Rejected By My Mate, Desired By His Enemy

Chapter 1. The Public Rejection

The Gathering Grounds of Crescent Moon Pack were dressed in gold and crimson. Lanterns floated above the heads of wolves in human form, and music from the tribal drums beat a deep rhythm into the soil. Tonight was the choosing ceremony. A sacred event. The place where fate would bind mates, or break them.

Lily Rowan stood at the edge of the ceremony ground ring. Her hands clenched at her sides. The moonlight shone on the whole place.

Lily's heart pounded within her chest steadily. It was as if its heart wanted to escape from her body. She was of the right age, twenty-one. She is also from the right bloodline. And fate had whispered her mate would reveal himself tonight.

Lily wore a simple silver gown that hugged her figure. Her dress bore a striking difference from the extravagant wears others donned.

Her father, Beta Rowan, once held office in the Crescent Moon Pack. That was before the alliances shifted, before Alpha Jace Thorn began absorbing territory and influence under the banner of unity.

Jace stood across in the circle. He is tall and robust, with a spark of authority in his dark eyes. His personality is outstanding, attracting attention, authority, and submission. Wolves nearby bow their heads even without demanding.

On seeing him, Lily's breath almost caught in her throat. She felt the pull.

The unmistakable gravity of the mate bond. Her soul surged toward him. Heat bloomed at the base of her spine. Her wolf pushed against her skin, yelping with recognition.

Jace, her supposed mate, looked at her. And keenly looked at her again. Jace's mouth twisted into a smirk.

And then he spoke. Loud enough for every wolf, every Elder, every Luna, and Alpha in training to hear.

"The Moon Goddess must have erred." Jace retorted casually.

Lily blinked tearfully.

The whole place became silent, and it cut deeper than any blade. The hum of music faltered. Even the breeze seemed to hold its breath.

Jace stepped forward, his tone clipped, bored. "Lily Rowan is not my mate. I reject this bond."

A gasp tore through the crowd, calm but penetratingly painful. Lily's knees buckled. She didn't fall. She refused to. Her wolf howled inside her, the sound wild and wounded.

He rejected her.

No explanation. No courtesy. No mercy.

"You reject me?" Her voice came out rough and raw.

Jace shrugged, already turning away. "You're a Beta's daughter. You are pretty, but common."

Her hand flew to her chest as something inside cracked. Her ribs ached. Her breath struggled. The physical pain of a severed mate bond was never spoken of in books. It felt like dying slowly in silence.

Elder Myron stepped forward, his expression tight. "Alpha Thorn, this is a sacred space. You owe."

"I owe nothing," Jace said flatly. "I have chosen my path."

And as if summoned, she appeared.

Elena Vale, daughter of the Lycan chairman. Draped in sapphire, her blonde hair pinned in a regal twist. She took Jace's arm with the confidence of someone who never knew rejection.

Lily watched them walk away together, her mate and his chosen prize.

Chosen but not fated.

A wolf next to her whispered, "The chairman's daughter... This is about power."

Of course it was.

Lily stood alone in the circle, her body trembling. Her pride was bleeding from every pore. The whispers swirled like fog, pity, judgment and curiosity.

She turned and walked off the field. She was not running and not crying.

Just walking.

Each step forward tore something else apart inside her.

Returning to the Rowan estate, the walls seemed constricted, the air more rarefied. Her mother sat rigidly in the parlor, eyes swollen from holding back tears. Her father was walking back and forth, his jaw tightened so much that a vein throbbed noticeably in his temple.

"We ought to have anticipated this," he remarked. "I cautioned the council against placing their trust in the Thorn boy."

"He's not a boy anymore, he's an Alpha," Lily murmured. "

Her mother spoke gently, "That doesn’t mean he’s not a coward."

Lily rose and said, "I'm going to bed."

Her father started to speak, but she asked him to stop. "sDon’t, not tonight, I need a breathing space.''

She walked outside, barefoot on the chilly stone steps. The wind brushed against her skin. The pain of the rejection hurt under her collarbone. A note to remember. A scar is being etched.

She didn’t cry. Not yet. The tears would come later when everything is cool, and no one is watching.

A week passed.

Then two.

And her world crumbled in silence.

Pack patrols seized her family’s shipping business under the pretense of an investigation. Her father’s accounts were frozen. Allies grew distant. Invitations vanished. Contracts were canceled.

Whispers turned into accusations. Disloyalty and hidden rogue ties are treason.

None of it is true.

All of it is convenient lies.

Lily knew Jace’s hand was behind it. She could feel the smug silence of his absence.

And then, one evening, he came.

Not with guards. Not with lawyers.

With wine.

He stepped into the private gardens of her estate as if he still had the right. He stood tall, polished and confident.

"You’re looking well," he said.

Lily didn’t stand. She remained seated beneath the willow tree, her eyes on the moon.

"You have three seconds to leave."

"I came to offer you something," Jace said smoothly. "A chance to... remain useful."

She turned her head slowly. "Is that what I was to you? Useful?"

"Let’s not pretend this was ever about love. You’re beautiful. You have a pedigree. But Elena has value."

Lily rose, her hands steady. "And what do you propose?"

"Be discreet. Be mine. Quietly."

A pause.

Then laughter. Low, harsh, but Dangerous. She walked toward him slowly, without blinking her gaze.

"You want to use me in shadows," she said. "While your wife plays Luna and you sit on a throne built on betrayal?"

He smirked. "No one has to know."

She leaned closer.

"I'd rather sleep with your father-in-law than ever be with you."

Jace’s smile faltered. He looked stunned for the first time.

Lily pushed him out and walked back towards her home. She didn’t stop until she reached her room. And then slammed the door behind her.

Then she sat on the floor.

And laughed until her throat burned.

Then she cried.

And when the tears ended, she looked at herself in the mirror.

And she vowed:

No one would ever see her break again.

Elsewhere in the city, Max Vale was seated on his balcony. He was sipping scotch whiskey,

His assistant approached. "There’s been an... incident."

"What kind?"

"Jace Thorn was rejected. Publicly. The girl’s name is Lily Rowan. Beta blood."

Max raised a brow. "And?"

"She told Jace she’d rather sleep with his father-in-law."

Max blinked.

Then laughed. A real one. Not the kind he usually gave in boardrooms.

"Get me her file," he said.

"Why?"

"Because anyone with that much fire deserves my attention."

And in the distance, the game began. The girl Jace cast aside was about to become the most desired woman in the entire Lycan empire. And Max Vale never shared what he wanted.