Rejected for a Fake Luna

To find my fated mate, I concealed my true identity and came alone to this commoner werewolf academy.

But the moment I pushed open the doors to the orientation hall, the Alpha destined to be mine was standing on stage, pulling my roommate, Selena, into a tight embrace.

He inhaled her scent with pure infatuation, his eyes locked onto my family crest resting against her chest, as he announced to the entire school that she was his long-sought fated mate.

But that's fine. Once he realizes he trampled the true heir for a cheap fake, I'll make sure he doesn't even get the luxury of regret.

The wind curling through the corridor bit into me, making me shiver. I leaned against the doorframe and gasped for air. Just ten minutes ago, I had jolted awake from a blistering fever.

Three days ago, my wolf had guided me to this commoner academy. And just last night, when an overwhelmingly potent Alpha scent drifted past my dormitory window, my glands surged uncontrollably. It was the scent of my fated mate. The sudden resonance triggered a fever so severe I nearly passed out, leaving a faint streak of blood on the handkerchief I pressed against my mouth.

Today was the freshman orientation, and every wolf was required to attend. A deafening roar of cheers erupted from the direction of the assembly hall. I ran toward it and pushed open the heavy back doors.

"Quiet—" A male voice echoed through the entire hall, amplified by an acoustic magic stone.

I froze in my tracks. It was him. The exact scent that had triggered my glandular resonance last night now radiated from the guy standing on the high stage. Kael. Student body president and heir to the Winterfall Pack. Standing at the very back of the crowd, I looked at him. He wore a crisp black uniform today, his handsome face flushed with an undeniable, frantic zeal.

"Just moments ago, the Wolf Goddess gave me a sign," Kael's voice boomed over the stone. He spoke in a rapid rush, then suddenly grabbed the hand of the woman in front of him and hoisted it high into the air. A brief flash of unease crossed his brows. "I have found my fated Luna!"

The student body erupted into a frenzy.

But I stood paralyzed, my eyes locked in a death grip on the person whose hand Kael held. Selena. She was draped in an ill-fitting, incredibly expensive crimson gown. My dress. Her hair was even styled in elaborate new curls.

As she shifted her weight, a sickeningly familiar scent caught the draft from the hall's ventilation and slammed right into my nose. She masked herself in our scent, my wolf snarled in my head. I ground my back teeth together so hard my jaw ached. No wonder Kael had mistaken her for his fated mate.

"And that's not all," Kael continued, his voice trembling with euphoria. "The Goddess has truly blessed the Winterfall family. My Luna is no commoner." He turned and, with almost reverent gentleness, hooked a finger under a silver chain resting against Selena's collarbone. Dangling at the end of the chain was a black-and-gold hexagram crest.

The instant the crest was exposed, a collective gasp ripped through the surrounding crowd.

"The heir's mark of the Supreme Pack..." someone near the front stammered loudly.

"Oh my god, Selena is the hidden heiress of the richest pack in the world?"

Kael stared fixedly at that crest, a flash of pure greed and ecstasy igniting in his eyes.

"Selena came to find me for true love, so from this day forward, Selena is the mistress of this academy."

Kael pulled her tight into his embrace. Tilting his chin up with arrogance, he swept his gaze across the hall. "Anyone who dares disrespect her declares war on me, and on the entire Winterfall Pack."

I stood in the shadowy corner off-stage, my nails biting deeply into my palms. That damn thief. She stole my family crest and was hugging my fated mate. My inner wolf was livid, roaring in my head: Tear that damn woman apart!

I watched my fated mate hold a fraud like a blind fool.

Right at that moment, Selena lifted her head from Kael's chest. Her gaze cut right through the dense sea of students and landed with pinpoint accuracy on me in the very last row. Nestled in the embrace that was meant to be mine, her fingers provocatively stroked the black-and-gold crest. Then, looking right at me, she slowly curled her lips into the exclusive smile of a victor.