My Alpha’s Rejection Led Me to the Lycan King

The bonfire for the Summer Solstice Run roared against the night sky, sending sparks dancing toward the moon, but I had never felt colder. Standing in the shadows of the tree line, I leaned heavily on my cane, my prosthetic leg aching in the damp earth. The air was thick with the scent of pine and excited wolves preparing to shift, a primal joy I had been denied for ten years.

I wasn't supposed to be here. As a wolfless Omega, I was a stain on the Silvercreek Pack’s perfect image. But I had come to see him. Spencer.

I shifted my weight, wincing as the strap of my prosthetic rubbed against the scar tissue of my stump. Through the crowd, I saw him. Spencer Hall, the Alpha I had sacrificed everything to save. He stood tall and golden-haired, laughing with his Beta, Marcus. I adjusted my grip on my cane, a foolish hope fluttering in my chest. Maybe tonight, under the solstice moon, he would remember the promise he made when we were children.

Then the wind shifted, carrying his voice directly to me.

"Look at her, Marcus," Spencer sneered, his gaze flicking toward the shadows where I stood. "She’s lurking again. It’s pathetic."

"She’s your mate, Alpha," Marcus replied, though his tone held no respect.

"She is a cripple," Spencer spat, the venom in his voice hitting me harder than the rogues ever had. "Every time I look at that missing leg, I feel sick. It nauseates me to think that broken thing is tied to me. I can’t have a weakling as my Luna. It would ruin me."

The air left my lungs. My hands shook so hard the cane rattled against the dry leaves. Before I could retreat, a hand curled around Spencer’s bicep. Madelyn Barnes. She looked radiant, her predatory eyes gleaming as she whispered something in his ear.

Spencer’s lips curled into a cruel grin. He turned fully toward me, his eyes flashing with Alpha dominance. "Isla!"

My body froze, conditioned to obey. He strode over, the pack parting for him. The heat of the fire felt suffocating now.

"Since you’re so eager to join the run," Spencer announced, his voice booming so everyone could hear, "let’s make you useful. Tonight, we don’t just run. We hunt."

A ripple of laughter went through the warriors. My stomach dropped.

"Run, Omega," Spencer commanded, using his Alpha tone. It slammed into my mind like a physical blow, forcing my trembling legs to move. "The game is 'Hunt the Omega.' If you make it to the Neutral Zone before we catch you, you live."

I turned and scrambled into the dense forest, tears blurring my vision. I wasn't fast. I was never fast. My prosthetic clunked unevenly against the roots, dragging me down, but the Alpha command forced me forward, stripping me of my dignity.

I hadn't made it a mile before a blur of motion tackled me. I hit the dirt hard, my cane flying out of reach. I scrambled to my elbows, expecting Spencer, but I found Madelyn standing over me, a twisted smile on her lips.

"You really are hard to kill, aren't you?" she mused, placing a booted foot on my prosthetic leg.

"Madelyn, please," I gasped, dirt filling my mouth.

"Spencer doesn't want you. The pack doesn't want you," she hissed. She bent down, her fingers working quickly at the straps of my artificial limb. "And you certainly don't need this where you're going."

"No!" I screamed, thrashing as she yanked the prosthetic free. "Give it back! I can't walk without it!"

She tossed my leg into the brush with a laugh. "That's the point, sweetie." She pulled a small silver canister from her pocket and sprayed a mist over me. The smell was pungent and coppery—synthetic blood and heat. "Rogue bait. High concentration. Happy solstice, Isla."

She vanished into the dark, leaving me crawling through the mud, one-legged and smelling like a feast.

Hours passed. The forest grew silent, too silent. Then, I heard it. The snap of a twig. The low, wet sound of growling.

Yellow eyes appeared in the gloom. Rogues. Feral, starving wolves that had lost their humanity. There were three of them, their ribs showing through patchy fur, drool dripping from their jaws as the scent Madelyn sprayed on me hit them.

I dragged myself backward until my back hit a tree. I had no weapon. No wolf to shift into. I closed my eyes, waiting for the teeth.

One of the rogues lunged.

Suddenly, the earth shook. A massive shadow eclipsed the moon. A beast, larger than any Alpha I had ever seen, exploded from the brush. It was a wolf of pure midnight black, a creature of nightmare and majesty.

The Lycan hit the rogue in mid-air, jaws snapping bone with a sickening crunch. The other two rogues hesitated, whimpering, but the black wolf was a blur of lethal violence. He tore through them with terrifying efficiency, painting the forest floor in crimson.

Silence fell again, heavier than before. I pressed myself against the tree, trembling violently. The massive black wolf turned toward me. His silver eyes glowed in the darkness, intelligent and piercing. He didn't look at me with disgust. He didn't look at my missing leg.

He stepped closer, his massive head lowering to sniff the air around me. The scent of rain and dark chocolate enveloped me, drowning out the fear. He nudged my hand with his wet nose, a low rumble vibrating in his chest that settled deep in my bones.

*Mine,*