I slipped through the doors and immediately moved to my usual spot in the far corner where the shadows were deepest. The great hall was huge, with high ceilings and large windows that looked out over the pack lands. Tonight it was filled with wolves dressed in their best clothes, talking and laughing and enjoying themselves.
The social hierarchy was on full display. The Alpha and his family held court near the front of the room. The high-ranking warriors and their families clustered in the center. The middle-ranked wolves filled in around them. And us omegas pressed ourselves against the walls and into corners, trying not to draw attention.
I spotted Cassidy across the room with the other kitchen omegas. She caught my eye and gave me an encouraging smile. I tried to smile back, but my face felt frozen.
The night wore on. Wolves mingled and talked. I saw a few younger wolves recognize their mates their faces lighting up with joy as they felt the bond snap into place. Each time it happened, the crowd would cheer and congratulate them, and I would feel a little piece of my heart crack.
No one approached me. No one even looked in my direction. I was invisible, just like always.
I was starting to think I could get through this night without incident when the crowd suddenly shifted. People were moving, making way for someone. My heart sank when I realized they were making way for Marcus.
He strode through the great hall like he owned it, which I supposed he did or would soon enough. He was dressed in expensive clothes that probably cost more than I'd see in my entire life. Lydia was on his arm, looking beautiful and smug in a designer dress.
I tried to make myself even smaller in my corner, praying he wouldn't notice me. But the universe wasn't that kind.
Marcus's eyes swept the room, and then they landed on me. Something flickered across his face an expression I couldn't read. He said something to Lydia, who laughed, and then he started walking in my direction.
No. Please no. Not here, not in front of everyone.
But he kept coming, and the crowd parted for him automatically. Soon he was standing right in front of me, looking down at me with those cold dark eyes.
And then I felt it.
A sudden, overwhelming pull. Like an invisible rope had been tied between my soul and his, yanking tight. My breath caught in my throat as warmth flooded through my body, starting from my chest and spreading outward. My wolf, usually so quiet, suddenly surged forward with a strength I'd never felt before.
"Mate," she whispered in my mind, her voice clear and strong for the first time in my life. "Mate. Ours."
No. No, this couldn't be happening. This wasn't real.
But it was real. I could see from Marcus's face that he felt it too. The mate bond, unmistakable and undeniable, pulling us together. For one brief, beautiful moment, I let myself hope. Maybe this was the Moon Goddess's gift to me. Maybe despite everything, I'd been given a mate who was strong and powerful, who could protect me.
Maybe everything was about to change.
Marcus stared at me, and I stared back. The whole room had gone quiet, everyone watching this moment unfold. I could feel their eyes on us, could sense their confusion and shock that the Alpha heir's mate was the pack's lowest omega.
Then Marcus's expression shifted. The shock faded, replaced by something cold and hard. I watched it happen, watched him shut down whatever he was feeling and lock it away behind walls I could sense even through the mate bond.
He opened his mouth to speak, and I knew with terrible certainty that whatever he was about to say would destroy me.
But I couldn't look away. I stood frozen, waiting for the ax to fall, while my newly awakened wolf whimpered in my mind and my heart broke before he'd even said a word.
The great hall was so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat thundering in my ears. Every eye in the pack was on us on Marcus and me, standing just feet apart while the mate bond hummed between us like a living thing.
I saw the moment Marcus made his decision. His jaw tightened, his shoulders straightened, and his eyes went flat and cold. He looked at me like I was a problem that needed to be solved, not the person the Moon Goddess herself had chosen for him.
"No," he said, and that single word felt like a knife sliding between my ribs.
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. My wolf was howling in my mind, desperate and confused, not understanding why our mate was looking at us with such disgust.
Marcus took a step back, putting distance between us. The mate bond stretched painfully, like it was physically pulling at my chest. Around us, I could hear whispers starting up, people trying to process what was happening.
"This is a mistake," Marcus said, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. He wasn't just talking to me he was making a public statement. "The Moon Goddess must have made an error."
"Marcus." The word came out as barely a whisper. I couldn't seem to get enough air into my lungs. "Please."
But there was no mercy in his eyes. If anything, my plea seemed to harden his resolve.
"I, Marcus Thorne, future Alpha of the Silverwood Pack..." he began, and I knew what was coming. I'd heard of rejection before, though I'd never witnessed it myself. It was rare because rejecting your fated mate was supposed to be incredibly painful for both wolves involved. Most people learned to make their matings work rather than face rejection.
But Marcus didn't care about pain, at least not mine.
"...reject you, Nessa Gray, as my fated mate and future Luna."
The bond snapped.
I'd thought I understood pain. I'd been beaten, starved, worked until I collapsed, and humiliated more times than I could count. But nothing...nothing had prepared me for this.
It felt like someone had reached into my chest and torn my heart out while it was still beating. The mate bond, which had been so warm and right just moments ago, shattered into a thousand pieces. Each piece felt like broken glass cutting through me from the inside out.
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I couldn't do anything except feel the agony of rejection consuming me.
My knees gave out and I collapsed, catching myself on my hands just before I hit the floor completely. A choked sound escaped my throat something between a gasp and a sob.
Through my haze of pain, I heard Marcus continue speaking.
"You are worthless," he said, and his voice was cold enough to freeze fire. "A defective omega who can barely shift and has no family, no status, nothing to offer this pack. The Moon Goddess must have made a mistake pairing me with something so pathetic. I will never accept you as mine."
Each word was chosen to hurt, to humiliate. And it worked. Through the physical agony of the broken bond, I felt shame and humiliation crash over me. He was right. I was worthless. What had I been thinking, hoping for even a second that someone like Marcus could want someone like me?