I Found My Replacement's Rotting Hair On The Alpha's Pillow

"I, Kael Thorne, future Alpha of the Blood Moon, reject you, Aria."

The words echoed across the central plaza, bouncing off the stone pillars. A heavy, rough fabric slammed into my face. It scraped my cheekbone before dropping to the floor.

I stared down at the gray cloth. The crest of a pack maid stared back at me.

"Put it on," Kael commanded.

I kept my eyes on the uniform. The silence of hundreds of pack members pressed in from all sides of the altar.

"You're doing this now?" I asked. "In front of everyone?"

"They need to see their future Alpha make the hard choices," he said.

"This isn't a hard choice, Kael. It's a cruel one."

"Did you hear him?" a voice sneered from his right.

Seraphina stepped into the torchlight. The strongest she-wolf of the northern territories. She didn't just walk; she commanded the space, her chin tipped up, eyes flashing with amusement.

"Maybe the shock broke her brain," Seraphina added. "Or maybe she's deaf."

"Pick it up, Aria," Kael repeated.

I raised my head and met his gaze. The man I had loved since childhood. The man the Moon Goddess had bound to me at midnight just two hours ago.

"We played together in these woods," I said, my voice carrying over the silent crowd. "You promised to protect me when we were ten."

"We were children," he dismissed. "I am a leader now."

"You're breaking the bond for a title?" I asked.

"I'm breaking it because you are nothing," he shot back.

"Fate chose me."

"Fate made a mistake." Kael narrowed his eyes. "You honestly thought the Goddess meant for an Omega to stand beside a future Alpha? You have no strength. You haven't even shifted."

"I have loyalty," I said.

"Loyalty doesn't win wars," Seraphina interrupted. "Claws do."

"My word belongs to my pack," Kael said, gesturing to the sprawling crowd below the altar. "They need a queen. Not a servant."

A sharp, tearing sensation ripped through my chest. The physical agony of the mate link snapping unilaterally sent a violent tremor down my spine. It felt like invisible hooks catching my ribs and pulling them outward.

My knees buckled. I hit the rough stone slab hard. The dull impact shot up my legs, rattling my teeth.

Laughter rippled through the front rows of the crowd.

"Look at her bow," a pack member shouted.

"Right where a weakling belongs!" another yelled.

"She can't even stand up to a simple rejection."

I bit down hard on my lower lip. The skin broke. Warm copper flooded my tongue. I swallowed the blood, refusing to spit it out. Refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing me bleed.

"You think this makes you strong?" I whispered. My voice held steady despite the violent shaking in my bones.

Kael stepped closer. He towered over me, a victor basking in unearned glory.

"It makes me smart," he said. "I take control of my own destiny."

"By discarding your soul's match."

"You were never my match." He turned his back on me and offered his hand to Seraphina.

She took it, her fingers intertwining with his. She leaned her head against his shoulder, projecting the perfect image of a powerful Luna.

"I choose strength," Kael announced to the plaza, projecting his voice over the murmurs. "I choose an equal."

Seraphina smirked down at me. "She hasn't picked up her uniform yet, my Alpha."

"She will," Kael said. "Or she leaves the territory tonight. Alone. The rogue lands are freezing this time of year."

My nails dug into the center of my palms, piercing the flesh. The sharp sting grounded me. It kept the agony of the severed bond from completely swallowing my consciousness. Tears threatened the corners of my eyes, burning hot against my lashes.

I forced a dry, hollow laugh instead.

The sound cut through the plaza, jarring and wrong.

Kael flinched. His brow furrowed as he glared back down at me. "Are you losing your mind?"

"No," I replied. "Just realizing how small you actually are."

His jaw tightened. The muscles in his neck strained against his collar.

"Grab the cloth and get out of my sight," he snarled.

"Gladly."

I didn't argue further. Arguing required hope. The arrogant sneer on his face had just killed the very last ounce of it. I reached out and curled my fingers into the scratchy gray material. The maid's crest felt heavy in my grip, a physical weight anchoring me to my new reality.

I pushed myself up from the stone. My legs shook, but I locked my knees, forcing myself to stand tall.

"Good girl," Seraphina mocked. "Report to the kitchens before dawn. I like my coffee hot."

"I'll make sure it burns," I muttered.

"What was that?" she snapped.

"Nothing, Luna."

I clutched the uniform to my chest and backed away. Step by step, I retreated from the center of the altar until the shadows of the ancient pillars swallowed me. The torches couldn't reach this edge of the platform. The cold stone pressed against my back, offering silent support.

"Pack of the Blood Moon!" Kael shouted, raising his arms.

The crowd roared in response. The sound vibrated through the soles of my shoes.

"Tonight, we secure our future," he declared. "Tonight, I take my chosen mate."

An elder stepped forward from the side steps, holding a velvet cushion. Resting on top of it was the Alpha female's necklace. A massive silver wolf head flanked by blood-red rubies.

Kael picked it up. The metal glinted under the moonlight, sharp and unforgiving.

"Seraphina of the Frost Ridge," he said, his tone softening for the audience. "Will you lead by my side?"

"Until my last breath," she answered, her voice ringing clear across the square.

She turned her back to him, sweeping her heavy hair over one shoulder to expose her neck.

Kael's eyes flicked toward the shadows. He found my face in the dark. His gaze held a sickening pride, a silent message that he had won. He had beaten fate and secured the strongest alliance in the north.

I stared back. My expression remained completely blank. No tears. No begging.

He broke the eye contact, focusing back on the woman in front of him. He lifted the silver chain.

"With this, you are mine," Kael said.

He draped the necklace over her collarbones. His large hands moved to the back of her neck to secure the heavy clasp.

"Forever," Seraphina whispered.

Kael's palm pressed flat against her nape.

Right at that exact second, a violent spasm jerked Seraphina's shoulder.

A single, needle-thin black vein violently bulged beneath the pale skin of her neck, pulsing frantically right where his fingers touched.