Rejected By My Cruel Alpha, Saved By My Cursed Mate

"Ugh, your body disgusts me! Is the Moon Goddess blind to bind us together?"

The words shattered a hope I've held onto since I was eight.

I stood frozen in place, unable to move before the pain gradually seeps in. My lungs struggle to inhale air, my gasps shallow and rapid. Only the growing numbness in my legs and arms kept me standing.

If I collapse now, I'll never be able to recover from the shame.

I stare at the ground, too humiliated to exchange glares with the eyes I knew were piercing me into from every direction.

'No matter what you look like, your mate will love you.' My mother once told me this back when I still believed in fairy tales. But I'm smarter now.

A bitter sound escape my throat, as a single tear trickles down my cheek. I was wrong to hope.

"Look at yourself, Kiera." Damon's voice echoes across the clearing. "You're twice my size. Did the Moon Goddess make a mistake?"

The pack laughs.

I recognize every voice. These are the wolves I've fed, cleaned up after, served without complaint for years.

I gave all I had to this pack.

The pack mocked me because of my fat figure, but I comforted myself it didn't matter. They excluded me from pack gatherings, and I convinced myself that I preferred solitude. Damon passed by me like I was nothing, and I accepted it as my place.

I realize my wolf was right all along. They don't want me here. But I found out way too late.

A storm raged above and the snickers and hisses intensify. Damon circled me deliberately and the mate bond burns in my chest. It called out to him even as he destroys me.

I forced myself to look toward the pack house for the final time. My aunt stood at the top of the stairs with her arms folded and the same cruel smile on her lips. The same smile that she wore at my parents' funeral. That was when it all started.

"Come here." Damon's commands cut through my thoughts.

Five she-wolves step out of the crowd with practiced grace. Their bodies flawless, their faces beautiful. All that I am not.

No, please.

Not this.

Anything but this.

The she-wolves approach him eagerly, confidence flowing from their every step. Sera, the blonde one with flawless looks, smirked at me as she passes by.

She asked for my help yesterday to style her hair for this evening's ceremony, smiling innocently all the while. Now I know why.

Damon lead the pack to his secluded cabin on the other side of the clearing. The cabin has floor to ceiling windows facing straight out toward where the pack gathers.

Where I am.

My stomach churns violently. I should run, but my body refuses to budge. My feet might as well be rooted to the ground. I saw everything clearly from the transparent windows.

Damon pulled the first she-wolf closer and his mouth