Chapter 1

The morning of my eighteenth birthday began like any other day in the Bourne Pack, with me running late for my shift at the pack café.

As I sprinted past the training grounds, my worn sneakers kicking up dust, I couldn't help but smile.

Today was supposed to be special, the day when most wolves discovered their mate bonds, but I had long since accepted my likely mateless fate as an omega.

"Layla!"

A familiar voice called out, making me skid to a stop.

James, our Head Beta's son, jogged over with that easy smile that had half the pack swooning.

"Happy birthday!"

"Thanks," I said, tucking a strand of dark hair behind my ear. "But I'm really late..."

"I know, I know. But here." He thrust a small wrapped package into my hands. "Open it later yeah?"

I clutched the gift, warmth spreading through my chest.

James had been nothing but kind to me since his mate died two years ago, and sometimes I caught myself wondering if...

"Layla."

The deep, commanding voice froze me in place.

Every wolf in the vicinity lowered their heads as Alpha Aiden approached, his presence overwhelming as always.

Next to him walked Zara, our future Luna, her perfectly manicured hand wrapped possessively around his arm.

I dropped into a low bow, heart hammering. "Alpha."

"Stand," He ordered, and I straightened, keeping my eyes downcast as was expected of an omega.

"You're late for your shift."

"Yes, Alpha. I apologize..."

The world stopped.

In that fraction of a second when I dared to meet his eyes, everything changed. The air crackled with electric intensity.

My wolf, usually so quiet, roared to life.

Mine.

Mate.

The word echoed through every fiber of my being.

I watched in horror as Aiden's eyes widened, the usual steel gray bleeding to alpha gold.

His nostrils flared, and for a moment, just a moment, raw anger flashed across his face before his control slammed back into place.

No. No, no, no.

Zara's perfectly shaped eyebrows drew together. "Aiden? What's wrong?"

He hadn't moved, hadn't breathed. Neither had I.

The reality of what just happened crashed over me like a tsunami.

Alpha Aiden, our engaged Alpha, was my mate. And from the way his jaw clenched, he'd known.

He'd known long before today.

"Nothing," he bit out, his voice glacial. "Get to work, omega. Now!"

I fled.

Behind me, I heard Zara's tinkling laugh. "Honestly, these lower ranks get more presumptuous every day. Did you see how she stared at you?"

I ran until I reached the café's back entrance, tears burning my eyes.

My trembling hands still clutched James's gift, and suddenly its weight felt like lead.

On my eighteenth birthday, I'd found my mate, and lost him in the same breath.

But as I leaned against the cold brick wall, trying to steady my breathing, I didn't know the worst was yet to come.

I didn't know that by nightfall, my Alpha would formally reject our mate bond. And I certainly didn't know that his rejection wouldn't be the end, but rather, a true beginning.

All I knew, in that moment, was that my simple life as an invisible omega had just shattered into a million pieces. And somehow, I had to find a way to pick them up.

The café kitchen had always been my sanctuary.

Today, it felt like a prison.

Every tick of the clock was torture as I waited for my shift to end, knowing what was coming. No Alpha could leave a mate bond unaddressed, even if that mate was just a lowly omega.

"You've wiped that same plate six times," Sarah, another omega waitress, said softly. "And you're shaking."

I set down the plate before I could drop it.

My hands hadn't stopped trembling since this morning. The mate bond thrummed beneath my skin like a live wire, making me hyperaware of Aiden's presence in the packhouse across the grounds.

Even through walls and distance, I could feel him, angry, conflicted, and growing more agitated by the hour.

"I'm fine," I lied, though my voice cracked. "Just birthday jitters."

Sarah's knowing look said she didn't believe me, but she didn't push. That was the omega way, keep your head down, don't make waves. I'd been good at that, until today.

The sun had set by the time I finished my shift.

I'd just stepped out the back door when his scent hit me, pine, smoke, and pure alpha power.

My wolf whimpered, wanting to run to him, but I forced myself to stay still as Aiden emerged from the shadows.

He looked devastating in his perfectly tailored suit, obviously coming straight from a pack meeting. But his expression was carved from stone, and his eyes... God, his eyes were empty.

"Follow me," He ordered, already turning away.

We walked in silence through the woods behind the packhouse.

Each step felt like walking to my execution.

When we reached a small clearing, he stopped but didn't turn around.

"Alpha..." I started.

"Don't." His voice could have frozen hell itself. "You will listen."

My mouth snapped shut.

Through the bond, I felt his emotions warring, rage, guilt, and something else, something he was desperately trying to suppress.

"I am Alpha of the Bourne Pack. My mate was chosen years ago. Zara will be my Luna, and nothing.." He turned then, his eyes blazing, "...nothing will change that. Do you understand?"

Each word was a dagger to my heart. "You knew," I whispered. "Before today. You knew I was your mate."

A muscle jumped in his jaw. "Yes."

"How long?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me!" The words burst out before I could stop them. "You knew, and you still chose her. You let me find out like this, on my birthday, in front of..."

He moved so fast I didn't see it coming.

One moment I was standing, the next my back hit a tree, his hands caging me in.

His face was inches from mine, eyes molten gold.

"Listen carefully, little omega," he growled, his voice dropping to that alpha timber that made my knees weak. "This bond? It doesn't exist. I reject it. I reject you. You will never speak of this to anyone. You will continue your life as if today never happened. And you will stay away from me."

Through the bond, I felt it the moment he severed it, like a white hot knife slicing through my soul. I couldn't hold back the cry of pain, tears spilling down my cheeks.

He stepped back immediately, something like regret flashing across his face before it hardened again. "Find happiness elsewhere, Layla. That's an order."

Then he was gone, leaving me to slide down the tree trunk as the reality of what just happened sank in.

Rejected.

I was a rejected mate.

The words echoed in my head like a death sentence.

I don't know how long I sat there, my arms wrapped around myself as if I could physically hold the pieces together.

The moon rose, casting silver light through the trees, and somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled.

A rustling sound made me look up.

James stood at the edge of the clearing, his face twisted with concern. Of course he'd come looking for me.

He always did.

"Layla?" He stepped closer, cautious. "Are you hurt?"

I wanted to laugh at the question.

Hurt didn't begin to cover it. But as I looked at James, sweet, caring James who'd lost his own mate and survived, something shifted inside me.

Maybe Aiden had done me a favor.

Maybe this pain was saving me from a lifetime of watching him with Zara, of being the dirty secret that could never be acknowledged.

"I'm okay," I said, letting James help me to my feet.

His hand was warm and steady, an anchor in the storm. "Or I will be."

I didn't know then how wrong I was.

I didn't know that you can't simply order a mate bond away, or that Aiden's rejection would turn into something far more dangerous than heartbreak.

But for tonight, I let myself believe it was over.

Let myself believe that tomorrow would be better.

It had to be.