My Mate Rejected Me, So I Married the Alpha King

On the night of the Full Moon Banquet, I stood in my mother's white silk dress, waiting for my childhood sweetheart, Chace, to finally claim me as his mate. Instead, he stood on stage holding another woman's hand. He didn't just reject me. He humiliated me before the entire pack. "Ember is gentle," Chace announced, his eyes cold. "But a pack needs strength. She will serve Karyn. And because I am generous, she will stay on as a Breeder." A mistress. A vessel for pups he would never acknowledge. To prove his loyalty to his new Luna, Chace forced me to drink Wolfsbane wine. As I convulsed on the floor, he laughed. He even threatened to dig up my dead mother's bones and feed them to wild dogs because Karyn called her a traitor. He thought he had broken me. He didn't know the poison hadn't killed me. It had dissolved the seal on my core, waking up a bloodline thought to be extinct. I wasn't a weak Omega. I was a White Wolf. And I had one card left to play—a debt owed to my mother by the Alpha King himself. I clutched the obsidian token in my pocket and screamed into the mental void. Keith Mosley, I am calling in the debt. A dark, ancient voice answered immediately. I hear you, little wolf. What do you desire? I looked at Chace's smug face one last time. Revenge. Chapter 1 Ember POV: The white silk of my dress felt less like a garment and more like a second skin. It was simple, elegant, and the only thing of value I owned. My mother, Liana, had left it for me before she passed, telling me to wear it on the night my life changed. Tonight was the annual Full Moon Banquet for the Red Stone Pack. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. Tonight, the moon was at its peak. If the Moon Goddess was kind, Chace Mcfarland, the future Alpha of our pack, would finally feel the pull. He would smell my scent, his wolf would call out to mine, and he would claim me. I had loved Chace since we were pups. I had bandaged his wounds after training, cooked his meals when he was too tired, and stayed in the shadows so he could shine. "Ember! Quit daydreaming and get your ass down here!" The voice belonged to a Gamma warrior. I took a deep breath, smoothed my hair, and walked down the grand staircase of the Pack House. The ballroom was suffocating. The scent of roasted meat, expensive perfume, and the musk of shifting wolves filled the air. But as I reached the bottom step, the noise died down. Everyone was looking at the stage. Chace stood there. He looked magnificent in his tuxedo, his sandy hair perfectly styled. But he wasn't looking for me. He was holding the hand of Karyn Warren. Karyn was beautiful in a predatory way, with sharp eyes and a smile that didn't reach them. She was wearing a red dress that screamed dominance. Then I saw the banner hanging above them. Congratulations to Future Alpha Chace and Future Luna Karyn. The air left my lungs. My knees shook. "Brothers and sisters of the Red Stone Pack," Chace's voice boomed, amplified by his Alpha aura. "Tonight, I present to you my chosen mate. The woman who will lead this pack by my side. Karyn Warren!" Applause erupted. It sounded like thunder, drowning out the sound of my heart breaking. Chace raised a hand for silence. He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket. My breath hitched. I knew that box. It contained the Luna Ring—a silver band with a moonstone that had belonged to my mother. It was supposed to be mine. He slid it onto Karyn's finger. Karyn held up her hand, the stone glinting under the chandelier lights. She looked directly at me, her eyes flashing with triumph. "Thank you, Chace," she purred, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "I promise to be a strong Luna. Not like some... wolfless weaklings we know." The crowd laughed. They knew who she meant. Me. The Omega who couldn't shift. The girl with no wolf. Chace cleared his throat. "Ember Ford," he called out. The crowd parted, leaving me exposed in my white dress. I felt naked. "Front and center," Chace commanded. I walked forward, my legs feeling like lead. I stopped at the edge of the stage. "Ember has been my childhood friend," Chace announced, his tone dismissive. "But a pack needs strength. Karyn brings powerful bloodlines from the Warren family. Ember... well, Ember is gentle." He looked down at me, his eyes devoid of the warmth I used to see. "Ember, you will serve Karyn. And because I am generous, I will not cast you out. You have good hips. You'll stay on as a Breeder." The word hung in the air. Breeder. A mistress. A bed-warmer. A vessel to produce pups but never to be acknowledged. Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall. The pain in my chest wasn't sharp like a knife; it was heavy, like a stone crushing my lungs. I looked at Chace. I looked at the man I thought was my soulmate. And I saw nothing but a stranger. My hand drifted to the pocket of my dress. Inside, my fingers brushed against a cold, rough object. It was a jagged piece of obsidian—a Blood Oath token. My mother had given it to me on her deathbed. If you are ever in true despair, she had whispered, call upon the debt. The King owes us. I had been too afraid to use it. The Alpha King, Keith Mosley, was a legend. A monster. The Lycan King who ruled over all packs with an iron fist. But looking at Chace's smug face and Karyn's cruel smile, fear vanished. Only cold resolve remained. I closed my eyes and focused on the token. I pushed my mental energy into it, opening a Mind-Link channel that shouldn't have been possible for a weak Omega. Keith Mosley, I projected my thought, screaming it into the void. I am the daughter of Liana Ford. I am calling in the debt. Silence. Then, a voice echoed in my head. It was deep, dark, and tasted like rain and old blood. It made the fine hairs on my arms stand up. I hear you, little wolf. What do you desire? Sanctuary, I replied. Revenge. The price for my protection is high, the King's voice rumbled. I do not run a charity. You want sanctuary? You become my Luna. My breath hitched. The Alpha King needed a wife? I looked up at Chace. He was whispering something in Karyn's ear, ignoring me completely. Yes, I sent back. Good, the King replied. The contract is sealed. The connection cut off. I stood straighter. The crushing weight on my chest lifted slightly. I wasn't just an Omega anymore. I was the betrothed of the Devil himself. "Ember?" Chace asked, noticing my change in posture. "Did you hear me? You should be grateful." I looked him in the eye. "I heard you, Chace." I didn't bow. I didn't cry. I turned around and walked away, the white silk of my dress flowing behind me like a shroud for the girl I used to be.