"Enter."
I open the door and stepped inside. Alpha Thorne's office was large and imposing, with dark wood furniture and shelves lined with books. The Alpha himself sat behind a massive desk, looking at papers. Marcus stood beside him, and my stomach dropped when I saw Beta Drake, Marcus's younger brother, standing by the window.
I kept my eyes down and moved to stand in front of the desk, my hands clasped in front of me.
"You wanted to see me, Alpha?" I said quietly.
"Yes." Alpha Thorne set down his papers and looked at me with cold appraisal. "Last night's events were unfortunate."
Unfortunate. That was one way to describe having your mate publicly reject you in front of the entire pack.
"Yes, sir," I said, because what else could I say?
"However, what's done is done," he continued. "My son made his choice, and the rejection is complete. The question now is what to do with you."
My blood ran cold. "Sir?"
"You've become a problem, Nessa." Alpha Thorne leaned back in his chair. "Word of last night's rejection will spread to other packs. It reflects poorly on Silverwood that our future Alpha's fated mate was such a weak, pathetic creature. It raises questions about our bloodlines, about whether we're as strong as we claim to be."
Each word felt like another slap. I forced myself to stay still, to keep my face blank.
"I've considered casting you out," he said, watching my face for a reaction. "Sending you away so you're no longer associated with this pack. But that would only create more problems. People would ask questions about why we threw out Marcus's former mate."
Former mate. The words hurt more than they should have.
"So here's what's going to happen," Alpha Thorne said, his voice hard as iron. "You will continue your duties as before. You will not speak of the mate bond or the rejection to anyone. If asked, you will say it was a brief mistake, quickly corrected. You will not create drama or cause problems. And you will stay far away from my son. If I hear that you've approached him, looked at him inappropriately, or caused any issues, you will be punished severely. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," I whispered.
"Good." He waved his hand dismissively. "You're dismissed. Get back to work."
I turned to leave, but Marcus's voice stopped me.
"Wait."
I froze, every muscle in my body tensing. I didn't turn around, didn't look at him. I couldn't.
"I want you to understand something," Marcus said, his voice cold. "What happened last night doesn't change anything. You're still nothing, you're still worthless, and you still mean nothing to me. The Moon Goddess made a mistake, and I corrected it. Don't ever think for a second that there could have been something between us."
His words were designed to hurt, and they succeeded. But beneath the pain, I felt that cold anger stirring again. He could reject me, humiliate me, treat me like trash. But I didn't have to let him define who I was.
"I understand," I said, keeping my voice steady. "May I go now?"
There was a pause, like Marcus had expected me to cry or beg or show some kind of weakness. When I didn't, I heard the confusion in his voice.
"Go."
I walked out of that office with my head held higher than it had been when I walked in. I didn't understand what was happening to me, why I suddenly felt different. But something had shifted during that rejection. Something had broken, yes, but maybe something else had awakened too.
I made it halfway down the hallway before my knees started shaking. I leaned against the wall, breathing hard, trying to process everything. I was still trapped here, still at the mercy of wolves who saw me as less than nothing. But for the first time in my life, I felt a tiny spark of something that might have been defiance.
"Rough morning?"
I jumped and spun around. An old woman stood a few feet away, someone I'd never seen before. She had pure white hair and pale blue eyes that seemed to look right through me. She was dressed simply but there was something about her presence that commanded attention.
"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," I said, confused. "Are you visiting the pack?"
"Something like that," the woman said with a small smile. "My name is Helena. And you're Nessa Gray, the girl who was rejected by the Alpha heir last night."
My face burned with shame. Of course word had spread already. By tomorrow, probably every pack in the region would know about the defective omega who'd been too worthless even for her fated mate.
"Yes," I said quietly. "That's me."
Helena moved closer, studying my face with an intensity that made me uncomfortable. "Tell me, child, how do you feel right now?"
It was such an unexpected question that I answered honestly. "Empty. Angry. Confused."
"Good," Helena said, which was a strange response. "That's very good. The anger especially don't let that go. You'll need it for what's coming."
"What do you mean?" I asked, but Helena was already turning away.
"I'll be seeing you again soon, Nessa Gray," she said over her shoulder. "Very soon. And when I do, I'll have something for you. Something that will help with the pain."
Before I could ask what she meant, she disappeared around a corner. I stood there for a moment, bewildered. Who was that woman? And what had she meant about something coming?
But I didn't have time to dwell on it. I had work to do, and standing around in hallways would only get me in trouble. I pushed away from the wall and headed toward the kitchens, trying to focus on the familiar routine of my duties.
The day passed in a blur. I scrubbed floors, hauled water, cleaned out fireplaces, and did all my usual tasks. But everything felt different now. People stared at me more than usual, whispered when I passed. Some looked at me with pity, others with contempt, a few with barely concealed amusement.
I kept my head down and worked, but inside I was churning. The emptiness where the mate bond had been kept pulling at me, a constant reminder of what I'd briefly had and lost. My wolf was restless, pacing in my mind, still not understanding why our mate had sent us away.
By afternoon, I'm exhausted I'd barely eaten anything, my appetite had disappeared along with the mate bond. I was carrying a basket of clean linens up the stairs when I stumbled, my foot catching on a step.
I fell forward, the basket flying from my hands. Sheets scattered across the stairs as I tried to catch myself. Pain shot through my hands and knees as they hit the hard wood.
"Pathetic."
I looked up to see Lydia standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at me with disgust.
"You can't even walk up stairs properly," she said, her voice dripping with scorn. "No wonder Marcus rejected you. You're completely useless."
I started gathering the sheets, trying to ignore her. But Lydia wasn't finished.
"Everyone's talking about you, you know," she continued, moving down a few steps so she was looming over me. "About how the Moon Goddess paired the future Alpha with the pack's biggest failure. It's humiliating for all of us. You've made our entire pack look weak."
"I'm sorry," I said, still gathering the scattered linens.
"You're sorry?" Lydia laughed. "You should be more than sorry. You should be grateful Marcus had the strength to reject you instead of being stuck with such a pathetic mate. Do you know how many she-wolves would kill to be in your position? And you're so worthless you couldn't even make him want to keep you."
Her words hit all the wounds that were still raw and bleeding. Part of me wanted to lash out, to defend myself. But what could I say? She was right. Marcus hadn't wanted me. The Moon Goddess's choice hadn't been enough to overcome what I was weak, broken, worthless.
"Just stay away from him," Lydia said, her voice turning threatening. "Marcus is mine now, and if I catch you anywhere near him, you'll regret it. Understand?"
"Yes," I said quietly. "I understand."
"Good." Lydia stepped over the sheets I'd gathered and continued down the stairs, leaving me alone with my scattered linens and my broken heart.
I finished picking everything up, my hands shaking. By the time I made it to the linen closet to put everything away, I was fighting back tears again. How many times could a person break before there was nothing left to break?