She was rejected. Hunted. Left to die. Now she carries the secret that could destroy them all. Selene Nightshade thought she'd found her forever until her mate, Alpha Damien Blackwood, shattered her world with a single word: Rejected. Branded a traitor and cast out while carrying a child no one believes is his, Selene flees into the forbidden lands of Shadowcrest, the most feared territory in the werewolf realm. There, she crosses paths with Killian: ruthless, untouchable, and burning with secrets behind his golden eyes. What she doesn't know? He's the exiled Lycan King, a predator hiding among wolves. But Selene is no ordinary rogue. The child she carries is more than a scandal.. it's a prophecy. One powerful enough to start a war. As enemies close in and old loyalties splinter, Killian offers her protection but at a cost. Strength. Obedience. Loyalty. And perhaps... her heart. In a world of shattered bonds and crowns forged in blood, falling for the wrong Alpha could be the most dangerous risk of all.
Chapter 1 The Cruel Truth
The storm howled through the night, its icy raindrops slicing through the darkness like cruel daggers. Selene nightshade stood in the center of the Blood Moon Pack, her body trembling from the cold, but it was nothing compared to the frost seeping into her soul.
Hundreds of pack members surrounded her, their faces a mix of curiosity, judgment, and thinly veiled disgust. The weight of their stares pressed down on her, suffocating. But the only gaze that mattered the one that had once held love, devotion, and promises of forever was now filled with nothing but hatred.
Damien Blackwood, Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack.
Her mate.
Her destiny.
And the man who was about to destroy her.
His silver eyes, once warm like moonlight, had turned into cold steel. The rain dripped from his raven-black hair, tracing the sharp angles of his face, but he didn't so much as flinch. Instead, he stood before her with an expression so devoid of emotion it sent a shiver down her spine.
"Damien..." Selene's voice cracked as she took a step toward him, but he didn't move. He didn't reach for her. He didn't even blink.
The mate bond between them pulsed, frayed, barely holding together. A bond that was supposed to be sacred. Indestructible.
But then..
"I don't want you," Damien said, his voice like a death sentence. "You mean nothing to me."
Selene's breath hitched.
No.
No, this couldn't be happening.
She had dreamed of this moment for years, the day their bond would be acknowledged, the day they would finally stand side by side, mates, partners, Alpha and Luna.
But instead, he looked at her like she was dirt beneath his feet.
"Damien..." her voice barely carried over the howling wind. "Why are you saying this?"
His lips curled in disgust. "Are you deaf? I said you're not my mate."
The words felt like claws raking through her chest, ripping her heart apart piece by piece.
"I never wanted you. I never will."
The pain was unbearable. The bond that had tethered them together trembled, twisting, unraveling.
Selene shook her head, rain mixing with the tears sliding down her face. "That's not true! You, Damien, we're fated! We belong together!"
A sharp, bitter laugh left his lips. "Fate?" He spat the word like it was poison. "I don't give a damn about fate. And neither should you."
His gaze flickered downward for the briefest second. Selene followed his line of sight
To her stomach.
A sick feeling coiled in her gut.
No.
He couldn't possibly know.
Could he?
"And you," Damien said, his voice dripping with venom, "are carrying another man's child."
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
Selene's entire body went rigid.
What?
The pack's murmurs swelled around her, deafening.
"The Luna is pregnant?"
"But not with the Alpha's pup?"
"Disgraceful."
Selene felt like the ground had been ripped from beneath her. She shook her head frantically, heart pounding so loudly she could barely hear her own voice.
"That's not true!" she choked out, her hands pressing protectively against her abdomen. "Damien, please! This is your pup!"
But he didn't believe her.
He never even hesitated.
"Liar," he said coldly.
Selene felt the shift before she saw it, the dangerous way his body tensed, the flicker of rage in his silver eyes, the suffocating dominance radiating from him like a thunderstorm.
Then he stepped forward.
One step.
Two.
Until he was so close that she could feel the heat of his body despite the freezing rain.
"You reek of another male's scent," he hissed. "Do you think I'm a fool?"
Selene staggered back, shaking her head wildly. "I swear to you.. I have never been with anyone else! I have only ever loved you!"
The words meant nothing to him.
Damien's hand shot out, fingers clamping around her wrist in a bruising grip. The mate bond should have protected her, should have made him cherish her but all he saw when he looked at her was filth.
Selene gasped, pain shooting up her arm. "Please... You have to believe me."
But Damien Blackwood never gave second chances.
With a look of pure disgust, he yanked his hand away as if touching her had tainted him. Then, in one swift motion, he uttered the words that shattered her world.
"As Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, I, Damien Blackwood, reject you, Selene Carter, as my mate."
The bond snapped.
It wasn't a sound anyone else could hear but to Selene, it was deafening.
A howl of agony ripped through her soul.
Pain like she had never known before exploded inside her chest, sending her crashing to the ground. It felt as if a thousand knives were stabbing into her heart all at once, as if a vital part of her had been violently ripped away.
Her wolf screamed inside her mind, clawing desperately to hold onto the connection but it was gone.
Selene's breath came in ragged gasps, her fingers digging into the cold, wet earth. Her body convulsed, her entire being rejecting the emptiness where Damien's presence used to be.
Tears mixed with rain as she clutched at her chest.
No. No. No.
Damien had ripped her heart out and crushed it beneath his heel.
Selene's vision blurred, but she forced herself to look up at him desperate, hoping, praying he would change his mind.
But he was already turning away.
He didn't look back.
He didn't hesitate.
It was over.
The whispers of the pack grew louder, the voices slicing through her like blades.
"She deserved it."
"An Alpha doesn't take a traitor as his mate."
"What will happen to the pup?"
The pup.
Selene's shaking hand moved to her stomach, to the tiny life growing inside her.
She had to get out of here.
A storm far stronger than the one raging around her brewed inside her chest.
Slowly, painfully, she forced herself to stand.
If Damien didn't want her, she wouldn't beg.
If he didn't believe her, she wouldn't explain.
And if he thought she was weak, he was dead wrong.
She took one last look at the pack, the place that had once been her home.
Then, without another word.
She turned and ran.
Away from the heartbreak.
Away from the betrayal.
Away from the man who had once been her entire world.
Somewhere in the distance, the Moon Goddess watched.
And Selene had no idea..
This wasn't the end of her story.
It was just the beginning...