The hall fell silent as I stepped into the circle. My cheap white dress clung to my shaking body. Today was my eighteenth birthday. The day I would finally meet my fated mate. The day my life would change forever.
Every wolf in Blackthorn Pack stared at me. Their eyes were filled with disgust. I was just an Omega. An orphan with no family, no wolf, no value. But the Moon Goddess had promised me a mate. I held onto that hope.
Then he entered. Alpha Alexander Stone. My fated mate. Tall, powerful, devastatingly handsome in his black suit. His grey eyes found mine across the hall. My heart exploded. My soul screamed. Mate! My wolf, weak as she was, whimpered inside me.
He stopped in front of me. The air crackled with our bond. I could smell his scent - pine and winter storm. Tears filled my eyes. After eighteen years of abuse, I finally belonged to someone. I smiled. I reached for him.
Ava Monroe. His voice was cold. Like ice cutting through my skin. I did not feel the warmth I expected. I felt nothing but cold fury coming from him. My hand froze in mid-air.
I, Alpha Alexander Stone, reject you as my mate and as my Luna. His words echoed through the stone hall. The bond snapped like a broken thread. Pain tore through my chest. I gasped and fell to my knees.
The crowd gasped, then laughed. Cruel laughter. They had waited for this. The Alpha could never accept an Omega. I was a joke. My birthday was their entertainment. My tears fell onto the cold marble floor.
You heard me, Omega. He looked down at me as if I was dirt. You are weak. Pathetic. You have no wolf. You could never be my Luna. You could never stand beside an Alpha.
But the bond - I whispered, my voice broken. I can feel you. We are fated. The Moon Goddess - The Moon Goddess made a mistake, he snarled. And I am correcting it.
He turned away from me. He raised his hand. The doors opened. And she walked in. Selene. Luna of Silver Moon Pack. Beautiful, rich, powerful. Her silver dress glittered. Her smile was perfect and poisonous.
Selene is my chosen Luna. Alexander announced to the pack. He pulled her close and kissed her hand. Our engagement party is next week. All packs are invited. The hall erupted in cheers and applause.
I lay on the floor, forgotten. My chest was bleeding from the inside. The rejection pain was killing me. I clutched my stomach. A strange cramp shot through my lower belly. Something was wrong. Something else was happening inside me.
Someone kicked my leg. Move, Omega. The trash needs to be cleared. It was one of Selene's friends. They laughed as I struggled to stand. My legs were shaking. My vision was blurry. I ran from the hall, barefoot, humiliated.
I hid in the small room they called my bedroom. It was just a storage closet. I cried until I had no tears left. My body ached. My heart ached more. I pressed my hand to my belly again. The cramp came back, sharper this time.
The pack doctor was an old woman who hated me too. But I had no choice. I knocked on her door. She opened it, annoyed. What do you want, Omega? I need help, I whispered. Something is wrong with me.
She made me lie down. She checked me with cold hands. Her eyes widened. She looked at me with shock, then pity. Ava, when was your last heat? Two weeks ago, I said. Why? She sighed. You are pregnant. Four weeks. The Alpha's heir.
Pregnant. The word crashed into me. I was carrying Alexander's child. The child of the Alpha who had just rejected me, humiliated me, and chosen another woman. My hand trembled over my flat stomach. A tiny life. My baby.
If Selene finds out, she will kill you. The doctor whispered urgently. She has killed Omegas for less. You must leave tonight. If you stay, you both will die. Leave Blackthorn and never come back.
Fear chilled my blood. Selene was cruel. She had once beaten an Omega until she miscarried. I knew she would do the same to me. I had to protect my baby. Even if it meant running into a blizzard with nothing.
That night, the pack celebrated. Music, laughter, and wine filled the Alpha house. They celebrated Alexander and Selene's engagement. No one noticed the small Omega packing a tiny bag. One dress, my mother's old moon necklace, and a little money I had saved.
The snow was falling hard. The forest was dark and freezing. I was barefoot in the snow, my thin dress soaked. My teeth chattered. My belly cramped. I kept running. Branches cut my legs. Wolves howled in the distance. I was not safe.
I fell into the snow. I could not breathe. The cold was killing me and my baby. I hugged my stomach and prayed to the Moon Goddess. Please, save my baby. Even if I die, let my baby live. Tears froze on my cheeks.
Then I heard an engine. A truck. A human truck on the border road. The driver saw me. A kind old man. He stopped and ran to me. Child, what are you doing here? You will die! He wrapped me in his coat and carried me to his warm truck.
As the truck drove away from Blackthorn territory, I looked back one last time. The lights of the Alpha house faded in the snow. Goodbye, Alexander. You rejected your Luna. But you will never know you rejected your heir. One day, I will return.
The old man drove for hours. His name was Thomas. He owned a small diner in the human city. He did not ask many questions. He just gave me hot soup and a blanket. For the first time in years, someone showed me kindness without wanting something back.
I passed out from exhaustion and cold. When I woke up, I was in a small, warm bed. Thomas's wife, Martha, held my hand. You are safe now, dear. You and your baby. No one will hurt you here. I cried again, but this time from relief.
They took me to a human doctor. The doctor confirmed I was pregnant and weak. You need rest, good food, and no stress, he said. I had none of those in the pack. In the human world, I could finally breathe. My baby could finally be safe.
Thomas offered me a job in his diner. Washing dishes. It was hard work, but no one hit me. No one called me worthless Omega. Humans did not know what I was. They just saw a young pregnant girl who needed help. I worked hard every day.
As my belly grew, I made a promise to my baby. I will never let anyone hurt you. I will become strong. I will build a life where no Alpha can ever reject us again. That promise became my fire. It kept me going through the long nights.
I gave birth alone in a human hospital. The pain was terrible, but when I heard his cry, everything changed. He was beautiful. Tiny, with a shock of dark hair and piercing grey eyes. Alexander's eyes. I named him Liam. My son. My everything.
Looking at Liam's grey eyes, I felt both love and hate. Love for my son. Hate for the Alpha who abandoned us. I swore then that I would return to Blackthorn one day. Not as the weak Omega they mocked, but as a woman they could never ignore.
In the human city, I discovered I was smart. I learned about business. Thomas taught me. I started with nothing, but I had Alpha blood in my veins and my son to protect. I worked sixteen hours a day while Liam slept.
Five years passed quickly. Liam grew into a genius, beautiful boy. My small online store became Monroe Corporation. I became a billionaire CEO. The weak Omega died in that blizzard. Ava Monroe, the mother and CEO, was born.
Then yesterday, I received an invitation. Blackthorn Pack is bankrupt. They need investment from Monroe Corporation. They invited the mysterious CEO to the Alpha Summit. They don't know it's me. It's time to go home, Liam. It's time they meet the Luna they rejected.
