Selene was born a disappointment. Rejected by her mate, abused by her father, and cast aside like she was nothing. She was weak-powerless. Or so she thought. When her ruthless Alpha father forces her into a loveless marriage, Selene prepares for a life of suffering. But on the night of her forced union, a deadly attack reveals a shocking truth-she is not just any wolf. Her blood carries a forbidden power, one that has been hidden from her since birth. A power that some would kill to possess... and others would die to destroy. Now, the mate who rejected her-Alpha Kael-knows her secret. And he is not the only one watching. With enemies closing in and a prophecy whispering of her fate, Selene must decide: Will she embrace the power that runs through her veins? Or will she fall victim to those who fear what she might become? One thing is certain-she is no longer the weak girl they once cast aside.
Chapter 1 Sold to the Alpha
The crack of leather against flesh echoed through the small, dimly lit room.
Selene bit down hard on her lip, refusing to cry out as the belt lashed across her back again. The taste of blood filled her mouth, but she didn't flinch. She had long since learned that tears only made it worse.
"Stupid girl," her father snarled, tossing the belt aside. "Do you have any idea what you're worth? A disgrace like you should be grateful I found a use for you!"
A use. That's all she was to him-a bargaining chip, a piece to be traded for power.
Selene slowly pushed herself up from the cold wooden floor, her body aching from the beating. She knew better than to fight back. There was no escape from him.
Her father, Alpha Voss, was once feared-until he grew weak. His pack was crumbling, his allies turning against him, and his only solution was to sell his own daughter to a stronger alpha in exchange for an alliance.
The deal was already sealed.
Tomorrow, she would be handed over to Alpha Kael Blackwood, the most ruthless alpha in the region. A man she had never met. A man who would never love her.
"You'll obey him," her father spat. "Or I'll make sure you regret it."
Selene didn't answer. She simply stared at him with cold, dead eyes. She had no choice. She never did.
But deep inside, she swore one thing-if they thought she would break, they were wrong.
The next morning came too soon.
Selene stood before the mirror in her father's decrepit estate, her reflection almost unrecognizable. The bruises on her arms were hidden beneath the silk sleeves of a pristine white gown. The fabric clung to her form like a funeral shroud, suffocating, cold.
Her father's Beta, a man she loathed even more than her father, smirked as he yanked a silver chain around her neck-a symbol of her enslavement.
"A gift from your father," he sneered. "To remind you of your place."
Selene felt nothing. Not the chain's weight, not the sting of betrayal. She had learned long ago that emotions were a weakness.
Outside, the car waited.
She was being delivered to her new owner.
The Crimson Shadow Pack was larger than she imagined. Stronger. More organized. The wolves that guarded the entrance radiated power, their piercing eyes locked onto her as she stepped from the car.
A stranger approached-a tall, muscular man with ruthless, unreadable eyes. His aura was suffocating. Alpha Kael Blackwood.
Selene braced herself. She had been trained to submit, to bow, to accept her fate.
But then he spoke.
"I don't want you."
The words were a slap, cutting deeper than her father's belt ever could.
Selene's fingers curled into fists. He hadn't even looked at her properly.
Kael turned to one of his Betas. "Take her to the ceremony hall. We'll get this over with."
She should have been relieved. Instead, a strange fire ignited in her chest.
She would not beg for his acceptance.
If he thought he could break her like her father did, he was dead wrong.
The ceremony hall was cold, vast, and filled with unfamiliar faces. Crimson Shadow wolves, their gazes calculating and judgmental, watched as Selene was led down the aisle like a lamb to slaughter.
At the end of the aisle stood Alpha Kael Blackwood.
Tall. Unyielding. A man carved from stone and shadows.
Selene's heartbeat thundered in her chest, but she kept her face blank. She had learned to hide her pain well. No one would see her break.
A woman stood beside Kael-a striking, raven-haired beauty draped in blood-red silk. Her piercing golden eyes gleamed with amusement as she whispered something in Kael's ear, her fingers brushing his arm with too much familiarity.
Selene's stomach twisted.
She knew that look. Possession.
Who is she?
Kael barely acknowledged Selene's presence. His gaze was distant, cold. Indifferent.
"Let's get this over with," he muttered.
The officiant began reciting the ancient words of the mating ceremony, but Selene barely heard them. Her attention remained on the woman.
The woman smirked, stepping closer. "Poor thing. You actually think you belong here, don't you?" she murmured, too low for anyone else to hear.
Selene didn't flinch. She met the woman's gaze, steel against steel.
Whoever she was, she wanted Kael. And she saw Selene as nothing more than an obstacle.
Selene's jaw clenched. She had faced worse than jealous lovers.
But before she could respond, Kael's voice rang through the hall.
"I, Alpha Kael Blackwood, reject you, Selene Voss, as my mate and my Luna."
A hush fell over the room.
Selene felt the words like a blade, cutting through her chest, searing into her bones. The mate bond should have snapped-but it didn't. Instead, pain flooded her body, a burning, unrelenting agony.
Her knees buckled.
Kael's face remained unreadable. The woman beside him smiled.
And in that moment, as the rejection settled in her veins, Selene realized the truth.
This was only the beginning of her suffering.
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