SERA'S POV
The champagne glass shattered in my hand.
Blood dripped onto my silver dress, but I didn't move. I couldn't. Because standing on the stage in front of three hundred pack members, Darius Blackthorn—my first mate, the man who rejected me six years ago—just announced his engagement to someone else.
"I'm the luckiest Alpha alive," Darius said, his arm around a beautiful she-wolf with golden hair. "Marina will make the perfect Luna for our pack."
The crowd cheered. I wanted to scream.
My wolf whimpered inside me, a sound she hadn't made in years. The mate bond we'd once shared was broken, shattered by his rejection, but phantom pains still echoed in my chest. Especially tonight. Especially watching him smile at another woman the way he used to smile at me.
"Sera, you're bleeding," whispered Tara, my only friend in this horrible pack.
I looked down at my palm. Glass pieces stuck out of my skin, but I felt nothing. Physical pain was easier than the memories crashing through my mind.
*"You're not worthy enough, Sera. I need a Luna who brings political power, not just a pretty face. I, Darius Blackthorn, reject you as my mate."*
Those words destroyed me six years ago. I'd begged him. Cried. Promised I could be better. He walked away without looking back.
"I'm fine," I lied, picking glass from my hand.
On the stage, Matthias Blackthorn—Darius's younger brother and my second rejection—caught my eye and smirked. That cruel, knowing smile that said he remembered exactly what he'd done to me too.
*"I don't love you, Sera. I never did. You were just... interesting. A puzzle to solve. Thanks for letting me study your Omega blood. The experiments were very helpful."*
Two rejections. Two brothers. Both destroyed me in different ways.
My eyes drifted to the visiting Alpha section, where Lucian Ashenfang sat watching me with dark, intense eyes. My third rejection. The enemy Alpha who'd pretended to love me, trained me to fight, then threw me away when his pack demanded it.
*"You were a weapon, Sera. A beautiful, useful weapon. But my pack comes first. They always will."*
Three mates. Three rejections. Three men who saw me as something to use.
And now all three had been begging me for second chances.
Darius cornered me last week, claiming he'd made a mistake. That he loved me. That his wolf was dying without me.
Matthias sent gifts every day—books, flowers, apology letters written in his perfect handwriting.
Lucian showed up at my door two nights ago, got down on his knees, and said he'd leave his pack for me.
All lies. They didn't want me. They wanted what I could give them.
Because I wasn't just Sera Nightwillow anymore. I was the last known Omega bloodline. And Omega blood could make Alphas unstoppable.
"You should leave," Tara whispered. "Everyone's staring."
She was right. Wolves around the room watched me with pity or disgust. The girl who got rejected three times. The weak Omega who couldn't keep a mate.
Shame burned in my throat, but I swallowed it down.
No. I was done being ashamed. Done being the victim in everyone's story.
Darius finished his speech and kissed Marina. The crowd cheered louder. My stomach turned.
That's when I felt it. The push inside my chest. My wolf, silent for so long, suddenly growled with rage.
*Enough,* she snarled. *Make them pay.*
Something inside me snapped.
Six years of pain. Six years of being treated like garbage. Six years of watching these three men walk around like they hadn't destroyed me.
No more.
I stood up. My chair scraped loudly against the floor.
The room went quiet. Three hundred wolves turned to look at me.
Darius froze mid-kiss. Matthias stopped smirking. Lucian leaned forward in his seat.
My heart pounded, but I walked toward the stage. Each step echoed in the silent hall.
Tara grabbed my arm. "Sera, what are you doing?"
"Something I should've done years ago," I whispered back.
I pulled free and kept walking.
"Sera?" Darius said, his voice uncertain. "What are you—"
"I have an announcement," I said loudly.
The pack council shifted nervously. Elder Raymond, the head councilman, frowned. "Miss Nightwillow, this isn't the time—"
"It's the perfect time," I interrupted. "You're all here. Witnesses matter for what I'm about to do."
Darius stepped away from Marina, moving toward me with that fake concerned look. "Sera, please don't make a scene. I know this is hard for you, but—"
"Hard for me?" I laughed, and it sounded wild even to my own ears. "You think watching you celebrate is hard? Darius, you broke our mate bond six years ago because I wasn't good enough. Now you send me flowers and love letters, begging for another chance."
Gasps filled the room. Darius's face turned red. "That's private—"
"Matthias," I turned to his brother, "you pretended to love me while running experiments on my blood. You used me like a lab rat. Now you write me apologies, claiming you've changed."
Matthias's smirk disappeared. Wolves muttered in shock.
"And Lucian," I looked at the enemy Alpha, "you trained me, armed me, made me trust you—all so you could turn me into a weapon against this pack. When I refused to betray them, you rejected me. Now you show up at my house, promising you'll leave everything for me."
Lucian stood, his face hard. "Sera, don't do this."
"Why?" I challenged. "Afraid of the truth?"
The room erupted in whispers. Elder Raymond banged his staff. "Silence! Miss Nightwillow, what is the meaning of this?"
I faced the council, my voice steady and clear.
"I'm entering the Mating Hunt."
More gasps. The Mating Hunt was sacred—a week where unmated wolves competed anonymously to find true mates through scent alone. No politics. No lies. Just fate.
"You can't," Darius said quickly. "You have pending bond claims. We've all filed petitions for second chances."
"That's why I'm here," I said. I took a deep breath and spoke the words I'd been dying to say for six years.
"I, Sera Nightwillow, reject Darius Blackthorn as my mate. I reject Matthias Blackthorn as my mate. I reject Lucian Ashenfang as my mate. All bonds are severed by my will and word. You have no claim on me. Not now. Not ever."
The words hit like thunder.
Windows exploded. Glass rained down as magical energy burst through the room.
Three Alphas dropped to their knees, screaming. The pain of rejection tore through them—their wolves howling in agony as bonds shattered completely.
I felt it too. My chest burned like fire. My Omega nature screamed at me—we need a mate, we'll die alone, this is wrong.
But I stayed standing.
The room spun. Wolves shouted. The council demanded order.
I turned and walked toward the exit, my head high even though each step hurt.
"Sera, wait!" Darius's voice cracked with pain.
I didn't look back.
Outside, the cool night air hit my face. I made it to the tree line before my legs gave out.
I collapsed against an oak tree, gasping. My whole body shook. The triple rejection hurt more than I'd expected. My Omega blood screamed for a bond, any bond.
Tears finally came.
I'd done it. I was free.
So why did freedom hurt so much?
I pressed my hands against my chest, trying to breathe through the pain. The rejection scars on my collarbone—three marks, one from each Alpha—burned like brands.
My wolf whimpered. *We're alone now. Completely alone.*
"I know," I whispered. "But alone is better than being used."
Footsteps crunched on leaves behind me.
I didn't turn around. "Go away, Tara. I want to be alone."
"It's not Tara."
I froze. That voice was male. Deep. And I didn't recognize it.
I scrambled to my feet, spinning around.
But there was no one there.
Just shadows and trees and the distant sound of chaos from the pack hall.
"Hello?" I called out.
Silence.
I was imagining things. The rejection must've hit me harder than I thought.
I took a shaky breath and started walking deeper into the forest, away from the pack house, away from Darius and Matthias and Lucian and all the wolves who'd watched me suffer.
I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I couldn't stay here anymore.
Tomorrow, I'd register for the Mating Hunt. Tonight, I'd let myself fall apart in peace.
But as I walked through the dark forest, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me.
And that my life had just changed in ways I couldn't possibly understand yet.