Rejected by My Alpha, Crowned by the King

After my daughter died, I finally became exactly what Alpha James Sterling wanted me to be.

He kissed his human adoptive sister. I acted like I didn't see a thing.

He slept with her. I was even willing to buy them condoms.

Everyone in the pack praised me for being mature and generous. James finally let his guard down around me.

But I used that exact moment to escape, fleeing to the Forbidden Zone for five whole years.

Five years later, I returned. James knelt in the freezing snow, begging for my forgiveness.

I only gently wrapped my arm around the man beside me and smiled.

"Alpha James, long time no see. Meet my true mate, Alpha King Zane."

Elena POV

After my daughter died, I finally became exactly what James wanted me to be.

He stayed out partying with his friends until midnight. I stopped asking when he would be back, and I stopped caring who he was with.

When he got drunk and mumbled "Clara" in his sleep, I didn't throw a tantrum anymore.

Even when I was ambushed and severely injured outside, I dragged my bleeding body back to the packhouse alone, quiet as a ghost, and patched myself up.

Gamma Frank looked at my wounds, his eyes filled with worry.

"Luna Elena, should I call Alpha James?"

James?

I let out a soft laugh. It was self-deprecating, but mostly, it was the sweet taste of letting go.

"No need," I whispered. "We aren't close."

Frank opened his mouth to protest, but eventually closed it. As my second-in-command, he knew exactly what had happened in this pack. He knew the hell I had been through.

Once he left, the bedroom fell back into a suffocating silence.

I closed my eyes. My daughter's sweet, smiling face flashed across my mind. I could still hear her tiny voice calling me "Mommy."

But right after that came James's cold, heartless face.

"Elena, Anna needs the antidote. Only Clara has the cure. But she has one condition."

"She wants you to leave."

"Your departure in exchange for Anna's life. It's a fair trade, isn't it?"

Fair? What a joke!

When had James ever been fair to me?

Only after I married him did I find out that his heart belonged to Clara, the fragile, helpless human girl his parents had adopted.

I had been naive enough to believe that since we were fated mates, my love would eventually be enough to win him over.

But five years of marriage only brought me to a point where he forced me to choose between my daughter's life and my marriage.

If he hated me so much, why did he accept me in the first place?

In the end, I agreed to leave. I gave up my title as Luna just so he would save our daughter.

But he lied to me.

At the very last minute, Clara smiled and claimed she actually didn't have the cure.

And James? He just patted my shoulder and said indifferently, "Clara is just a human. How could she get her hands on Wolfbane? We'll find another way."

Another way?

The poison in Anna's tiny veins was spreading every second. There was no time.

Two weeks ago, Anna took her last breath in my arms.

At that exact moment, my heart died with her.

"Luna, the Alpha is here," Frank's voice called gently from the door.

I opened my eyes and, right on cue, James was standing at the doorway.

He was still painfully handsome. His black wool coat made him look tall and imposing, but there was a dark, irritable shadow lingering between his eyes.

The silver glow in his eyes faded as he walked over to my bed. He looked down at me, his tone laced with his usual accusation.

"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt? If the pack warriors hadn't informed me, how long were you planning to hide this?"

I stared back at him.

I knew he was only here because his wolf demanded it.

If this were the past, I would have been thrilled by his concern. But now, even my inner wolf remained dead silent.

"Alpha James is a busy man. I didn't want to bother you with such trivial matters." I paused, adding coldly, "Besides, we are over. I won't be your Luna for much longer."

I emphasized the title "Alpha James" to draw a clear line between us.

I knew he hated this version of me.

In his memory, I was always the girl who blushed at his slightest touch, who waited up all night with a warm plate of food, and who cried under the blanket whenever Clara made an intimate phone call to him.

Back then, he found me annoying. He said I was too dramatic, too clingy to be a proper Luna.

But now, I was exactly what he wanted. I didn't care about his life, and I didn't need him when I was sick. Yet, he looked furious.

"I haven't accepted your rejection yet! We are still mates! Even if we end things, I am still Anna's father!" James growled, desperately trying to use our dead daughter to hold onto the last thread of our connection.

At the mention of Anna, my body stiffened, but I quickly forced myself to calm down.

"Anna doesn't need a father anymore." I lowered my gaze to hide the raw grief in my eyes. "James, the moment you chose Clara over Anna, you lost the right to be her father."

"You!" James's face turned pale. He wanted to snap back, but no words came out.

Just then, his phone buzzed. It was his custom ringtone for Clara.

He instinctively glanced at me. I had already turned my face to the window, ignoring him completely.

James answered the phone, his voice instantly softening. "Clara? What's wrong?"

Clara's weak, sobbing voice echoed through the quiet room. "My chest hurts so much. James, I'm scared. Can you come over?"

James frowned. "I'll be right there."

He hung up, swallowed hard, and looked at me as if he wanted to explain.

I spoke first. "Go. I have plenty of people to look after me."

He couldn't say a word.

The moment the door slammed shut, a single tear finally escaped my eye.

It wasn't for him. It was for the foolish girl who had loved him so blindly, and for the sweet little daughter who never got the chance to grow up.

I reached under my pillow, pulled out my phone, and dialed a number.

"Professor Charles, I accept the Royal Council's assignment. I'll go to the Forbidden Zone for the Wolfbane research project."

Elena POV

The Forbidden Zone. It was the only place in the world where werewolves dared not step.

It was created ten years ago during a brutal war between two massive packs. One side had used a highly volatile, mutated strain of Wolfsbane.

But they didn't realize the poison was airborne. It infected everyone in the area.

Most died instantly. The survivors went completely feral, turning into mindless rogues.

The 18-year-old prince had personally led his royal guards to settle down the battle, forcing all packs to migrate.

He then gathered the top healers and scholars in the country to establish a research base right on the border of the contaminated zone.

On the phone, my former herbology professor from the Werewolf Academy spoke in a serious tone.

"Elena, this project is funded directly by the Royal Family. It requires a five-year commitment. During this time, you will be under strict NDA. You cannot contact anyone from the outside world. It means cutting off your entire past, including your family. Are you absolutely sure about this?"

I gripped my phone tightly. "I am absolutely sure."

"But you rejected this offer three times before just to stay by James's side. Are you really ready to leave everything behind for five years?"

Ready? What was left for me here?

My heart was dead.

"Professor, James and I are done. You don't have to worry about him."

"What? You mean that bastard actually rejected you?"

In the werewolf world, it was incredibly rare for fated mates to separate. Most wolves remained fiercely loyal to their mates, finding peace and happiness only in their other half.

But James chose a human.

My inner wolf let out a painful whimper, mourning the injustice of our fate. This was exactly why I had to leave. I couldn't stay here and let my wolf suffer his humiliation day after day.

"Don't be angry, Professor. I am the one leaving him."

"Fine. I understand. Your departure is scheduled for the fifth of next month. I'll email you the NDAs. Once you sign, there's no turning back."

The call ended, and the email arrived seconds later. Without a shred of hesitation, I signed my name.

As the screen went black, it reflected my pale, hollow face.

James and I had met at our graduation ball. He was the young, powerful Alpha of the Ironridge Pack, and I was the top graduate of the Academy.

The Moon Goddess had chosen me to be his fated mate.

I still remembered how he walked up to me, pulling me into his arms and kissing me passionately, whispering, "Mine."

My wolf had howled with joy back then.

We actually had a sweet honeymoon phase. But shortly after I got pregnant, I accidentally overheard a heated argument between James and his mother outside his study.

"...Elena is your fated mate! She is brilliant and perfect for the Luna title!"

"But I don't love her, Mom! You know who has my heart!"

"That's exactly why I'm stepping in! You either treat Elena right, or I will send Clara to a place where you will never find her!"

That was the day I realized James was hopelessly in love with Clara. Even though his wolf craved my scent, his heart belonged to her.

And yet, I had foolishly stayed, believing that my love could change his mind.

Now, reality had slapped me in the face and taken my daughter's life.

I didn't wait for James to come home. I grabbed a large cardboard box and began packing up everything that no longer mattered to me.

I carried the heavy box to the trash incinerator behind the packhouse and threw it in.

Suddenly, a loud screech of brakes echoed through the yard.

"What are you doing?" James demanded, slamming his car door shut and rushing toward me.

He looked inside the incinerator and saw the items I had thrown away. Our first date souvenirs. The little gifts he brought me from his business trips. Our honeymoon photos. And even my diaries.

"Elena, have you lost your mind?" James stared at me in disbelief.

"You used to treasure these things. Why are you throwing them away?"

Elena POV

"It's nothing," I said, not even looking at him. "These things used to be valuable to me, but now they are just trash. There's no point in keeping trash."

I turned to walk back inside, but James quickly caught up and grabbed my wrist.

"Elena!" he yelled at the staircase, pulling me back. "How long are you going to keep acting like this? I am grieving Anna too! I am her father! Do you think you're the only one hurting?"

"You're hurting?" I repeated, looking at him as if he had just said the funniest joke in the world.

"If you actually cared about Anna, you would have believed me instead of Clara! You missed the only window to save our daughter!"

I still remembered the day I figured out the toxin in Anna's body was a rare form of Wolfbane.

I realized the only cure was the blood of the person who poisoned her. And I knew, without a doubt, it was Clara.

But when I told James, he had scoffed. "Clara is a fragile human. She doesn't even know what Wolfbane is! Your jealousy is making you delusional, Elena!"

He refused to believe his precious Clara could do such a thing.

"Elena, please, stop this," James sighed, pulling me into a tight embrace, his voice softening. "We are still young. We can have another baby. We can..."

"Don't touch me! You disgust me, James!"

His words triggered something violent inside me. I shoved him away with all my strength.

Unprepared, James stumbled back, hitting his back against the wooden banister. He stared at me, shocked.

I let out a cold laugh. "James, let me make this very clear. I, Elena Vance, formally reject you as my mate and my Alpha. If you don't accept it, I will find another way to break this bond. You can have babies with whoever you want, but it will never be me."

My only child was Anna. And she was dead.

Seeing the cold determination in my eyes, James panicked. "I only asked you to leave back then to trick Clara into giving up the antidote! I didn't think she would actually lie about it..."

He swallowed hard. "I will never accept your rejection. We are not breaking up."

Too late.

What James didn't know was that I had already submitted a petition to the Lycan Council. If he refused my rejection, I would ask the Alpha King himself to sever our bond.

I ignored him, turned around, and locked myself in my bedroom.

"Elena!" James tried to follow, but his phone rang again.

He pulled it out and answered irritably. "Clara, what is it now?"

"If your stomach hurts, go to the hospital! I am not a doctor!"

I didn't care what Clara said next. All I heard was the sound of James leaving the packhouse once again.

This had happened too many times to count.

Over the years, Clara had used every excuse, chest pain, panic attacks, fevers, to drag James away whenever Anna and I needed him.

In the past, I would cry, scream, and smash things in the house. But now, my heart was a flatline.

When you truly stop caring, the things that used to drive you crazy don't even make you flinch.

Elena POV

The next afternoon, James came home early. He told me he had booked my favorite French restaurant and hired the violinist I loved to play for us.

"Go change your clothes. Let's go out," he said.

"I'm not going," I replied instantly.

"Elena, you've been locking yourself in this room since the funeral. You're going to make yourself sick," he said, his eyes filled with genuine worry. "Just come out for some fresh air, okay?"

How ironic. I had spent years begging for his attention, and now that my heart was completely dead, he was suddenly playing the caring husband.

Before I could refuse again, he grabbed my hand and practically pulled me into his car. "It doesn't matter what you're wearing. It's just the two of us anyway."

I tried to pull away, but his grip was too tight.

But when we arrived at the restaurant and the hostess led us to our table, I froze.

Sitting at the table, wearing a delicate white dress, was Clara.

I turned to James and smiled mockingly. "So this is your idea of 'fresh air'?"

"She feels incredibly guilty about what happened to Anna," James whispered, tightening his grip on my wrist. "When she heard I was taking you out, she begged me to let her come. She wants to apologize to you face-to-face."

Clara stood up, her eyes immediately welling with tears. "Elena, I am so, so sorry... I know nothing can bring Anna back, but I truly want to make it up to you..."

"Shut up!" I snapped, slapping her hand away. "Apologize? Make it up to me? What kind of game are you playing now, Clara?"

Clara's tears fell instantly. "I know you've always hated me, and I know you blame me for Anna's death... but losing Anna broke my heart too..."

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. "Enough, Clara! If you're actually sorry, go kneel at Anna's grave! Don't bring your pathetic acting in front of me!"

Clara froze, then looked at James with a trembling lip. "James..."

James frowned, looking at me as if I was being entirely unreasonable. "Elena, she came here in good faith. Can't we just leave the past in the past? We are family."

"Who is her family?" I interrupted, my eyes cold as ice. "My only family was my daughter, and she is dead."

The air in the restaurant turned freezing cold.

Without another word, James grabbed my shoulders and forced me into my seat. "We didn't come here to fight. Sit down, eat, and listen to the music."

He clapped his hands, and the waiters began serving the dishes. The violinist started playing a beautiful, soft melody.

The food was everything I used to love, and the music was perfect. But I couldn't swallow a single bite. Sitting across from Clara made me feel physically ill.

Halfway through the dinner, I excused myself to the restroom.

When I walked out, Clara was waiting for me by the door.

The weak, tearful girl was gone. Instead, she had a smug, wicked smirk on her face.

"How does it feel, Elena?" Clara whispered, leaning in. "To have hope dangled in front of you, only to have it ripped away into total despair? It must hurt like hell, right?"

Elena POV

I didn't even want to look at her. I tried to walk past her, but she stepped in my way.

"You know," Clara sighed fake-sadly, "Anna had such a beautiful little face. Those cute little dimples when she laughed... It's such a pity she had to die so young."

My heart, which I thought was numb, shattered all over again at the mention of my daughter.

I glared at her. "You never had the cure, did you? You set me up from the start just to watch me suffer, didn't you?"

"So what if I did?" Clara smirked. "James and I are the ones who belong together. You're just an annoyance the Moon Goddess forced on him. That little brat you gave birth to was a mistake anyway. She deserved to die."

She leaned closer, her eyes glittering with malice. "Oh, by the way... did I mention? The poison inside your daughter... was cultivated using James's own blood. The only antidote was his blood too."

"Clara!!"

A mistake? Deserved to die?

And the poison was made from James's blood?

Every ounce of my sanity snapped. I raised my hand and slapped Clara across the face with all my strength.

The force of the slap sent her stumbling back. "You."

She clutched her red cheek, but instead of fighting back, she immediately burst into tears, a triumphant gleam flashing in her eyes.

"What do you think you're doing!" a furious voice roared from behind.

Before I could react, a heavy hand grabbed my shoulder and violently shoved me away.

I lost my balance and crashed hard against the brick wall. My head hit the solid surface with a sickening thud, making my vision go completely black for a second.

Realizing he might have pushed me too hard, James froze. "Elena, I..."

Suddenly, the heavy, gilded painting hanging on the wall above me shook. The wire snapped, and the massive frame came crashing down.

"Watch out!" James yelled.

His protective instincts kicked in, but instead of saving me, he instinctively lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Clara and shielding her with his body, turning his back to me.

The heavy painting crashed directly onto my head.

I didn't even feel the pain before darkness swallowed me whole.

When I finally opened my eyes, I was back in my bedroom at the packhouse. My head felt like it was about to explode.

"You're awake," James's voice came from the bedside, sounding relieved.

I stared at the ceiling, not moving a muscle.

"Does it hurt anywhere?"

His eyes were glowing silver, meaning his wolf was currently in control.

I shook my head slowly, watching as the silver faded and James's human consciousness took over.

He reached out to touch my forehead, but I flinched, turning my head away.

James's hand froze in mid-air, a flash of anger crossing his face before he suppressed it. He pulled his hand back and said in a cold, lecturing tone:

"No matter how much you hate Clara, you shouldn't have hit her. She is just a fragile human, and you are a werewolf. You could have killed her! How could you be so cruel?"

I wanted to laugh, but I didn't even have the energy.

Of course. To him, Clara was always the victim who needed protection, and I was the violent monster. Even when he literally shielded Clara and let a heavy painting crush me, he didn't care.

"Do you know what she said to me?" I asked, turning my gaze to him.

James scoffed. "What could she possibly say? She wanted to apologize, and she brought up Anna, which made you upset. I know you're grieving, Elena, but Clara is..."

"She said," I interrupted, "that Anna was a mistake who deserved to die."

"How dare she say that?!" his wolf roared in my mind.

But I knew it wasn't James speaking. I was sick of the constant conflict between him and his wolf.

"She also said that she was the one who poisoned Anna."