From Bait to Queen: The Rejected Mate's Destiny

Hayley POV:

The "Future Luna Welcome Party" was in full swing. I was a ghost in a grey uniform, serving champagne.

Dean took the stage, radiating power. Karina stood beside him, draped in diamonds.

"Next month, under the Blood Moon, I will officially mark Karina as my Luna," Dean announced.

Applause thundered. Karina scanned the room, her predator eyes landing on me.

"Hayley!" she called out. The room went silent. "Come here!"

I walked forward.

"Since you're practically family," she said, voice dripping with syrup, "didn't you get me a gift?"

Public humiliation. The crowd murmured.

"Actually," I said, my voice steady. "I did."

I reached into my apron pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. Karina snatched it, eyes lighting up with greed. She opened the lid.

A scream pierced the air. She threw the box. Out tumbled a large, hairy garden spider.

"She tried to kill me!" she shrieked.

"You asked for a gift," I said, my voice ringing out. "I thought a creature that spins webs of lies and sucks the life out of others would be the perfect companion for you."

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Dean's face went purple. He stepped off the stage. "You dare insult my mate?"

"She is not your mate," I said, deadpan. "She is a parasite. And you are a blind fool."

The slap echoed like a gunshot. I fell to the ground, tasting copper.

"Get her out of my sight," Dean roared. "Take her to the pool deck. If she wants to play with water, let's see how well she swims."

The night air by the pool was heavy with chlorine.

"You really ruined the mood," Karina said, stepping up beside me. The guests watched through the glass walls.

She uncorked a vial and poured a thick, purple liquid into the pool. Wolfsbane.

"Oops," she giggled. Then, she shoved me.

I hit the water. The concentrated wolfsbane extract mixed with the chlorine, soaking into my pores like liquid fire. It was a paralytic. My limbs turned to stone. I sank.

"Help!" Karina screamed, throwing herself onto the wet tiles and rolling into the water. "She pulled me in!"

Dean burst through the doors. He dove in.

My heart gave a painful thud. He came.

He cut through the water toward me. I reached out a hand, fingers numb.

He didn't take it. He placed a hand on my chest and shoved me down, hard, using my body as leverage to propel himself toward Karina.

I watched his legs kick upward, bubbles rising, as I was pushed deeper into the toxic silence.

He saved the mistress. He drowned the mate.

Black spots danced in my vision. Suddenly, rough hands grabbed my dress. A guard hauled me up, dropping me on the concrete like a sack of wet laundry.

Dean was wrapping a towel around a shivering, smirking Karina.

"She tried to drown me!" Karina wailed.

Dean looked at me, retching on the concrete. His eyes were voids, completely black.

"Get her out of here," Dean said, his voice dead.

"Where, Alpha?"

"The Blood Pit."

The guard stiffened. "The rogue fighting ring? She won't last five minutes."

"Then let's hope she learns fast."