Rejected by My Fated Alpha

The Blackwood Hotel loomed before me, its glass façade reflecting the moonlight like a warning I should have heeded. My hands trembled as I clutched the envelope Katherine had given me, the weight of it far heavier than its actual mass.

"Just deliver the package," I whispered to myself, trying to calm my fraying nerves. "Then you'll be free."

My wolf, Luna, paced anxiously within me. *Something's wrong*, she kept insisting. *This feels like a trap*.

"It's just a delivery," I argued, though my own voice lacked conviction. "Katherine promised to clear our debt."

The lobby was eerily quiet for a hotel on the pack borders. A single clerk manned the reception desk, his eyes flickering briefly to me before returning to his computer screen. No one else was in sight.

"Package for Mr. Perry," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

The clerk's expression didn't change as he handed me a key card. "Suite 702. He's expecting you."

The elevator ride was interminable, each floor bringing me closer to an unknown fate. My reflection in the polished doors showed a pale, thin girl with wide, frightened eyes—a far cry from the confident Omega I'd promised my mother I'd become.

When the doors finally opened on the seventh floor, the hallway stretched before me like a tunnel. Room 702 was at the very end, the distance seeming to grow with each step I took.

I knocked softly, the envelope clutched in my white-knuckled grip.

"Come in," a deep voice called from inside.

I pushed open the door to find not a diplomat's suite but something from a nightmare. The room was opulent yet disturbing—candles casting long shadows across walls adorned with hunting trophies. In the center sat a man I recognized instantly from whispered pack stories.

Gatlin Perry. The Rogue Alpha whose name was spoken only in hushed tones. Tall and muscular with a jagged scar running down his left cheek, he looked every bit as dangerous as the rumors suggested.

"The little Omega," he drawled, rising from his chair. "Katherine said you'd be coming."

My blood turned to ice. "Where's the diplomat? The package—"

"There is no diplomat." Gatlin's smile revealed yellowed teeth. "Just a business arrangement between Katherine Rose and myself."

He moved toward me with predatory grace, and I took an instinctive step backward. My back hit the door, and I fumbled for the handle, but it was too late. Gatlin reached behind me and engaged the lock with a decisive click.

"Katherine paid me handsomely to make sure you understand your place," he said, his breath hot against my face. "She wants to ensure you never threaten her position as Luna."

My heart hammered against my ribs. "I'm leaving after the festival. I'm no threat to her."

His laugh was cold and hollow. "Words mean nothing to people like Katherine. Actions, however..." His eyes raked over me, calculating and cruel. "She wants you broken, little Omega. Wants to make sure you'll never have the strength to challenge her."

I tried to dodge past him, but his hand shot out, gripping my arm with bruising force. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

Something inside me snapped. Four years of submission, of hiding my true nature, of being silenced by Alpha commands—it all crystallized into a single moment of pure rage.

I swung at him with the envelope, the paper edge slicing across his cheek. He roared in surprise and pain, momentarily loosening his grip.

"You bitch!" he snarled, blood trickling from the cut.

I lunged for the lamp on the nearby table, yanking it from its base. The cord tore from the wall as I swung it wildly, connecting with his temple. Gatlin staggered backward, eyes wide with shock that an Omega would dare fight back.

"You want to break me?" I screamed, advancing on him. "I've been broken for years!"

He recovered quickly, his Alpha strength making him faster and stronger than me despite my desperate fury. His fist connected with my jaw, sending me sprawling across the bed.

"The pretty ones always fight the hardest," he panted, wiping blood from his temple. "But in the end, you'll all beg for mercy."

I scrambled to my feet, but he was already on me. My shirt tore as he grabbed me, the sound of ripping fabric echoing in the room like a death knell.

"Please," I gasped, fear finally overcoming my rage as his weight pinned me down. "Don't do this."

"Katherine wants you destroyed," he growled, his hands moving over my body with possessive cruelty. "And I always deliver what I promise."

I fought with everything I had—kicking, clawing, biting—but my Omega strength was no match for his Alpha power. Tears streamed down my face as I realized the horrifying truth: I couldn't win. I couldn't escape.

And as his hands moved to my throat, I understood with perfect clarity that Katherine hadn't just planned to humiliate me—she had planned to end me.