THE ALPHA KING S REJECTED MATE

The forest hadn't changed, but Leila had. Cold wind whispered through the trees as she stood at the edge of Black Hollow, the land she'd once called home. The scent of pine, earth, and distant wolves tugged at memories she'd spent years trying to bury. But tonight, the wind carried something else- danger... and him.

Her heart clenched as the weight of her decision settled in. She never thought she'd return, not after Alpha Carley Nightpaw had broken their bond with nothing more than a cold stare and the words that had gutted her: "You were never meant to be my Luna."

Yet here she was.

A blood moon was rising- a rare celestial event whispered about in werewolf lore. It was said to stir old magic, awaken dormant bonds, and reveal truths long buried. And the Nightpaw Pack was in danger. She didn't need the summons that arrived at her cabin deep in rogue territory to tell her. She had felt it in her bones for weeks. The bond she thought was dead was stirring again... and it led her straight back to him.

She tugged her hood lower, hiding most of her face as she moved deeper into the woods. Her boots crunched quietly over frost-laced leaves. Each step was heavier than the last, memories clawing up from the recesses of her mind. The night she was rejected. The shame. The loneliness. The ache that never fully left.

They said a rejection mark fades with time, but hers still burned beneath the skin, as if fate itself refused to let her forget.

It had taken everything in her not to look back when she left the Nightpaw territory. She had wandered far, learned to survive without a pack, and even grown stronger than she'd ever imagined possible. But no matter how far she ran, her dreams remained haunted by stormy gray eyes and a voice that once whispered promises into the dark.

Now, those same eyes waited for her.

As she stepped across the boundary line, a surge of energy buzzed through her veins. The magic of the pack still recognized her, even if its Alpha did not.

Moments later, rustling in the trees drew her attention. Wolves on patrol emerged from the shadows-their postures tense, eyes alert. They hadn't yet shifted back into human form, but their instincts screamed caution. She couldn't blame them.

No rogue ever stepped into pack territory without bloodshed.

Except her.

One of the wolves snarled low, circling. Leila lowered her hood and allowed her scent to rise, unmasked.

The change in atmosphere was instant.

Recognition flared in the golden eyes of the wolf nearest to her. He shifted back into his human form with a snap of bones and a ripple of fur, revealing a young man with wide eyes and a jaw that had yet to harden with age.

"Leila..." he breathed, almost in disbelief.

She gave a tight nod.

The murmur spread among the others like wildfire. Leila Stone had returned. The rejected mate. The once-promised Luna. The ghost of the Alpha's past.

Before anyone could question her further, a ripple of powerful energy swept through the clearing.

She felt it first-that pull, sharp and undeniable, deep in her chest.

He was close.

And then he appeared.

Alpha Carley Nightpaw stepped into the moonlight, tall and commanding, every inch the leader of a powerful pack. His midnight hair was longer than she remembered, brushed back from a face that had haunted her for years. His eyes-storm-gray and piercing-locked onto hers.

The world fell silent.

Leila didn't move. Neither did he.

He looked older. Harder. The weight of leadership, of battles fought and burdens carried, was etched into every line of his face. But she could still see the boy she had once loved behind the walls he'd built.

"Leila," he said, voice low and rough with emotion he quickly swallowed.

"You summoned me," she replied, her tone sharp and cold. "So here I am. Don't expect a warm reunion."

Carley's jaw tensed. "I didn't summon you. The moon did."

She laughed without humor. "How convenient."

The pack members shifted uncomfortably behind him, unsure whether to bow or back away.

"We should speak alone," Carley said at last.

"Of course we should. Isn't that how all rejections begin?"

His flinch was barely visible, but she saw it. Satisfaction bloomed briefly in her chest. Let him feel a fraction of the pain he caused.

He turned and walked toward the heart of the territory without another word. After a moment's hesitation, Leila followed.

The Nightpaw pack had grown in size and strength. New structures dotted the forest landscape-fortified homes, training yards, guard towers. But it still held the same quiet beauty she remembered, painted in silver by the rising blood moon.

They reached the Alpha's cabin, a large wooden lodge at the peak of a ridge. He opened the door and motioned for her to enter. Leila hesitated before stepping inside.

The moment the door shut behind them, silence fell like a blade.

Carley turned to face her, eyes shadowed.

"You look different," he said finally.

She arched a brow. "That happens when you're rejected and exiled. Turns out pain is a pretty good motivator."

He looked away.

She studied him in the flickering light of the fireplace. His frame was broader, his expression colder. But beneath the Alpha exterior, his soul still felt tethered to hers.

And that terrified her.

"Why am I here, Carley?"

"There's a threat rising," he said quietly. "A rogue faction with powers we don't understand. Our scouts have been disappearing. And just before each one vanishes... they speak of you."

Leila frowned. "Me?"

He nodded. "They say your name like a prophecy. Like a warning. And last night, during the blood moon's first rise, I saw you."

Her breath hitched.

"In my dream. You were standing in fire. Calling my name."

Leila turned away, unsettled. She had been dreaming too-visions of fire, of shadows in the forest, of wolves with glowing red eyes. And always, always, a voice whispering her name.

"You think I have something to do with this?" she asked.

"No," he said. "I think you're the key to stopping it."

Silence stretched between them.

Leila crossed her arms. "So, let me get this straight. You reject me, leave me to rot in rogue territory, and now you want my help?"

Carley stepped closer. "I know what I did was unforgivable."

She met his gaze, her voice low and dangerous. "You didn't just reject me, Carley. You destroyed me."

The bond between them surged, pulsing like a second heartbeat.

"I never stopped feeling it," he said quietly. "No matter how hard I tried."

"That's the thing about fated bonds," she murmured. "They don't break just because you want them to."

He took another step toward her, his voice dropping. "Then stay. Just long enough to help us. Help me."

Leila hesitated. She should say no. She should walk away.

But the blood moon blazed brighter outside the window, and something ancient stirred in her chest.

Maybe fate wasn't done with them yet.

"I'll stay," she said finally, her voice hard. "But not for you. For the pack."

Carley gave a slow nod, though something in his eyes betrayed hope.

As she turned away, neither of them noticed the shadow outside the cabin-a pair of red eyes watching from the trees.

The blood moon had risen.

And with it, so had the darkness.

The next morning dawned cold and gray, with the blood moon still lingering in the sky like an unspoken omen. Leila awoke in the old healer's hut, a quiet cottage on the far edge of the Nightpaw compound. She hadn't set foot here in years, but everything was just as she remembered-herbs drying from the rafters, stones arranged in elemental patterns, a fire burning low in the hearth.

She dressed quickly, choosing a thick leather jacket and boots that could withstand a storm. Because that was exactly what she expected to walk into today-a storm of memory, pain, and mistrust.

The pack hadn't forgotten her. She saw it in the way wolves stopped and stared as she passed, whispering behind hands and raising eyebrows. Some looked at her with open hostility; others with quiet curiosity. Only a few offered tentative nods of welcome.

Her old friend, Marek, was waiting near the training fields. He'd been Beta once, and it looked like he still held the position.

"You're back," he said, arms crossed, but there was warmth in his voice.

"For now."

"You look... strong. Different."

Leila smirked. "Life as a rogue will do that to you."

He nodded, then lowered his voice. "I know what Carley did to you. And I'm sorry."

She said nothing, though she appreciated the honesty.