After My Alpha Rejected Me, I Became the Lycan Queen

The bell above the door of *Moon & Bloom* chimed, a cheerful little sound that usually signaled the start of a good day. Today, however, it felt like a warning knell.

I kept my back to the entrance, my hands busy arranging stems of lavender and chamomile. The soothing, herbal fragrance filled the air, doing its best to mask the nervous flutter in my chest. It wasn't just the flowers hiding me; I had applied the specialized lotion Caleb had given me this morning—a blend of sage and crushed mint designed to suppress my natural scent. It was a necessity in a neutral territory town like this, especially when you were hiding a secret as big as mine.

"Just a moment," I called out, my voice steady despite the sudden chill that prickled the back of my neck. I adjusted a sprig of baby's breath, my fingers lingering over the hidden mating mark on my neck. It was currently invisible to the naked eye, covered by a glamour Caleb had placed there, but I could feel the phantom warmth of it. It was a tether to him, even though he was miles away in London on Lycan business.

"We need something impressive," a woman’s voice drawled, sharp and dripping with entitlement. "For a Mating Ceremony. The Silver Moon Pack doesn't do 'subtle.'"

My blood ran cold. The stem of a white rose snapped in my hand, a thorn digging into my thumb. A single drop of blood welled up, bright red against the pale petals.

I knew that voice. It was the voice that had haunted my nightmares for eight years. Janelle Montgomery.

And if Janelle was here, that meant...

"Something smells... odd," a deep, rumbling male voice interrupted. It was a sound that used to make my heart race with love, but now, it only triggered a deep, nauseating dread. Alessandro Shaw.

"It smells like a flower shop, Al," Janelle dismissed, her heels clicking impatiently on the hardwood floor. "Just tell the girl what we want so we can leave. This place is quaint, but it’s hardly the luxury I’m used to."

"No," Alessandro insisted, his tone strained. I could hear him inhaling deeply, the sound of air rushing into his lungs. "It’s underneath the flowers. It’s familiar... but different. Richer."

I closed my eyes for a second, my hand instinctively going to my flat stomach. *Stay quiet, little one,* I thought desperately. *Don't let them sense you.*

I couldn't hide forever. Turning around now was the only option. If I acted suspicious, they would investigate. If I acted like a stranger, maybe—just maybe—they wouldn't recognize the woman they had destroyed.

I wiped the blood from my thumb onto my apron and turned.

"How can I help you?" I asked, my voice devoid of emotion.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Janelle was inspecting a vase of lilies, but at the sound of my voice, her head snapped up. Her eyes, heavily lined and cold as ice, widened in shock. Then, her lips curled into a sneer so familiar it made my stomach churn.

"Well, well," she laughed, a cruel, high-pitched sound. "Look what the cat dragged in. Or should I say, the wolf kicked out? I didn't know they let rogue trash run businesses in the neutral zone."

She stepped forward, looking me up and down with disgust. "You look... surprisingly clean for a whore, Clementine. I assumed you'd be rotting in a ditch by now."

I didn't flinch. Eight years ago, her words would have made me cry. Today, they just felt like static noise. I was the mate of the Lycan King. Her insults were beneath me.

But Alessandro... Alessandro was frozen.

He stood near the entrance, his tall frame filling the doorway. He looked older, his face harder, with lines of stress etched around his eyes. He wasn't looking at me with disgust. He was staring at me with a confusion that bordered on panic.

He took a step toward me, ignoring Janelle completely. His nostrils flared again.

"Clementine?" he whispered, the name sounding foreign on his tongue.

"My name is Ms. Patterson to customers," I said coolly, moving behind the counter to put a barrier between us. "If you aren't here to buy flowers, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"You..." Alessandro shook his head, as if trying to clear a fog. "They said you were sick. They said the rogue taint had eaten away at your wolf. But you..."

He walked right up to the counter, his hands gripping the edge so hard his knuckles turned white. His intense gaze swept over my face, my hair, my neck. He was searching for the sickness, the weakness he had been promised I had. Instead, he found glowing skin, clear eyes, and a strength that radiated from my very core.

"You smell like..." He leaned in closer, invading my personal space. His eyes dilated, his wolf pushing to the surface. "Honey and rain. It’s stronger than before. Why is it stronger?"

"Back off, Alpha Shaw," I said, my voice dropping an octave. It wasn't a request. It was a command, fueled by the tiny sliver of Luna authority Caleb had awakened in me.

Alessandro flinched, physically recoiling as if I had slapped him. The shock on his face was almost comical. The old Clementine, the submissive Beta's daughter, would never have dared to speak to an Alpha like that.

Janelle sensed the shift in the atmosphere. She marched over, grabbing Alessandro’s arm and digging her manicured nails into his bicep. "Alessandro! Stop staring at the help. She probably stole that scent to hide her rot. We have a ceremony to plan. *Our* ceremony."

She turned her glare on me. "We need fifty centerpieces. White roses and silver ribbons. And make sure you wash your hands before you touch them. I don't want your disease infecting my guests."

I looked at her, really looked at her, and realized how small she was. How petty. She was fighting for a title in a pack that meant nothing to me anymore.

"No," I said simply.

Janelle blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I said no. I'm refusing your service," I stated, picking up a spray bottle and misting a fern, deliberately turning my attention away from them. "I don't serve wolves who disrespect my establishment. There's a florist down the street. I suggest you try them."

"You can't refuse us!" Janelle screeched, her face turning an ugly shade of red. "Do you know who we are? He is the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack!"

"I know exactly who he is," I said, meeting Alessandro’s gaze. His eyes were wild, a storm of conflict raging behind them. He wasn't listening to Janelle. He was only looking at me, his chest heaving as if he were running a race.

"Clementine," he rasped, his voice trembling. "The bond... I can feel it. It’s not broken. Why isn't it broken?"

My heart hammered against my ribs. He was sensing the remnants of our old connection, confusing it with the powerful aura of the Lycan King that now protected me. He was playing with fire, and he didn't even know it.

"The only thing broken here, Alpha Shaw," I said, my voice like ice, "is your memory. You rejected me. remember? Now, get out of my shop."