From Rejected Mate to Queen

The damp chill of the Silver Creek dungeon seeped into my bones, but the cold was nothing compared to the icy glare of the man I loved. My knees bled against the rough concrete, my hands bound behind my back with silver-laced rope that stung my skin like a thousand fire ants.

"Brodie, please," I choked out, my voice raw from screaming. "You have to listen to me. I didn't send those coordinates. I would never betray the pack!"

Alpha Brodie Davis stood over me, his chest heaving. In his hand, he clenched a stack of papers—the fabricated evidence that had ruined my life in a single afternoon. Behind him, huddled in the corner like a frightened rabbit, stood Kelsey Fox. She pressed a tissue to her dry eyes, trembling theatrically.

"The rogues knew exactly where the patrol gap was, Juliette!" Brodie roared, the sound bouncing off the stone walls. "Three of my men are in critical condition because of you! Kelsey saw you leaving the documents at the drop point!"

"She's lying!" I screamed, lunging forward, only to be jerked back by the chains. "Smell the papers, Brodie! If I touched them, my scent would be on them. It’s lavender and moonflower, not whatever cheap perfume she uses to mask her deceit!"

Kelsey let out a broken sob, stepping closer to Brodie and placing a small hand on his bicep. "I tried to stop her, Alpha. I tried... but she said she wanted the Luna title now, not later. She said you were too weak to lead."

That was the spark that ignited the powder keg. Brodie’s eyes flashed a dangerous, luminous gold—his wolf taking the wheel. He didn't check the scent. He didn't look for the truth. He only saw the red haze of betrayal.

"Silence!" he commanded.

The Alpha Tone hit me like a physical blow, a crushing weight that forced my forehead to the dirty floor. My wolf, Sienna, whined in terror, flattened into submission by her own mate.

Brodie crouched before me. In his hand, a syringe glinted under the flickering bulb. "A healer should know what this is."

"Wolfsbane," I whispered, tears blurring my vision. "Brodie, don't. It will kill Sienna."

"Better a dead wolf than a traitorous one." He jammed the needle into my neck.

Fire coursed through my veins. It felt like molten lead pouring into my bloodstream. I convulsed, gasping for air as the connection to Sienna was violently strangled. She screamed in my mind—a high, keening sound of agony—before fading into a terrifying, silent darkness.

I was panting, paralyzed, unable to move as Brodie stood up and walked to a metal tray. He picked up a scalpel. It wasn't steel. The dull, gray sheen was unmistakable. Silver.

"Since you sold our secrets," Brodie said, his voice devoid of the warmth that used to whisper promises of forever, "I will mark you for what you are. Let the world see your shame."

He ripped the back of my shirt open.

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