Rejected by the Alpha, New Love Found

The eastern border of Silvermoon territory had always been vulnerable to rogue attacks. Tonight was no different—except that I was alone when they came.

"Vera! Behind you!" Ryan's voice crackled through the pack link as I patrolled the perimeter.

I spun around just as a massive rogue lunged from the shadows. His eyes glowed with feral hunger, teeth bared in a snarl that promised death.

"Pack link! All units to eastern border!" I screamed into the mental connection that bound our pack together.

Three more rogues emerged from the treeline. Four against one. My heart hammered against my ribs as I backed away, my hand fumbling for the silver dagger at my belt.

"Thaddeus!" I called desperately through our mate bond. "Rogues at eastern border! I need help!"

The silence that answered me stretched for one terrible moment before his voice finally came. "Nova needs me."

The words hit harder than any physical blow. I stumbled backward as the first rogue charged.

"I'm surrounded by four rogues!" I screamed into the link. "I need my Alpha!"

Through the pack bond, I felt Thaddeus's presence withdraw. He was moving away from me—toward the packhouse where Nova was.

"No!" I cried out loud as claws raked across my ribs.

Blood sprayed across the forest floor as I dodged another attack. My shoulder screamed in agony as I threw myself sideways, avoiding a killing blow but taking damage nonetheless.

"Please," I whispered to no one as I fought for my life.

Through the trees, I caught a glimpse of Thaddeus's massive black wolf form racing past—not toward me, but toward the packhouse where Nova had been targeted by a single rogue.

The betrayal burned worse than my wounds.

---

I don't remember how I made it back to the packhouse. My body moved on instinct while my mind remained frozen on the image of Thaddeus abandoning me to save Nova.

The pain hit when I staggered through the main entrance. Blood loss and shock finally overwhelmed me as I collapsed onto the polished wooden floor.

"Vera?" Someone's voice seemed distant. "Get the healer!"

I forced my eyes open to see Thaddeus kneeling beside Nova on the couch. Her sleeve was rolled up, revealing three scratches on her forearm. Minor wounds that wouldn't even scar.

"Thaddeus," I whispered.

He looked up briefly, his eyes cold. "The healer will see to you."

"But—"

"I said the healer will see to you." His Alpha tone left no room for argument.

I watched through a haze of pain as he gently bandaged Nova's arm, his fingers lingering on her skin. The tenderness in his touch made my chest ache more than my physical wounds.

"She could have died," Nova whispered, her eyes wide with practiced fear. "If you hadn't come when you did..."

"I'll always protect you," Thaddeus promised, his voice soft in a way it had never been with me.

The healer arrived—finally—and began examining my wounds. Claw marks across my ribs, a dislocated shoulder, blood loss... minor injuries compared to what could have happened.

"Lucky to be alive," the healer muttered.

I wasn't sure I agreed.

---

"You left me to die."

I stood in Thaddeus's office that evening, still bandaged and bruised, but standing tall despite the pain.

Thaddeus looked up from his desk, his expression unreadable. "You survived."

"By miracle, not design." My voice shook with barely contained rage. "You chose Nova over your mate."

"I made a tactical decision." His tone was dismissive. "Nova was closer to the packhouse. More vulnerable."

"And I was surrounded by four rogues!" The words exploded out of me. "Four! You're supposed to protect your mate above all others!"

For the first time, something flickered across his face—not guilt, but annoyance. "My condition—"

"Your condition?" I stepped closer, ignoring the pain in my ribs. "Your condition only seems to affect your response to me."

His eyes hardened. "You knew the terms when you accepted this mate bond."

"Terms?" The word tasted bitter. "I accepted a sacred connection blessed by the Moon Goddess. Not this... whatever this is."

Thaddeus stood slowly, his Alpha aura filling the room like a physical weight. "My responsibility to Nova as my brother's widow supersedes any... personal discomfort my condition might cause me."

"Personal discomfort?" I echoed incredulously. "Is that what our mate bond is to you? An inconvenience?"

He turned away, dismissing me as easily as he'd dismissed my pain earlier. "We're done here."

As I stood there, abandoned yet again by the man who should have cherished me above all others, something inside me finally broke free. The last thread of hope I'd been clinging to snapped cleanly in two.

This wasn't a mate bond. It was a prison sentence.

And for the first time in three years, I wondered if there might be a way to escape.