On the day I came of age, the Moon Goddess blessed me with my fated mate, Manuel, the heir to the Riverfell Pack.

My stepbrother, Miller, the future Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, never let me forget that my mixed blood was a stain on his pure Alpha lineage.

With his silent approval, the entire pack turned on me.

At the Blood Moon Pack's annual gala, a single glance from him was all it took for his followers to "accidentally" shove me from the terrace, sending me crashing onto the stone tiles beside the icy pool. I felt my ribs crack with a sharp pain.

He gazed down at me, his golden wolf eyes filled with contempt. "Don't think being Manuel's mate means you belong in our world. An inferior bloodline deserves only to be purged. And I will personally erase you from my life."

Under his direction, they ruined my moonlight ritual, a sacred rite meant to bless our family. They slashed the custom gown for my coming-of-age ceremony with a silver dagger.

Through it all, my mother, the esteemed Luna, only watched me with shame in her eyes. My stepfather, the powerful Alpha, saw me as nothing more than a troublesome part of his marriage alliance.

I tried to make myself invisible, hoping for just a shred of pity.

But that only made me the pack's outcast, despised and utterly alone.

Then, at Werewolf University, my fated mate Manuel—Miller's own brother—showed me a kindness I'd never known.

For the first time, Miller stopped his verbal abuse.

I thought he was my salvation, the love I was destined for. I gave him my all that night—my body, my heart, and my wolf.

The next day, I overheard his conversation with Miller.

Miller's voice was chilling. "So, did you reject her publicly? Get a video of the moment the mutt broke down after you dumped her in front of everyone?"

Manuel scoffed. "Of course. Watching her heart break was satisfying. I have to admit, though, her body has this pull… almost made me lose control. Too bad for her. If it wasn't about helping you utterly humiliate her, I'd never touch someone so low-class."

I clamped a hand over my mouth, tears instantly blurring my vision.

My only hope, my one true love—it was all a lie.

But they didn't know I had already received an acceptance letter from the Valeriana Bloodline Research Institute.

And I was never coming back.

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1

Miller’s office occupied the top floor of the Blood Moon Pack's headquarters.

His grip tightened on his whiskey glass as he stared at the video Manuel had sent him.

He downed the amber liquid in one gulp. "To think she was so eager in bed, only to end up a publicly rejected mutt," he sneered. "Let's see her show her face in the Blood Moon Estate after this."

I pressed myself against the cold wall, my heartbeat deafening in my ears.

"Miller, isn't this a bit—" A hint of hesitation colored Manuel's voice.

"A bit what?" The glass slammed onto the expensive mahogany desk. "Too much?"

The sound of the rain outside masked my trembling breaths.

"She's a half-blood bitch. She and her social-climbing mother are a disgrace to our lineage," Miller's voice was glacial. "I want her gone. I want her utterly humiliated, scorned by everyone, broken so completely she'll never dare show her face to another werewolf again."

My nails dug into the plaster.

After a moment of silence from Manuel, Miller let out a derisive snort. "What? You haven't actually fallen for that mutt, have you?"

"Of course not," Manuel replied without a second's thought. "It was an act. Molly will be back soon. I don't have time to waste on some mutt."

Standing outside the door, my heart plunged into an icy lake.

Molly. Their childhood sweetheart. A pure-blood Alpha female from the Sterling family, and Manuel's first love.

"She's the one who deserves me, the one who deserves to be the future of the Riverfell Pack," Manuel's voice held a disdain I'd never heard before. "As for Nadia, she's just a tool to help you humiliate her."

I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood, my tears finally breaking free.

I had always known Miller hated me.

He blamed my mother’s presence for tainting his own mother’s noble bloodline and aimed all his resulting hatred at me.

After I became Manuel's fated mate, Miller, though still cold, had stopped tormenting me.

I thought he was finally starting to accept me. That I would finally have a family. That we could be like a real brother and sister.

I never imagined it was all just a crueler, more humiliating deception.

He and Manuel were as close as brothers. How could I have been foolish enough to think Manuel truly loved me?

So naive.

I choked back the nausea rising in my throat, turned, and fled into the downpour.

The entire city skyline seemed to be mocking me.

Returning to the estate, drenched and trembling, I emailed my professor from my bloodline studies course.

"Professor, I accept the position at the Valeriana Institute. What is the earliest I can leave?"

He had mentored me during the International Bloodline Studies Competition and was a legend in werewolf genetics.

I knew my inner wolf was weak.

I had desperately tried to be the best, yearning for the pack's approval. I wanted to use my talents to research gene sequences that could strengthen bloodlines—to help the pack, to help Miller.

But no one ever cared. Not my mother. Certainly not Miller.

I had previously turned down the position because the project was classified top secret by the Werewolf Council and required a full three-year commitment.

Now, I had no reason to stay.

The moment I sent the email, the brutal agony of the rejection sickness washed over me.

I collapsed to the floor, my body convulsing uncontrollably, my skin feeling as if it were on fire.

I struggled to reach for my suppressants, but the door was suddenly thrown open with brutal force.

My mother stormed in, holding a tablet, her eyes blazing with fury.

"You shameless slut!"

She hurled the tablet at me. The screen shattered.

But not before the image on the screen was burned into my mind.

It was me. A video of my public rejection at the Bonding Ceremony, every humiliating moment captured in sharp detail.

My vision went dark as icy despair swallowed me whole.

They couldn't even wait a day to broadcast my shame.

Just two days ago, Manuel had promised me, his voice thick with sincerity, "I will always protect you. When the time is right, I'll take you back to my pack for our bonding ceremony."

His Alpha scent had enveloped me.

I had felt his desire, and my inner wolf reeled under his kisses.

His Alpha pheromones were a drug, clouding my mind until I barely knew myself.

I had naively believed he truly loved me.

"Mom—" I reached out to her, my voice hoarse.

"Shut up!" she shrieked. "Do you have any idea what this video leak means for my status as Luna? Your very blood threatens everything I've worked so hard to build in this pack!"

My heart plummeted.

She never cared about me. Only her precious, hard-won status.

"It was Manuel—" I said in a low voice.

My mother's face froze.

She was silent for a long time before she waved a weary hand.

"How did you get involved with the heir of the Riverfell Pack? We can't afford to provoke a family like that."

She paused, then added, "Besides, you and Manuel are fated mates. A video won't affect him. Why couldn't you have just behaved with a little more dignity?"

I snapped my head up, staring at her in disbelief.

She avoided my gaze. "The link has been deleted. In time, people will forget."

She turned to leave.

"Mom, I'm your daughter—"

"Enough! Just pretend I was never here," she said without looking back. "And don't cause me any more trouble!"

The door slammed shut.

I looked up and saw Miller. He was standing on the second-floor gallery, his golden wolf eyes filled with mockery.

He looked as if he had expected this all along.

The truth didn't matter. Not to them.

A suffocating sense of helplessness washed over me.

I curled up on the cold floor and sobbed.

Starting at dawn, my phone vibrated nonstop.

Anonymous harassing messages and mocking memes flooded in, each one making my stomach churn.

"How does it feel to be publicly rejected by an Alpha?"

"Disgusting. A mutt who can't even keep her own mate."

"Looking for some fun? I can satisfy you."

My hands trembled as I blocked number after number, but new messages kept pouring in.

Every werewolf in the city was reveling in my humiliation.

The next day, I dragged my exhausted body to the university.

My mother said she had arranged a long-term leave of absence for me, but I had to go myself to handle the withdrawal paperwork.

The moment I stepped onto campus, a chorus of whispers erupted around me.

"Look, it's her. The mutt Manuel publicly rejected."

"I heard she broke down on the spot. So pathetic."

"Disgusting. Filthy blood."

"Stay away from her. That loser stench might be contagious."

Every word was a fresh blade in my heart.

I kept my head down, hurrying through the hallways, feeling everyone's scornful gazes on me.

Someone deliberately bumped me with their shoulder. Another made a lewd gesture as I passed.

When I opened my locker, a foul stench hit me.

Someone had spray-painted the shameful symbol for a "reject" in red. The vile smell made me gag.

"Nadia?"

I turned to see a few former classmates pointing at me from a distance, their faces full of derision.

"I can't believe you actually thought you could be Manuel's mate."

"Why would an Alpha like Manuel even look at you? You must have used some dirty trick."

I clenched my jaw, quickly gathered my documents, and turned to leave.

The underground parking garage was eerily quiet.

Just as I was nearing my car, a group of low-ranking pack members blocked my path.

Their scents were a chaotic mess. They were the Blood Moon Pack's bottom-tier enforcers.

The leader held up his phone. On the screen, the video of my rejection played on a loop.

"This is you, right?" he said, his eyes crawling over my body. "Being rejected must feel terrible, huh?"

I took a step back. "What do you want?"

"What do we want?" They all laughed. "Since you're so lonely, how about we keep you company?"

"No!" I struggled as they grabbed me, but they were too strong.

They dragged me toward a dark corner of the garage, their hands clawing at my jacket.

Panic seized me.

Suddenly, I remembered something from years ago.

I was just a little girl, being bullied by a few rogue werewolves.

Miller appeared, unleashed his Alpha command, and chased them away with an icy glare.

He tossed me a canister of silver dust spray and pulled me into his car.

"Are you so weak you can't even defend yourself?"

His tone was harsh, but in that moment, I felt like he was a real older brother.

Ever since then, I always kept a canister of silver dust spray in my bag.

"Let me go!" I fumbled desperately in my bag.

My fingers finally closed around the small canister.

The moment they tore open my jacket, I pulled it out and slammed my thumb down on the nozzle.

Silver dust sprayed into their faces. They screamed and staggered back.

But in the struggle, some of the powder hit my arm.

A searing pain made me cry out.

The silver, a poison to all werewolves, ate at my flesh.

"Fuck! The bitch has silver!" the enforcers cursed, clutching their burned faces.

"What do we do? She's badly hurt!"

"Call him! If she dies, we're all screwed!"

I curled up on the ground, smoke rising from the wound on my arm.

My vision swam.

One of them made a call.

"It's messed up. She had silver dust spray. She's hurt—really bad—"

A familiar voice came from the other end of the line.

Miller.

"Is it done?" his voice was terrifyingly cold.

"No, she—"

"Miller, are you insane?!" another voice cut in. "You actually sent them to humiliate her!"

Manuel.

My heart clenched violently.

It was Miller who sent them.

"I just told them to teach her a lesson," Miller sneered. "If she hurt herself, she has it coming."

"If she's not dead, dump her at a human clinic outside the city," he continued. "Make sure it can't be traced back to me."

The call ended.

The enforcers started to panic, arguing about what to do with me.

But I could no longer hear their words clearly.

My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a fist, the pain making it impossible to breathe.

So he really did want to destroy me.

Suddenly, a memory of something I had once overheard him say surfaced.

"Of course I know she didn't kill my mother. I just can't stand the way she always looks so weak and pathetic."

"Father feels guilty about them. I don't."

Tears slid from the corners of my eyes.

The silver toxin spread through my veins, excruciating pain tearing at my nerves.

Then, everything went dark.

The first thing I registered was the sterile white of a ceiling.

The smell of antiseptic filled my nose. I was in the Blood Moon Pack's private medical center.

"You're awake."

Manuel was sitting by my bed, his eyes filled with a guilt I had never seen before.

I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through my arm.

The silver-poisoned wound was tightly wrapped in white bandages.

"Don't move," he said softly. "The silver toxin isn't completely cleared yet."

I just looked at him, saying nothing.

"Nadia, about the public rejection… I have to explain," he said, taking my uninjured hand. "I only did it because I sensed a hostile force watching us. It was an extreme measure, but I had to do it to protect you, to get you out of the line of fire."

I blinked.

"We are fated mates. It's the will of the Moon Goddess. Why would I ever truly hurt you?"

His voice was gentle. "I didn't tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise."

Lies.

"But my phone was hacked," he continued. "That's how the video leaked. I've already taken care of all the online information. I promise, no one will ever—"

His phone rang.

Manuel glanced at the caller ID, and his expression softened instantly.

His voice became unbelievably gentle. "How are you feeling? Is your wolf still unstable?"

He stood up, completely forgetting my existence.

"Don't worry, I'll be there right away. You just got back to the country, you need time to adjust."

He left without a backward glance.

The moment he was gone, Miller walked in.

His golden eyes swept over me, loathing and possession warring in their depths.

"What? Heartbroken now that Manuel's gone?" he sneered. "Such a loyal little sister."

I didn't answer.