Marked By Rejection by Avery Stone

PROLOGUE: Pretty Little Monster

"No hard feelings?"

My body stilled for five long seconds, my jaw dropping as his words triggered a venomous surge of rage.

"No hard feelings?" I repeated his words before I fought with every bit of strength to get out of Beta Derrick's hold so I could punch this motherfucking Alpha in the damn face. "You're sacrificing me to a demonic cloud of death to appease the hunger of the Moon Demon Goddess from devouring our entire pack, and you're going to say 'no hard feelings'?!"

I sounded hysterical as I growled and almost slipped out of Derrick's grasp. I swore the Goddess had to at least have mercy on my racing heart and give me one fucking chance to punch this cynical bastard for thinking I deserved such an ended fate.

Alpha Nathan Shade, temporary leader of the Shade Moon Pack.

In the last three days, I watched my previous best friend of fifteen long-ass years go from kind, loving, romantic, and hoping to share a future with me, to shifting into this power-hungry, cynical bastard who was more interested in a cunt for power lineages than me.

The very bitch was standing on his left side, smirking like she'd won the fucking lottery after being the biggest slut of the outskirts of Vancouver. I’d lost count as to how many shifters she’d slept with, and yet now Nathan was suddenly all over her like she was worth something valuable.

Lauren Fox was the only daughter of our partnered pack’s Alpha, Fox Moon Pack. She was cocky, privileged, and acted like a spoiled brat in a candy store. Anything she wanted, she got it, but Nathan was the only thing she couldn’t have.

For he was mated to me.

Our mate bond had triggered at sixteen, and the last four years, we’d been a couple. I may not have the hooker looks, curves, or a pretty face, but I was strong. I could fight with the right training, and was fast at running. My brain wasn’t filled with useless dramas and television shows, and I was working towards learning how to be a healer to be a backup to the pack.

No, I didn’t have Alpha potential like Lauren did.

My skin wasn’t flawless like her creamy white complexion, nor did I carry bountiful breasts and hips. My hair was an odd mix of pink and black, shifting between the colors while there were multiple white strands that honestly made it look like I had grey hair. Black eyes and 5’4” height and well, I was what they would call a “common” bitch.

Adding the fact my wolf was submissive wasn’t helping my current situation. I thought this bitch would ensure my worst nightmare came true: losing my Alpha to another woman.

I’d prayed to our Goddess for so many years, begging her to ensure Nathan would always be mine to cherish, regardless of power, rank, and ultimately, fame.

But all of that changed with the murder attempt.

One thing led to another, and it was confirmed that Nathan’s father did something bad - very bad. Threatening enough that he was plagued with a coma disease that was eating the flesh of his skin by tainting it with a black plague.

The solution? A sacrifice to Demon Valley, but it couldn't be anyone this time. The requirement to remove the deadly eating disease is a virgin maiden at the ripe age of twenty, and only one person in this entire pack fits that deceptive description.

Me.

There was always something stopping me from having sex with Nathan. In the bedroom, I was shy, but more importantly, with all the healing rituals I needed to learn, being a virgin was one of the requirements.

The hardest requirement that no one wanted to commit to.

I took the role as an honourable one, knowing well that my last day of healing teachings would be three days after my twentieth birthday. Nathan and I were supposed to celebrate...but then the news hit.

Now I was here, being held by Beta Derrick who should have been the type of friend that tried to stop things from escalating until we figure things together as a group.

Instead, he was following Nathan’s every demand, just so he could be the Beta of the pack.

Deceitful fuckers!

“Serves you right, Lexi,” Lauren’s smug words were going to make her top the list of who was about to get smacked with these hands. “Maybe if you opened your legs early, you wouldn’t be on the brink of dying.”

“And be a fucking slut like you? Go fuck yourself! Oh, right. You do that when you can’t find a man’s bed to sleep in!” I snapped.

“Watch your fucking mouth, bitch!” she hissed back. “You’re talking to this pack's future Luna.”

“Future. We’re in the present, Princess Bitch. I’ll say whatever the fuck I want. Besides, last time I checked, Nathan was MY mate!”

“Well, you’re about to die,” Lauren got to the point, trying not to let her emotions flood her face. I knew better, sensing the growing aura of anger that she was probably wishing could be released. “The moment you die, that little bond will go poof.”

She lifted her hands to emphasize a burst with her gesture. “Then, Alpha Nathan and I will be able to do the mating ceremony, unite our packs, and then we can ensure his Father is alive and well. One measly sacrifice isn’t a big deal. At the end of the day, it's good riddance. Maybe the valley will like someone ugly like you.”

“I’m ugly and yet Nathan has dated me all this while. Guess my looks didn’t mean shit then when power and money weren't on the line!” I specifically yelled in Nathan’s direction, and I looked into his silver eyes. For a brief moment, I could see the sadness in them, and his wolf had to be fighting against his hold to come and alter this sudden change of fate, but Nathan was a lot stronger.

“He dated you because he had no choice,” Lauren sounded bored as she rolled her eyes. “Fated mates are SO overrated. Do you really think our glorious Goddess partnered you,” she paused to gesture to my short frame. “With Alpha Nathan?”

She took her time gesturing to the 5’9” male. He wasn’t the fiercest looking Alpha, nor was he bulky in stature like his father, but he was just tossed into the position days ago. A bit of working out would be enough to gain the muscle to be fearsome. Silver eyes, hazelnut hair.

He basically gave off pretty boy vibes with a dose of Alpha power.

Right now, he looked like a piece of shit, but would it matter saying that to his face?

“It’s time,” Nathan declared, and I looked at him in disbelief as he approached to stand before me. I continued fighting to get out of Derrick’s hold, but my body was so fucking tired of fighting. Two days in the dungeon being tortured and starved, just so I could be “pure” enough to be tossed off a damn cliff.

And the two people I’ve trusted for years are okay with doing this very deed. With sacrificing their friend who would put her life on the line if it meant they lived. These are the people I trusted...with my life?

“Let her go for a second,” Nathan commanded to Beta Derrick, but quickly looked back at me. “Stay.”

My body was forced to remain in place, leaving me to mentally curse the shit out of my submissive wolf who was in her corner whimpering in dismay. Didn’t she fucking understand? We were about to die! Not me alone.

I knew it wasn’t really her choice to disobey, but what happened to the whole “fight or flight” response? That didn’t apply to wolf shifters?!

Nathan reached out to grip my chin, our face close as my eyes began to fill with tears. I wasn’t crying out of fear of death - far from it. I was on the verge of tears because I thought this man would be everything to me.

No. He was everything to me.

He was the one to find me that fateful day, and with his small offered hand, he brought me back to his pack to where I’ve given my utmost loyalty. I didn’t once question his authority, or his father's, and did everything in my power to be of use for their kindness.

He became my friend, as many did in this pack, and it shifted into love long before the mate bond was formed. I’d envisioned our future together: to love this man, the pack, and eventually raise a family with him.

My life was set in stone...and all because of power, my whole world was about to shatter.

“Do you know what’s going to happen if I don’t do this, Lexianne?” he used that tender voice of his. The calm, appreciative voice he used only between us when he wished to speak his true feelings to the people he trusted.

To me, whom he trusted.

“My father will die, Lexi, and whatever shit he triggered will plague the entire pack. We’ll go extinct before we know it...and I can’t watch my pack die. They don’t deserve ends like that.”

“I’m a part of your pack!” I hissed. “Does that not matter now?”

His sad smile made his eyes grow glassy as he sighed. “My father never told you, did he?”

Oh no…

“See. My dad made it so there was an initial claim for you to join the pack. Think of it like a trial. He did that so he could still have Alpha control over you if need be, but seeing as you were pretty compliant as a kid, it wasn’t necessary. He was supposed to find another pack for you to be transferred to, since you know we don’t have many female shifters in our pack, but due to the trouble tensions during that time with the rise in murdering packs, he decided to keep you until it was safe,” he explained the truth. “Years passed, and well...I guess he forgot.”

“Are you trying to say-”

“You’re an outcast, Lexi,” he got to the point and the emotion of loving compassion flooded his eyes. “You don't belong in our pack. That’s what makes this a lot easier. Your death won’t mean a loss of our own, which is easier to my Alpha heart.”

“You’re insane,” I whispered. “You’ve been my best friend this whole time. You said you loved me! Yet, you’re...basically rejecting me for the sake of ‘your’ pack?! You’re KILLING me. This isn’t just tossing me out of your community, Nathan! I will fucking die the moment I enter that dark cloud of death! You’re my fated mate!”

“It is what it is, Lexi,” he was clearly tired of listening to my defense as he shook his head and peered into my eyes. “Fated love means nothing when we can avoid extinction. One tiny sacrifice will appease the shadows.”

He moved in close then, until our lips barely touched. “It’s a shame, really. You’ve always been my pretty little monster.”

Monster. He...thinks of me as a monster?

The horror must have bled to my eyes, as my tears escaped the grasp of my lids and rolled down my cheeks. “I never really loved you, Lexi. Did I like you? Yeah. How do I explain it? You’re like the perfect puppet to use in a play. The favorite marionette that is loved by everyone. Did you really think I’d be okay marrying a poor, orphaned wolf? What benefit would that bring to our pack when we’re still in the midst of pack wars?”

I was speechless as he shrugged like it was no big deal, his eyes getting colder as if he were shedding old skin.

“Honestly, I was going to reject you on your birthday, but it felt rather cruel to do so. Adding the news about my Father, I simply wasn’t in the mental space to complete the deed.” He shook his head in dismay. “But this makes it easier. Once you die, the bond will break all on its own. A little pain and I’ll get to move on and be with Lauren. I need someone who’s knowledgeable in the bedroom. Virgins are rather....” he paused as if he were truly thinking about it. “Boring. Nasty. Just unfavorable pieces of shit.”

What do you say to something like that?

“At least you’ve become useful in times of peril. I’m grateful for that. Give our Goddess, when you meet her, our regards and we pray you enter paradise smoothly.”

He’s not being fucking serious.

Nothing I could say would change what was going to happen. It was inevitable, and he didn’t want to change his mind. He was going to get rid of me like a used condom, all because I’d waited so that I’d be pure for the healing ceremony.

All the patience, the mockery I’d endured for not dating when I was younger before the mate bond, and even after. All of that seemed pointless.

It’s the reason why I’m about to die.

My wolf was listening to every word, her white strands barely exhibiting a hint of illumination after the torture we’d endured. Her pink eyes were peering at me, sadness cloaking them as his hurtful words were finally sinking in.

That’s it? You’re just going to accept his words? You’re not the slightest bit angry?

She peered back at me - long and hard as my words repeated in my mind.

He betrayed us for another woman. Over power...money….greed! He thinks of us as garbage. Used trash. We’re an outcast to them. We’ve never belonged in their minds and now they’re sacrificing us! That’s fine with you?!

It wasn't fine in the least , and it didn’t matter if you were a dominant or submissive wolf. A lie was a lie, just like a sin was a sin. There was no reason why murder should be justified when I was an innocent shifter who was deceived by the people she thought were her packmates.

My wolf slowly got up, and that’s when I saw it.

Anger.

I didn’t expect the crushing wave of that very emotion, but it consumed me with a blink of my eyes, and I fucking lost it. No one really saw it coming until I was screaming like a lunatic as I crashed into Nathan and began clawing at his face like a wild, rabid animal.

“How fucking dare you!” I screamed with all my might. “I loved you! Cherished you! Fucking protected you in so many ways, and you have no fucking idea!”

Blood began to shoot into the air while clinging to my skin as I did everything to leave marks all over his face and chest. Someone yanked me off of him, but I kicked between their legs.

“Fuck!” Derrick cursed and went down with me, and I didn’t hesitate getting out of his hold and punching the shit out of him. There was nothing stopping me from leaving him with two black eyes compared to my damn Alpha, and he was going to be marked up by my wrath.

“Shit! Get. Fuck!” Derrick didn’t stand a chance, but I paused as I sensed the approach coming from my left. I turned my head in time to see Lauren launching at me - the two of us falling over and rolling as we grunted and hissed.

“Just die peacefully, you bitch!” she screamed and now I was ready to beat the shit out of her as we stopped in a position that I took complete advantage of - her back against the grass while I pinned her to the ground and began punching the shit of her.

“You’re pretty, right? I’ll make sure you’re a fucking disaster!” I vowed as the wind picked up at my declaration. My body vibrated with anger, as I continued to punch and slash her with my long nails. How dare she be worthy of my best friend’s love when she had no damn morals.

She talked shit about him endlessly, since we were kids, and at the end of the day, who stood up for him?

Me.

How could she now be my replacement because her family had money - not her, but her damn pack of filthy bastards who only cared about what benefited them.

None of this was fair. Life wasn’t fucking fair, but Goddess be damned, I wouldn’t die without fighting.

Let me mark them with enough anguish that my damn ghost will haunt their fucking dreams!

Lauren’s screams made me laugh in glee, until a large arm hauled me off of her. I fought against the hold, kicking and screaming like a maniac desperate to get out of an institution, but my body was slammed into the ground, my head hitting a rock that almost knocked me right out.

I hissed in pain as my head became a pounding drum, and my wolf whimpered as she tried to move close enough to the surface to trigger a shift. I was flipped over, a hand around my throat a second later, lifting me up in a smooth movement before we were stampeding towards the cliff.

I forced my eyes open to see Nathan’s fuming expression, my claw marks tainting his flesh that was cloaked in blood. His eyes were wild with anger, but it wasn’t enough for me.

Those marks would heal. He’d move on the moment I died. No way would I let him.

I forced my body to move, but his lips were faster, “FREEZE!” he screamed.

That tingling wave of Alpha energy fought to completely immobilized me, but I fought with every strand of defiance left in me as I reached out to press my hands against his cheeks, my eyes narrowing with nothing but hate for this man I’d once loved.

“I reject you!” I said with venomous intent. My words shocked him as he came to a blunt stop at the edge of the cliff, leaving me hanging there over the edge as my flushed cheeks streamed with tears and my words echoed around us.

“What...did you say?” How liberating this moment was as my wolf did everything to crawl her numb body to the wall that kept her at bay, her thoughts blending with mine as she finally was on my side. As long as I had one damn person on my side, I’d let the Universe hear my last words.

“I, Lexianne Heartwell, reject you Nathan Shade! May you fucking remain a heartless bastard! May everything you fucking care about slip out of your grasp! You...an Alpha?!” I paused to bark in mocking laughter. “Never! You’ll never be an Alpha! Every member of your pack will betray you like you’re betraying me! I fucking CURSE YOU with Goddess of the Moon as my witness! Every drop of my blood will bring you nothing but MISERY! You will never be loved! Never be cherished, and I swear, I’ll get my revenge! Death is nothing! You will never get what you desire!” I vowed with every bit of breath I had left.

All his emotions fell from his face as his fingers tightened against my neck, choking me. I could feel the bond beginning to break, like a glass beginning to crack little by little. It was going to shatter. There was no way of stopping it, but then Nathan’s lips lifted into a sinister smile.

“Whatever curse won’t do anything to me when you’re dead,” he whispered. “I’ll leave that to the valley. It loves rejects.”

“I...reject you!” I emphasized, and clawed at his hand that suddenly loosened.

“No, Lexi,” he whispered. “I’ve never wanted you. Your rejection won’t do anything to me.” He meant his words as if he were protected by something I knew nothing about, but as our bond began to crumble away, I felt the fear on his side.

The uncertainty my haunting words would bring to him and his pack.

That’s what I wholeheartedly desired. For him to truly fear what would come thanks to Karma and our Goddess who never forgives the sinfully forsaken. If death was truly my portion, so be it.

At least I’d know that for a damn second, I was feared.

“Now die,” he whispered with as much power as he could - a second before our bond shattered.

Then he let go.

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