Rejected for Chosen Mate

Three years. Three years of blood and exhaustion, of negotiating with hostile Alphas and surviving rogue attacks that should have killed me. Three years of believing that when I finally came home, Colin would be waiting.

The Silvermoon Pack territory stretched before me as I crossed the border, familiar and achingly wrong all at once. My wolf stirred weakly inside me—she'd barely recovered from the cliff fall two months ago, when rogues ambushed us in the neutral lands. The jagged scar along my ribcage still ached with every breath, a reminder of how close I'd come to never making it home at all.

But I had made it. I'd secured alliances with five packs, negotiated territorial agreements that expanded Silvermoon's influence across the entire northern region. Colin's dream of becoming the most powerful Alpha King was within reach, built on the foundation I'd laid with my own broken bones and spilled blood.

The pack house came into view, and my heart clenched. Home.

Except it wasn't.

The celebration was already in full swing when I approached. Pack members filled the grounds, laughing and drinking, their joy palpable in the warm evening air. A banner hung across the front entrance: "Celebrating Our Expanded Territory."

My territory. My alliances. My three years of hell.

I pushed through the crowd, my travel-worn clothes and healing injuries drawing curious stares. No one had expected me back yet. No one had been waiting for my return.

"Is that Emmie Baker?"

"I thought she was still away on pack business."

"Look how thin she is. What happened to her?"

The whispers followed me like ghosts as I searched for Colin. My Alpha. My... what were we, exactly? He'd never marked me, never officially claimed me as his mate, but we'd grown up together. He'd promised me that when I returned, everything would be different. That we'd finally—

I found him on the main terrace.

With her.

Delilah James stood beside Colin, her hand resting possessively on his arm. She wore a deep blue dress that hugged her curves, her dark hair cascading in perfect waves down her back. Beautiful. Polished. Unmarked by scars or exhaustion.

And on her neck, just visible above the neckline of her dress, was Colin's mark.

The world tilted. My wolf howled inside me, a sound of pure anguish that only I could hear.

"Colin." My voice came out raw, broken.

He turned, and for just a moment, something flickered across his face—guilt? regret?—before his expression smoothed into cool authority. "Emmie. You're back early."

Early. As if I hadn't spent three years away. As if I hadn't nearly died a dozen times for his ambitions.

"I completed the mission." The words felt like glass in my throat. "All five packs have agreed to the alliance terms. The northern territory is yours."

Delilah's perfectly painted lips curved into a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "How wonderful. Colin has been so worried about you, haven't you, darling?"

Darling.

I forced myself to look