Dumped My Fated Alpha Mate and Married His Rival

Ava sacrificed her wolf to save Cole from a fire, only to be rejected by him three years later for the sister who stole the credit.

Heartbroken but unbroken, Ava accepts the rejection and vanishes. She finds sanctuary with the feared Alpha King Kaelen, a man rumored to be a monster but who treats her like a goddess. As Ava heals and discovers her true power, Cole's pack falls into chaos.

When Cole finally discovers the truth, that the woman he called weak was his true savior all along, he is shattered. He demands her back. He threatens war.

But he forgets one thing: Ava is no longer just a rejected mate. She is the King's obsession. And the Alpha King does not share.

Ava's POV

The kitchen reeked of vanilla and desperate hope. It was a cloying, suffocating smell that masked the scent of my own anxiety.

I smoothed the final swirl of frosting across the cake, my hand trembling just enough to threaten the delicate moon I'd drawn in icing. The little wolf next to it looked lonely-just like me.

"Happy twenty-first, Ava," I whispered to the empty room, the silence of the servant's quarters pressing against my ears.

I folded my hands, squeezing my eyes shut. It was a childish habit, praying to a Moon Goddess who had seemingly ghosted me three years ago, but I was desperate.

"First wish," I murmured, my voice cracking. "Let Cole finally see me. Let the future Alpha of Bloodmoon Pack claim me as his Luna, not just his servant."

I paused, the next wish sticking in my throat like a shard of glass.

"Second wish... please, give me Nyx back."

My wolf. My strength.

She'd been silent for three years, ever since the fire. The night I turned eighteen, the night I dragged Cole's unconscious body from the inferno, I had poured every ounce of my essence into him. I saved him. But it cost me everything-my wolf, my status, and my father's respect.

To the pack, I was just the Beta's "defective" daughter. To Cole? I was invisible.

Buzz.

My phone lit up on the counter. My heart slammed against my ribs. A text from Cole.

[Get over here. Bring the thing. Big surprise.]

A surprise? A smile broke across my face, unbidden and foolish. Maybe he remembered. Maybe, just maybe, tonight was the night he'd finally announce our engagement.

I grabbed the cake box, shielding it with my body, and ran out the door before my doubts could cripple me.

The Pack House was a beast of a building, pulsing with bass so deep it rattled the fillings in my teeth. The air inside was thick, a toxic cocktail of spilled lager, cheap perfume, and the distinct, skunky haze of weed.

I froze in the doorway. It was a rager. A chaotic, wild party. Not exactly the romantic setting for a proposal, but my chest tightened with anticipation anyway.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!"

A chant erupted from the center