Page 1 of The Alpha's Forced Rejected Mate
Prologue - Luna
Luna Mitchell walked barefoot through the Silverlight Valley Pack grounds, feeling the cool, damp grass tickle her toes. The soft wool of her enormous cardigan did its best to protect her from the icy cold as she wrapped it tightly around her voluptuous body.
But instead of the gentle embrace of an autumn morning, this air felt harsh and icy, as if it were grabbing at her heart.
Three days.
It had only been three days since they buried Mom. The rumors had caught like wildfire.
She glanced up as two pack members walked by. Their eyes fell on her before turning away.
Then they resumed their hushed conversation, not caring if she could hear them.
“She didn’t even cry at her mother’s funeral.”
“What a miserable girl.”
“Elder Gregory acknowledged that her mother’s passing appeared questionable.”
“Although I always believed she had no value, I thought she’d change my mind at her own mother’s funeral.”
Luna’s fingernails sank into her palm, creating half-moons as she barely suppressed her rage.
She ignored them, walking on. Her frayed jeans caught on a thorn, which she angrily yanked out.
She was not here to make an impression, so she wouldn’t care what people thought.
She wandered toward the eastern edge of the forest, avoiding the busy pack, where women hung their laundry to dry and kids played around.
She looked at the men who were hard at work carrying wood for the community hall, which was almost finished.
Each and every pack member had the ability to shift and communicate with their wolves. Each one of them had a place.
Aside from her.
Luna’s lips quivered as she remembered how her mother had consoled her just days before her tragic death. Her mother, whose brilliant silver hair nearly mirrored Luna’s, was sitting at their kitchen table with a half-eaten blueberry pie between them, enjoying the warm light from the window. “Power doesn’t come from shifting, my star,” her mother had remarked, wiping pie crumbs from her lap.
Luna had once clung to her faith, but now that her mother was gone, that hope was gone. She was now by herself with these wolves who viewed her as a failure.
What was she even doing here?
She pulled at her clothes as they hugged her curves, feeling uncomfortable as she stepped off the main path. As if her body were just another imperfection, something the pack women could gossip about.
Luna followed the sound of trickling water to the creek that was tucked away behind the main pack grounds.
It was a quiet place, and it offered her a moment of respite.
She stepped on the big flat stone that was across the water, blocking out everything but the calming sound of the creek by closing her eyes.
“You woke up early today.” The deep voice that broke the silence made her heart skip a beat.
She knew who it was without even turning around. Dominic Blackwood. The pack’s future alpha.
He was standing a few inches away, his arms folded across his broad chest, when she gently turned. He was only wearing dark pants and a black T-shirt, but it didn’t hide the raw, dangerous beauty underneath.
At six foot six, he was taller than the other pack members. She felt a chill run down her spine when she held his gaze.
He was even more menacing with those steel-gray eyes seeming to see right through her, giving no clue what was going through his mind, if it was possible at all.
