Not A Rejection

Chapter One

POV: Lyra

Everyone in the pack hated me.

They didn’t say it out loud anymore, but I saw it in their eyes — the way they looked at me like I

was dirt. Like I didn’t belong. Maybe I didn’t.

I was born with a curse tied to my name. My father had betrayed the pack during the war, and

they never forgot it. Even though he died years ago, they still punished me. For his sins. For his

choices.

I scrubbed floors while others trained. I slept in the old servants’ quarters behind the pack

house. Sometimes I wondered if the Moon Goddess had made a mistake by letting me live.

The worst part? Today was my eighteenth birthday. The day I would meet my mate. The day

every girl in the pack dreamed of — but I was terrified.

Because there was one man I prayed not to be mated to.

Alpha Ronan.

The most feared wolf in the northern lands. The one who never smiled. The one who could

silence a crowd with a look. They said he killed his own uncle for challenging him. They said he

ripped through rogues like paper.

And he hated me the most.

His hatred ran deeper than anyone else’s. He never said much to me, just sharp looks, cruel

silence, and once, a low growl that made my knees buckle.

He was powerful. Tall. Cold as winter.

So when I felt the pull… when my heart started racing and my wolf whispered Mate, I wanted to

scream.

It was him.

Ronan. The Alpha who would rather kill me than claim me.

I stood frozen in the middle of the Moon Festival, my breathing shallow. The moment our eyes

met across the crowd, everything around me disappeared. My chest ached. My legs felt weak.

I begged the goddess to be wrong.But then, his eyes darkened. I saw it, the rage, the disgust, the shock. He took slow, heavy

steps toward me. The crowd parted. No one dared to move.

My hands trembled at my sides. I wanted to run, but my body wouldn’t listen.

He stopped right in front of me. His scent hit me like a storm, dark, sharp, overpowering. My wolf whimpered inside me, drawn to him. But I… I couldn’t.

He hated me.

“You?” he said, low and dangerous. His voice cut through the air.

“You’re my mate?”

I flinched. My lips opened, but no words came out.

Then, without warning, he grabbed my waist and yanked me against him. My breath caught. His

grip was hard, almost painful. His eyes burned into mine like fire.

“You can never be my mate,” he growled through gritted teeth. “You can never get my love.”

My heart cracked right there. But I had already known. I had never dreamed of love — not for

me. All I ever wanted was to survive.

I closed my eyes, hoping he’d let go. Hoping he’d reject me in front of everyone and be done

with it.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he pulled me closer, so close I could barely breathe. His chest rose and fell against

mine.

“I won’t reject you,” he whispered, cold and bitter.

“I’ll use you.”

My eyes flew open.

“I can’t trust anyone in this pack. But you… everyone hates you. No one expects anything from

you. Maybe that makes you useful.”

My lips trembled.

“Please…”

He leaned in, so close I could feel his breath on my skin.

“Don’t talk.”

I felt dizzy. His touch burned. My body was frozen, but my heart screamed. This wasn’t a bond? it was a prison.

He looked down at me like I was nothing. Just a tool. A shameful mark on his perfect title. But

the bond wouldn’t let him walk away."From this moment on," he said to me, voice cold and sharp,"

” You do what I tell you to do. You only speak what I allowed you to.will live in my house. In my world"

My stomach twisted.

I had expected him to rejected me.

I had expected him to kick me out like garbage.

But this?

This was worse.

He didn't want me — but he wouldn't let me go either.

The crowd was quiet. No one had the gut to ask why. Because no one had the nerve to ask

Alpha Ronan anything. He ruled with fear. With power. With silence.

And now… I belonged to him.

He finally released me. I stepped back, gasping. His eyes turned me, cold and unyielding.

Then he turned away — as if I didn't even exist.

But my heart still pounded too fast. My skin still shook where he'd touched me.

And for the first time in a very long time, I was actually, really scared