The Alpha's Rejected Mate!

I ran. My feet were bare and swollen. The forest floor was sharp with thorns and broken twigs, but I didn't slow down. Every tree that scratched my arms, every rock that sliced into my soles, didn't matter. Not as much as the sound behind me.

Howls. Loud. Close. Hungry. They were coming again.

I didn't know who they'd send this time. Maybe the cops. Maybe Celeste and her little gang were just having one of their games. It didn't matter. If they caught me, they would laugh, tear me apart, and make sure I stayed broke.

I pushed harder through the trees. My breath burned in my chest. My heart beat like a trapped bird inside my ribs. Every step felt like fire. I was sure I was leaving a trail of blood behind me. Easy to follow.

But I couldn't let them catch me crying. Not again. "Get back here, omega trash!"

Her voice cut through the air like a whip. Celeste. Sweet and cruel. Her voice always sounded like sugar, but her words were poison.

I didn't stop running. I found the tickets near the old ruins... what was left of something ancient, something lost, and ducked behind the wet stones. I pressed my back against the cold rock and tried to hold my breath.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. My heart raced in my chest. Loud. Too loud.

I bit the inside of my mouth until I tasted blood. I didn't scream. I wouldn't give her that. This was normal. I was the omega. The lowest and the weakest one.

It meant I didn't get to speak. I didn't get to eat at first. I didn't get to safety. It was a free game.

I was nothing, but I wasn't always this way.

There was a time when I had a fire. Not just inside-but real fire. Burning. Wild. Dangerous. I remember it every time I close my eyes. Smoke. Thick and black. Choking my lungs.

My mother is screaming. Her voice is full of fear and rage, with golden eyes glowing in the dark. Watching. Unmoving. Cold.

They say I caused it, that I burned them all. That I killed my family. The fire started with me, and it ended everything, and I believed them. Because after that night, nothing was the same.

My home was in ashes. My mother has gone. My father too. The pack took me in-but not out of kindness. Out of pity. Out of fear. I was a curse, a mistake. A load.

I shivered, even though sweat stuck to my skin. My fingers dug into the moss behind me. I wanted to disappear into the stone.

Then I heard it. A low growl. Too close to me. My whole body was shaking. My wolf... weak as she was... snarled inside. Not in anger. In fear.

Run. I bolted. No time to think. Just run. I jumped over roots, bushes, and fallen stones. The growl followed me, deeper, louder.

Then... I slammed into something. Hard. A chest. Strong and solid. I stumbled back, dazed, but warm hands grabbed my arms and stopped me from falling.

A smell hit me like a thunderclap. It was pine. Smoke. Something wild and sharp and... right.

My knees went weak. My wolf, silent for so long, stirred in my chest. Her ears perked. Her eyes opened.

Mate. The word buzzed in my head. Before I could move, he spoke in a low, deep, and furious voice.

"Why do you smell like... like mate?" I asked, then I looked up. He was tall, broader than anyone I'd ever seen, with eyes like storms and hair black as night, wild around his face.

A stranger. But something inside me knew him. Before I could speak, a branch snapped behind me.

Celeste. I turned quickly, but he was faster. He stepped in front of me, one arm still around me, protecting me.

Celeste stepped out of the trees, grinning. Her perfect blonde hair was still beautiful, as if she hadn't just chased someone through a forest.

"Well, well," she purred. "Looks like the omega made a friend." Her eyes flicked to him, then to where his hand held my arm.

Her smile cracked. "You're not from here," she said, her voice tightening. "No," he said. "And you're going to step back."

She laughed. "Or what? "You don't even know who she is. "She's nothing." His growl was like thunder.

"I know exactly what she is," he said. "She's mine." My heart skipped a beat. My whole body was still. Was this real?

Celeste's eyes narrowed. "You don't know what you're saying." He didn't move. "Try me." For a second, no one moved. The air felt electric.

Then Celeste's voice turned sharp. "She's cursed. She killed her whole family."

I swallowed hard.

He looked down at me. His eyes searched mine. "Did you?" he asked softly.

I shook my head. Tears stung in my eyes, but I didn't let them fall. "I don't know," I said in a very calm voice. "Maybe." He didn't let go. His grip stayed firm, warm.

"You're coming with me," he said. "What?" I asked, breathless. He didn't answer. He turned, pulling me gently with him. I stumbled at first, then walked.

Celeste didn't follow, but I could feel her rage like fire on my back. He didn't speak again until we were far from the ruins. Finally, he stopped near a small stream. He let go of my arm and looked at me.

"I'm sorry," he said. "For what?" I asked. For scaring you. For being late. For everything. I didn't understand. "Who are you?"

He looked at the trees. "My name's Kael. "I wasn't supposed to find you like this." "Find me?"

He nodded slowly. "You were hidden. I've been looking for you." "Why?"

He met my eyes again. "Because you're my mate." The words landed like stones in my stomach. "But I'm..." I started. He shook his head. "I don't care."

I stepped back. "You should." I turned away. My hands shook. My whole world was spinning. Mate.

Are you referring to me? No. It couldn't be real. I heard him step closer. "I'll prove it," he said. Before I could ask how-he pulled something from his pocket.

A small charm. Gold. Shaped like a flame. I gasped. It glowed the same way I remembered from the fire. "How do you have that?" I said in a low voice.

"It belonged to your mother," he said. I found it at the edge of the old territory. The night you ran.

The ground felt like it shifted under my feet. "I don't understand," I said in a silent voice. "What is it?"

He looked at me with something strange in his eyes. No pity. Not fear. Hope. "It's a key," he said. "To what?" He paused.

"To everything they didn't want you to know." Suddenly, I heard movement in the woods behind us.

More than one. Kael tensed. "They followed us," he said. I turned. Shadows moved between the trees. Fast. Too fast. "Should I run?" I asked.

"No," he said, his voice low and calm. He stepped in front of me again. His body shimmered-then began to shift.

I stared, frozen. His skin rippled. His eyes turned brighter. Claws burst from his fingers. Fur grew along his arms. A huge black wolf stood where he had been. He snarled... and launched himself into the trees. I stood alone, holding the bright ring, my heart thudding in my ears.

The shadows were coming closer... the fight had started, and I had no idea what I was truly running from anymore, but I was done running.

This time, I would stand. Even if I had to burn the truth out of the dark myself.