Rejected Mate's Rise

The laughter still echoed in my ears as I climbed the stairs to what should have been our sanctuary. My cheeks ached from smiling at the bachelorette party Elena had thrown for me—such a sweet gesture from the omega who'd become my closest friend in the Moonridge Pack. Tomorrow, I would finally belong somewhere. Tomorrow, Daniel and I would complete our mating bond, and I'd never have to fear rejection again.

My silver-white wolf, Luna, stirred restlessly inside me as I approached our bedroom door. Something felt wrong. The scent that hit me first should have been Daniel's familiar cedar and rain smell, but there was something else—vanilla and roses. Briana's scent.

My hand froze on the doorknob. Maybe she'd stopped by to discuss tomorrow's ceremony arrangements. Maybe—

The soft moan that drifted through the door shattered every maybe I could conjure.

I pushed the door open anyway, some masochistic part of me needing to see the truth with my own eyes. The sight that greeted me would be burned into my memory forever: Daniel's powerful frame moving above Briana's golden form in the bed we'd picked out together, the sheets we'd chosen for our future marital home twisted around their intertwined bodies.

Briana saw me first. Her green eyes met mine over Daniel's shoulder, and instead of shock or shame, I saw triumph. A slow, satisfied smile curved her lips as she deliberately arched beneath him, her fingers digging into his back.

"Daniel," she purred, loud enough to ensure I heard every syllable.

He stilled, then slowly turned to face me. No surprise flickered across his features. No guilt. No regret. Just cold calculation, as if he'd been waiting for this moment.

"Skyla." His voice was steady, matter-of-fact. "You're early."

Early. As if I'd interrupted a business meeting instead of walking in on my fated mate betraying our bond in the most intimate way possible.

Luna howled inside me, a sound of pure anguish that threatened to tear me apart from the inside. The mate bond stretched taut between Daniel and me, sending waves of his pleasure and satisfaction directly into my soul—not satisfaction from being with me, but from being with her.

"How long?" The words scraped past my throat like broken glass.

Daniel disentangled himself from Briana with casual indifference, not bothering to cover himself as he faced me. "Does it matter?"

"The pack elders," I whispered, understanding flooding through me like ice water. "The way they've been looking at me. The whispered conversations that stop when I enter a room. They all knew."

"Of course they knew." Briana sat up, making no effort to hide her nakedness, her golden hair cascading over her shoulders. "Did you really think they'd allow a cursed white wolf to become Luna? Your bloodline is tainted, Skyla. Everyone knows silver-white wolves bring nothing but death and destruction."

Daniel's jaw tightened slightly—the first sign of any emotion he'd shown. "Briana."

"What? She needs to understand." Briana's eyes glittered with malicious satisfaction. "The