"Alpha Zade, what is this?!" Alpha Enzo spat, diverting his gaze from Elena's face to Alpha Zade. "What kind of creature have you chained in there?"
"And is it supposed to be my mate?" He said this as he glanced at Elena with a look full of hatred. "Is the Moon Goddess trying to toy with me?" He added.
"Creature? It?" These were not the words Elena had imagined her mate would say. Wasn't he supposed to be happy? Was he not supposed to sweep her off her feet and free her from the clutches of her wicked uncle? Instead, his cold, piercing gaze pinned her to the spot, making the damp dungeon walls feel even more suffocating.
"A-alpha—"
"Shut up! Just fucking shut up!" Alpha Enzo barked as he interrupted Elena from speaking further. Just looking at Elena irritated him but her voice did worse.
Earlier, Alpha Enzo was having a great time in the dining room, but the sweet scent of rose and candy led him to a dark dungeon, only to meet an ugly-looking creature who turned out to be his mate. She was thin, pale, and covered in strange injuries. How could she possibly be his mate? Impossible!
"Alpha Zade, what is she and how did she end up here? I need an explanation!" Alpha Enzo commanded.
Elena's heart ached, tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched Alpha Enzo's every reaction while he listened to her story.
Elena's life was once perfect many years ago. As the only daughter of the great Alpha and Luna of the Nightshade pack, she was cherished by both her parents and the pack members. However, everything changed when she turned sixteen.
On that fateful day, Elena woke up to find her parents dead on the floor beside her. Before she could process what had happened, her uncle, Beta Zade, burst into the room and accused her of murdering her own family. Sadly, all the evidence pointed to her, and the council of elders decided to punish her by revoking her title as the future Luna and demoting her to an Omega. They then made her uncle the Alpha.
Even though Elena's life had changed for the worse—hated by everyone and accused of being cursed—she was still grateful for the freedom to move around the pack. However, that, too, changed when she got her wolf on her eighteenth birthday.
Just after Elena awakened her wolf, her cousin, Malik, who was the son of Alpha Zade, tried to take advantage of her. She was unaware of her new strength, and in her anger, she seriously injured Malik, to the point where he fell into a coma, unable to wake up even after several years.
Elena was supposed to be banished from the pack for her actions against the Alpha's son, but instead, she got thrown into a dungeon, where she had been living for the past six years. To keep her weak and suppress her wolf, she kept being injected with wolfsbane.
The amount of wolfsbane in her system became too much, causing her to hallucinate. This was why she thought Alpha Zade was just a mere shadow earlier. She couldn't believe that during her one attempt to escape, she ended up getting caught.
Elena's breath hitched and she felt the room closing in on her when Alpha Enzo began walking towards her. But despite how scary he looked, she couldn't bring herself to tear her gaze from his face.
Alpha Enzo's voice was cold and filled with venom as he snapped, "The Moon Goddess mated me to a murderer?!"
The words sliced through Elena's heart like a knife and she could even feel her wolf whimper in pain. She bit her lower lip as she tried to conceal her pain, even though the hot tears rolling profusely from her eyes made her pain evident.
Perhaps she had gotten excited too early. She had really thought her prince charming had arrived. She had totally forgotten her status—cursed, bad luck, and a murderer. That was all she was and for a split moment, she forgot about it. How stupid of her.
"It seems being locked here has messed with your brain, that's if you still have one. "A murderer and an Alpha?" Alpha Enzo scoffed.
Elena's chest tightened, the sting of his words sinking deep, leaving a wound far sharper than any physical pain. She staggered back, wrapping her arms around herself as if trying to hold together the broken pieces of her soul. "I-I am sorry Alpha–
"Oh please, keep your foolish apologies to yourself." Alpha Enzo sneered. "What is your full name?" He urged.
Elena blinked out tears. She knew what was to come, and she hated it, but there was nothing she could do about it. "M-my name is Elena Miles."
Without wasting any time, he began. "I, Alpha Enzo of the Moonshine Pack, reject you, Elena Miles, as my destined mate from the Moon Goddess. And I take Stella Miles as my chosen mate and Luna."
Elena gasped and fell to the ground. She didn't even know what hurt most, the pain from the rejection or the fact that her mate was going to take her cousin as his chosen mate instead of her. She hadn't even noticed Stella's presence the whole time as her eyes had been fixed on Alpha Enzo.
Tears rolled down from Elena's eyes as she clutched her burning chest. She had heard that rejections from mates were painful but she never imagined that it would be this painful. It felt like a thousand needles were being pierced into her heart and her blood kept boiling.
"Accept the fucking rejection!" Alpha Enzo growled.
Elena's lips quivered. "I-I Elena Miles, accept your rejection, Alpha Enzo."
As soon as Alpha Enzo heard these words from Elena, he smirked in satisfaction. He then turned to Alpha Zade. "If you don't mind, Alpha, I'd love to marry your beautiful daughter as soon as possible."
Alpha Zade smiled so proudly. "Of course, I don't mind. It's an honor." He bowed.
Stella shyly averted her gaze from Alpha Enzo's face the moment he turned to look at her. She had this innocent look on her face that made Alpha Enzo go crazy. She was meek, beautiful, and perfect in his eyes.
Sophie's plump lips parted in a gasp as Alpha Enzo leaned in and planted a kiss on her cheek. "I'll leave now, my dear. See you later."
Averting his gaze to Elena, he said angrily. "I need to take my bath now, just staring at this creature is making me feel like I've been infected." He scoffed. He kissed Stella's cheek again before he walked out of the dungeon.
The innocent look on Stella's face immediately disappeared as he left. Her eyes turned dark with anger as she marched towards Elena.
"This bitch tried to ruin my day!" Stella sneered as she gripped Elena's hair. She couldn't believe that Elena was Alpha Enzo's mate. What if Alpha Enzo had accepted Elena as his mate? Her filthy cousin would then have the best Alpha to herself?
Elena's face twisted in pain as Stella's hold on her hair tightened. She tried to speak but Stella aggressively pushed her, causing her head to hit the wall.
A painful whimper escaped Elena's lips as she felt something trickling from the back of her head. She raised her shaky, dirty hand to touch it, then brought it back to her face to see that it was blood.
"What would I have done if Alpha Enzo accepted you as his mate!" Stella complained.
"B-but he didn't. P-please just let me be, I am very hungry and tired." Elena begged. She was already lying on the floor, clutching her stomach from both hunger and the pain she felt all over.
"This bitch!" Stella was about to lash out at her again, but her father stopped her. "Stella, go to your room. Let me handle this."
"But—"
"Darling, please listen to me," Alpha Zade uttered in a soft tone. Stella sighed before leaving, which left only Alpha Zade and Elena in the dungeon.
Alpha Zade knelt before Elena as he began. "Oh, I wish you had seen your face when you thought your prince charming had arrived," he mocked. "I would give anything to see that look again." He burst out laughing like a maniac.
"U-uncle, haven't I suffered enough? J- Just banish me. Or better, kill me because I am tired!" Elena cried out, her heart aching so bad
Alpha Zade scoffed. "Death is too little. You need to suffer for everything you've done—for killing my brother and for what you did to my son!" He spat.
"B-but-"
"Shut up!" Alpha Zade barked, his eyes turning red. Elena had just reminded him about his sick son, and it filled him with anger. "Remember what I told you earlier about getting fed if I'm in a good mood? Well, congratulations, I'm not in a good mood, so there will be no food for you."
"A-alpha–" Elena tried to speak but every strength in her body slowly slipped out from her. She heard her uncle scoff again and muttered some inaudible curse words before he stood up and then walked away.
Alone in the dungeon, Elena broke down in tears. She managed to yell into the silence, her voice echoing off the cold stone walls as the weight of betrayal and hopelessness crashed down upon her. She couldn't help but curse her fate and the moon goddess for bringing her into a world filled with suffering.
"I—Ivy, our mate, was supposed to be our last chance at escaping, but he rejected us." Elena's voice came in a silent whimper, tears streaming down her face.
The pain was unbearable, a sharp, all-consuming ache she had never imagined she'd feel. She could not believe that the very person who was meant to save her had shattered her instead.
"Ivy, say something… please," Elena pleaded, her voice trembling.
A cold sense of dread crawled over Elena's skin as she tried again. Reached deeper.
"Ivy?"
Elena's eyes widened in horror, her heart racing wildly the moment she noticed she couldn't feel her wolf!
Almost immediately, the realization struck like a bolt of lightning. "Ivy!!!" Elena screamed in agony, but there was no answer.
Her wolf was gone!