Rejected by the Alpha, Desired by All

The dress touches my ankles while I cross the bedroom measured. My heart drumm against my rib cage, and in spite of myself, my hands are slightly trembling while I smooth the fabric. Tonight marks a turning point. The moment I have always been. The Ceremony of Sisters' souls. The one where the alpha leon will recognize me as his.

The night air is loaded with electricity, a palpable tension that vibrates in the atmosphere, permeating each breath of anticipation. Everywhere around the estate, torches vacillate under the night breeze, projecting moving shadows on impatient faces. Wolves from all the packs have gathered to attend this sacred ritual, where soul mates are revealed under the influence of the full moon. I never doubted the result. Each fiber of my being screams that leon is my destiny.

When I get out of my room, the agitation in the air becomes almost deafening. The lively conversations, the laughter, the frizzying of the ceremonial fire - everything seems vague, as if I floated out of time. Through the crowd, my gaze is looking for a single face. That of the Alpha.

Leon stands near the sacred circle, his back straight, imposing in his dark costume. His raw charisma attracts all eyes, and yet he remains distant, cold, indecipherable look. My heart misses a beat. Why is he not coming to pick me up? He also knows. He has always known.

The ceremony begins.

The ancients place themselves in a circle, chanting old words in the language of wolves. The energy rises, swirling, vibrant. My breath gets stuck in my throat when the lunar light intensifies, bathing the circle of a spectral glow. The magic unfolds, enveloping us all in an invisible veil.

One by one, couples are revealed. Soul souls recognize themselves, their eyes are sealing, and the connection becomes inevitable. I'm waiting for my turn, my fingers tackling the fabric of my dress.

Then comes the moment I expect.

The suspended moment when everything changes.

The light surrounds me, sparkling, enveloping me with a silver shine. A whisper runs through the crowd, and I look up at Leon , ready to see what I have always been confirmed by ancestral magic.

But he doesn't move.

He remains frozen, his icy gaze fixed on me.

A silence is set up, oppressive, as if the weather had rushed suddenly. My heart hammered against my chest while Leon advances with a slow step, each movement resonating like a sentence.

Then he speaks.

- I refuse this link.

An icy chill pierces me, sweeping all warmth from my body.

I don't understand.

I want to believe that I have heard badly, that my own fear distorts his words. But the stupor of the crowd, the horrified murmurs, the shock visible on the faces, everything confirms the terrible reality.

Leon has just rejected me.

My breath blocks.

He always fixes me, his impassive expression, as if this announcement did not mean anything. As if I was only a grain of dust swept by the wind.

- He can't ... whispers someone in the crowd.

But he can.

He just did it.

The ancients exchange uncertain looks. Such a break is rare. Almost nonexistent. Rejecting his soul mate goes against all natural laws. However, Leon stands there, indifferent, detached, as if I were nothing.

- The alpha leon spoke, slice the voice of an old one.

A whistle rises in my ears. I mean, howl, demand an explanation, but the words remain blocked in my throat. Humiliation burns like a voracious fire, consuming each plot of my dignity.

Leon looks away, as if I was not even worthy of a last look. Then he turns around, moving away without one more word.

Silence is absolute.

I stand there, in the center of the circle, exposed, vulnerable, broken.

The whispers resume, murderers that infiltrate my mind, lacing me from the inside.

- How can an alpha reject his soul mate?

- She had to be too weak for him.

- It's a shame for the pack ...

The world around me rocks, blurred, unreal. I no longer feel the ground under my feet, nor the night breeze on my skin. All I perceive is this unbearable pain that spreads in my veins, this gaping emptiness that opens in me.

Then comes anger.

A deaf, burning rage stifled by humiliation.

I will not stay here. Not a second more.

Without a word, without a look back, I turn my heels and leave the circle.

The rumors follow me, the eyes pierce me, but I do not pay them any attention.

I leave the clearing, my throat tied, my trembling hands.

There is nothing left for me here.

I will disappear, and when they see me again ...

It will no longer be as the weak woman rejected by the alpha.

It will be as the wolf that they should never have despised.

The tumult is gradually calming, giving way to an oppressive expectation. All eyes are on leon , watching for an explanation, a justification for his refusal. But the alpha does not vacillate. He straightens up, dominating the crowd of his relentless presence, and when he speaks, his tone is sharp, without appeal.

- She is not worthy of me.

Words resonate, heavy, brutal. The shock wave crosses the assembly, tearing up shocked whispers, stifled exclamations. Some look up, unable to support such a declaration. Others, fascinated by the brutality of the moment, exchange incredulous looks.

Elena remains frozen. Each syllable is printed in it as a blade blade, burning its pride, crushing its hopes. His mind refuses to understand, refuses to accept what he has just said in front of the whole pack. Not worthy? How can he say these words after all that she has always been for him, after all that they could have been together?

The ancients, themselves caught up in deprived, are agitated nervously. A rejection is already an offense to the sacred balance of linked souls, but thus humiliating his partner in front of the clan is an insane cruelty.

- Leon , is this your will? Questions one of the ancients, his deep voice resonating in the night.

The alpha does not look away. His steel gaze is anchored in that of the old, impassive, unshakeable.

- Yes.

A heavy sentence falls on the assembly. The tension becomes suffocating, as if the forest itself held its breath.

A bitter laughter escapes Elena before she can hold him back. Indignity. So what is she representing in her eyes? After all these years, after every moment when she believed him, he sees in her only a lower, undesirable being.

Her fists tighten, her nails sink into her palm, but she refuses to let the pain that laces her heart shout. She will not give him this pleasure.

The whispers propagate like a trail of powder. Some nod, as if the humiliation it undergoes was deserved. Others look away, embarrassed. But no one defends. Not a single one dares to oppose the alpha.

Elena raises her chin, bringing together each broken fragment of her dignity. She could beg. She could demand an explanation, shout his right to this link that he has just trampled without an ounce of remorse. But what good?

If he thinks she is unworthy, then she has nothing more to do here.

Slowly, she turns away, ignoring the eyes, ignoring the mocking laughs of some. Each step that she takes far from him is a victory torn from pain.

She leaves, broken but proud.

And one day, they will all understand the error they made.

Elena walks away, each step resonating like a painful echo in the night, leaving her alone with her black thoughts. The fresh wind caresses his face, but he offers no consolation. The weight of mocking looks that follow it, muffled laughter and cruel whispers, is growing on its shoulders. She could almost feel them pierce her skin, enter her fragile mind. She closes her eyes for a moment, trying to hunt this feeling of suffocation. But she cannot ignore the humiliation that devours her soul.

The pain is unbearable. Not just physical, no. It's much deeper suffering. A suffering born from the betrayal of the one she believed in her soul mate. She had prepared her life for this moment, convinced that the alpha Leon would choose it, that he would recognize in her the perfect companion. But this dream collapsed in an instant, swept away with a backhand, as easily as a flickering flame crushes.

The wind whips his face, but nothing manages to hunt the burn that consumes his heart. She still hears the words of Leon resonate in her ears, icy, cruel. * Unworthy of him.* These words, pronounced without hesitation, are embedded in her, marking her mind forever. They will not disappear. They will haunt her. Because in her eyes, she was nothing more than an insignificant obstacle on her way.

She does not know where she is going, but the idea of staying there, in this clearing, is unbearable. His body is animated by a wild impulse, an instinctive leak. She rushes into the forest, sinking through the dark trees, each cold breeze coming to touch her burning skin. Her legs wear her without her thinking about it, while her thoughts go around in circles, unable to land on any solution.

Far from the pack, far from everything, Elena drops on a rocky rock. The sound of his heavy breath is added to the darkness that surrounds him. She closes her eyes and lets anger take over. A deaf, devouring rage bursts in it. She hates the way everything happened. She hates her helplessness, her vulnerability, her naivety. But above all, she hates her.

Why did the rejected so, without an ounce of regret? What did she hurt to deserve such humiliation? Her heart bleeds, her confidence is broken, but something even more powerful awakens in her. This suffering, this acute pain, slowly turns into a fierce determination. It will not be this weak wolf that leon and the others believe. No. She will find her pride, her strength, and she will prove to them, to all, that under pain hides a war ready to break out.

She cleans her fists. This is not the end. This is only the beginning of something bigger. A new Elena was born in the rubble of betrayal. A stronger, more resolved Elena, and ready to challenge all those who will have the audacity to underestimate it.