned.

“....or is it because she abandoned you when you were a young pup, that you have vowed not to avenge her death?”

“Enough” I boomed, shaking everyone in the room into submission. I stood, towering over everyone, causing them to cower slightly in fear. They need to be reminded of whom they are speaking to.

“ Attacking the humans first will only make us look like cowards, wolves who are scared of what the humans are up to. Let them come with all they have, and we defeat them whilst shedding so much as a sweat” I said, staring into the eyes of each Beta as I spoke. My eyes landed on Lukas, who shivered slightly from my intense stare. As he should.

I stalked towards him, daring him to question my status. He bent his head in submission.

“I am not my father” I said, my voice a low growl so only he could hear. “ I won't slay an innocent life, just to prove a point. However, I won't hesitate to cut off your tongue, should you ever question my decisions again. If you do not like the way I lead my people….” I stalked closer, looking him dead in the eyes.

“.....then challenge me to a duel”

I said slowly.