Rejected By My Mate, Claimed By Contract

Fiona's POV

"The Alpha is gone!"

A sharp scream cut through the crowd of wolves that were gathered in their glamorous attires for the celebration of the pack's founding anniversary and my renewal blessing with my mate, Alpha Kael.

My head snapped slowly around, and my stomach lurched aggressively when I saw the person who had just cried wolf was Eva, my personal maid. She trembled in the doorway, wringing her apron with a pale face. 

For a beat, I thought I was imagining it-the bonfire blazing at the center of the open roof hall, smoke from it curling into the night sky, and the elders in white stamping their feet around it-but it was real, collapsing into chaos when it was supposed to be a night of celebration. 

I should have been glowing with pride, hand in hand with Kael before the moon goddess, reaffirming our bond, but instead I knelt alone, my sweaty fingers clutching my white gown that pooled around me as I whispered silent prayers against Kael's humiliation just before Eva came in with the sour news. 

"What?!" The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"Th-the Alpha...he's...he's gone," Eva's lips quivered.

"What do you mean gone?" I demanded in a failed attempt to keep my shaky voice-that echoed around the hall that was now dead silent as the drums and elders incantation had ceased-steady.

"I...I checked everywhere," she stuttered, her grips tightening on her apron, "His chambers... the courtyard...everywhere. But he is nowhere to be found."

I swept my gaze around the hall to find every eye pinned on me in a pitiful, judging manner. With the humiliation now unbearable, I grabbed the extra length of my gown up to my knees and fled the hall without looking back, my heels striking the stone path noisily.

I made my way to the temple, ready to weep before the moon goddess and question why she was letting such fate befall me when a familiar honeysuckle scent hit my nose. With my heart racing and breaths ragged, I followed the scent to the temple doors.

A part of me prayed for it not to be what I thought it was before leaning closer to see Kael, with Laila pressed to his side like conjoined twins through the glass opening. 

"You look best in red."

He said to her in a low, sultry voice, as his eyes, dark with admiration, locked on Laila with so much untold passion that I haven't seen in the past weeks.

Laila giggled flirtatiously just loud enough for me to hear over the night insect that cried endlessly into the still night.

Aside from the fact that I was panting from the race, my chest rising and falling sharply, outwardly, I looked composed with my hair still pinned high like an empress. But inside? I was crumbling. This was supposed to be our vow renewal night, yet, here was my husband and mate, Alpha Kael, having the time of his life with Laila, his first love and perfect daughter of late Elder Maurine-the pack's most connected wolf at the time.

Eva, finally catching up with me, pressed a bottle of water into my hand without a word. I took it and returned my eyes to Kael in time to see him plant a kiss on Laila's neck before leaning in to whisper something into her ear. She laughed again, throwing her head back to give him more room to plant more kisses as he whispered against her skin.

My wolf, Nyra, growled inside my head. "Let me shift. I want to shred her into pieces. If you like, I can shred them both."

"No," I murmured under my breath, shoving the thought away as my fingers dug into the plastic bottle till it bent out of shape.

"Is...is there anything else I can do for you, Luna?" Eva asked softly after a short while. 

"No. Just go on and set the room like I instructed you earlier, it might come in handy later tonight," I replied and with a soft bow, Eva slipped away.

How did it come to this in less than fifteen days? How did it go from bubbles of endless laughter to sudden numbness? 

Kael and I met during a late-night patrol two years ago, me, a twenty-three-year-old Beta-elect of the Lunaria pack, and him, still reeling from Laila's public breakup. She'd left him for Derek, the blind, ruthless and enigmatic Alpha of Silvercrest pack, claiming Kael wasn't powerful enough for her taste. 

Kael was broken. I wasn't looking. But the Moon Goddess marked him as mine and he didn't resist. We mated quickly, the bond was intense, undeniable. He was ambitious, determined to prove that he had moved on from everything, including Laila. I love that Kael-fiesty, passionate, and mine.

Shortly after our marriage, a rogue attacked the Lunaria pack, killing my parents and destroying half the pack. For my sake, Kael took in the survivors, merging them with the Moonveil. His selflessness deepened my love, and for a while, our bond was unshakable. 

 But since Laila crawled back two weeks ago, Kael had grown cold and distant as he spent most of his time parading around the pack like her damn tour guide. 

Sick from their shameless display of love like high school lovers who had just been crowned prom king and queen, I reached for the temple door only to feel a hand grip my arm from behind.

I turned around, ready to strike but froze at the sight of Gareth, Kael's beta. He stepped up to my front, blocking me with fake calmness. 

"Luna Fiona." he flashed a pretentious smile at me.

Cocking my brows, "Get out of my way, Gareth," I shot at once.

"Fiona, don't. Don't do this," he said under his breath, rolling his eyes around. "This isn't the right time or place for such."

"I don't fucking care," I lashed on through gritted teeth.

"Come on, look around you." he gestured subtly. "There are Alphas, Betas, diplomats. Every corner of this ballroom is crawling with powerful eyes. If you cause a scene in a gathering like this one, it is going to make the headlines. Do you want that kind of embarrassment?"

 "I'm already embarrassed," I snapped, "Plus he is publicly flirting with his mistress with no atom of shame. He is not even trying to hide it so why should I care?"

 "I know you are hurt, Fiona," Gareth said, lowering his voice. "But causing a scene here won't help. It is best that you talk to him in private. Later."

 I stared straight into his eyes. "If I wait any longer, the pack might think I've accepted defeat. They might think she is rightfully his, so I need to strike now that the iron is still hot."

 "No, you don't have to. That is a wrong move," Gareth countered firmly.

Ignoring him, I tried moving past him but he blocked me again.

With uncontrollable anger now pulsing through my veins, "Tell the Alpha this," I thundered at the top of my voice, "I would walk away tonight, I would give him a long stretch of thread, after then, I will rise again, but not as his Luna, but as his reckoning," the words poured without me thinking it through.

Gasps tore through the crowds and Gareth raised a brow with his mouth falling open to give a reply but I didn't give him a chance as I turned and stormed back to my chamber with my gown sweeping behind me.

Back in my room that was set up for what I thought would be the perfect night-rose petals scattered around with the air heavy with sandalwood-I slipped into the lingerie he never resists me in and misted myself with rose amber and mint.

Then I sat facing the mirror, aching for his touch that he had denied me of since the arrival of Laila, foolishly expecting some wild fun from him riding me all night. 

That was how I found myself waiting, convincing myself that he wouldn't spend a scared night like this with his mistress, but I was dead wrong as the night grew old with no sign of him. 

I was already drifting off to sleep when a wave of nausea hit me without warning, I barely made it to the bathroom before emptying my stomach.

With my chest heaving and eyes burning with tears, I stumbled back into the room, unable to label what must have provoked my stomach in such a manner. Feeling angry and helpless with Kael's absence further infuriating me, I threw on a robe and stormed towards his chamber, no longer able to hold back. 

I met Gareth standing outside like he was expecting my arrival.

"Fiona," he started. 

"Oh! Not again," I said silently, rolling my eyes.

"I want to see Kael," I snapped with my cheeks burning with humiliation and stomach twisting.

"He's not available for the meantime. He gave an order not to let anyone through."

"What do you mean? I'm his wife now for goodness sake, not just anyone!" I growled.

"I know, but he's resting and strictly asked for no form of disturbance. So I suggest you retire to your room for the night."

Completely losing my patience, I snapped and shoved him hard to the side, pushing my way through as he struggled to catch his balance. 

I stormed like hell was behind me to Laila's room, and threw the door open without bothering to knock. 

There they were. Laila on all fours naked, Kael behind her, pants down, grunting like a wounded wolf. 

"Faster! Go Harder!" Laila screamed. 

I couldn't breathe. I lost my balance as fresh tears broke out of my eyes and dropped weakly to the ground, just realizing how much toil the retching had taken on me.